IMPACT REPORTFISCAL YEAR

2023SPEEDY ORTIZ / PHOTO - PAIGE WALTERJULY 1, 2022 - JUNE 30, 2023

A LETTER FROM THE
GENERAL MANAGER
I’m proud to say that last year was my 20th anniversary as WXPN’s General
Manager, and it was arguably the best one yet. Thanks to our dedicated staff,volunteers, partners, supporters, and a small army of engaged members, wecontinue to surpass our ambitions in our mission to connect artists and audiences.
This kind of Impact Report, where we review the Fiscal Year that ran July 1, 2022
through June 30, 2023 (FY23) is new for us. While we try to always keep you up todate on the amazing activities going on here at WXPN, we think it’s important totake a moment and step back and review how far we’ve come and how we got
here.
There are stories of wonderful accomplishments and impact in these pages, such as
an unprecedented anniversary of a beloved radio show; a critically necessary
technological upgrade; and a groundbreaking new artist residency program.
What strikes me is how much there is to be proud of—so much more than what wehave the real estate to include in this report. Like how Black Music City, ourpartnership with WRTI and REC Philly that puts financial resources directly in thehands of local Black Creatives, won an Arts + Business Council Award for its
impactful collaboration between Philadelphia’s arts and business sectors. WorldCafe landed an interview with Bruce Springsteen after decades of attempts (it wasworth the wait). There were dance parties and Welcomes concerts, monthly Artists
to Watch, an incredible Festival full of live music, and Free At Noon concerts almost
every Friday. And, of course, there was music curated by our music-loving hosts,
played 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
All of this, and everything else we do or hope to do, is only possible thanks to thegenerosity of our supporters.
Thank you, for everything, and Rock On!

Roger LaMay
WXPN General Manager01

FY23 BY THE NUMBERS
Membership$4,987,961 / 51%

Business Support$3,485,731 / 36%

Total
Special Funds and Grants Revenue
Non-Operating
Major Gifts Fund/neXtPN

Support & Revenue$9,785,682$459,918

Grants$521,908

Sense of Place$100,000

Musicians On Call

$87,950

Other$178,156

Total$1,347,933

World Cafe
Distribution
NPR Affiliate Fees
$459,887 / 5%

Other$149,095 / 1%
Grants$399,570 / 4%

Fund Acquisition$2,726,938 / 29%

Events$303,438 / 3%

Facilities/Tech$1,932,909 / 21%

Special Funds and Grants Expenses
Non-Operating

Total
Program Related$3,547,076 / 38%

02

Expenses$9,304,623

neXtPN$583,552

Grant-funded Projects$454,345

Sense of Place$92,823

Musicians On Call

$109,356

Total

General/Admin$1,097,700 / 12%$1,240,075

FY23 BY THE NUMBERS
5 Year Membership Progress
Membership Revenue

30,072$ 4,852,732$ 4,949,577$4,987,961

29,015

FY19

FY20

FY21

FY22

FY23

Weekly Listeners:

367,700

ustainers 28nS%oN

Total Donors

29,015

Su

WXPH
3,096

WXPN
20,800are donors
Other
3,085
Streaming

Northern
New Jersey/
Poconos

WXPJ
1,426

Lancaster/York/
Harrisburg

stain ers 72 %

7.9% of our listeners

03

29,008$ 4,459,404

28,500$ 4,390,772

28,651

Donors

WKHS
608

Greater Philadelphia
Area

Worton/Baltimore

FY23 BY THE NUMBERS
Hospitals where WXPN Musicians On Callvirtually served hospitalized patients, theirfamilies and friends, and medical providers
and staff with the gift of music.

Miles per year traveled by Jared Styles, Directorof Engineering, between our three tower sites:

4,440

Radio stations that carry World Cafe,
the WXPN-produced music and interview
program that is nationally distributed by NPR:

Black Creatives who received grants
through Black Music City since its
inception in 2021:

04280

NOTES FROM OUR DONORS
troducestation to iniodratrsfi
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what I encos been theahNPXW,g to Philly
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give back toic.
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hiladelphia- Emily in PWXPN

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local high school
radiostation, providin
g inspiration and guidance toa rising generati
on of "vinyl lovers"...the work
ethic, discipline,on-air time andexposure to
all varieties of m
usic is invaluablefor these
young people...they were gob sm
acked whensome of the XP
N team spent aday with themon site!
- Cynthia in Ch
estertown, MD
WKHS

I’m new to thisstation. I was ti
red of hearing
the same songs every day andwhile dialing
through stations
I found you guys
. I lovehearing the newartists! …and songs fromartists I know that don’t get play
ed on otherstations. There’s so much amazing music out
there. Thank yo
u for doing what you do.
- Elizabeth in A
nnandale, NJ
WXPJ

wasvisitor here whoatoinnralynt
I recemyd I was wearingan,irtshtNPXwearing a Wshing
few minutes gu
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icus
great mStreaming

I love finding ne
w artists throug
h XPN, and I
particularly love
how you support and help
nurture new arti
sts careers. I fell in love with
Samantha Rise's music becaus
e of the Black
Opry Residency
and bought liter
ally every
piece of music
they had for sa
le as a result.
Your support for artists is oneof the manythings that trul
y make XPN un
ique! Beststation on earth hands down!!!
- Mike in Leban
on, PA05

