If you are a nonprofit educational organization (in other words, any LPFM applicant other than a Tribe or public safety agency), you will be required to tell the FCC about your educational program as part of your LPFM application. The FCC requires you to submit this in a separate document, or exhibit as a pdf file. Your exhibit should state that you are a nonprofit educational organization, describe your educational goal, and explain how your proposed station will further that goal. You should also include a description of your proposed programming and a proposed programming schedule. Finally, you must include the date and state in which your organization was recognized or registered.
In summary, your exhibit should include four things:
- A description of your educational goal or purpose
- An explanation of how your programming will further this purpose
- A detailed description of the nature of your proposed program, including program
Schedules. (Program schedules are not included here. You may make a program grid yourself or include an example from an existing station you admire.)
- The date when your group was recognized or registered by your state (and documentation of this)
What should your exhibit look like?
Your educational program should lay out an educational goal for your organization, and how your station will help achieve it. This does not mean that your programming must be instructional or educational in a traditional sense. For example, the goal of your station could be to educate your community about blues music, and you could further that goal by playing blues music.
You won’t be held to the programming you propose in your exhibit when you actually go on air. But you should try to give an accurate sense of the type of programming you envision. You can review program schedules for other radio stations for inspiration and ideas. And you might even include a program schedule example from a station you admire in your exhibit.
In addition to your educational program, you must include complete copies of the documents establishing your nonprofit status such as the Articles of Incorporation originally filed with your state.
Keep in mind that the FCC won’t choose between competing applicants based on an evaluation of your educational program. Because of First Amendment free speech concerns, the FCC won’t make licensing decisions based on your content or viewpoints. Instead, they resolve competition between applications using the mutually exclusive process. The important thing is that you have an educational mission and that your exhibit is accurate, complete, and well-documented.
Real examples of educational program exhibits
Below are some real examples of educational programs taken from the public FCC database from the last two Low Power FM windows in 2000 and 2013. These programs were taken from applications that were granted by the FCC. All of the examples state a clear educational goal, how their proposed station will help advance that goal, and what their future programming will look like. They also include the date and state in which the organization was recognized as a nonprofit.
Pillsbury United Communities
Pillsbury United Committee was incorporated in the State of Minnesota on Dec. 13, 1983.
Through the Waite House site in the Phillips neighborhood, we educate the community about personal finance, computer skills, personal and communal health, food justice and cooking, and reading, writing, athletics, and arts for youth. Hundreds of community members come in and out of Waite House everyday to attend classes, eat a free meal in the community café, go to the food shelf, receive legal or community support, and more. The programs at Waite House are growing and developing more and more everyday.
By adding a community radio station, we will enhance knowledge and education about the ethnicities, perspectives, and voices present in the diverse Phillips community. A variety of community members from different backgrounds will produce radio shows in order to share information. These shows will emphasize events that are going on in the area and community news, educate the community on topics that are particularly important to a specific cultural group, share local and authentic music, and increase awareness about opportunities for community members to get involved in the community or enhance their life.
The goal of the station is to educate the community about news, voices, stories, and perspectives in the neighborhood, and continue educating community members through health news, financial advice, and other talk programs. We will do this by inviting and involving as many members of the diverse community on air, in order to educate people from their specific demographic and the larger community.
Live programming will run 24 hours a day. Potential programming schedule: 7 days a week
New Orleans Society for Infectious Disease Awareness (NOSIDA)
The New Orleans Society for Infectious Disease Awareness (NOSIDA) was formed on March 18th, 2010, to actively promote awareness of the physical, mental, and emotional effects that infectious diseases inflict on communities, especially in New Orleans. NOSIDA was formed recognizing that infectious diseases are diseases of poverty, impacting poor and vulnerable populations disproportionately. NOSIDA actively advocates for all people and communities that suffer the impacts of infectious diseases, through education, empowerment, and cooperation with individuals and other community organizations that share these important goals. Educational Goal; Our educational goal is twofold:
- The proposed name of the radio station is; Radio NOLA HIV, Programming Dedicated to Human Rights and Social Justice. Our educational goals will include regular messages/themes regarding how the most vulnerable in New Orleans can prevent the transmission of HIV and other infectious diseases. However, we will also have programming dedicated to human rights and social justice as it relates locally in New Orleans; thus giving a voice to those that are the most marginalized in New Orleans (migrant workers, LGBT, transgendered, low wage workers, etc).
