Friends of MVYRADIO

Friends of MVYRADIO, Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) organization. Tax ID # 46-3432541.

If you are ready to make a donation to Friends of MVYRADIO, click through to our donation page or call us at 508-693-5000!

Mission Statement

MVYRADIO aspires to reflect Martha’s Vineyard and the region in music, news, culture and community. MVYRADIO embraces its local, regional and worldwide roots through its independent format, and uses contemporary media and community engagement to enrich the lives of our audience.

MVYRADIO is an NPR Member Station, and is supported by The Corporation For Public Broadcasting.

MVYRADIO receives funding from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting. In accordance with their guidelines, our website includes the following information:

1) Names of Board members, Advisory Board Members, Executive Staff
2) Date of the next Open Meeting for Friends of MVYRADIO
3) A link to obtain our Annual Financial Report
4) Our Diversity Statement
5) Local Content & Services Report
6) Section 396(k)(12) Compliance
7) FCC Public Inspection File

1) NAMES OF BOARD MEMBERS, ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS, EXECUTIVE STAFF:

FRIENDS OF MVYRADIO BOARD
OF DIRECTORS

Jim Attwood, Chair
Chilmark, MA

Kathleen Teehan, Vice Chair
Edgartown, MA

Rogers Brandon, Treasurer
Chilmark, MA

Brenda Brathwaite, Secretary
West Tisbury, MA

John Beck
South Yarmouth

Brooke Coburn
Washington, DC

Susan Cole
Washington, DC

Walter Collier
Oak Bluffs, MA

Keith Crawford
New Orleans, LA

Tom DeVesto
Cotuit, MA

David Edmonds
Providence, RI

Scott Fedonchik
New York, NY

PJ Finn
East Falmouth, MA

Marc Hand
Yountville, CA

Bob Hurley
Naples, FL

Tristan Israel
Vineyard Haven, MA

Jeff Karp
Boston, MA

Ursula Kreskey
Edgartown, MA

Larry Perkins
Jupiter, FL

DiAnn Ray
Vineyard Haven, MA

Olivia Steele
Vineyard Haven, MA

EXECUTIVE STAFF

PJ Finn
Executive Director
pj@mvyradio.org

Erin Moran
CFO
erin@publicmedia.co

COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD

Laurel Redington, Chair
Oak Bluffs, MA

Polian Bellan Wilson
Edgartown, MA

Tamara Buchwald
Washington, D.C.

Linda Comstock
Vineyard Haven, MA

David Crohan
Lake Worth, FL

Blue Cullen
Chilmark, MA

Bruce Danziger
Sudbury, MA

Katie Dawson
Vineyard Haven, MA

PJ Finn
East Falmouth, MA

Jennelle Gadowski
West Tisbury, MA

Flavya Gaeta
Vineyard Haven, MA

Patricia Garcia
Edgartown, MA

Tim Goodman
Chilmark, MA

Andy Herr
Edgartown, MA

Chuck Hughes
West Tisbury, MA

Rob Kagan
Cambridge, MA

Ursula Kreskey
Edgartown, MA

James MacDonald
Watertown, MA

Leah Palmer
Falmouth, MA

Steve Parachini
Edgartown, MA

Susan Shea
Edgartown, MA

Julie Sierputoski
West Tisbury, MA

Livingston Taylor
West Tisbury, MA

Sally Taylor
Cambridge, MA

Carole Vandal
Aquinnah, MA

Berta Welch
Aquinnah, MA

Bob Whritenhour
Falmouth, MA

Bennie Wiley
Martha's Vineyard, MA

2) OPEN MEETING
All meetings are open to the public.

The next 2021 Open Meeting of the Friends of MVYRADIO Board is on September 17th 3pm. Due to COVID-19 this meeting will be held on a Zoom line. For more information, call 508-693-5000. Board meetings are held quarterly. Other upcoming meetings include December 16.

The next 2021 Open Meeting of the Friends of MVYRADIO Community Advisory Board is December 1st at 11am. Due to COVID-19 this meeting will be held on a Zoom line. For more information, call 508-693-5000.


3) ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT

View Friends of MVYRADIO Inc 2020 financials. And our CPB 2020 AFR Report. And our 2020 Form 990 Public Disclosure.

4) OUR DIVERSITY STATEMENT

As a Voice for the Vineyard, Cape Cod, Southeastern Massachusetts, Newport, RI, and the World, MVYRADIO has established its mission as a reflection of the many voices, cultures, ideas and perspectives in our broadcast area.

Our role within this community is to ensure that those voices are represented and heard in our music programming, on our public affairs shows, through our sponsored events, and within our staff, Board of Directors, and Community Advisory Board.

We are especially attuned to our responsibility to participate in conversations that challenge overt and systemic racism, bigotry and injustice. We pledge to use our platform to advance this dialogue.

