2020 CPB Station Activities Survey (SAS) – Local Content & Services Report - WXPN
FY20 – Local Content and Services Report

6.1 Describe your overall goals and approach to address identified community issues, needs, and interests
through your station’s vital local services, such as multiplatform long and short-form content, digital and inperson engagement, education services, community information, partnership support, and other activities, andaudiences you reached or new audiences you engaged.
WXPN responds to the needs and interests identified by our diverse community by providing music discovery andexperiences. Our commitment to making great radio and to creating compelling digital content connects us withaudiences, the local community, and national organizations. As we build our national brand, technology-driven
distribution helps to maximize the impact of the events we produce, and to tell our story and the stories of themusicians, clients and audiences we serve. As an important contributor to the culturally diverse Philadelphia
metropolitan area, the station’s on-air, digital and in-person engagement efforts reflected sustained involvement
and growth in FY20.
WXPN’s remarkable history reflects an enduring desire and ability to share the international language of music byresearching and experiencing traditions and heritages that have evolved the art and its artists throughout theworld. Our multi-platform project, Gospel Roots of Rock and Soul tells the story of gospel music and its enduring
influence on soul, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, hip-hop and other forms of popular music. Live performances, acomprehensive website, and a nationally distributed documentary drew new audiences to XPN and expanded ourcommunity through partnerships that contributed to the project’s formation. WXPN’s leadership in this area wasrecognized in May 2020, when the nationally distributed four-part radio documentary Saturday Night and Sunday
Morning: The Gospel Roots of Rock and Soul was awarded the prestigious regional Edward R. Murrow award forbest Large Market Radio News Documentary by the Radio and Television News Directors Association. This
recognition followed the series’ nomination for a national Peabody award.
Based on the popularity of this and our previous deep-dive projects, WXPN conducted comprehensive research tocreate a new content rich website which will prominently feature these projects for a new audience in one easy tonavigate location. Users will be able to explore 2012’s Mississippi Blues, 2014-15’s Zydeco, 2018-19’s Gospel Rootsand our latest project, Kanaval: The Music of Haiti and New Orleans. In February 2020, initial interviews andgroundwork for the project took place in New Orleans and continuing research ensued. This project documents
and celebrates African and Black contributions to modern American rhythms and culture. No other station has thislevel of commitment to diversity in deep dive explorations and long form, music documentary programming.
WXPN’s goal of deeper engagement with a wider audience was expanded with the addition of new on-air talent,John Morrison as Host of the monthly hip-hop show, Culture Cypher Radio. The show’s debut episode launched on
11/1/19 with Morrison’s expansive selections of old and new school jawn and hip-hop adjacent musical worlds ofsoul and Jazz. Morrison came to XPN with a background as a journalist, producer, beatmaker, DJ, podcast host, andprominent contributor to The Key. Digitally, The Key was expanding in FY20. The blog’s High Key Portrait Series of
local artist profiles ended in March 2020 due to restrictions around live music. The Series final features included
the band, Irreversible Entanglements speaking about their challenges in honing their craft as experimental DIY
musicians in Philadelphia. The band embraces the group’s poet, Camae Ayewa’s roots in afrofuturism, jazz and hiphop, punk rock, slam poetry and political activism. The Series also profiled the pioneering godmother of hip hop,
Lady B who’s come to be widely regarded as among the most influential people in hip hop radio history.
WXPN has a significant partner in its neighboring venue, World Cafe Live (WCL). The collaborations between theradio station and the venue are numerous and as varied as the events and often are connected to otherpartnerships such as an exclusive screening of Ken Burns “Country Music” with WHYY with a live shared stationmember audience. In FY20, WXPN major donors and members attended six invitation-only Audience Sessions
taped for World Cafe between September 2019 and January 2020. Weekly Free At Noon shows were frequented
by XPN listeners at the venue. Each of WXPN’s various live events brought audiences into the venue to beentertained by original and heritage artists. And every year, touring groups from local organizations and students
attending career themed events hosted by XPN are entertained at the venue. XPN listeners gain new stories to tell
about their experiences because of this valuable partnership. On 12/8/2019 XPN midday host Helen Leicht took
Home For the Holidays out of the studio for a sold-out performance at WCL. Recorded on 12/8/19 before a soldout crowd, the Philly Local concert included graduates of the Keystone State Boys Choir opening the show with aholiday medley, followed by six musicians in the round — Susan Werner, Andrew Lipke, Greg Sover, Lauren Hart,

Matt Cappy, and Vanida Gail, and a grand finale by featured performers Joshua Banton and Ebony Edwards. The
holiday event in its 11th year brought XPN’s programming and digital departments together with support from the
XPN Marketing and Development teams. XPN announced the event via Enews and On-Air. Members poured in on
the night of the show in the early evening to take advantage of studio tours and hot chocolate provided by WXPN’s
Development team. The Key offered an opportunity to listen back to the entire concert, follow along on the setlist,
and watch videos. The concert was recorded for playback on 12/17 during Robert Drake’s decades-long-running of“The Night Before.” On 1/31/20 XPN brought its popular and successful Dance Party format to WCL for a Decades
Dance Party. Host David Dye kicked the night off with songs from the 70’s, and Host Kristen Kurtis played songs
from the 90’s. Crowds stayed for the last dance with Host Robert Drake and an 80’s reprise.
Live events, large and awesome or small and significant, found resurgence late in FY20 as virtual events. The
nationally attended NON-COMM was conducted virtually beginning on 5/28/19 with an alternate platform forpanelists joined by Triple A music industry professionals with weekly features on a variety of topics. Each session
culminated with local guest performers from the cities across the country. The annual live gathering which had
been scheduled for May 2020 continued to go virtual in hour-long segments through the summer months withparticipation from an enthusiastic industry audience.
XPN’s programing department supported by engineering’s feats of awesomeness enabled XPN to continue to doamazing work through the pandemic and ensuing months providing crucial adaptations for virtual, on-air anddigital to serve our community of listeners and our loyal member base. Local community outreach was increased
throughout the period beginning with COVID-19 and into FY21.
In every area related music coverage, WXPN management and staff would find the way to respond to thechallenges brought on by arrival of COVID-19 in the last quarter of FY20 to meet the needs, interests and concernsof the station’s vast and ardent listening community. The experience of the pandemic has been deeply personal,
touching the lives of every individual in some elemental way. For WXPN, this included the loss of the station’s
friend and former Folk Show host and legend in the Folk music genre, Gene Shay who passed away in April 2020.
The station remembered Gene with thoughtful musical tributes on air and on The Key that recalled his generosity
in introducing and nurturing the genre and its artists for over 50 years. His passing also reminded us of theformidable time and challenges that were to be met. With the reality of closures and quarantines brought on by
COVID-19, XPN programming and membership outreach became more intentional in terms of delivery andconnection. The playlist became a source of diversion, welcomed by an audience that daily communicated theirappreciation of XPN’s response to their need for peace and solace.
On March 13, 2020, General Manager Roger LaMay began a weekly series of updates via email to the staff as a way
to voice shared concerns about the pandemic, but also to share encouragement as the station and staff madeprogress to adapt and stay relevant despite the challenges COVID-19 introduced. These challenges took on
multiple characteristics for our varied audience, artists, local venues and venue employees. This report describes
the initiatives that brought support and solace through music and virtual event outreach. Artists who performed atthese events reached across the venue-void to connect to audiences and helped XPN to keep our mission alive.
Listeners contacted XPN to comment on the unique ways the station touched their lives and the effort XPN madeto respond to the urgency and immediacy of the moment. Further reacting to the plight of artists with a lack oflive music opportunities, WXPN felt a responsibility to try to help to fill the gap by partnering with Philly Music Festearly on to fund artists and venue workers with a Music Community Fund. The money raised for this fund in theamount of $32,000 to help 175 local artists and music industry workers is described in Section 3 of this report. The
initiative was adopted to help them meet immediate needs as well as to help ensure a dynamic, sustainable music
community in the future. New steps on every platform were undertaken to support the community through thehealth crisis including: a virtual Concert Calendar to inform audiences of upcoming live, online performances,
presenting 5 local artists with free, one-year memberships to REC Philly - a local workspace designed forindependent creatives, curating a Spotify “Quarantunes” playlist WXPN DJ’s designed to bring all of our listeners
through a difficult time together, adding a World Cafe Instagram Happy Hour to connect with audiences, and theMorning Show purposefully brought calm in a song at the end of the program with XPzeN.
On March 18, 2020 the first on-air initiative out of the gate, Checkin’ In With was the thoughtful inspiration of
WXPN drive-time host, Dan Reed. On the weeknight 5PM series, Dan “checked-in” with members of XPN’s
extended musical family to see how they were dealing with the pandemic’s restrictions and to give them a space todiscuss and share the music that was keeping them grounded. It quickly became an identifiable favorite of XPN’slisteners. Some digital-only text-based interviews were also recorded for The Key, where all the on-air Checkin-In

