Arts & Entertainment  July 13, 2016

Fort Collins community radio station KRFC in $500K capital campaign

FORT COLLINS — Hoping to expand its audience and play a key role in Fort Collins’ emerging Music District, nonprofit radio station KRFC-FM 88.9 is in the midst of a three-phase, $500,000 capital campaign to upgrade equipment, add staff and make its new studios more accessible to the community.

The campaign’s first phase seeks $300,000 to redesign the station’s space and upgrade its equipment to improve broadcast quality and recording capabilities. The second phase seeks $100,000 to upgrade KRFC’s tower and transmitter to create a stronger signal in its existing radius and expand its potential over-the-air audience by more than 25 percent — or close to 100,000 people. The third phase seeks $100,000 to add staffing and project coordination, including addition of a local news department and real-time information on its website.

The 13-year-old station, which was housed for many years in an arched-front, south-facing two-story building at 619 S. College Ave. that is owned by the Bohemian Cos., had to move last summer to smaller, temporary quarters at 330 S. College Ave. while the Bohemian Foundation developed the area west of College and north of Laurel Street into a “Music District,” designed to bring adult musicians and music-centric businesses and organizations together to cultivate talents, encourage connections and mentoring, and support professional development. Several buildings, surrounding streetscapes and parking areas are being refurbished to create a musician-inspired hub with spaces for tenant units, rehearsal spaces and practice rooms, a media room and a flexible-use venue, along with green spaces and terraces.

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KRFC is expected to relocate to the Music District around Sept. 1. The studios will face the new plaza with floor-to-ceiling windows through which passers-by can watch live broadcasts, and emerging artists being incubated and mentored at the Music District will be able to record at the station.

The capital campaign is about 40 percent of the way toward its Phase 1 goal, KRFC executive director Brian Hughes said on Wednesday. “Most of that $120,000 has been invested in the building itself, from soundproofing to electrical and HVAC, getting us prepped for moving in there. The other $180,000 will be focused on equipment upgrades and outfitting all of our studios.

“The Music District is expected to be done with construction in late August, so that’s really kicked our campaign into high gear because we’d like to start moving in Sept. 1,” Hughes said. “We’ve been at this temporary location for a year now, and we’re itching to get back home. It’s a really great opportunity to be far more visible and to be involved with the Music District from Day 1 and be involved in that story.”

Even before the transmitter upgrades and more visible venue are in place, Hughes said, the campaign itself has expanded the station’s reach.

“The really cool thing we’ve been able to do is reaching out to people that haven’t been traditional supporters, and introduce ourselves,” he said. “A lot of them didn’t even know Fort Collins had a community radio station. We can’t do it alone; it’ll require the community to come together to help us build it.

“We’ve been good at telling other people’s stories but not in telling our own — like how we provide Larimer County Search and Rescue free access on our transmitter that saves them $100,000,” Hughes said. “I’ve been telling our people we need to get loud. If we’ve got supporters that would help us but don’t know about us, we need to reach them.”

According to a station-produced document describing the decision to launch the capital campaign, “The creation of the Music District presents KRFC with the opportunity to re-envision what we can be and how we can deliver unique, diverse listening experiences to the region and help create a sense of place for Fort Collins, For too long our volunteers have operated in a space they had outgrown with equipment long past expected operational lifespan. Being the cornerstone of the Music District campus will elevate our presence and ability to be the true voice of the community and soundtrack of Northern Colorado.”

If the money isn’t raised, station officials said, KRFC still will be able to move into its new space but with limited pieces of specific equipment and would have to put its expansion plans on hold. If the campaign were to raise more than the campaign goal, the extra money would be invested in an endowment fund.

KRFC has four paid staffers and more than 100 volunteers. More than 95 percent of its programming is hosted live by residents of Northern Colorado.

Donations to the “MyKRFC” campaign are being accepted at mykrfc.org.

FORT COLLINS — Hoping to expand its audience and play a key role in Fort Collins’ emerging Music District, nonprofit radio station KRFC-FM 88.9 is in the midst of a three-phase, $500,000 capital campaign to upgrade equipment, add staff and make its new studios more accessible to the community.

The campaign’s first phase seeks $300,000 to redesign the station’s space and upgrade its equipment to improve broadcast quality and recording capabilities. The second phase seeks $100,000 to upgrade KRFC’s tower and transmitter to create a stronger signal in its existing radius and expand its potential over-the-air audience by more than 25 percent —…

Dallas Heltzell
With BizWest since 2012 and in Colorado since 1979, Dallas worked at the Longmont Times-Call, Colorado Springs Gazette, Denver Post and Public News Service. A Missouri native and Mizzou School of Journalism grad, Dallas started as a sports writer and outdoor columnist at the St. Charles (Mo.) Banner-News, then went to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch before fleeing the heat and humidity for the Rockies. He especially loves covering our mountain communities.
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