2009-01-30 Proposed Strategic Plan

Our top-line goal must always be to serve the Pacifica Mission. We believe that the many aspects of the mission can be summed as follows:

To serve this mission, we know that we must attract and retain listeners. We also understand that our ability to grow operations and our ability to produce quality programming are each dependent upon financial stability. Therefore our operational goals in support of mission must be to:


Assessment of On-air Fundraising

While the on-air fund-raising strategy has been successful, each year on-air fundraising campaigns have become increasingly crucial to the survival of The Foundation. The end result of this approach has been the saturation of listeners with increased fiscal responsibility for The Foundation’s overall financial stability, and increasing number of on-air fundraising days. There is a point where listeners stop to respond to appeals. On-air fundraising drives drive listeners away unless they are short, focused, and have a definite end time. It is not advisable to have drives too long or too frequently.

The Three-year Plan addresses ways to maximize the productivity of our on-air fund drives.

A quick assessment of off-air fundraising: As of fiscal year 2008, Pacifica has not maximized its off-air fundraising potential. In the past, Pacifica as a whole has received over 80% of its funding through on-air fund-drives and less than 20% from off-air fundraising efforts — major gifts, foundation grants, web fundraising, mail fundraising, and events.

To help offset on-air fundraising dependency, this three-year plan focuses on creating a diverse fundraising strategy which achieves at least three goals:

     1) Streamline on-air fundraising and expand off-air fundraising;
     2) Generate increased revenue for The Foundation;
     3) Create sustainable revenue financial management.

The following pages elaborate on the various methods that can be employed to expand revenue.
However, it should be made clear, there are units that lack infrastructural capacity in membership and development, specifically in terms of resource allocation. It is imperative that investments are made in membership and development departments of all units to ensure Foundation sustainability.

Create efficiency and economies of scale with on-air fund-drives:

     1) Expand on-air fundraising methods;
     2) Focus on-air drives on precise themes;
     3) Develop more collaborations between stations;
     4) Develop thank-you gifts in-house through PRA;
     5) Reduce back-end expenses with better coordination and consolidated buys;
     6) Increase pledge fulfillment and retention of members.



Pacifica Off-Air Donor and Fund Development Needs

To keep pace with escalating programming and production costs, it is important that the Three-
year Development Plan reflect a dynamic effort to diversify on-air and off-air revenue streams.
The following programs are designed to provide a tactical plan for implementing this strategy.

1) Major Donor Program

The first step in creating a thriving major donor program is to identify, through research and analysis, potential major donors. From this list, it is important to identify the number of major donors to be cultivated during years one, two, and three, as well as to make a determination of appropriate request levels. Next, support files on all major donors will be created including giving history, programs of special interest, and contact records.

An important component of the Major Donor Program is the inclusion of our major donors in public events and activities as a means of acknowledging their important contributions. The Peace Awards recently conducted at KPFA was a prime example of this form of major donor cultivation and outreach. To ensure that the Major Donor Program continues to grow, it is important that major donors be contacted regularly throughout the year. Are invited to special events. Are recognized in print. Are met with individually. And are educated about the direction and programmatic development of the radio stations and The Foundation in general.

This development plan involves board members in recruiting major donors, recommends appropriate staffing for a growing the major donor program, develops a second tier of major donors through personal contact with our current donor base.

2) Planned-Giving Program

Pacifica has had a planned-giving program for a number of years. However, the planned-giving program in its current form needs to be strengthened. As part of the Three-year Development
Plan, it is suggested that the planned-giving program be strengthened in concert with the major gifts program, direct mailing, and off-air fundraising programs. A well-designed planned-giving program can play a crucial role in ensuring Pacifica’s long-term financial security.

In order to strengthen the planned-giving program, the plan has focused on cultivating life income gifts (i.e., bequests, pooled income fund gifts, and charitable remainder trusts). We envision that, by increasing these specialized forms of giving over the Three-year Development Plan period, they can become a reliable source of future revenue for Pacifica. From a fundraising perspective, marketing and soliciting bequests has distinct advantages over marketing other forms of planned gifts. In our experience, we have found this to be the case because the prospective donor is familiar with the concept of making a gift through his or her will. Additionally, donors seem to be more comfortable discussing significant gifts of capital when the gifts are realized after the donor’s death rather than given away during his/her lifetime.