With segments have been archived and made available. The Key editor, John Vettese recorded local versions forbroadcast and digital; local shows included Jeremy Keys of Hardwork Movement, and Augusta Koch of Gladie. The
Key focused more than ever on the artists points of view that inform the music and reflect Philadelphia’s inclusivity
and diversity that has made room for a more global music scene.
While the scope of the coronavirus broadened throughout the region and nation, WXPN rallied to increase relief
and comfort through innovation and creativity on digital and on-air platforms. New digital programming features
were put in place to connect artists with virtual audiences. Archived Free At Noon shows were re-presented toaudiences to maintain the familiar Friday afternoon link that live audiences, listeners and streamers had come toanticipate. WXPN Members accustomed to attending live Friday Free At Noon concerts were transported to a FAN
Flashback series starting on 3/27/20 with amazing archives of ‘classic’ FAN performance each Friday at Noon. The
series added scripted elements ‘Did You Know’ / ‘Fun Facts’ to add interest for the audience. At that time in March,
we did not realize that we would be carrying this programming feature through summer and into fall for ouraudiences.
WXPN’s Kids Corner supported families by opening the phone lines for kids to share their feelings, and byconnecting parents to tools for home-based education. The program provided an online forum for kids to connect
via a Rainbow Hunt photo gallery and the program presented a virtual Science Fair. WXPN reorganized event
production digitally to allow audiences to continue to participate in music discovery.
As XPN experimented digitally, and new challenges emerged, the station and the music became a unifying resource
in response to the restrictions that forced listeners to experience music separately from artists and from eachother. Members responded for months (and continue to respond) by letting us know that we were creating a newspace of calm for themselves and their loved ones.
After the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, and the ensuing awareness of the issues being raised by theBlack community, WXPN’s commitment to programming was refined to have greater impact and relevance. The
digital and programming staff became more intentional about increasing the number of black voices on our
airwaves. WXPN’s music mix has always included black artists, singer-songwriters and Jazz artist and these voices
were more fully realized on weekly specialty programming with The Blues Show and Funky Friday. In addition todaily effort on the part of programming, heightened focus was organized around significant dates in thecommunity. On 6/2/20 XPN participated in the Music Industry day’s Blackout Tuesday through on-air and online
channels. The movement grew to include major and independent record labels, music industry employees andartists in the wake of protests and civil unrest. On 6/9, the day of George Floyd’s funeral, WXPN joined with public
radio stations around the country and our local colleagues at WHYY and WRTI to broadcast Sam Cooke’s “A Change
Is Gonna Come” at 3PM.
For Juneteenth, 6/19/20, a full day of programming featuring Black voices & Black music was scheduled as astation-wide initiative that reflected not only our intention to emphasize the contributions of Black artists, it
revealed a uniquely deep well of content that we can draw upon. Programming drew the audience’s attention to
relevant content elevating Black artists from Free at Noon, World Cafe, the Gospel Roots and Going Black
documentaries, and our local programming including the Morning Show Mixtape, Funky Friday, and the Indie RockHit Parade honored the power and the inspiration of Black music. Digitally, compelling Key coverage, XPNFest, anda partnership with Rec Philly featuring local artists all expanded our reach and impact. The day's programming
spoke to where we have been and also where we need to go to raise the bar and deepen the XPN community’sconnection with Black Music. The effort was reflected with a thoughtful list of relevant content and resources on
The Key.

