UNIVERSITY RADIO FOUNDATION INC
8801 JM KEYNES DR, CHARLOTTE, NC 28262 www.wfae.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: JOURNALISM THAT INFORMS, ENRICHES, AND INSPIRES. OUR VISION IS TO HELP CREATE A MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE AND ENGAGED COMMUNITY GROUNDED IN OUR SHARED HUMANITY.

IN FY20 - A YEAR MARKED BY PANDEMIC, POLITICS, PROTESTS AND THE HARSHEST ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN GENERATIONS - ONE THING WAS VERY CLEAR. DURING TIMES OF SOCIAL UPHEAVAL, AND WHEN MISINFORMATION IS RAMPANT, LIVES DEPEND ON RELIABLE FACTS. WFAE MORE THAN MET THE CHALLENGES OF 2020 AND THE STATION'S LISTENERS SHOWED IMMENSE APPRECIATION FOR THE NEWS SOURCE THEY TRUSTED, HELPING WFAE REACH ITS SIXTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR OF RECORD FUNDRAISING. FY20, IN SOME WAYS, PROVED WFAE TO BE WHAT ITS LEADERSHIP, STAFF AND BOARD HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN IT COULD BE - THE ESSENTIAL PROVIDER OF HARD LOCAL NEWS FOR THE CHARLOTTE COMMUNITY. WHEN THE FISCAL YEAR BEGAN, NO ONE IN THE WFAE NEWSROOM WOULD HAVE GUESSED THAT THEY WOULD END THE FISCAL YEAR FILING STORIES FROM THEIR HOMES. AND WHILE THE TRANSITION TO REMOTE REPORTING AND PRODUCTION WAS A MAMMOTH UNDERTAKING, THANKS TO LISTENER FUNDING, THE STATION WAS ABLE TO QUICKLY BUY THE EQUIPMENT NEEDED TO CONTINUE OUR SERVICES REMOTELY. WFAE'S NEWSROOM NEVER MISSED A BEAT. REPORTERS QUICKLY ADAPTED TO FILING STORIES FROM THEIR CARS, CLOSETS AND KITCHENS SOMETIMES WITH CHILDREN, PETS OR LAWN MOWING NEIGHBORS AUDIBLE. WHILE THE QUALITY OF THE AUDIO WAS OCCASIONALLY IMPACTED, THE QUALITY OF THE REPORTING NEVER DIMINISHED. WITH LISTENER SUPPORT, WFAE WAS ABLE TO QUICKLY OUTFIT REPORTERS WITH THE TOOLS THEY NEEDED TO EFFECTIVELY WORK MORE REMOTELY.AS THE PANDEMIC RAGED ON, CITIZENS TOOK TO THE STREETS TO PROTEST RACIAL INEQUITY AFTER THE MURDER OF GEORGE FLOYD. THE PROTESTS DEMANDED IN-PERSON COVERAGE, DESPITE THE RISKS. THANKS AGAIN TO LISTENER SUPPORT, WFAE WAS ABLE TO QUICKLY SUPPLY JOURNALISTS WITH HELMETS, GOGGLES AND FACEMASKS - THE EQUIPMENT THEY NEEDED TO COVER THESE HISTORIC DEMONSTRATIONS. WFAE REPORTERS COVERED THE PROTESTS, NIGHT-AFTER-NIGHT AMID RUBBER BULLETS, PEPPER SPRAY AND TEAR GAS. WHILE CALLS FOR RACIAL RECKONING ECHOED THROUGH OUR COUNTRY, THE NOTION OF CREATING A DIVERSE NEWSROOM, COVERING DIVERSE COMMUNITIES AND ENSURING THAT A DIVERSITY OF THOUGHT IS REPRESENTED IN THE STORIES WE TELL HAS BEEN A GOAL OF WFAE FOR QUITE SOME TIME. OUR EFFORTS TO DIVERSIFY NEWS COVERAGE, THE NEWSROOM, CONTENT AND LISTENERSHIP HAVE GONE WELL BEYOND THE BASICS. AS PART OF A PARTNERSHIP WITH REPORT FOR AMERICA (RFA), WFAE HIRED THREE JOURNALISTS TO REPORT ON UNDER-COVERED ISSUES AND COMMUNITIES. THE POSITIONS WERE PART OF A COLLABORATION WITH THE CHARLOTTE- MECKLENBURG LIBRARY, Q CITY METRO, AND SPANISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER, LA NOTICIA. WFAE'S BOARD HAS ALSO FORMED AN EQUITY AND FAIRNESS COMMITTEE TO LOOK AT OUR SUPPLIERS, WFAE STAFF AND BOARD, AND AT THE STORIES COVERED