Minutes for the regular National Finance Committee meeting April 24, 2012.<br />
<br />
Meeting convened at 8:36 PM (ET) a quorum being present, the Chair and<br />
Secretary being present.<br />
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
Attending: Ken Aaron, Bill Crosier, Marcus Jetter, Campbell Johnson, Kim<br />
Kaufman, R. Paul Martin, Tracy Rosenberg, Alex Steinberg, Barbara<br />
Whipperman, Lavarn Williams, also attending were Executive Director Arlene<br />
Englehardt and KPFK General Manager Bernard Duncan<br />
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
Agenda:<br />
<br />
1.	Call to Order<br />
2.	Approve Draft Agenda<br />
3.	Approve Minutes<br />
4.	KPFK Budgetary Check-in - Time Certain 9:00 PM (ET)<br />
5.	Timeline proposal discussion<br />
6.	Financial Transparency workgroup report<br />
7.	WPFW workgroup report<br />
<br />
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
Motion: (Campbell Johnson) "To approve the agenda." (Passed without<br />
objection)<br />
<br />
Approve Minutes 8:41 PM (ET)<br />
<br />
Motion: (R. Paul Martin) "To approve the minutes of the April 10, 2012,<br />
meeting." (Passed without objection)<br />
<br />
Since the next agenda item was a special order set to begin at 9:00 PM (ET)<br />
and it was not yet that time the committee agreed to go on to other items<br />
and to come to the special order item at 9:00 PM (ET).<br />
<br />
Timeline proposal discussion 8:43 PM (ET)<br />
<br />
The committee discussed some suggested amendments to the FY13 budget<br />
timeline.<br />
<br />
KPFK Budgetary Check-in 9:02 PM (ET)<br />
<br />
KPFK General Manager Bernard Duncan joined the call. He read through a<br />
written report he had submitted to the committee. The written report is<br />
appended to these minutes.<br />
<br />
The committee discussed the report. KPFK has critical transmitter problems.<br />
This cuts down on the number of people who can receive the station and this<br />
especially hurts when the signal strength drops or goes off the air during<br />
on-air fund raisers. The efficacy of the current transmitter arrangements<br />
was discussed. Concerns were raised that KPFK's on-air fund raisers are<br />
lasting too long and causing an attrition of regular listeners. Mr. Duncan<br />
suggested that Pacifica postpone its 2012, elections for a year and save<br />
$250,000.<br />
<br />
Financial Transparency workgroup report 9:44 PM (ET)<br />
<br />
The Chair said that the committee could discuss a draft policy on this<br />
issue at the next meeting.<br />
<br />
WPFW workgroup report 9:45 PM (ET)<br />
<br />
This working group has not met yet, neither has the KPFK working group. It<br />
was agreed that Kim Kaufman would be the convener of the KPFK working group<br />
and that Marcus Jetter would convene the WPFW working group. The committee<br />
will consider draft reports from these working groups at its next meeting.<br />
<br />
Adjourned 9:54 PM (ET)<br />
<br />
Submitted by R. Paul Martin, Secretary.<br />
<br />
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
Appendix: Report from KPFK General Manager Bernard Duncan<br />
<br />
<br />
PACIFICA NATIONAL FINANCE COMMITTEE<br />
<br />
KPFK BUDGET DISCUSSION – MARCH 2012<br />
<br />
Income and Costs<br />
<br />
<br />
The KPFK General Manager is advised by the KPFK LSB Treasurer that the NFC<br />
has requested a "written plan" outlining "recommendations for addressing<br />
the budget deficit". The following comprises thoughts on increasing income<br />
for KPFK (within and outside of fund drives) and maintaining services at as<br />
little cost as is possible.<br />
<br />
<br />
Increased Income<br />
<br />
<br />
1.	Membership-based Revenue	<br />
<br />
Increases in the number of listeners translate into greater supporter<br />
revenue. To grow the listener base a number of strategies have been and<br />
will be brought into play. Some of these have been developing in the past<br />
few months, and recent meetings of staff, LSB members and others have<br />
resulted in the generation of ideas to increase listenership.<br />
<br />
	Professional Fund Raisers	<br />
<br />
KPFK has engaged the services of a professional fund raising organization,<br />
which puts people on the street to speak with passers by about KPFK and its<br />
services. The fund raisers are knowledgeable about KPFK and sign up new<br />
members, and also solicit donations. <br />
<br />
During the few weeks this activity has been underway, the proportion of<br />
contributors who respond that they were not aware of KPFK has been<br />
consistently higher than the proportion of those who know about the<br />
station. This suggests that this strategy is not only generating (thus far<br />
modest) actual income, but is also heightening awareness about KPFK that<br />
may translate into increased sampling and listening, and therefore revenue.<br />
<br />
	Major Donor Campaign	<br />
<br />
The GM has embarked on a process to connect (and in some cases reconnect)<br />