FY20 6.2. Describe key initiatives and the variety of partners with whom you collaborated, including
other public media outlets, community nonprofits, government agencies, educational institutions, thebusiness community, teachers and parents, etc. This will illustrate the many ways you’re connectedacross the community and engaged with other important organizations in the area.
Until nearly the end of the 3rd Quarter of FY20, WXPN engaged with partners of all varieties to bring artists andaudiences together for live music and live interactive experiences. At the end of the 3rd Quarter and throughout
the 4th Quarter of the fiscal year, the station had to adjust and adapt to create virtual connections in order tocontinue to partner for the benefit of artists, audiences and the community we serve – which we – and ourpartners - did!
2019 XPONENTIAL MUSIC FESTIVAL PRESENTED BY SUBARU (7/26-28/19) is the station’s biggest annual event
WXPN hosts for the community in partnership with Live Nation and Camden County. On-site craftspeople, localorganizations and merchants participate to create an atmosphere of celebration that supports the station’s
mission of connecting artists with audiences. Subaru is the largest sponsor of the event. Additional Underwriting
support was provided by Acme Supermarkets, Arts Montco, Dogfish Head, Penn Medicine Chester County Hospital.
Past partnerships for our Gospel Roots of Rock & Soul project were reflected in the artists who performed,
including The War and Treaty and Zeek Burse, who told us that he “grew up singing in church.” A performance bySean Ardoin, American Zydeco musician, singer and two-time Grammy Award nominee recalled an earlier Zydeco
project partnership. A new station project, Kanaval was undertaken and researched in 2019. Interviews were
underway for the project’s documentary in FY20 with producer, Alex Lewis, and partners at WWNO in New
Orleans. Progress on the Kanaval project hint at future cultural impact and inclusion in XPN events. Kanaval:
Haitian Rhythms and the Music of New Orleans is expected to have broad community, local and national reach in
FY21 and is described further in this report.
As part of the XPoNential Music Festival 2019, families joined WXPN’s award-winning Kids Corner program host
Kathy O’Connell and her special guests inside the Kids Corner Garden to enjoy interactive activities and live
entertainment on July 27 & 28, 2019. The Kids Corner Garden was made possible by the programs’ friends at The
Franklin Institute, who were on hand to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. Frequent program
guest, Derrick Pitts (Chief Astronomer of the Franklin Institute) visited with his colleagues during the weekend with
science to go activities. Music on the Garden’s stage was performed by the Cheddar Boys. A musical handbell
group performed and taught kids how to play music with handbells at the top of the hour. The Kids Corner Garden
provides an inclusive way for families to enjoy the Festival together.
Public Radio Station Partnerships
September 10, 2019.WXPN teamed up with Philadelphia NPR station, WHYY for preview screening of Ken Burns’
Country Music at the venue, World Cafe Live for a public radio major donor event, #PBSCountryMusic. The 8-part
television documentary series explores the history of a uniquely American art form with interviews and recordings
from Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Willie Nelson. The event was hosted by WHYY’s Radio Times Host Marty MossCoane in discussion with WXPN’S Host of the Americana Music Hour, Dan Reed and writer, Tara Murtha. The
evening included a performance and discussion with musician and singer Langhorne Slim. The event was wellreceived by guests of both public media stations with ticket sales to members surpassing goals.
Public Radio Music Day April 16, 2020.The initial onset of the pandemic challenged public radio stations tocontinue to celebrate their unique service to the community. WXPN used on-air and digital to frame the station’s
local importance throughout daytime programming. The day began on-air with an interview to highlight therelevance of public radio with Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon who represents Pennsylvania’s 5th Congressional
District. Hosts Kristen Kurtis and Robert Drake played XPN local artists with an All-Philly Morning Show.
Throughout the day, Pop-Up Throwback Thursday artist compilations added to the playlist with a variety of themesthat included the British Invasion, Woodstock, and 1-hit Wonders. Digitally, WXPN hosted 6 concerts on Facebook
Live – 3 local and 3 national and ran testimonials from artists and from the XPN Sound Check Committee members.
XPN Drive-Time Host Dan Reed was interviewed by WHYY-FM’s morning Host, Jennifer Lynn to further celebrate
public radio collaboration. Public Radio Day was successful with wonderful donor testimonials that displayed awealth of support and appreciation for WXPN.
WXPN Annual 5K Run for Musicians On Call Presented by Subaru was held at Penn Park on the Campus of the
University of Pennsylvania on 10/6/19. Participants had the choice to either run in the USATF-certified 5K course or
to walk the family friendly Funky Miler. All registrants were invited to dance to the 80s with Robert Drake for anafter-event dance party at World Cafe Live. A change in the method for registration brought a new partner to theevent, Run SignUp. This change allowed participants to enter the 5K in teams. The 2 largest teams were Long May
You Run with 27 members and Team Rave On with 142 members; being able to have teams brought an increase of
supporters our way. Our goal was 600 registrants, and we ended with 637: 518 runners and 119 walkers. The
event grossed almost $105,000 from sponsors, registrations, and donations. The primary sponsor of the 5K was
Subaru and additional sponsors included Pam Carter & Liam Rowe, Team Rave On and Hungry Harvest which
donated fruit for participants. The Musicians 5K is an example of how WXPN connects the community of listeners
and members, and runners and walkers to ultimately benefit patients and families supported by WXPN Musicians

On Call. We could not do it without the support of the businesses and individuals who are our partners for thisannual event.
Subaru continues to be an important business partner for WXPN enriching our fundraising effort as well as ourcommunity initiatives. In 2019, Subaru helped to kick off our extended Giving Tuesday fundraising with the theme:
double your support of creativity and learning. For every person who donated to WXPN (12/1-12/3/19), Subaru
provided a starter home library of five age-appropriate books for children in need through United Way of Greater
Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. The United Way was chosen to partner with in recognition of their work
supporting early literacy efforts as a crucial part of the fight against poverty.
REC Philly. WXPN partnered with REC Philly to provide 5 free REC Philly Memberships to local musicians. Winnersof the one-year memberships were selected in April 2020. These awards provided young creatives access to REC
Philly’s new state-of-the-art creative facility in Philadelphia’s Fashion District. Winners were: Arnetta Johnson, Ish
Williams, Re-Mus, Maya Simone and Quinn Flannery. The artists were also provided access in April with online
educational and social programming opportunities focused on creative entrepreneurship.
On 6/19/20, WXPN promoted and co-sponsored the REC Philly event: “Black Joy Matters: A Juneteenth
Celebration of Black History and Music” a 2-hour event with 6 local artists. Legendary Philly DJ Dyana Williams
spoke about the role that Black music has played throughout history. Will Toms of Rec Philly hosted along with
Taylor Nickens, their Director of Programming.
In FY20 WXPN collaborated with educational institutions to participate in job fairs and to provide otheropportunities for station staff to connect with a wide population of students. These connections make information
available to students interested in careers in public radio, and to others interested in what makes a radio station
run. A brief description of this outreach and value to the community is listed below. Each of these unique examples
involve students at varying levels of education and provide insights to the public radio environment and tocommunity building appropriate to the student’s needs and interests.
WXPN Business Support and Community Outreach staff participated at the annual Internship Fair at Rutgers
Camden (11/13/19) attended by Rutgers Camden Undergrad & Graduate students interested in careers in public
media. The staff promoted internship opportunities in a variety fields offered by XPN. This fair resulted int thehiring of a student for a Fundraising Internship in XPN’s Membership Department and many more students were
provided with materials relative to their interests and directed to XPN’s Internship webpage for additional
information.
Portions of WXPN's scheduled programming are simulcast on Kent County High School’s volunteer and student
staffed WKHS 90.5 FM in Worton MD. WKHS General Manager Chris Singleton invited WXPN GM Roger LaMay to
speak with students. On 11/20/19 LaMay called in to the High School’s on-air studio for a live discussion about thelong standing WXPN-WKHS relationship. His on-air participation during a local programming time slot was
intended to send a powerful endorsement message to the WKHS/WXPN shared listening audience. This exercise incommunity building was further strengthened a few weeks later when WXPN staff visited WKHS on 12/6/19 for a
day of public radio workshops for 30 students in the program. WXPN’s engineering, programming anddevelopment staff discussed themes related to each department. The importance of enthusiastic and sincere
delivery during membership drives was discussed by XPN Director of Development Sachi Kobayashi as she
described techniques to keep students engaged while on-air fundraising. XPN’s Program Director Bruce Warren
was invited to drill down and share his programming philosophy from the major market standpoint and how it
differs from a corporate style of “cookie-cutter” playlists; he also was asked to talk about how local news topics
could sound more interesting on air. WXPN Chief Engineer, Jared Styles suggested bringing the students to XPN fora session geared toward multi-track recording, since that’s an area the students were not already doing in theirprogram. An additional work date with WKHS’s students was planned to hold the session but has been temporarily
interrupted due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
On 11/22/19 Upper Dublin High School students toured WXPN’s Office and Studios and attended Free At Noon atWorld Cafe Live venue. Fifty high school students in varying grades from UDHS’s Guitar & Music Industry Classes
were provided with a tour of WXPN’s studios given by Robert Drake, Kid’s Corner Producer & XPN On-Air Host and
Meggie Shaeffer, XPN Community Outreach Coordinator with the assistance of an XPN volunteer, Louis Landro.
The tour was arranged by Richard Smith-Upper Dublin High School Music Teacher. Students were given an
overview of the importance and impact XPN’s non-profit programming and events. Mr. Smith shared that thesound technician who had designed XPN’s World Cafe Performance Studio was also designing Upper Dublin HighSchool’s new auditorium, highlighting that the work was being done by a woman-led business. Smith noted that

