About Pacifica Safety Net
What is Pacifica Safety Net?
The Pacifica Safety Net is a California organization formed by Pacifica radio listeners, volunteers and donors to protect the Foundation’s five local stations from the immediate dangers they face. Our mission is vital. Its creation was inspired by our love for the original Pacifica Mission Statement and service to our communities and the World. We need to keep our stations on the air so they can provide programming that truly supports and protects the health, the rights and access to knowledge for listeners in the communities they serve.
We are raising money for a “safety net” of funds outside of the control of Pacifica Foundation management to protect the stations, whether the response is legal, operational or otherwise. This action is a necessary response to Pacifica’s current existential crisis that has been created by a dysfunctional and conflicted national board of directors.
We have come together to restore and lift up the Mission of the Pacifica Foundation
The Pacifica Foundation is the only progressive terrestrial non-commercial national radio network in our country, and it is vitally important, now more than ever. Many of the current Pacifica National Board of directors have retained control of the organization’s governance for 15 years. Their poor decision-making has been catastrophic to Pacifica’s stations and a betrayal of its important founding Mission. These unqualified individuals (who lack Financial or radio experience) serve revolving door 6-year terms, cycling off for one year, and then being re-elected with support from dark money 501(c)(4) corporations and fringe ideological groups.
For the past 20 years, Pacifica Radio has seen a consistent and steady decline in its listening audience, membership and revenue. Those responsible for managing and improving this precious resource have violated their legal fiduciary duty as members of the Board of Directors of Pacifica to remedy this situation. Instead, they took out a $3.25 million subprime loan that comes due in Fall 2022 to rescue the New York station from being seized by its creditors. Adding insult to injury, they have failed to devise a repayment plan for the loan for the past three years, and are now desperately seeking an extension of one year from the lender.
If we fail to act soon, the network will be forced to sell off assets, assets that you, the donors, paid for. Pacifica’s broadcast facilities and/or the irreplaceable Pacifica Radio Archives will likely be sold to repay the loan, which would threaten the stations as we know them. This may result in losing the station(s) forever, or worse turning them into the 24/7 programming of quack cures, alternative beauty products, conspiracy mongers and marginal sectarian splinter groups.
Why do we even need a Pacifica Safety Net?
We are a “Friends of” organization, similar to ones that support many other non-profit organizations. There are large numbers of U.S. public TV and radio stations that have “Friends of the station” groups. It is not unusual for nonprofits such as public broadcasters, museums, or schools to have them. The reasons are varied.
What can you do to save your local Pacifica station?
We are offering our fellow listeners a chance to support and enhance our important work with The Pacifica Safety Net; an opportunity to join a community of people who share a collective vision to keep Pacifica independent.
Please take a look at the other materials on this website and learn about the underlying and often convoluted backstory surrounding Pacifica’s governance and colorful history.
Then get involved by contacting your local elected officials and let them know that Pacifica is important to you, and we need their support to save and strengthen it.
The Pacifica Safety Net is powered by donations. This means there isn’t a safety net of corporate funding, major endowments and underwriting like other public broadcast entities. Your financial support makes it all possible. Please click on the donate button to show your support for this vital effort at this most critical moment in our history as a nation.
Thank you for caring and giving.
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