Thus, by initially focusing on life income gifts we believe Pacifica’s planned-giving program can accomplish two goals. First, we will be able to uncover future sources of revenue for Pacifica.
Second we will be able to create a pool of prospects for future life income gifts. Strengthening Pacifica’s planned-giving program will help us maximize our fundraising potential.

3) Web Fundraising Program

The Internet provides a number of relatively low-cost communication opportunities that are stillunderutilized by Pacifica. For example, the cost of conducting what has come to be known as “ecampaigns,” that is, utilizing Pacifica’s website and listener emails to solicit financial support,
could perhaps be more cost effective than direct mail campaigns. It follows that as an initial stepof the three-year development plan, it is imperative that the Pacifica website be redesigned withthe following in mind:

• Diversification of listenership;
• Expansion of the pool of potential donors;
• Increase of revenue through on-line fundraising, including an online store and online advertisements;
• Creation of more cost effective fundraising campaigns.
• Additional Revenue Streams

1) Foundation Grant Solicitation Program

Grants could be an essential funding source for Pacifica. Whether grants are written by the development director or Pacifica unit staff members, grant seeking is an essential part of the three-year development plan. The first step in a consistent grant-awarding program is to create a system that keeps the grants process moving, guards against missing important deadlines, and which will help Pacifica develop relationships with foundations and socially conscious businesses.

Although grant-seeking is important, grant-awarding is the ultimate goal. It follows that, in order to move from a grant-seeking program to a grant-awarding program, the incorporation of several essential habits should be rolled into our grant seeking process. Setting up a grants management system takes time. However, investing the time now to set up a solid, understandable system of grants management will save Pacifica untold time later and has the potential to significantly increase our off-air fundraising revenue stream.

     From Grant-Seeking to Grant-Awarding: 9 Essential Habits
     (Adapted from Brown and Brown 1998)

     A. QUALIFY It is important that Pacifica qualifies each potential grant-maker the way we would qualify a major donor. What is their capacity to give, and their average grant amount in dollars? Have they given to causes or projects similar that reflect our criteria? Does anyone on the Pacifica Board know someone on theirs? One of the work products of the Three-year development plan is creating a form that staff members can use to qualify a foundation as a potential donor.

     B. MATCH It is important to match the right program with the right funder. In this vein it is important to train staff to research the funder's past grant-making practices. Finding the right match is an important part of a grant seeking program.

     C. POSITION It is important that Pacifica staff and management be positioned for success by asking support for grant worthy programs. Ultimately, that means those that match well with agrant-maker's purpose, guidelines, and capacity to give. In general, a worthy grant often serves many people or makes a major difference in the community, involves partnerships with other organizations, and has some tangible component. It is most often limited in scope and can be viewed as a whole, distinct project.

     D. ANTICIPATE As part of the three-year plan we will develop a filing system of components which can be used in multiple presentations. Creating base documents and templates that form the foundation of every grant proposal is an important first step. The documents to be created in year one of the development plan include:

• An organization case statement;
• Board list, with affiliations and contact information;
• Biographies of key staff;
• Organization-wide budget;
• Two most recent audited financial statements;
• Pacifica’s anti-discrimination policy and diversity data;
• Promotional materials.

These materials will be kept up to date and many copies will be available all times.

     E. LIMIT the number of people who participate in the proposal writing/editing process. It is important to have key staff and volunteers involved.

     F. INFORM The Pacifica Development plan emphasizes the importance of informing people of their part in the grant seeking process. The three-year plan emphasizes providing training through workshops and instituting an effective system of communication to prevent problems. The grant seeking processes should also be reiterated at staff and management meetings. In an effective grant seeking program each will understand her or his role in the grant writing process.

     G. TRACK It is important to track the status of all proposals that Pacifica sends out and the communications we receive in return. In that vein, the three-year plan calls for the creation of a form to track the status of pending grants and important deadlines.

     H. COMMUNICATE It is important that Pacifica management and staff send brief reports to the Development Director to keep her/him informed of received and pending grants for the
organization.

     I. ACKNOWLEDGE It is important to acknowledge funders. Funders are impressed when, five years after a grant is made, they are updated on the tremendous success of the organization as a result of their investment over the years.