more girls had joined the music industry program in the past years, growing and diversifying the program. WXPN’S
internship program was described for the students. The partnership between XPN and World Cafe Live, a for-profit
venue was described in the context of bringing the community together to present events such as the weekly Freeat Noon shows.
St Mary’s School visited WXPN as guests of Kids Corner for an in-studio sound tour with the program’s on-air host,
Kathy O’Connell (7/9/19). Eleven K through 4th graders were accompanied by a teacher chaperones and joined by
WXPN Community Outreach Coordinator and XPN Major Gifts Officer, who had extended the invitation to the
School and facilitated their visit. St. Mary’s made WXPN part of their music camp theme of visiting significant music
sites in Philadelphia. Kathy O’Connell led the tour themed, The Science of Sound, focusing their visit on acoustics,
demonstrated for them in the World Cafe Performance Studio. Tours with local schools add to the appreciation ofcultural institutions in our Philadelphia community and WXPN is happy to welcome and inform these visitors.
Business Support Partner Peirce Phelps invited WXPN to participate in their Trade Show (1/22/20) at the Valley
Forge Convention Center, Suzy Swartz, Senior Business Support Account Manager attended with Business Support
Rep, Kate Schwartz. This trade show brings together Peirce Phelps vendors (distributor of HVAC and otherhousehold manufacturers) and their media partners. WXPN Sales Reps spoke with vocational-tech students about
WXPN, public radio and how we work with Peirce Phelps clients, specifically Carrier and Bryant, HVAC. The group iscomprised of students, technicians and marketing and sales employees from a variety of organizations.
Live at the Writers House – (Recorded at Kelly Writers House (KWH), Locust Walk, University of Pennsylvania, Liveis a collaboration between the Writers House and WXPN. Six episodes are recorded annually between the monthsof September and April at KWH in front of live audiences and scheduled for broadcast on WXPN. Kelly Writers
House coordinator, Alli Katz and the KWH staff book guests; Alli hosts and produces the episodes and delivers
them to WXPN News Director Bob Bumbera. As Executive Director, Bob listens in real time, filters, edits andschedules each session for on-air. The partnership provides the platform for these performances to be heard by
XPN’s radio audience and provides an experience for student assistants to work with WXPN to air the series. The
production enriches the local creative community, live audience and listeners. In addition to student
performances, Philadelphia and regional poets, playwrights, and unique writers with unconventional backgrounds
are represented. Musical guests perform as in each of the series’ productions.

FY20- 6.3. What impact did your key initiatives and partnerships have in your community? Describe
any known measurable impact, such as increased awareness, learning or understanding about
particular issues. Describe indicators of success, such as connecting people to needed resources orstrengthening conversational ties across diverse neighborhoods. Did a partner see an increase inrequests for related resources? Please include direct feedback from a partner(s) or from a person(s)served.