We recognize that to achieve this mission, MVYRADIO must continuously assess and improve identified areas of operation within our organization, including:

• Recruiting Board members to advance the gender balance and racial diversity of our Board of Directors and our Community Advisory Board
• Expanding outreach, beyond standard Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) requirements, to guarantee that our staff recruitment and hiring is from a diverse applicant pool
• Examining music programming to improve gender parity and racial diversity in the artists we play
• Evaluating our public affairs programs to ensure that underserved and minority constituencies have access to our platform to express their message
• Examining our business practices and committing to seek and support minority-owned businesses

We follow the FCC's guidelines on EEO hiring requirements for staff. We comply with nondiscrimination provisions of relevant federal, state and local regulations.


5) LOCAL CONTENT & SERVICES

WMVY's goal is to serve the communities of Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod and to reflect the voice and spirit of those who live here, through the station's programming and personalities. MVY works hard to provide the community with reliable, current information surrounding basic needs such as weather, tides, sea conditions, ferry and airline service, school closings, traffic information, emergency management messages and other vital services. The station provides local and national news and broadcasts Public Service announcements for local nonprofit organizations.

The station produces five locally-focused feature programs. "The MVYRADIO Person Of The Week", a 3 minute first person portrait of a local individual who is creating a community benefit. We spotlight over 50 individuals each year. On Sunday mornings, we air a 30 minute "news magazine" format program called "The Vineyard Current." This program has won a Massachusetts Broadcasters Association Award for 5 straight years. The program begins with a weekly news round-up featuring reporters from The Vineyard Gazette, followed by profiles of people and organizations that make Martha's Vineyard tick. This show has a monthly companion program called “The Cape Cod Current” which follows a similar format, instead focusing on Cape Cod residents and organizations. On Sunday nights, from 7pm to 8pm, we air a program called "MVYRADIO Night Casts." This music program focuses on a weekly theme, with music selections to highlight the theme, plus an in studio local guest, and recorded "local voices" talking about the theme. On Tuesdays, we air the weekly one-hour program "The MVYRADIO Local Music Cafe" which spotlights local and independent musicians. Through these programs, hundreds of local individuals and organizations are given a voice on the air.

2020 was marked by having to make many programming changes, choices and additions due to COVID-19. From April to September, “The Vineyard Current” was expanded to an hour-long format, and featured weekly appearance from Emergency Managers, Hospital Staff, Steamship Representatives and more. For April and May, the station aired 60-second “Helper” messages, with local nonprofit organizations describing services available during COVID-19. The station posted MVTV’s weekly video forum of COVID updates on the website home page.

Because of COVID-19, the station adjusted its two summer music series to be online performances. The MVYRADIO Porch Concerts were live streamed on the station’s webpage and Facebook page for 8 straight weeks. And the Aquinnah Summer Music Series, in collaboration with the YMCA and the Aquinnah Public Library, were pre-recorded video performances from local high school-age singer-songwriters, posted on the station’s webpage and Facebook page. The station also helped build the “Supporting Local Music Project.” This initiative created paying gigs for local musicians effected by the lack of live performance opportunities in collaboration with the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival, the YMCA, Featherstone Center For The Arts, and the Martha’s Vineyard Museum.

We updated the Earth Minutes that we typically run in the weeks before Earth Day in April, to reflect that citizens can still be green during a pandemic. These short features encouraged environmentally friendly, and COVID-safe acts such as recycling, taking advantage exercising of the open spaces on conservation land and other ideas. The minutes were voiced by members of local environmental groups like Felix Neck and the Island Climate Action Group.

In 2020, we continued to update our long-running Black History Month features. These 90-second pieces air daily during February. Previously, they focused on a National figure, but in 2018 we worked with the Martha's Vineyard African American Heritage Trail to create pieces that are focused on local African American History. We expanded the library of these features in 2019 and 2020.

In February 2021, MVYRADIO will co-host a series of Zoom panels entitled “Let’s Do Better: A Racial Equity Conversation Series.” This series was developed by Community Outreach Director Laurel Redington, and MVYRADIO Board member Dr. Walter Collier. The intent is to use our platform to spark conversation, reconciliation, and action.

Each week the Community Outreach & News staff work with a group of Middle School students one day, and a group of High School students on another day, on their communication skills, technical skills, and self-knowledge. The class will culminate with an hour-long podcast to celebrate the school's 25th Anniversary. The students will gain confidence, practical skills that will impact every area of their lives, and specific skills that can advance a career in communications and/or broadcasting.

For our information on our DEI initiatives, please see our Diversity page.

6) SECTION 396(k)(12) COMPLIANCE
To receive funding from The Corporation For Public Broadcasting, Friends of MVYRADIO must be in compliance with Section 396(k)(12), which states:

"The station(s) and its/their licensee comply with the donor list and political activity requirements of the Communications Act of 1934 codified at 47 U.S.C. § 396(k)(12)."

In short, we are instructed to state that the station does not rent contributor or donor names (or other personally identifiable information) to or from, or exchange such names or information with, any Federal, State, or local candidate, political party, or political committee.

Friends of MVYRADIO is in compliance with this instruction.

7) FCC PUBLIC INSPECTION FILE
You can find our FCC-required Public Inspection Files online, here. Or in our office during regular business hours.