CapRadio Statement on Financial Health & Activities
Fiscal Year 2024-2025
The following narrative provides CapRadio management’s strategic approach to sustainability and growth in the face of an unprecedented attack on public media and past clandestine actions of a former general manager who is currently at the center of a related law enforcement investigation regarding his role. On Sept. 9, 2025, CapRadio received a $1.28M insurance payment over his alleged financial crimes against our supporters.
The facts presented below have been independently verified by CLA — the financial auditing firm — to accurately reflect CapRadio’s situation and future long-term sustainability. View CapRadio’s fiscal year 2025 financial statement.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Individual Contributions
$9.8M (+8% YoY)
Vehicle Donations
$775K (+13% YoY)
Sponsorship
$2.1M (-16% YoY)
In October of 2025, CapRadio achieved a new four-year combined listening audience high of 300,000 a week across its Sacramento news and music stations. It ended its first fiscal year quarter (July - Sept.) with individual contributions up 30% to budget at $3.1M.
Notable Legal Fees
- $450,000 (KVIE lawsuit against CapRadio)
- $150,000 (Union collective bargaining)
- $75,000 (CapRadio lawsuit against former GM)
CapRadio has won two major hearings related to KVIE’s lawsuit on CapRadio’s long-time ownership of its primary news broadcasting tower, including a receivership motion and an irrevocable license claim. The $1.28M insurance payment for the civil suit against its former GM means that there are no additional legal fees related to that case, and the station can still recover fees spent on litigation. The organization continues to evaluate the cost-benefit of litigation to protect its public service mission and ensure responsible stewardship of the community’s support.
A New Approach to Sustainability: CapRadio’s 100% Community-Supported Funding Model
After losing Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) funding two years ago, CapRadio has adapted and made important adjustments to its financial management practices and funding model to position the station for long-term stability and growth. These actions resulted in CapRadio pioneering a new 100% community-supported approach to sustainability that has empowered the organization to deliver on its public service mission from a position of strength and independence.
On a national scale, public media was dealt a devastating blow after Congress passed H.R. 4, the Recissions Act of 2025 on July 18. This decision "clawed back" $1.1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. Shortly thereafter, CPB, the conduit for federal funds to NPR and PBS, announced that it was winding down its operations.
CapRadio was well-ahead of these unprecedented attacks on public media and had already implemented its new sustainability model that relies exclusively on community support — not government funding. Today, all of the nonprofit organization’s funding comes from individual member contributions and local business support, in addition to vehicle donations, planned gifts and an unrestricted local grant.
With a focus on sustaining and expanding its public services, CapRadio continues to make improvements that bolster its community-supported business model to build a robust, lasting future for public media in the region. As a fully community-funded resource, the organization is not only empowered to to operate undisrupted by government funding cuts but actively increasing public services for the betterment of the community.
Sustainability Through Community Support
CapRadio has committed to its practice of open and transparent communication with the community. The station has significantly increased on-air and other communications around funding education, its mission and the impact of member contributions and paid business sponsorship. CapRadio has also embraced partnerships and media collaborations that help the region thrive. Notable results of this work include:
Big Day of Giving
CapRadio orchestrated an unprecedented community partnership with the Sacramento Region Community Foundation to serve as the Visionary Media Partner for Big Day of Giving, a major regional fundraising event for over 800 nonprofits. Not only did Big Day of Giving set a new fundraising record with nearly $14M raised in 2025, but CapRadio achieved its own fundraising record with over $200,000 from nearly 900 donations.
Nonprofit Showcase Program
In coordination with Big Day of Giving, CapRadio launched its new Nonprofit Showcase program as a way to help uplift nonprofits not just on one day but all year long. The initiative brings nonprofits in studio to tell their story and build awareness for their work by having the spots aired across CapRadio broadcasts. The initiative has seen over 50 nonprofits apply and an overwhelmingly positive response from the community.
Community Fundraising
In June 2025, CapRadio ran its two-week budget-year-end It Only Takes You campaign across broadcast and digital channels, intentionally focussing messaging around its community-supported approach to sustainability. The campaign achieved a 76% increase in donations compared to the previous year. For its Fall 2025 campaign, CapRadio secured over $200,000 in match funds from a small group of community members who believe in the station’s long-term future, helping to drive one of the largest fundraising campaigns in CapRadio’s history.
Community Engagement
CapRadio continues to increase engagement with members and the community, holding dozens of donor convenings with leadership, offering routine community tours of the station, having one-to-one discussions, and presenting to community organizations. The organization has leaned into openness and transparency with its supporters, making time to have discussions, answer questions, and ask for support.
Data-Informed Culture
CapRadio is championing a data-informed culture at the organization, taking steps to refine its data collection and reporting processes and implement a design thinking approach to help define, prioritize, and achieve its revenue goals. The organization is working through a transition to a new CRM platform throughout FY 2026 that will play an important role in its continued efforts to optimize revenue program management, increase fundraising, and improve communications.
Restructuring Business Operations for Long-Term Sustainability
CapRadio continues its diligent work to ensure operational strength and steadfast checks and balances practices now and into the future.
Management Transition of NSPR & KHSU Stations
CapRadio is on schedule to end its operating agreements with public radio stations in Chico and Humboldt County by the end of 2025. The station is working closely with its university partners on a responsible transfer plan that will ensure broadcasting continuity throughout the transition.