In May 2020, WXPN’s years-long leadership in presenting accomplished but often lesser-known Black artists’ music
and heritage was nationally recognized when the nationally distributed four-part radio documentary SaturdayNight and Sunday Morning: The Gospel Roots of Rock and Soul was awarded the prestigious regional Edward R.
Murrow award for best Large Market Radio News Documentary by the Radio and Television News Directors
Association. The documentary was also nomination for a national Peabody award. The documentary’s producer,
Alex Lewis stated, “Each hour of Gospel Roots of Rock and Soul illustrates the influence of gospel on secular music,
celebrates the roots of black gospel and its impact on major artists. The series includes three one-hour
documentary pieces, and a fourth hour of original music. Hosted by Grammy award-winning gospel singer Cece
Winans and produced by WXPN, the limited-run series is the culmination of a 15-month project that included fieldresearch in Memphis, Nashville, and Chicago building a content-rich website, live events in Philadelphia withgospel legends The Fairfield Four, The Dixie Hummingbirds, the Fisk Jubilee Singers and numerous interviews withmusicians, historians and scholars.” Working with local church and community leaders, concerts were held in
North Philadelphia, Overbrook Farms, Center City and West Philadelphia, often to capacity crowds. The McCrary
Sisters whose Gospel Roots performance had been held at Philadelphia’s African American Museum came back to
XPN in July 2019 (FY20) to perform at the XPoNential Festival for an audience of thousands. In June 2020, theGospel Roots of Rock and Soul documentary series was included as a touchpoint during Black History Month andwas carried by approximately 320 stations nationally. Locally the documentary was broadcast on Philadelphia’spublic radio stations, WHYY, WRTI, and on WXPN during the Juneteenth (6/19/20) on-air celebrations of Blackartists and music.
Prior to the advent of COVID-19 in FY20, WXPN began research for a multi-platform endeavor that would come toembody related current issues around immigration and the Black Lives Matter movement. Local engagement with
the Haitian and Caribbean community was envisioned as a key aspect of WXPN’s project Kanaval: Haitian Rhythms
and the Music of New Orleans as described in Section 6.4 of this report. WXPN planned to launch a fully funded
Haitian/New Orleans Kanaval project with music events and a theatrical performance in FY20 but these live
elements are postponed, to be rescheduled in FY21. The 3-part Kanaval documentary completed in FY20 withproducer, Alex Lewis is hosted by Haitian American singer-songwriter Leyla McCalla. Its debut was on February 1,
2021. Hundreds of stations across the country are anticipated to broadcast it in February as part of Black History
month. Along with the Gospel Roots project, Kanaval will reinforce XPN’s leadership as a source of journalism
around the African roots of so much of our music.
As described in Section 2 of this report, WXPN is an important participant in the national Musicians On Call (MOC)
program which has its national headquarters in New York City. WXPN raises support for the program through anannual XPN 5K Run for MOC as well as hosting other fundraising events. On 11/19/19, General Manager Roger
LaMay and Associate GM, Quyen Shanahan attended the Musicians On Call National Program fundraiser andcelebrate the organization’s 20th Anniversary. The event’s theme underscored the impact and dramatic growth of
this organization now in 20 cities across the country. WXPN'S program was acknowledged as the first participant in
the program’s expansion outside of New York 15 years ago and celebrated on national MOC Wall of Fame
exhibited at the event. The contributions of On-Air Host and Philadelphia’s face of Musicians On Call, Helen Leicht
was celebrated as were WXPN volunteer artists and guides. General Manager Roger LaMay acknowledged Quyen
Shanahan and Kim Winnick for their leadership as WXPN has grown the station’s service to 11 programs at 9
hospitals and has served over 80,000 patients. When WXPN moved to its current headquarters 15 years ago, acommitment to raising our level of service was made, which included the station’s launch of MOC in
Philadelphia. LaMay stated, “There is no better example of what our community can do. We know this service
works for the benefit of patients and their families.”
The pandemic would not curtail the effort in fall of 2020. The Annual Musicians On Call 5K Presented by Subaru
took place in FY21 from 9/27-10/4/20 via virtual participation and a musical celebration with Amos Lee on
Saturday October 3, 2020 at 6PM via live stream.
WXPN receives email from delighted families who reach out when they find and enjoy Kids Corner, like the note
received during the February 2020 Winter Fund Drive. “We've recently moved to Philadelphia and found our new
favorite radio station. We listen every morning and our son is a regular Kids Corner listener.” – Virginia in
Philadelphia, PA. The work and contributions of Kids Corner, XPN’s Peabody Award winning program for children,
took on new and deeper importance in FY20. The program has for 33 years been a resource and contributor to thelives of families. But in FY20, as the country began to respond to regional outbreaks of COVID-19, Kids Corner,
tailored their focus of the pandemic to ask kids and their families, “How are you feeling?” One of the program’s
first responses in March 2020 was to point out the importance of protecting each other and to participate in safetymeasures. Initially, program host, Kathy O’Connell introduced an online project for all families to share inthroughout XPN’s broadcast area. The Rainbow Hunt encouraged families to create their own rainbows as part of asocial media strategy for sharing positive, custom made art, part of a grassroots community project, that reachedworld-wide participation, as families found unique ways to stay calm and positive in the early days of the COVID-19
pandemic. The Kids Corner audiences sent their pictures to Kids Corner’s Instagram feed
https://www.instagram.com/xpnkidscorner. To bring the community together while staying physically apart,families were encouraged to walk in their neighborhoods to “follow the rainbow” by spotting a rainbow art
projects (or rainbows in the sky!) and share photos of their sightings online. Participants were reminded on-air tomaintain social distancing - making sure they stay at least six feet away from those not from their household.
In keeping with WXPN’s overall station response, Kids Corner, added new features and activities to address theuncertainties of the pandemic, and to provide online places for families to get information and support. On May 4,2020, Kathy Chats premiered with a discussion of how families with autistic children could explain the pandemic
and adjust to new routines. The series of audio interviews geared toward parents was introduced at
http://kidscorner.org/kathychats
Kids Corner grew their list of resources for kids and their families in response to the need to quarantine. The firstever Kids Corner Science Fair was open to kids up to age 17 as schools were closed and spring science fairs werecancelled or postponed. Kids were helped to develop their own project ideas with a visit to The Shipley School’s Dr.
Lisa Chirlian's list of Kitchen Chemistry projects and experiments.
By offering The Family Calendar which showcases web sites with live learning experiences, kids learned the art ofjournaling as a creative outlet to chronical their experiences during the pandemic. Program guest, author, speakerand disability advocate Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer chatted with Kathy and offered kids and adults tips on journaling.
Recognizing that many kids found themselves in a 'home school' situation for the first time, The Family Calendar’slist of websites offered parents and kids opportunities to learn and have fun while also keeping up the assignments
issued by their schools.
Because the pandemic created a time when adults might be frightened, and kids may feel confused about theirown feelings and their role in this crisis, on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, Kathy spoke to kids about the
pandemic and how it affected their world. On nights when kids’ calls were not being taken, the program broadcast
some of the most interesting and useful Kids Corner archived segments along with favorite musical guests.
Even as COVID-19 continued to present questions and concerns, the issue of racism, brought into sharp focus by
the death of George Floyd the demand for families to discuss needed changes. Speaking directly to kids, theprogram sought to offer clarity and means for kids to grasp, “how your family can be a part of the change forgood.” On 6/2 as WXPN participated in the Music Industry’s Blackout Tuesday through on-air and online channels,
Kids Corner rebroadcast an hour with musician, educator and writer, Jay Sand on All Around the World, a program
exploring the history and culture of African music around the continent.
WXPN Music Relief FundAs our community of artists and venues were becoming impacted and disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, WXPN
explored plans that could effectively help and have a meaningful impact before moving forward with a special
Music Community Relief Fund. The Fund was announced in a press release on 4/9/20 stating, “Philadelphia public
radio station WXPN is creating a new Music Community Relief Fund aimed at supporting local and regional artists,
venues and related workers. WXPN will launch the fund with a new partnership with the Philly Music Fest, which israising and distributing funds through a micro-grant program for local artists and employees of local independent
music venues whose work and income have been halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.” WXPN initially committed$25,000 for the continuation of the micro-grant program at its initial launch by Philly Music Fest (PMF) founderGreg Seltzer and his wife Jennifer. Their early effort provided more than 90, $250 micro-grants. WXPN’s donation
added another 175 grantees to receive funds to help unemployed artists and venue staff pay for food, rent,
utilities or any other mounting expenses due to the COVID-19 heath and economic crisis. At the end of FY20,
WXPN had contributed $32,000 for those served by this fund. Saying that they were inspired by WXPN’s supportof the Fund, the local online media outlet, Philadelphia Globe directed an additional $5,000 to the Fund. The
micro-grants were greatly appreciated by local artists that were helped. As one local Jazz artist wrote, “Thiscontribution alone to the almost-completed process of my next album, and first full-length endeavor on record, isproviding me as much a mental and inspirational push as it is financial.” Local artist Zeek Burse wrote, “Simply put,
the grant was something I needed! I'm a full-time, performing musician/artist and the Covid-19 pandemic
cancelled all of my foreseeable shows. Thankfully the PMF Micro Grant Program & (the fam) at WXPN stepped inand provided some relief for me and other creatives alike! Thank You all! #Human"
Philly Music Fest founder, Greg Seltzer wrote, ”The critical component of PMF's effort has been to act quickly andget cash to musicians and venue staff through PayPal and Venmo,” said Seltzer, whose initial funding of the
program has been augmented by crowd-sourced donations from friends, family and business contacts. “Thepartnership and support from WXPN have been a savior. We’re really psyched that WXPN took a look at what
various organizations are doing to assist those in need and thought highly enough of our effort to activate andsupport it.”

FY20 - 6.4. Please describe any efforts (e.g. programming, production, engagement activities) you
have made to investigate and/or meet the needs of minority and other diverse audiences (including,but not limited to, new immigrants, people for whom English is a second language and illiterate
adults) during Fiscal Year 2020, and any plans you have made to meet the needs of these audiences
during Fiscal Year 2021. If you regularly broadcast in a language other than English, please note thelanguage broadcast.