2) Public Events

Good fundraising includes more than just increasing revenue streams. In fact, if that's all it does, it may not truly be a success in the long-term. Public events are essential to off-air fundraising
because they provide more benefits than just increasing the bottom line. They also communicate image and information about Pacifica and its affiliated projects to the public. Naomi Klein calls this form of image making “branding”. Branding is tangible and real. If it is done well, socially conscious branding is worth more than the money because it includes additional benefits such as:

• publicity
• image
• contact with people
• credibility
• education
• motivation
• increased commitment
• good community relations

Public events have always played an important role in Pacifica’s fundraising strategy and in the Three-year plan they will continue to be a source of imagineering and revenue building.

3) Direct Mail Solicitation

Direct mail solicitation can be a cost effective way to renew Pacifica’s current donors, to ask for special appeals, and to publicize various campaigns. Additional ways direct mailing will be used in the three-year plan are as follows:

• To help identify new donors;
• As a tool for public relations;
• To increase Pacifica’s visibility and publicize new programs;
• To help identify potential volunteers.

Increasing listenership is part and parcel to increasing funding and relevance. Increasing listener loyalty is a key element to converting listeners to listener sponsors.

Radio listenership is dependent on the use of the automobile in most areas. The highest time for PUR (people using radio) is during commuting hours and the hours preparing for work or school.  The lowest time for PUR is when people are normally at home or work. Understanding this and other elements to listener behavior is important to the process of increasing listenership and listener loyalty.

How can Pacifica increase listenership and listener loyalty? The network must address three
core areas: Programming and its content, program or content Delivery (how programming is delivered to listeners) and Outreach.

Program and Content Delivery:

Pacifica has worked hard over the decades to secure some of the most desirable signal areas in the United States. Today almost the entire state of California is covered by KPFA and KPFK while some of the most important cultural and political centers in the world like New York City, Washington D.C. and Houston, Texas are covered by WBAI, WPFW, & KPFT. While these terrestrial signal areas are valuable and impressive, a different way of delivering audio and video content is quickly threatening the relevance of analog and digital radio. Internet based distribution or online streaming is already available to hand held multi-platform devices such as cell-phones and PDA’s. Manufacturers are on the cusp of having these devices ready for the car as well. Pacifica must prepare to compete in this “new world” if it is to remain relevant and ultimately actualize its mission. Not only will being prepared to compete in this new digital age protect the network, but it will breath new life into Pacifica by giving it the opportunity to insert itself into the cutting edge of public media.

Action:

Funding should be applied to the redevelopment of Pacfica’s website for the purpose of delivering programming as a network. This will prepare Pacifica for hand held & automobile ready online streaming devices and serve as an extremely effective outreach service. The redevelopment of the site will include a department devoted to the maintenance and service of the website. It is recommended that the new Pacifica website be maintained through PacificaRadio Archives (PRA) due to the synergy of the archive’s purpose in relationship to the network as a whole. The results of this redevelopment project will include:

1. A Pacifica Network program grid available as a real time stream of programs takenfrom all five stations and Pacifica Archives.
2. Available on-demand and podcasts programs from all five stations and the Pacifica Archives.
3. Promotions and links for all Pacifica units placed on the front page to garner financialsupport and further the Pacifica Mission.
4. Greater outreach at the national and international level, leading to increased funding, awareness and fulfillment of the Pacifica Mission.
5. Dramatically increased revenues due to national and international Pacifica branding, outreach and relevance.

This new website will also serve as a road map for how to improve programming at the localstation level when and where necessary.

Programming:

Assessing the quality and relevance of programming throughout the network is necessary to increasing listenership and listener loyalty. The first step in the process is to understand the difference between content and programming. Programming is all encompassing. It includes but is not limited to format and content. Programming is both how you organize content and how you present it. Content is the information and the nuances of that information within the programming.

Content Vs Format

The Pacifica mission, “education through the means of radio with the goal of conflict resolution,
the creation of a viable outlet for genuine thinkers and artists, and a source for alternative
news,” is both compelling and brilliant. Most of the content at all six Pacifica units are perfectly in line with the mission. Bottom line: for Pacifica, content is not the major challenge. Rather, it is the format portion of programming that needs to be addressed for the purpose of increasing listenership and listener loyalty.

At all five Pacifica radio stations a quilt type pattern of programming has been created. This
method of organizing of content, or formatting, goes against the grain of listener behavior.
Listeners themselves, focus groups and surveys tell us that consistency is important to keeping people tuned in and coming back for more. This is because, for instance, for people listening to radio in cars, programming becomes a virtual community for the commuter while traveling.  These commuters are in need of consistent elements from hour to hour or day-part to day-part to feel comfortable in their virtual community. Constant disruption and disturbances to the commuter’s environment create distraction and discomfort and cause the listener too seek a new virtual community.