- The second proposed educational goal for Radio NOLA HIV (RNH) is to provide an opportunity for at risk youth who are interested in broadcasting. We plan to offer opportunities for teenage volunteers (after school programs, etc) to learn broadcasting skills and develop on air content, while actively promoting messages of safety to their peers (avoidance of violence, drug or alcohol misuse, safer sex messaging). A broader goal for these teen volunteers that are interested in broadcasting, will be to encourage them to pursue higher education for more extensive broadcasting training.
The Animal Welfare League of Russell County
The Animal Welfare League of Russell County is a non-profit tax exempt publicly supported organization founded to educate the public and local government officials regarding the need for adequate public facilities for the care of domestic animals as well as the need for preservation of wildlife habitats in Russell County, Kentucky. Its officers and members have already been successful in their efforts to increase public awareness of the need for such facilities and conservation efforts, resulting in increased local government funding for the Jamestown City Animal Shelter and policy changes resulting in better treatment of animals housed there as well as major improvements to the facilities. Individuals are advised of the importance of neutering their pets to minimize the number of unwanted animals which eventually wind up at the shelter. The organization also has educational programs to increase the awareness of the public regarding wildlife poaching and out-of-season hunting, encouraging concerned citizens to report such activities to proper authorities. Habitat preservation is also a focus of the group’s efforts, encouraging landowners to avoid unnecessary woodland removal and wetlands drainage when possible and to avoid activities which result in local water and air pollution.
Programming aired on the proposed low power fm station will be designed to help these same messages reach an even wider audience. Daily programs will be aired during the morning hours (6 am to 10 am) regarding the needs of domestic animals. During afternoon hours (3 pm to 7 pm) programs encouraging wildlife and habitat preservation will be presented. Programs will also be aired educating pet owners about better care of their own animals, such as vaccinations, proper feeding, and flea and tick eradication.
The Animal Welfare League of Russell County, Inc. is incorporated under the laws of the state of Kentucky as a non-profit non-stock corporation; date of incorporation: July 21, 2000.
The Drum Workshop
Drum Workshop, Inc. was incorporated on January 7, 1995 as a non-profit entity in the commonwealth of Massachusetts. Drum Workshop was established to teach the history of the world’s cultures through the medium of their musical heritage. The organization researches authentic folkloric material from a variety of sources, including native masters, and teaches this music to island residents and visitors.
The organization stages workshops for young people, teenagers, and the elderly, separately and together, and acts as a bridge to the generations. In addition, participants are taught how music is written, performed and passed on through the generations as well as modern recording techniques and the operation of electronic equipment.
The station’s programming will primarily be an eclectic and diverse range of music from cultures all over the world. The primary thrust will be to expose the community to music which is not broadcast on commercial or non-profit stations available in our area. We also plan to have teenagers hosting and producing shows under the guidance of experienced studio staff to teach them broadcast techniques and practices. We are also planning an oral history project in which older members of our community (including members of the indigenous Wampanoag Native American Tribe) will be interviewed about the cultural changes that have occurred on the island during their lifetimes. We also plan to have regular on air forums where local leaders answer questions on current issues and problems facing the island community.
Public Gallery of Carrboro, Inc
The Public Gallery of Carrboro, Inc. was incorporated on January 30, 1997 in the state of North Carolina.
The educational mission of the Public Gallery of Carrboro Inc. is to educate the public about the arts and to increase public access to the arts.
The proposed low power FM station will advance the Public Gallery of Carrboro, Inc.’s educational program by broadcasting:
-arts information
-arts calendar
-publicity for arts events
-links to information about the arts -interviews with local artists -music by local artists
-music from local venues
-other arts-related programming
Examples of planned music programs are:
-old time music broadcast live from El Chilango (Thursday nights)
-local musicians performing live from the weaver street village green including after hours (Thursday nights) and jazz (Sunday mornings)
-music from local venues such as El Chilango and Cat’s Cradle
-the Fete de la Musique, a Carrboro music festival with over 100 local musicians