With the impact of COVID-19 and civil unrest that ensued after the murder of George Floyd in the 4th Quarter of
FY20 WXPN GM, Roger LaMay stated, “A year from now, we don't want to just applaud our survival. Rather, wewant to look back and know: WXPN faced adversity, challenged ourselves, grew, and increased our impact andrelevance.” In this section the following instances are included to demonstrate how WXPN committed to meetingthe needs of minority and other diverse audiences, and the stations’ efforts to continue meet the needs of thesecommunities in FY21.
Kanaval. As described in 6.3 of this report, national recognition and the successful presentation and reception of
The Gospel Roots project provided the impetus to explore the connection of Haitian Music and heritage, with theirinherent Taino influences as well as the island’s African, French and Spanish affects, on the culture and music of
New Orleans. This project is also designed to allow WXPN to convene with and include Philadelphia’s local Haitiancommunity’s participation in telling the story. In 2019 and 2020, exploration into these areas built a new project,
Kanaval. The project will feature concerts, a theatrical performance and a multi-media website in FY21. As with
Gospel Roots, a new documentary with producer Alex Lewis was crafted. In pre-pandemic planning, the 3-partdocumentary was to have been the culmination piece of WXPN’s year-long study and celebration. Instead, thedocumentary kicks-off the project in 2021with a February premier to be aired and experienced nationally on NPR
stations. The documentary connects audiences with Haiti’s cultural heritage, as it showcases the impact andcontributions of Haiti on the richness and culture of the music of New Orleans. Rather than showcase Haitianpeople as a poor immigrant group, the project elevates these connections as described by Haitian musician Paul
Baubrun, “In Haiti we have beauty, we have art, food, dance, music, and all of that keeps us through hard times.
We came through slavery to make this world a better place and through the freedom to express this in the music,
you hear the resilience, the rhythms and it connects straight to New Orleans.” Major support for Kanaval: Haitian
Rhythms & the Music of New Orleans has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional
support from Wyncote Foundation.
Essential Workers. The Key High Portrait Series final “portrait” was published on The Key in March 2020. The Key
editor, John Vettese noted, “We have hopes to revive the series once we’re able to safely conduct in-studio photoshoots.” In April, as the coronavirus pandemic forced most people to work from home or worse yet, were laid off
or furloughed, The Key quickly pivoted to create a limited series of full length features, This Is Essential, that spoke
to the moment and the shared experiences of local musicians who worked at their “day” jobs as part of the area’s
local essential workforce. This Is Essential continued to shine a light on some of these workers’ stories throughsummer 2020. The stories of these workers are archived on https://thekey.xpn.org/search/this+is+essential
World Cafe Latin Roots Series to National Hispanic Heritage Month
WXPN’s coverage of National Hispanic Heritage Month (9/15-10/15/20) is a continuation of our multi-year
standing commitment to Latin music programming that began on World Cafe (Latin Roots) and the Latin Roots
Live! concert series in 2012. In early March 2020, World Cafe’s Raina Douris sat down with Byron Gonzalez in Los
Angeles to get his take on what defines Latin Alternative during a World Cafe Sense of Place session. Gonzalez isthe Music Director, host and producer of Latin Alt, an internet station based in LA out of KCSN (a World Cafe
affiliate). That very special session was encored in September 2020 (FY21) to kick off WXPN’s month-longcelebration that featured a music mix with artists of Hispanic heritage in music and interviews. Among these were
Chicano Batman, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Jorge Drexler, and Ife. Guided by Byron’s expertise, XPN shared new musicfrom Latin and LatinX artists twice a week on World Cafe, along with companion streaming playlists on Spotify.
World Cafe’s vast Latin Roots archive of interviews and sessions were digitally showcased, as well as videos from
our NPR Music Live Sessions. As a new contributor to Latin Roots, Gonzalez worked with World Cafe hosts, Raina
Douris and Stephen Kallao to introduce new artists. New Latin artists’ music was placed on XPN’s Gotta Hear Songof the Week, and we invited our audience to take a new music discovery journey through cities in Central America,
South America, and Mexico.
On-Air Hosts
In FY20, WXPN sought to diversify its musical voice, adding a Black Host to on-air and encored the effort in FY21 toshare the local, national, and internal music of Black artists.
As discussed in Section 1 of this report WXPN hired Philadelphia DJ, producer and writer, John Morrison to host amonthly hip-hop program, Culture Cypher Radio. In FY21, WXPN programming added a 2nd Black DJ’s skill to theon-air staff, Rahman Wortman. In FY20, Rahman guest hosted on the XPN Local Show, and later conductedinterviews for XPN’s Checkin’ In With series. His background includes performing on the Philly spoken word circuit,and when there wasn’t a pandemic, he hosted the open-mic event, The Juice Jam. Having been a frequentcontributor to The Key, Rahman was introduced to XPN audiences as an on-air host in FY21. He cited some favorite
articles he wrote for WXPN including a story about Pecola Breedlove & The Freedom Party, a piece about the 10
year anniversary of Meek Mill’s Flamers 2, covering a Pusha T concert and an in-depth interview with Philly R&B
legend Musiq Soulchild. He is bringing hip hop samples he’s enjoying: SiR, Benny The Butcher, Khruangbin,
L’indecis and Knxwledge, to XPN broadcasts.
Black Music CityWXPN partnered with Philadelphia’s non-commercial Classical and Jazz radio station from Temple University, WRTI
and with REC Philly to meaningfully assist young Black artists across multiple disciplines to develop their artistic
career pursuits. Initiatives started in FY20 with REC Philly are described in Section 2. To foster that goal, a new
project, Black Music City was fashioned. Having nurtured numerous groundbreaking musical styles and artists andhaving been at the forefront of some of the world’s most significant musical developments, Philadelphia’s richBlack music history was the source of inspiration and interpretation for today’s Black creatives. Black Music City is
a program that calls upon Black creatives in the greater Philadelphia area (PA, NJ, DE) working in any creative
medium to submit their project ideas honoring Philly’s Black music history and apply for a project grant. Selectedartists will receive a minimum of $1,000 each to bring their projects to life. A committee of prominent Black
Philadelphia professionals in the arts, media, and business will judge the final round of applicants to be awarded$49,000 in total grant funding. The applicants were instructed to submit projects telling a clear, significant andrelevant story that fits the theme of this program, and is originally produced in a unique, innovative style. Grant
applications were accepted 12/14/20-1/25/21. Grant recipients will be selected in February and they will create
their projects with grant funding starting in March. Projects must be completed by 5/27/2021. Black Music City ishosted by Suzann Christine who will produce videos that spotlight each grant recipient and document the journeyof their project. All final work will be showcased and exhibited during African American Music Appreciation Monthin June 2021. Black Music City is supported by a grant from the Wyncote Foundation. Tito’s Handmade Vodka
contributed a charitable gift of 19K to supplement the artist grant fund.
Kids Corner. WXPN’s Peabody Award and Major Armstrong Award winning program for children and their families
broadened and deepened their partnerships and brought new guests to the program to speak frankly about the
impact of COVID-19 and about social changes happening in their neighborhoods.
An encompassing description of the themes embraced by the program in FY20 and their impact have been
described in Section 3 of this report.
The program now in its 33rd year is recognized as a call-in radio show providing a rare radio space for children to
engage. Host Kathy O’Connell and producer Robert Drake’s community outreach and appearances bringawareness of their programming substance and approach to the local community. The program also uplifts andprovides exposure for the Kids Music genre and the artists who work in the Kindie music industry.
In this section, two of the program’s valuable initiatives are described as new or anew on FY21. Kathy spoke every
month with the show’s guest and longtime City of Philadelphia Administrative Librarian Joe Hilton about ways forparents to discuss racism with their kids. On Kathy Chats, Joe shared resources to help start these conversations.
The books he brought to light indicated age groups for the children and included books about historical events likethe Civil Rights Movement as well as present day news to help them understand the incidents kids were hearing
about and seeing in their neighborhoods. With the death of Joe Hilton in FY21, Kids corner made plans to go
forward with their literacy efforts with the Mighty Writers. Note that in May 2020, Tim Whitaker, Executive
Director of Mighty Writers spoke with Kathy for a “Kathy Chats” segment. Mighty Writers mission to “think clearly
and write with clarity” was recently amended to help the communities they serve due to the interruption of Covid19, the topic of their discussion, and how the pandemic affects food, learning, literacy, and work in theseneighborhoods.
Kids Corner continues to address serious problems and concerns so that families can encounter them together,even as the program seeks to present programming and social media resources that the whole family can enjoy
since, as Host Kathy O’Connell reminds kids, “we’re all in this together.”In FY21, the program also added a new ongoing series for families to help think about the importance of goodnutrition as a daily diet. These segments are hosted by Kathy O’Connell with guests, Mary Robinson RD, LDN of theGiant Company, and Rabiya Bower registered dietician and nutritionist for the Giant Company, the series’ sponsor.