BY THE NEWSROOM. STATION STAFF HAVE EMBRACED TRAINING SESSIONS AND CONVERSATIONS DESIGNED TO EXPAND THE STATION'S FIELD OF VIEW. PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS -- EVERY MEMBER OF WFAE'S REPORTING AND PRODUCTION TEAM PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN PRESENTING THE NEWS IN THIS HISTORIC YEAR. THE FOLLOWING DETAILS JUST SOME OF THEIR EXCEPTIONAL WORK:PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC, REPORTER SARAH DELIA WON ACCOLADES FROM LISTENERS AND CRITICS ALIKE FOR HER WORK ON THE LIST, AN INVESTIGATIVE PODCAST THAT EXAMINED SEXUAL ABUSE CRISIS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH'S CHARLOTTE ARCHDIOCESE. IN MARCH OF 2020, DELIA LAUNCHED A SERIES OF INTIMATE CONVERSATIONS WITH CHARLOTTEANS NAVIGATING THE CRISIS. THE SERIES WAS APTLY TITLED SOCIAL DISTANCING.IN RESPONSE TO THE PROTESTS FOR RACIAL JUSTICE, WFAE WORKED WITH AWARD-WINNING JOURNALIST MARY C. CURTIS TO HOST A CANDID CONVERSATION ON RACE WITH BLACK CHARLOTTEANS. EDUCATION REPORTER ANN DOSS HELMS' REPORTING BECAME REQUIRED READING FOR PARENTS NAVIGATING THE CHALLENGING NEW WORLD OF REMOTE LEARNING AND DECISIONS ON WHEN TO BRING STUDENTS BACK TO THE CLASSROOM.POLITICAL COVERAGE WAS A CONSTANT THROUGHOUT FY20 WITH WFAE PROVIDING COVERAGE OF REGIONAL RACES AND THE CONTENTIOUS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. THE STATION ALSO LAUNCHED A NEW PODCAST TITLED INSIDE POLITICS WHICH COVERED THE ON-AGAIN, OFF-AGAIN PLANNING OF THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION IN CHARLOTTE. INSIDE POLITICS WAS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF WFAE DIGGING DEEP TO DELIVER NOT JUST THE NEWS - BUT THE CONTEXT AND HISTORY BEHIND IT. WFAE'S LONG-RUNNING WEEKDAY PROGRAM CHARLOTTE TALKS CONTINUED THEIR AWARD WINNING SERIES WITH WEEKLY POLITICAL DISCUSSIONS, LOCAL NEWS ROUND-TABLE DISCUSSIONS, AND MONTHLY INTERVIEWS WITH CHARLOTTE'S MAYOR, VI LYLES. THE PROGRAM DIDN'T MISS A BEAT WHEN THE VIRUS REACHED THE CHARLOTTE REGION, BRINGING DAILY NEWS AND UPDATES AROUND PANDEMIC. THE PROGRAM PARTNERED WITH OTHER PUBLIC RADIO STATIONS AROUND THE STATE FOR THREE SPECIAL STATEWIDE BROADCASTS THAT LOOKED AT HOW COVID WAS IMPACTING PEOPLE FROM THE MOUNTAINS TO THE COAST. GUESTS FOR THESE SPECIAL BROADCASTS INCLUDED NORTH CAROLINA GOV. ROY COOPER, DR. MANDY COHEN, SECRETARY OF THE NORTH CAROLINA'S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND OTHERS. EVERY OTHER MONDAY IN 2020, WFAE CONTINUED ITS SERIES FINDING HOME, WHICH EXAMINED ISSUES OF HOUSING IN THE REGION. THE ACCLAIMED SERIES WORKED TO DETAIL THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM WHILE ALSO SEEKING AND EVALUATING SOLUTIONS. COVID, OF COURSE, FACTORED HEAVILY INTO FINDING HOME STORIES IN FY20. REPORTER DAVID BORAKS INTERVIEWED RESIDENTS OF A HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT THAT FORMED NEAR UPTOWN CHARLOTTE AT THE START OF THE PANDEMIC. PODCAST MANAGER/HOST JONI DEUTSCH STARTED SONGVERSATIONS, A PODCAST LIVE STREAMING EVENT THAT WAS PART PERFORMANCE, PART INTERVIEW TO SUPPORT AN