Action:

Approaching the element of consistency does not mean that the same host and the same content need to be delivered at the same time each day for each day-part (stripped programming).  Pacifica can be revolutionary in its formatting by using the stripping model in high PUR day-parts and use other techniques to ensure consistency in other day-parts. Pacifica can also employ variations of formatting to create consistency such as utilizing various thinkers, artists, activists and community leaders to both anchor and guest appear on consistent issues throughout the day-parts and for days on end, depending on the circumstances. A perfect example is when any of the five stations do special coverage of events such as elections, economic conditions and conflicts. This type of approach to consistent programming is often what Pacifica does best, but requires the network and stations to have the ability to make temporary changes to programming slots smoothly. This can be accomplished with a clear policy and or format structure that is designed for flexibility and respect.

Revitalizing National Programming

Pacifica Network has a unique opportunity at this time in history to make a positive change, seizing on the wide-spread democratic participation and political engagement of the masses. We can take a visible national stand by developing a new nationally syndicated investigative news magazine that complements Democracy Now! Together, the stations are ready to take the lead in developing this new program for national and international distribution.

Why should Pacifica prioritize content development for national distribution? What do we know
about “DN!” in particular and national programs in general that can inform our decision makingprocess?

National programs in general and “DN!” in particular:

• Generate the most tune-in rate at each station, and highest time spent listening — key to developing loyalty and support.
• Generate revenue that is at least twice as much as what they cost to produce or acquire.
• Are the most distributed programs, generating revenue for stations and the network through the fee for service or program distribution. (DN! And FSRN are the main reason stations affiliate with Pacifica.)
• Are the programs most down-loaded.
• Are the programs that most brand Pacifica and unify us as a network.
• Brand us as a credible media institution on a national scale.

The 2006 affiliates survey concluded affiliate stations’ number one request was for more investigative news programs like DN! The advantages derived from nationally syndicated programs like DN! — audience, revenue, and a credible brand — are also enjoyed by our sister affiliates across the nation. DN! was, we remember, developed as a local program at WBAI, Pacifica. We need to maintain and expand our national impact, both to fulfill our mission and to ensure the success of our long term goals of providing service to communities that are underserved by public media

What else do we know about current opportunities we can and need to utilize in order to remain relevant in the long run?

• The nation is engaged in national politics like no other time in recent history.
• The new administration has energized people to engage politically — especially younger people aged 20-40 who may not yet be activist and may not yet have been a target audience for us.
• There is a lack of news/public affairs content produced and distributed by public media with age 20-40 as a target audience.
• The age 20-40 target audience is likely to respond well to an advanced Pacifica website pushing new media in new ways.
• Both the new audience and the new website will result in increased revenues for the network.

Action: Develop national programming for affiliate and international distribution. Revitalization
of programming is but one part of the activities needed to move Pacifica to the next level, but istreated here with greater detail because of our belief in its importance in the grand scheme.

National Programs

We intend to develop a new national program by late spring, 2009. We believe this
programming is necessary in order to:

• Brand/rebrand Pacifica as a network;
• Provide program time to advance the Pacifica mission;
• Provide additional quality programming for the units;
• Increase listenership and support;
• Create opportunity for joint promotional activities.

For the purpose of creating such programming, we will first identify nationally recognized, locally accessible hosts. As a working model, we created “467 East West-Central” as a nationally produced program airing at 4p PT, 6p CT and 7p ET. Creation of this hypothetical/potential model allowed us to work through the obstacles and opportunities inherent in bringing our units together. Some of those obstacles might include:

• Differences in time zone;
• Resistance to imposition of outside decision-making;
• Market differences;
• Conflicts with current schedule needs or strengths.

On the other hand, potentials to be realized include:

• Establishment of co-working structures which are available for future projects;
• Improved programming through pooling of resources;
• Opportunities for shared promotional activities;
• Manifestation of a cohesive national identity;
• Creation of a national virtual neighborhood of activists;
• Increased local awareness of sister unit activities;
• Additional solidification of the national programming identity currently borne almost exclusively by DN! and FSRN.
• Potential for program funding and listener support.