A wide variety of topics including Health at Every Size (HAES), nut allergies, and maintaining a healthy digestivesystem are discussed during monthly segments.

FY20 – 6.5. Please assess the impact that your CPB funding had on your ability to serve yourcommunity. What were you able to do with your grant that you wouldn't be able to do if you didn't
receive it?

CPB funding helps to support WXPN’s general operations and gives us the opportunity to devote assets to seekother resources to help pay for new and creative initiatives and services. In FY20 WXPN received $533,431 from
CPB or 5% of the station’s overall revenue. This total included $75,000 to WXPN as part of the federal
government’s COVID-19 stimulus package. With this support, WXPN is able to accomplish programming, digital,
membership, marketing, and community engagement goals.
CPB funding allows XPN to focus on connecting artists with audiences and to give exposure to artists who are notplayed on commercial radio stations. This support allows us to take chances and play a diverse roster of music, notjust the music of established and well-tested artists. This was also reflected in WXPN’s music discovery outreachthat benefits new and local artists.
WXPN’s continuing programming includes shows that address a variety of issues: voices from the LGBTQ
community are heard on Q’zine &Amazon Country, and Kids Corner is the only nightly radio show focusing solely
on kids and their specific issues. The call-in format gives kids a voice with the host and radio audience. The
program’s creative innovations to programming, online access to information, and discussions with experts
strengthen the community providing families a deeper sense of what it means to be connected. Kids Corner also
makes space for Kids Independent Music, or “Kindie” artists to entertain a receptive audience. On 3/10/20, thecancellation of the national biennial Kindie Music Industry’s gathering, KindieComm was announced due to COVID19 restrictions. The event was to have taken place at World Cafe Live April 3-5, 2020. The impact of thecancellation was a blow to the artists who come together to attend workshops and share music, but also added toa deficit in revenue projections from the event as registrations were refunded.
As a community resource, WXPN brings local musicians into partnership in support of WXPN Musicians On Call,furthering our mission of connection and answering voices calling out for solace. The artists involved with WXPNMusicians On Call, along with the program’s volunteer guides brought live music to participating hospitals andcomfort to patients and families facing some of the most difficult health challenges of their lives. In FY20, WXPNMusicians On Call remained a priority even as artists and volunteer guides were not permitted to bring live music
into hospitals served by our program in light of COVID-19 restrictions. We pivoted by providing virtual
performances and Music Pharmacies (iPads loaded with music and noise cancelling headphones) for hospitalpatients and staff. Planning ensued to fundraise to support the program via an extended virtual WXPN Musicians
On Call 5K including a virtual concert from artist, Amos Lee. Lee’s participation on behalf of the program andpatients was especially appreciated and touching since he was among the first artists to bring his time and talent
to patients’ bedsides 15 years ago when WXPN launched the program.
CPB funding helps XPN to program great music every day and create musical diversions that fully engage ouraudience. In August 2019, Woodstock-As It Happened-50 Years On transported listeners for four consecutive days
to hear the music, the crowds, and the announcements, the way they happened in 1969 at Woodstock. The set-byset replay was aired exclusively on WXPN at the exact time events took place starting on Thursday, August
15,2019. To let the audience in on how the event would unfold on-air, Dan Reed interviewed archivist, Andy Zax
and discussed the project at length before launching the first performance by Richie Havens. Visitors were invited
to tune in on-air, online, on mobile devices, use smart speakers, and to visit social media at #XPNStock. Increased
audience engagement was seen across platforms. Pageviews on The Key increased 7% while Woodstock playback
pageviews surged 23.19%. Though not a fundraiser, we received almost 100 donations – 65% new – from 23 statesand 5 countries: Colombia, Malaysia, Netherlands, England & US. MSNBC Sunday Morning covered the event on
their Who Won The Week segment; and we were #1 for the weekend trending on Twitter in Philadelphia.
Woodstock themed Throwback Thursday and the special weekly series 50/50 (music from 50 years in 50 weeks)also supported #XPNStock playing back the music of 1969. Special programing added to audience growth in FY20.
January 2020’s weekly experiment, Time Tunnel Tuesday transported listeners back to “actual” years past to
experience the music, news and radio announcements for a full day.

