KXCI’s goal is to execute our mission to connect the communities of Tucson and Southern Arizona with each other and the world with informative, engaging, and creative community-based programming. We broadcast nearly 100% original programming 24/7 with a terrestrial signal reaching the Tucson metro area and rural portions of Southern Arizona, from Green Valley to Oro Valley and from Oracle to Benson. Outside of this region, listeners stream KXCI online around the world. All of our music programming is archived in two-week increments via our playlisting service Spinitron (streaming archives expire after two weeks as per RIAA guidelines). Video content documents the work of local and touring musicians, fostering national interest in our local music scene. Connecting diverse communities is achieved through our mix of eclectic musical programming and by offering an accessible, multi-tiered media platform on which our community can amplify their voices and tell their stories. Community-oriented topics are explored on shows produced primarily by our own volunteers. We produce half-hour long-form public affairs programs like Broad Perspectives Radio that focuses on issues affecting women. In 2020 we added a half-hour long Captain’s Log Project so that listeners could specifically share how COVID-19 was impacting their lives. In April 2021, the Boom Goddess Radio podcast, hosted by a senior woman of color joined the broadcast public affairs lineup. Through our Education Department we’ve expanded our youth programming to a full hour of two youth hosted shows running back to back. We added a new short form program hosted by youth discussing their musical interests while they learn how to produce their own programs. KXCI broadcasts short-form (3-5 minute) programs in between each music program. Some of these programs include: Tejiendo Identidades, Artistories, Flicks, Growing Native, Nonprofit Spotlight, Pedaling the Pueblo, Southwestern Trails, Thesis Thursday, and our youth produced program, Bonus Tracks. These are all developed and produced locally and they highlight local people and topics such as poetry, local arts organizations and artists, films available locally, regional and seasonal botany, LGBTQI+ issues, refugee resettlement, the environment, the local cycling community, regional hiking, and University of Arizona undergraduate science researchers. Recent short program additions are two bilingual programs, one focusing on identity and regional culture and the other focusing on people who are LGBTQ, Black, and indigenous people of color making positive changes in the community. We continue our partnerships with the University of Arizona’s Africana Studies Department and the College of Humanities. Professors join us on air to guest DJ and discuss how music illuminates and intersects with their academic areas of expertise. Our special programming initiatives have broadened and deepened as well. We produced days of locally-produced programming focused on International Women’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month Programming, Juneteenth, and we joined with other radio stations around the globe to celebrate International Clash Day (celebrating the music and message of UK band The Clash). We continue to invite community members to share about what’s happening in the community and ways to get involved with local organizations.

In FY2022 KXCI continued to expand partnerships with the University of Arizona’s Student Engagement and Career Development Department as well as The Confluence Center. The Student Engagement project began in September of 2021 with a faculty member inviting KXCI to participate in a semester-long course project, the Design Thinking Challenge and has led to the project outcomes providing valuable insights and recommendations for reaching new audiences. This collaboration also facilitated two paid student internships over two semesters. These students learned about social media and website design and also provided KXCI with a younger perspective on media in general. The collaboration with The Confluence Center included KXCI staff moderating community panel conversations around Border issues, housing, and community history. KXCI was back in the community supporting and collaborating with many community partners with DJ sets at the local Museum of Contemporary Art, providing soundscapes for the Botanical Gardens, MCing a local author/musician’s book launch, and supporting events like Cyclovia, El Tour de Tucson cycling event, and The 24-Hours in the Old Pueblo Ride.

KXCI broadcast over 12,000 Public Service Announcement spots in FY2022 highlighting the work of local nonprofits and sharing important messages from local government agencies. In addition to our PSAs, our program The Nonprofit Spotlight invites our local community leaders to provide information about their programs and services to the Southern Arizona community. Last year we invited over 25 organizations to share detailed information with your listeners. Some of the guests included Southern Arizona Legal Aid, Books Save Lives, The Tucson Peace Center, Direct Advocacy and Resources, and Just Communities Arizona. We also partnered with local nonprofit organizations working in mental health and HIV/AIDS through our partnerships with NAMIWalks and The Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation. We also collaborated on arts events to support artists of color through El Tambo Fest (featuring Latinx musicians), The Tucson Hip Hop Festival and The Folk Festival, Cinema Tucson – promoting Latin American cinema in the US. KXCI also participated in the local Pride Parade for the first time in support of LGBTQ+ staff and community members. KXCI invited the County Recorder to inform listeners about how to register to vote as the county implemented new voting centers. Re:Juneteenth programming, “I’m so happy you chose to have this special programming again this year. Last year’s was powerful! It was my first time ever hearing about the Tulsa massacre and all the history leading up to it in that city. I was blown away! That day on the radio sent me reading a lot to discover what I’d previously been ignorant of (“protected” from).” Thank you Debi Z. “Thank you KXCI, the Cinema Tucson series aligns with KXCI’s efforts to create more space for activities and events involving the Latinx communities.” Ernesto Portillo, Cinema Tucson.

Through our PSAs we are able to share important community information and resources. Many of the organizations that we have featured serve minority and other diverse communities. Our short-form program The Nonprofit Spotlight provides a platform for local nonprofits to inform all community members about programs, services, and resources that are available. We shared resources about various free legal services for low income families and for newly arrived immigrants, we highlighted educational and scholarships opportunities for refugees and Dreamers. Our bilingual short-form program, Tejiendo Identidas/Knitting Identities continues to share stories of identity and culture of the people of Tucson and their work in the community. The program airs in both English and Spanish. In January 2022 KXCI also began airing Amplifying Voices, a project highlighting the voices of people making positive change in our community. This project centers the voices of people who are lgbtq+, black, indigenous, and people of color and promotes cultural changes that support healing for people from all backgrounds and also airs in both English and Spanish. Our core programming also provides a platform for BIPOC artists to showcase their art and interests while meeting the listener needs of the entire community, including: Black History in the Making, a programming partnership with Black Renaissance and the Takeover Lounge Podcast, a series of featurettes that highlighted Arizona artists and included captivating conversations with Black musicians and LGBTQ+ artists. Special Programming days celebrating Black and African American legacy and history in American society, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Juneteenth, with featured Black DJs who host this daylong celebration, including honorarium for the DJs. Public Service Announcements (PSAs) that share important community information and resources, including public health, social service, food security, employment information, have featured Desert Star Family Planning and Tucson Black Film Club.

Funding from the CPB makes it possible for KXCI to focus on fulfilling our mission and serving our community. KXCI’s mission is to connect the communities of Tucson and Southern Arizona to each other, and to the world, with informative, engaging and creative community-based radio programming. Our goals include continuously informing listeners about local issues and events through terrestrial broadcast and digital platforms while also creating additional programming reflective of the community’s diversity on multiple levels including ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic status. These are all directly dependent upon CPB grants. CPB funding enables us to fiscally sponsor other cultural and community organizations, as well as our ability to host local and national musicians. CPB support keeps us focused on our mission, our audience, and most importantly, our community. In addition to providing security and stability for our station, CPB support is leveraged in seeking other grant opportunities. The CPB continues to be one of our most important funding sources and contributes directly to our ability to make an impact in our community.