The arrangement had CapRadio covering all costs associated with staffing, accounting, and business administration for NSPR and KHSU, including NPR and content licensing fees, tower rents and maintenance, office rent, and utilities. Additionally, CapRadio staff were performing nearly all non-reporting functions for those stations, including the maintenance of 18 broadcast towers associated with NSPR and KHSU, oversight of broadcast and technology infrastructure, management of a separate membership program for NSPR, and provision of accounting services. The transition of the two stations’ responsibilities is expected to result in over $1.2M in annual cost savings for CapRadio.
New In-House Sponsorship Team
On July 1, 2025, CapRadio finalized the process of integrating the paid business Sponsorship function back in-house after it was contracted out to a third-party in early 2023. As part of this transition effort, CapRadio onboarded a four-person team of veteran local broadcast account managers, including the addition of a widely known and respected team lead, Colleen McCartney. McCartney is a long-time sales executive who spent 25 years in the Sacramento market working in broadcast media — coming to CapRadio previously as the Vice President of Sales at iHeartMedia. CapRadio also deployed a new sponsorship web page to highlight the value and impact of business sponsorship, which has seen strong traffic and lead generation since its launch.
New Development Team Structure
In August 2025, CapRadio deployed a new development structure that focuses on two distinct — yet intertwined — membership functions that will better position the organization to achieve stewardship, retention, and growth goals. Member Services will focus on membership program management and optimization, customer service, and pipeline building for mid and major giving. Donor Development will focus on increasing giving from members and cultivating planned gifts.
Delivering Public Services Sustainably
CapRadio has significantly increased the amount of local audio stories it has produced over the last year, and the community has responded in kind. In FY 2025, CapRadio saw a 48% increase in its weekly news listening audience and a 58% increase in its market share compared to the previous year.
CapRadio has recently hired more reporters, editors, and producers to continue investing in content that is valued by the community. The newsroom is building toward a more locally focused news broadcast, which includes featuring a dedicated local news D segment during NPR’s flagship news magazines, Morning Edition and All Things Considered. This will result in a total of 15 minutes of local news every hour. It is also launching a major update to its mobile app to improve the experience of its largest streaming platform, offer more on-demand audio experiences, and reach more people outside of broadcast radio.
CapRadio is investing in the next generation of journalists by growing its student internship program and opportunities to work with its newsroom to gain real-world experience. After the first year of the newly reinstated internship program, CapRadio is proud to share that three of its recent new hires completed internships with the station.
The station continues to improve and expand local public services in a sustainable manner. One of CapRadio’s strategic priorities is to operate as one company with one mission: to create more informed, involved and educated communities. The station has embraced collaboration across departments, including increased communication between its content and revenue teams, to deliver on its public service mission sustainably. Its Marketing, Development and Sponsorship teams have been able to raise more funds by having a better understanding of the work and initiatives its content teams are doing and using that knowledge to inspire support from the community.
Positive Momentum in Remediation and Dispute Resolution Efforts
A number of actions have transpired that indicate the potential for positive outcomes regarding legal disputes targeting CapRadio. With two major rulings in CapRadio’s favor this year, mounting pressure in the community to resolve the radio tower dispute levied by KVIE and put an end to litigation, coupled with KVIE’s significant loss of $2.5M in annual funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, there is a growing likelihood that the public media dispute will be resolved.
KVIE Lawsuit Against CapRadio
On Wednesday, May 21, 2025, a Sacramento County Superior Court judge dismissed crucial arguments in KVIE’s ongoing litigation against CapRadio, rejecting a motion to force CapRadio to hand over its news radio tower rents through a receivership. The determination is a welcomed affirmation of the facts surrounding CapRadio’s long-time ownership, operation, and maintenance of its primary public service news broadcasting tower. While the ruling did not make a determination on tower ownership, it did reject KVIE’s claim that they showed proof of tower ownership.
Additionally, the court supported CapRadio’s argument that KVIE’s attempt to claim deferred maintenance was invalid and unsubstantiated. This ruling is important because it refutes a major argument that KVIE has continued to use as justification for why the donation of CapRadio’s tower was made by the Capital Public Radio Endowment and accepted by KVIE. It specifically called out KVIE’s president for lacking sufficient personal knowledge to substantiate his false claims.
On Tuesday, July 15, 2025, CapRadio received yet another welcomed affirmation of its long-time ownership, operation, and maintenance of its news radio tower after a Sacramento County Superior Court judge denied KVIE’s motion to dismiss CapRadio’s claim of an “irrevocable license” to use the Elverta property for its continued news broadcasting purposes.
Financial Crimes Outcomes
On Wednesday, August 20, 2025, the CapRadio Board of Directors approved the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement to receive a $1.28M insurance payment due to the alleged financial crimes against CapRadio by a former general manager. The agreement also provides an opportunity for CapRadio to pursue legal cost recovery from said former general manager.
Financial Statements and Reports
Audited Financial Statements
- Year Ending June 30, 2025 (PDF)
- Year Ending June 30, 2024 (PDF)
- Year Ending June 30, 2023 (PDF)
- Year Ending June 30, 2022 (PDF)
- Year Ending June 30, 2021 (PDF)
- Year Ending June 30, 2020 (PDF)
- Year Ending June 30, 2019 (PDF)
- Year Ending June 30, 2018 (PDF)
- Year Ending June 30, 2017 (PDF)
- Year Ending June 30, 2016 (PDF)
- Year Ending June 30, 2015 (PDF)
- Year Ending June 30, 2014 (PDF)
- Year Ending June 30, 2013 (PDF)
- Year Ending June 30, 2012 (PDF)
- Year Ending June 30, 2011 (PDF)
