Our Story
In early 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a community radio station for Takoma Park and surrounding neighborhoods in NW and NE Washington, DC, as well as Montgomery and Prince George's Counties. By summer 2016, “Takoma Radio” will broadcast as WOWD-LP on 94.3FM, programming music, stories, interviews, history, happenings, and other expressions of local life.
A project of local non-profit Historic Takoma (HTI), the small volunteer radio team has, since 2011, trained audio producers, sponsored listening and live music events, and been present at local festivals to discuss the desire for a local, real-time broadcast voice for our unique and diverse community.
For the last four years, we've raised funds through events, t-shirt sales, donations and grants - thanks to Takoma Foundation - to pay for engineering studies, professional consultation fees, and audio production equipment.
Now we turn to you to raise funds for essential equipment and construction of our storefront on-air studio located in the heart of downtown Takoma on Westmoreland Avenue!
We want you to be a part of this station - help us get local voices on the air with your contribution now.
What Your Tax-deductible Donation Pays For
The list of what's needed includes:
- Antenna
- Soundproof door
- Streaming and licensing fees
- Office space for trainings and meetings
- Producer and DJ training fees
- Digitizing tools for vinyl and tape
- Studio carpentry
- And more!
The Impact
The Low Power FM (LPFM) radio service was created in January 2000, authorizing LPFM stations for noncommercial educational broadcasting operating at 100 watts or less.
Takoma Radio will reach at least 100,000 potential listeners in a 2-5 mile radius of the antenna site.
Our mission is to serve our population and build community through hyper-local radio broadcasting and audio production by:
- Collecting and documenting our rich local culture through music and audio storytelling featuring individuals and stories often overlooked or under-represented by media.
- Educating our community through training by experts in the radio field. We have already trained dozens of community members in our "Producer Posse" workshops over the past two years, covering everything from conducting interviews to gathering audio, to using digital recording and editing equipment.
- Having a physical presence at community events to document our local history in real-time.
- Having an on-air presence 24/7, 365.
Stay in Touch!
Follow our progress on our website.
