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Friends of KEXP 

Description

KEXP is more than a radio station. It is an eclectic nonprofit arts organization that serves music lovers, artists, and the broader community over the airwaves, online, and in the streets. KEXP enriches people’s lives by championing music and discovery, with a relentless focus on curatorial excellence. Our vision is a world where music connects and inspires people everywhere, creating meaning and understanding in our lives.

Approximately 150,000 listeners tune into 90.3 FM weekly and approximately 1.3 million unique users access KEXP.ORG annually. KEXP’s youthful, culturally curious audience has diverse tastes in the arts and represents a new generation of arts patrons. Music lovers tell us they delight in discovering new music and deeply value the sense of community that KEXP helps to create.

Mission Statement
KEXP enriches people's lives by championing music and discovery.
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Friends of KEXP
113 Dexter Ave N 
Seattle 
WA
98109-5103 
(206) 520-5800 

Tom Mara 
Executive Director 

Programs

Friends of KEXP Programs

Broadcast
KEXP’s DJs, a group of more than 45 talented men and women with a deep passion for and knowledge of music, curate 24 hours of programming each day, all accessible for free over the airwaves at 90.3FM. This programming covers a wide variety of musical genres, including rock, hip-hop, reggae, country, Latin, punk, and jazz, to appeal to diverse audiences. Another means of enriching the lives of our listeners is through the broadcast of live in-studio performances: KEXP invites artists into the KEXP studios in Seattle or the Cutting Room studios in New York City to perform an intimate, unique set for our listeners. This performance is then broadcast live over the airwaves at 90.3FM and online at KEXP.org.

Online
The KEXP community can access much of KEXP’s one-of-a-kind content via the KEXP website at KEXP.org. Listeners can stream music from the two week archive of shows; listen to the archived live in-studio performances; access the real-time playlist for information about the artists; read reviews of recent albums; discover information about upcoming performances in the community; and subscribe to and download a variety of podcasts.

Community
Each year, KEXP brings live music into the community in a variety of forums. Since 2006, KEXP has partnered with the Seattle Center to produce the Concerts at the Mural, a series of concerts presented free of charge in the shadow of the Space Needle each August. KEXP also hosts Hood-to-Hood day in different neighborhoods around the city each year, where KEXP DJs broadcast live from a central location and host various local artists who play free live shows for the community.

Recent Successes and Current Challenges

YouTube Success
KEXP produces nearly 600 live in-studio performances each year. These performances are broadcast live on air and online and, subsequently, the video of the performance is posted to YouTube where it can be viewed and enjoyed by listeners across the country and around the world. As of February 2013, there were over 117,000 subscribers to KEXP’s YouTube channel and over 110 million total views, both numbers reflecting a 50% increase in the previous six months. These numbers indicate that listeners want to experience music in multiple ways: they want to enjoy both the auditory and visual aspects of live music and witness these artists’ creative process in the unique, intimate venue that KEXP provides.

New Home Need
KEXP has an incredible opportunity to move to a new home at Seattle Center, in the heart of Seattle’s arts core—a destination where its community will come together to experience, share, and discover music. KEXP’s new home will provide the space and technology necessary to continue its evolution as a unique arts organization that nurtures the creation and exploration of contemporary music. KEXP will guide every music lover who spends time in the new home through a thrilling world of music and discovery. And as cultural shifts redefine mass media and the music industry, artists will find a home like no other at KEXP. After careful study, KEXP has embarked on a $15 million campaign to realize this vision. 

Evaluation


By providing free music experiences on-air, online and in the community, KEXP is able to help local musicians gain exposure and to champion music discovery in our community.

Proven Success
KEXP is the most streamed public radio station in the country and was recently named one of the top five radio stations in the country by Rolling Stone magazine. KEXP reaches more than 147,000 people through their broadcast signal in Seattle and New York and reaches thousands more of the global community through KEXP.org. This both enhances their ability to champion local music in our community as well as expose the international community to Seattle artists.

Collaboration
Through the Community Partnership Initiative KEXP provides nonprofit organizations with month-long media campaigns that culminate in a benefit concert at the Sunset Tavern. In 2010, KEXP raised more than $7,000 for nine organizations while exposing them to KEXP’s broadcast and online listener base.

Best Practices
KEXP was one of the first arts organization to utilize the “Theory of Change” structure to clearly define its long-term impacts on their constituencies. This year KEXP will implement an annual “Key Outcomes and Impact” evaluation strategy to ensure programming and services are continually assessed, refined and mission driven.

Grant History with The Seattle Foundation:

Grants Awarded through The Seattle Foundation Grantmaking Program:

DateAmountPurpose
9/10/2011 $7,500.00support general operating expenses.
9/17/2008 $10,000.00support general operating expenses.

Financials

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