In 2007, a rare window opened for non-profit groups to apply for full-power FM radio licenses. Common Frequency and researcher Andy Jones (UC Davis) applied for an SSRC Grant to provide information about available frequencies to a wide range of non-profits and student groups. Working with Radio for People, their efforts supported some 200 frequency applications.

The Radio for People project was an effort to create and disseminate the resources necessary to give non-profit groups a reasonable chance to secure a radio license. The project involved data collection and coordination at two levels: 1) working to map available frequencies and their locations, and 2) working to identify and educate non-profit groups with the interest and capacity to apply. 

 

Ten groups collaborated on collecting and organizing data. Critical to this enterprise was the UC Davis Radio Engineering Research Group—a student group interested in both the production and social role of radio. The group worked with Todd Urick and Jeff Shaw at Common Frequency and were monitored by Dr. Andy Jones at UC Davis.

 

 

 

Todd Urick, from Common Frequency’s Public FM program, speaks of the collaboration between researchers and organizers:

“When we found out about the SSRC grant online, we saw that here was an opportunity to create respond to an urgent problem. I was already involved with the UC Davis campus radio station. Many of the scholars there share a strong belief in, and commitment to, community media, since they’ve seen the effects of the campus radio in the Sacramento area. There were also groups of students already researching radio, so it was easy to set up the project. But without the support of the SSRC, it would not have been possible.”

 

Lessons for Effective Outreach

“The most unexpected and valuable process for us was learning to understand the importance of organizing the information and reaching out to people in a right way. You can get all the data you want, but that’s not enough. There’s no replacement for the essential tasks of motivating people to use the information, and presenting it in a way that is appealing and easily accessible to the groups who potentially need it.”

In addition to providing the core information about frequencies, Common Frequency also composed a manual on how to apply for a non-commercial radio license, and even prepared applications for some groups that could not afford to do it themselves.  Key outcomes resulted from a focus on presenting meaningful data and working effectively with groups.   

Shaw & Breitung, KDRT-LP Antenna (photos: Common Frequency) 

How Far Can Small Grants Go?

Todd notes that the Common Frequency project will inform similar efforts in the coming years:

“We learned that our outreach efforts to potential applicants should have been more decentralized. Looking at the outcome of this project, we found that where we had regional contacts, we also were able to recruit the most applicants. When the next low-power FM filing window comes about, we can use this knowledge to develop a model where regional organizing groups and networks will distribute the information.” 

“I’d like to point out to funders of non-profits: there are a lot of small groups out there, volunteers and small non-profits, that have great ideas. But they can’t get funding because they’re new or their ideas are not easily formulated into a proposal, for example, because the ideas are very technical. But sometimes small grants to those kinds of organizations can really jump-start something that’s needed. They can carry out an important new idea.”