with community members capable of making "big-ticket" donations. While this<br />
activity comes at a cost (both financial and time-based), and is therefore<br />
developing slowly, it has already paid off with one donor offering almost<br />
$10,000 to assist the station in undertaking necessary technical repairs.<br />
The process will continue with a focus on the Hollywood entertainment<br />
community in the short term, and also include contact with philanthropic<br />
progressives who have been involved with the station in the past. <br />
<br />
	Events	<br />
<br />
Well attended events sponsored by KPFK and operated as fund raisers result<br />
in revenue. A recent example is the Smiley & West book launch the station<br />
held in L.A. during July. The net income to the station from this event is<br />
in excess of $5,000, and while the process of organizing such events is<br />
labour intensive, the pay off is worthwhile. However, it is the view of the<br />
GM that larger, more highly organized and promoted events will generate<br />
greater revenue, and the station needs to invest more to make more.<br />
<br />
	Text-to-donate	<br />
<br />
It has become clear that the growth in immediate text-to-vote activity<br />
using the technology available today is something in which the station<br />
needs to invest more effort. We are in the process of negotiating with an<br />
organization that processes this type of fund raising and intend to promote<br />
it as soon as a way forward is identified. The donations are by nature<br />
often small, but with sufficient volume, the income generated may be<br />
significant.<br />
<br />
	Membership Follow-up	<br />
<br />
Greater effort will be put into following up on lapsed memberships and past<br />
members, both during and related to fund drives, and also during the rest<br />
of the year. Greater attention to capturing email addresses when taking<br />
pledges during fund drive will improve our ability to build accurate<br />
databases for follow through after drives.<br />
<br />
	Outreach & Promotion	<br />
<br />
To add to increasing awareness of KPFK and its services, a greater level of<br />
promotion is required. Such promotion should target specific communities<br />
where membership growth is imperative, particularly in the youth market<br />
(through college and even high school outreach), in Southern California's<br />
huge Latino population (which is ever-increasing, progressive and<br />
supportive of economic justice), and (because of the high proportion of<br />
entertainment industry professionals in Los Angeles) in the liberal music,<br />
television and film communities.<br />
<br />
	LSB	<br />
<br />
It is commonly accepted that the primary role of not-for-profit board<br />
members is to raise money, through personal giving and through cultivating<br />
donors. The KPFK LSB is almost completely derelict in this responsibility.<br />
While LSB members are interested in participating in meetings to discuss<br />
fund raising ideas, some actual work in finding and securing funding would<br />
be more helpful.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
8.	Grant Funding	<br />
<br />
The Development Director has compiled a comprehensive list of grant funding<br />
foundations and agencies, and a concentrated effort to research and apply<br />
for appropriate grant funding is in motion.<br />
<br />
<br />
Cost Containment<br />
<br />
There are few, if any, obvious areas where costs may currently be taken out<br />
of the business. Despite suggestions relating to the costs of securing<br />
premiums for fund drives, the reality remains that we are only able to<br />
negotiate to levels that vendors will accept. <br />
<br />
However KPFK management staff continue to work with service providers in an<br />
effort to keep costs as low as possible while maintaining adequate service<br />
levels.<br />
<br />
In addition to this the General Manager's review of staffing needs is in<br />
its final stages, and this may result in opportunities to further reduce<br />
costs, although this would inevitably impact the station's ability to<br />
continue to offer the services the audience expects and demands.<br />
<br />
KPFK has encountered particular transmission difficulties in recent times,<br />
and these are ongoing and problematic – to a degree never previously<br />
encountered by this General Manager. We operate from an aging building with<br />
aging equipment and aging utilities. The GM was candid with the KPFK<br />
Finance Committee when the budget was being drafted, indicating clearly<br />
that while the numbers could be changed on paper, there was no way that<br />
things could be prevented from failing or breaking. Quite simply, when the<br />
toilets overflow, they have to be fixed.<br />
<br />
I look forward to listening to any worthwhile advice and wisdom the NFC is<br />
able to offer on Tuesday evening.<br />
<br />
Bernard Duncan, GM, KPFK<br />