467 East West-Central could:

• Have a consistent production format;
• Five days-per-week production each by a specific unit;
• Nationally known hosts each chosen by the unit producing that weekday.
• Standard, highly produced openings and closings;
• Standardized bumpers, music and themes;
• Consistent breaks;
• Pacifica-related information segments.

 As mentioned, 467 is a working model for identification of problems and potentials. Other
potential national programming opportunities are being identified and may include:

• The First 100 Days of The Barack Obama Administration
• Al-Jazeera English News

In all cases, national programming decisions must be moderated to have the least negative impact on local program time while providing the greatest possible potential for improved listenership and increased resources.

Once programming has been redeveloped and consistency and quality enhanced, the final step to increasing listenership and listener loyalty is outreach. This process should include targeting “key” audiences and developing ways to reach them in the most cost effective and impactful ways.

Actions

I. Pacifica should utilize Radio Research Consortium, Development Exchange Inc., and other radio analysis groups to assess market share and Pacifica’s audience potential within the five terrestrial radio markets, all affiliates markets and international/online markets. A target for audience growth can be determined from this data and analysis giving the network clear benchmarks for outreach.

II. With benchmarks in place, Pacifica is ready to partner with cultural, political, and othermedia outlets to market to targeted audiences.

The creation of an interactive multi-faceted program that gives potential listeners an opportunity to engage Pacifica is the most effective way to recruit listeners, create loyalty and further the mission. The Pacifica Radio Archives’ newly launched Campus Campaign is a shining example. It is a perfect instrument of the Pacifica mission bringing together brilliant content, good radio, good will, education, and an outstanding opportunity to brand and market the network and its tremendous value. It also gives the listener an excellent opportunity to participate with Pacifica in actualizing Lew Hill’s vision.

The need for facilitation in the examination of governance structures is a constant in any publicly responsive non-profit organization. It is made even more so in the case of Pacifica because of
our absolute commitment to democratic ideals in governance and operations.

We understand this need and understand as well that Pacifica’s ability to progress is dependenton regular self-examination. Therefore, as part of this proposal we recommend:

• Retention of a top-line, experienced board facilitator;
• Planning of facilitated retreat as part of the Spring PNB meeting;
• Participation of key station and national staff with PNB members in the retreat;
• Establishment of a stronger relationship between key staff and PNB operations.

Such facilitations should be part of a regular and on-going process to keep our relationships healthy and transparent. More importantly, this work, if performed regularly, could help to keep all of our working relationships consistent and stable — an obvious necessity in all of our attempts together to improve our ability to serve the Pacific mission.

Pacifica’s challenges cannot be solved one unit at a time, but rather through a cooperative effort by all network departments. It is possible to increase listenership, listener loyalty and funding, with the purpose of further actualizing the mission. This requires the sharing of resources, ideas and solutions. Envisioning Pacifica as a true network of devoted and cooperative team members is a step in the correct direction. The second step includes empowering and trusting identified Pacifica team members to assist with the coordination of intra-network department communications. With counterparts from various units working together on problem solving, cost reductions, generating revenue and so forth, efficiency and productivity should rise. With the increase in efficiency and productivity Pacifica can begin to revitalize its mission and effectiveness.

It would be extremely beneficial to begin the process of forming specific “task forces” or work
groups to “tackle” various spheres of Pacifica’s “business.” For instance, a Pacifica technical task force could be created allowing Engineering and Operations staff throughout the network to tele-conference weekly and discuss outstanding issues within each unit and network wide. The expected outcome of such “meetings” is a better understanding of challenges at specific units and the sharing of experiences hopefully resulting in cost reductions due to the elimination of unnecessary redundancies and inefficiencies, or the realization of best practices and creative solutions. The bottom line result could be financial savings, equipment lasting longer and/or working more efficiently and so on.

This model for network operation is dependent on a spirit of cooperation, unity and ultimately trust. Pacifica is a great network built on a beautiful idea. It has yet to fully realize its mission; together we all can revitalize the stations, the archives and look to new ways of engaging the world.

Respectfully submitted to the Pacifica National Board, January 30, 2009.
Prepared by station and archives managers:

Duane Bradley, KPFT, Houston, TX
Brian DeShazor, PRA, Los Angeles, CA
Sean Heitkemper, KPFK, Los Angeles, CA
Ron Pinchback, WPFW, Washington, D.C.
Anthony Riddle, WBAI, New York, NY
Lemlem Rijio, KPFA, Berkeley, CA