90.7 WMFE TO AWARD LOCAL ARTS ORGANIZATIONS WITH ON-AIR MESSAGES THROUGH AMPLIFY CENTRAL FLORIDA INITIATIVE

Four organizations a year will reach, at no cost to them, 270,000 weekly listeners on 90.7 WMFE & 89.5 WMFV

ORLANDO -- Arts funding was cut by nearly 90 percent in the state of Florida this year. Local public radio station 90.7 WMFE realizes what a blow this is to Central Florida’s arts organizations. That’s why the station has developed the Amplify Central Florida campaign to award on-air sponsorship messages to deserving nonprofit arts organizations to help them make up some of that funding gap.

Some background

[caption id="attachment_89096" align="alignright" width="250"] “It’s a big hit for all of us,” says Flora Maria Garcia, CEO of United Arts of Central Florida. Listen to the interview>>[/caption]

In 2015, the Florida Department of Cultural Affairs was funded at over $43 million. Last year funding was $24 million, and this year, just $2.65 million. “It’s a big hit for all of us,” Flora Maria Garcia, CEO of United Arts of Central Florida, told Matthew Peddie, host of WMFE’s Intersection in April. “A lot of the state funding goes to small rural communities where arts groups provide programs to folks that would normally not have access to the arts.” Listen to the whole interview.

LaFontaine Oliver, president and general manager of WMFE, believes there exists a strong symbiotic relationship between the arts and public media, and when he heard this interview, he knew the station could do something meaningful to help arts organizations. WMFE already supports the arts by offering a free community calendar on wmfe.org and produces Spotlight, the weekly arts and culture segment heard Fridays at 5:50 p.m.

“We are a partner in the arts, and we want to support the local arts with the most powerful tool we have – our airwaves,” Oliver said. “We’re excited to roll out the Amplify Central Florida campaign this month.”

Taking submissions & listeners will vote

Amplify Central Florida will award corporate sponsorship packages worth $2,500 four times a year. The first package will be awarded in August. The sponsorship (aka underwriting) messages will air on WMFE and its sister station, 89.5 WMFV in The Villages, during Sept. 1-Nov. 30 and will reach more than 270,000 weekly listeners – well-informed and discerning consumers, business owners and community leaders across Central Florida.

All Central Florida arts organizations have to do to enter is submit their events to the WMFE Community Calendar occurring during the time period that they are seeking on-air promotion. More information and submission guidelines are at www.wmfe.org/amplify.

Then, WMFE’s listeners will vote, and based on those votes and other supporting documentation, the WMFE Community Advisory Board will pick a winner.

• The deadline to submit your calendar events occurring Sept. 1-Nov. 30 was July 29.
• The voting period is Aug. 2-16 on WMFE's Facebook page.
• The winner will be announced soon afterward.

Please share this campaign with arts organizations in the community who would benefit from this opportunity!

About Community Communications Inc.:
Community Communications Inc. is a non-profit, member-supported, community-based public broadcasting company that operates 90.7 WMFE-FM, metro Orlando’s primary provider of NPR programming; 90.7-2 Classical; and since March 2018, 89.5 WMFV, public radio for The Villages, Leesburg and The Golden Triangle. Part of the community since 1980, Community Communications focuses on providing quality national and local news and programming. Visit  wmfe.org and  wmfv.org for more information.

# # #

Questions about the Amplify Central Florida campaign? Email Communications & Marketing Specialist Jenny Babcock at jbabcock@wmfe.org.