Adding diversity continues to be a high priority. To add greater depth and discovery to our playlist, new host, John
Morrison brought hip-hop program, Culture Cypher Radio to monthly airplay. In FY21, Rahman Wortman became
an XPN on-air host, after spending several years as a frequent contributor to The Key. Outside contributors were
included to bring diversity to our featured programming. Byron Gonzalez joined World Cafe as a grant funded Latin
Roots Correspondent/Digital Contributor. He joins former NPR East Africa Correspondent Gwen Thompkins wholaunched World Cafe’s New Orleans bureau earlier this year. We rehired Cheryl DeVall, Assistant Producer/Editor
for our Gospel Roots documentary, for the same role with the Kanaval project.
The documentaries that were created from the Gospel Roots and Kanaval projects along with archived
performances from these and our earlier deep dives Zydeco Crossroads and the Mississippi Blues projects will finda home in one place as part of the station’s essential website redesign project. As users explore the station’scomprehensive content, the website will allow them to engage further for a deeper experience.
In addition to our deep-dive, years-long projects, WXPN continues to explore music and culture through our
nationally distributed World Cafe. This fall, the program will be celebrating 30 years as an influential source formusic discovery. The two-hour daily program features a mix of artist interviews with in-studio performances byboth established and emerging artists. The music selection encompasses singer-songwriters, classic rock, indie
rock, Americana, alt-country, blues, world music, R&B and soul. As the nation’s most listened-to public radio musicprogram, its impact on the careers and audience awareness of thousands of artists is immeasurable. World Cafe is
distributed by NPR to more than 200 US radio stations and heard by nearly 600,000 listeners each week including
artists, appreciative audiences, and the radio and music industries. In February 2020, hundreds of stations featured
The Gospel Roots of Rock & Soul as part of Black History Month programming; this year many stations will carryour newest documentary, Kanaval: Haitian Rhythms and the Music of New Orleans. And throughout February, DJ
and music journalist John Morrison is helping World Cafe celebrate the music of black artists with a series, The
Black Roots of Rock & Roll.
World Cafe Sense of Place Travel Adventure Series has traditionally explored music and cultural heritage in cities
around the world. In pre-COVID planning, the World Cafe team, accompanied by WXPN members and major
donors were slated to travel to Japan. Plans were cancelled by the onset of the pandemic. The Travel Series
provides important fundraising revenue for XPN which is absent while restrictions prevail.
WXPN has an excellent record of fundraising for operations, as well as for targeted projects, but a decrease in CPB
funding could impact the number and duration of on-air fund drives conducted annually. XPN produces three onair fund drives each year in addition to targeted fundraising campaigns for Giving Tuesday and the year’s end.
Losing CPB funding would force us to fundraise for several additional weeks. Increased fundraising time would be
detrimental as additional staff time and resources would be redirected to performing fundraising alternatives.
WXPN effectively manages funds provided by CPB to encourage growth and sustainability. Even in light ofpandemic concerns, WXPN’s Sustaining Membership program is strong with 72% of members participating in the
program and contributing over 50% of member revenue. Our loyal donor portfolio provides a sustainer base willingto support the goals, innovations and projects XPN identifies. Our overall member retention rate remains solid andreflects support for XPN programming and mission including our Music Together Campaign and subsequent on-air
drives. These past months have been a unique time in fundraising, and we have been able to take advantage of
people’s generosity and desire to contribute. Our end of year holiday campaign netted an increase in one-time
gifts, and we will strategize to convert one-time donors to sustaining members. As we begin fundraising in 2021,
we realize that in previous winter drives, we were able to talk about live shows and to offer concert tickets toencourage sustained giving. Due to the pandemic, we are not able to offer these types of incentives and will be
relying on support through challenge grants more heavily. All member contributions help in many ways, and themore we can fundraise, the more we can offset deficits we are facing.
The financial impact of the pandemic is most clearly seen in a decline in the number of business support clients.
We are grateful for the loyalty of strong sponsors such as Subaru who continues to prioritize support of WXPN
despite their decreased marketing budget. Overall, however, the loss of strong underwriting support has beenchallenging. Any recent successes in acquiring sponsors are due to the hard work of WXPN’s Business Support
team strengthened by original programming and by station outreach in the community, such as FY21’s Black Music
City program.
Our stewardship efforts have been diversified and extended to strengthen our role throughout the community. As
2020 evolved CPB funding helped play a unique role of furthering WXPN’s vision to identify the demand that wasevolving and push ourselves to do our best work to provide solace to our audience. This year we were compelled

to identify and respond to a changing home and work environment on a large scale. The emails andcorrespondence we received from listeners made clear to us that the magnitude of adjustments to be made in ourenvironment was not unique to us. Stories and accounts from listeners, colleagues, partners, and artists helped us
to identify and acknowledge problems, and to begin to create solutions. In the last quarter of FY20, WXPN becamea bridge for our listeners to provide financial support to artists and unemployed music venue workers, as WXPN
created the Music Community Relief Fund aimed at providing support for them in response to the financial impactof the pandemic on them. The Fund was launched with a partnership with the Philly Music Fest. A webpage
created for the fund as part of XPN’S Music Together Campaign allowed XPN donors and members to contribute
10% of their new memberships in lieu of thank you premiums to be allocated to the fund through the end of FY20.
The fund aligned with our mission and gave listeners and members a means to extend needed support for the local
and regional music ecosystem.
As required of CPB’s Community Service Grant recipients, all WPXN staff, interns, and work studies participate in
the online NAVEX Global harassment prevention training CPB makes available to complete annually. Internally,
WXPN’s management team met to engage in meaningful dialogues around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion issues
and racial literacy in our workplace with an outside facilitator in the fall of 2020 and held a day-long retreat for thestaff in 2021. We are all learning together ways to eradicate structural racism from our work. It has helped to gainfrom the perspectives of a diverse senior leadership team that includes 2 minority female senior managers.
WXPN’s news features on the XPN Morning Show covered local and national updates about the pandemic in daily
broadcast to inform listeners of important information surrounding the public health crisis, including the latest
closures and health advisories. WXPN’s programming continues to be a source of calm but also a resource ofcontext.
WXPN facilitated a national conversation in Triple A by introducing our virtual NON-COMM Thursdays webinars.
Led by WXPN hosts, Bruce Warren and Dan Reed, these virtual sessions joined music industry panelists withhundreds of public radio station personnel for internal discussions to lend insight to an uncertain time. Session
themes shifted from a discussion of the impact of COVID-19 on operations in the first edition, to programming
adjustments in the wake of the death of George Floyd the following week. The virtual series returned from a latesummer hiatus in November 2020 to continue to bring music professionals together to discuss the changes andimpact on the music industry and radio worlds.
The Key created limited series, This Is Essential in response to the effects of the pandemic on local performing
musicians’ lives, bringing awareness to listeners and members. Ongoing features like The Skeleton Key continue toinform and entertain, while new series respond to the moment, such as a February 2021 addition, Black
Inspirations. In celebration of Black History Month, contemporary Black artists are invited to share some of theirinfluences from the Black music vanguard. The XPN airwaves and website and The Key are alive with excellent
programming and journalism that continues to elevate our ongoing commitment to elevating Black musicians’
voices.
On-Air and digital experimentation became the means for rising to new challenges and developing new initiatives.
WXPN reorganized event production digitally to allow audiences to continue to participate in music discovery. CPB
funding helped to make it possible for WXPN to succeed in carrying out the station’s primary mission to connect
artists and audience. All the great work WXPN delivers is dependent on growing audience, membership, businesssupport and diversity across our programming and operations. We thank CPB for supporting us and helping us do
our best work, even in unprecedented times.