WRFA hosted a community input session this week at the Reg Lenna Center for The Arts led by Jason Sample, WRFA station manager. P-J photo by Christopher Blakeslee

WRFA, 107.9 FM, Jamestown’s local community low powered radio station is attempting to find a pathway forward amid some financial concerns.

Several community stakeholders, financial donors and interested listeners attended a community input session this week at the Reg Lenna Center for The Arts. Jason Sample, WRFA station manager, presented a detailed report of the station’s current financial situation and its relationship with the Reg Lenna.

In 2009, WRFA became a partially funded station within the Corporation for Public Broadcasting System, a nonprofit corporation enacted by Congress in 1967, as the governments administer of its investment in public broadcasting. The CPB’s Community Service Grant, which the station has received since 2013, was and still is a rather large chunk of the station’s operating budget.

However, in 2015, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting changed the granting criteria for its Community Service Grant.

“The CPB had increased the non-federal financial support criteria for stations to remain eligible to receive this grant,” Sample said. “CPB does give stations that would be disqualified a four-year window to meet this new threshold.”

Starting in 2015, and implementing the new criterion in 2016, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting went from a self-funding requirement level of $100,000 for stations to that of $250,000, thus making WRFA ineligible for the grant.

“Our radio station has an operating budget of around $100,000 to $110,000 per year,” Sample said. “We’re not eligible anymore to receive funding. We’ve been able to maintain our status with the CPB because of the various American Rescues Plan Act funds we’ve received during the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

Moreover, the imposed cut-off date for ineligibility is fast approaching for the radio station.

“Oct. 1, of 2023, WRFA, 107.9 FM will not be qualified to receive any more funding from the CPB,” Sample said. “Also, under the grant provisions and guidelines disqualified stations are required to return 15 percent of funding they received during the last two years. This means that WRFA is required to pay back $28,353. From 2009 on to the current year, WRFA averaged about $70,000 or so in funding each year from the CPB grant — funding we need and depended on.”

What’s the pathway forward for the radio station?

“We’re exploring all options, such as web-based broadcasting and various other methods where we can maintain stability, a quality product which is accessible, yet still meets our operating budgetary requirements,” Sample said.

However, WRFA 107.9 FM by and large has tremendous community support as evident by attendees at Tuesday’s meeting.

“This radio station is solid gold,” said Randy Sweeney, a board member of Jamestown Community Baseball organization. “The Tarp Skunks are part of the Perfect Game Colligate Baseball League, and part of the league requirements is to have an audio and visual broadcast of the home games. No other team in the league can touch the quality and professionalism of our broadcast, not even close, this station is solid gold.”

When questioned about how the community can help, WRFA’s general manager stated, “Please share our webpage and Facebook page; we’re going to do some fundraising soon, but if you can share our donation page and get the word out that we are not self or governmental funded that would help.”