ARRAY OF CHARLOTTE AREA MUSICIANS AT A TIME WHEN THEY WERE UNABLE TO EARN A LIVING THROUGH THEIR LIVE PERFORMANCES. BUILDING ON THE SUCCESS OF 2018'S QUEEN CITY PODQUEST, DEUTSCH ALSO OVERSAW THE LAUNCH OF THE QUEEN CITY PODCAST ACADEMY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CHARLOTTE MECKLENBURG LIBRARY. THE PROGRAM OFFERED BEGINNER PODCAST WORKSHOPS AT 10 LIBRARY BRANCHES ACROSS THE COUNTY. WHEN THE PANDEMIC STRUCK, DEUTSCH PIVOTED TO ZOOM CLASSES. THE COMMUNITY WAS CLEARLY HUNGRY FOR MORE PODCASTING LESSONS. WFAE/DEUTSCH CO-HOSTED THE CHARLOTTE PODCAST FESTIVAL ON OCTOBER OF 2020 WITH BLUMENTHAL PERFORMING ARTS, THE QUEEN CITY PODCAST NETWORK AND ECLECS. THE FULLY VIRTUAL EVENT FEATURED 40 SESSIONS AND DREW MORE THAN 13,000 REGISTRANTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. WFAE'S DIGITAL TEAM KEPT BUSY MAINTAINING A DAILY CORONAVIRUS BLOG, AND GREW THE STATION'S LIST OF CELEBRATED NEWSLETTERS BY ADDING TAPESTRY - AN ARTS NEWSLETTER THAT EXAMINES HOW ARTISTS AND ARTS ORGANIZATIONS TRANSFORMED THEMSELVES DURING THE PANDEMIC. AS THIS 990 REPORT HIGHLIGHTS, WFAE'S LISTENERS RESPONDED GENEROUSLY TO THE STATION'S EFFORTS. DESPITE A STEEP DECLINE IN CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP REVENUE IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF FY20, WFAE WAS STILL ABLE TO POST 4% YEAR-OVER-YEAR REVENUE GROWTH. WITH $7.3M RAISED, THIS MARKS THE SIXTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR OF RECORD REVENUE NUMBERS FOR THE STATION. THIS GROWTH WAS DRIVEN IN LARGE PART BY LISTENER CONTRIBUTIONS AS THE STATION REACHED A NEW HIGH OF MORE THAN 23,000 CONTRIBUTORS. IN ADDITION TO LISTENER SUPPORT AND ACCOLADES, WFAE WAS HONORED WITH SEVERAL INDUSTRY AWARDS. WFAE REPORTER SARAH DELIA WAS RECOGNIZED BY THE RTDNA REGIONAL EDWARD R. MURROW AWARDS FOR HER COVERAGE OF THE SHOOTING OF DANQUIRS FRANKLIN. DELIA'S PODCAST THE LIST WAS ALSO HONORED BY RTDNA AS BEST PODCAST AND INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING. THE LIST WAS ALSO HONORED WITH A THIRD-PLACE AWARD FOR ENTERPRISE RELIGION REPORTING BY THE RELIGION NEWS ASSOCIATION. COMMENTATOR TOMMY TOMLINSON WAS RECOGNIZED WITH A SECOND PLACE AWARD FOR COMMENTARY BY THE PUBLIC MEDIA JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION.

BROADCASTING AND ENGINEERING - EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH BROADCAST STUDIOS, TRANSMITTERS, TOWERS, AND ANTENNAS, ENGINEER, IP INTERCONNECTS, SATELLITE FACILITIES, UTILITIES, REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE COSTS FOR STUDIOS, TRANSMITTERS, TOWERS, AND ANTENNAS.

PROGRAM INFORMATION - PROMOTION AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES TO INFORM THE COMMUNITY OF LOCAL NEWS AND EVENTS OF INTEREST TO OUR LISTENERS. COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH HOSTING FORUMS, BRINGING IN PUBLIC RADIO PERSONALITIES TO SPEAK AND OTHER COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH INFORMING OUR LISTENERS BY NEWSLETTERS, E-BLASTS, OUTREACH MATERIALS.

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