WXPH

PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS
WXPN’s Commitment to Artists

Sleepy Hollow’s 50th Anniversary

How does WXPN connect artists and audiences?
There is no shortage of answers to that question,
but none would be complete without mentioning
XPN Local and World Cafe, both of which connect
WXPN very closely to the local and national musicscenes and serve them up to our audience.
John Vettese, WXPN Host and Digital ContentEditor, covering the latest in music news, has beena part of XPN Local since 2013 and the program’s
Key Studio Sessions have grown into a staple of thelocal scene, moving from audio-only sessions on ourXPN2 side channel to full video performances
hosted on our website. Recently, the Local teamhas set its sights even higher with a pair of minidocumentaries produced in-house.
Less local but no less crucial to WXPN’s place in theworld of American music is World Cafe, currently
helmed by host Raina Douris and contributing hostStephen
Kallao.
WorldCafe
focuses
onperformances and interview from both emerging
artists and legendary performers across a wide
variety of genres. Like XPN Local, World Cafe has
worked to become an impressive digital video
operation, and all WXPN studio sessions can befound on the XPN website, making great, unique
live performances available to anyone with abroadband connection.

06

WXPN’s longest-running program, Sleepy Hollow,
celebrated its 50th year on WXPN with hosts Chuck
Elliott, Keith Kelleher, and Julian Booker.
Since 1973, the quiet sounds of Sleepy Hollow withmusic ranging from Beck to Bach have been amusical solace for our community of listeners during
the weekend.
In celebration of the golden anniversary, Chuck,
Keith, and Julian spotlighted a different year of theshow for six weeks leading up to an intimate
acoustic event that was held in April 2023 withartist Wesley Stace and conversation with Sleepy
Hollow hosts at WXPN’s performance studio.
The longevity and legacy of programming like
Sleepy Hollow is a testament to the XPN listeners
and members who have supported it.

SPECIAL PROJECTSELEVATING BLACK AMERICANAThis year, we took the Artist To Watch program to newheights with the Black Opry Residency, a creative
development project to support and elevate five Black
Americana musicians, helping them build sustainablecareers and broaden their audiences. The musicians – left
to right in the photograph, Samantha Rise, the Kentucky
Gentlemen, Tylar Bryant, Denitia, and Grace Givertz –participated in a week-long residency in Philadelphia,
where they co-created project activities, received
mentoring, and showcased their work through a sold-out
capstone performance for the public.
The story of the Black Opry Residency continued in the form of a new
podcast, hosted by WXPN’s John Morrison, diving into the real-life struggles
of Black artists in the Americana and country music scene through the eyesof these up-and-coming musicians seeking to reclaim it as an inclusive
genre. Find out more on our website!

BRINGING THE SOUNDWXPN has undertaken the full replacement of all soundboards in our
seven recording and broadcast studios. What is a soundboard? Asoundboard – also sometimes referred to as a “mixer” or “mixingboard” – takes multiple audio input signals such as microphones,instruments, or turntables, and merges them together so they can besent over the radio and streams as one signal.
Soundboards are critically important to the quality of on-air
broadcasts and streams. The last time WXPN replaced oursoundboards was 2004, when the station moved into the Hajoca
Building. While we’ve continued producing quality radio withoutdated technology, our programming staff are thrilled to beworking with updated soundboards – as you can see from the photoof Assistant Program Director Jim McGuinn and Director ofEngineering Jared Styles greeting their arrival!
Replacing the soundboards in our seven studios was a major
expense. Our producers and on-air hosts have enjoyed getting toknow the capabilities of the new soundboards and using them toproduce WXPN’s high quality programming.

07

OUR MUSICAL COMMUNITYWXPN POLICY BOARD - FISCAL YEAR 2023
Daria R. Gaines (Chair) – TruMark Financial Credit Union
Theodore R. Aronson – AJOMoira Baylson – University Communications, University of Pennsylvania
Larry Ceisler (Chair Emeritus) – Ceisler Media & Issue Advocacy
Dawn Maglicco Deitch – Office of Government and Community Affairs, University ofPennsylvania
Brian Dooner – Dooner Social Ventures
Adam J. Fein, Ph.D. – Pembroke Consulting, Inc.; Drug Channels Institute
Christopher Franklin – Essential Utilities, Inc.
Stephen J. Hoch – Laura and John J. Pomerantz Professor Emeritus of Marketing, Universityof Pennsylvania
Donald B. Keim – John B. Neff Professor Emeritus of Finance, Wharton School, University ofPennsylvania
Susanna E. Lachs, Esq. – Immediate Past Board Chair, Jewish Federation of Greater Phila
Roger LaMay – WXPN General Manager
Jennifer K. Peterson, Esq. – Saul Ewing LLP
Ralph Rosen – Rose Family Endowed Term Professor and Professor of Classical Studies,
University of Pennsylvania
Karyn L. Scher, Ph.D. – Individuals, Couples, Marriage, Adult and Adolescent Therapy
John Shoemaker – Milestone Partners
Tracey Welson-Rossman – Chariot Solutions; TechGirlz
Wendy White, Esq. – Office of the General Counsel, University of Pennsylvania and PennMedicine08

THANK YOU
FOR AN AMAZING YEAR