Kekahu Foundation

KKCR is Kauaʻi's independent, non-commercial, listener-supported Community Radio station. 

KKCR seeks to:

• Stimulate, educate and entertain our audience
• Preserve, perpetuate and celebrate Hawaiian culture
• Reflect the diversity of the local and world community
• Disseminate factual emergency response and disaster preparedness information

KKCR provides a forum for overlooked, suppressed, or under-represented voices and music. The Kekahu Foundation facilitates this broadcasting opportunity.

That is our official mission statement, and we take it seriously - and we have fun doing it! Our homemade, grassroots, volunteer-powered radio station is truly unique. 97% of our content is created on Kaua'i for Kaua'i! A solid 40% of broadcasting focuses on Hawaiian music, culture, and issues. Our community affairs programming engages the public and highlights local politics and issues. Eclectic music shows keep us all entertained and informed. 

New things at KKCR in the last year:

     -"Taking the Radio Out of the Station". We're taking advantage of remote broadcast technology to get the radio at local events and meetings and we're also setting up remote broadcast studios to attract and retain local talent to keep their content available.

    -Educational Spots. We've partnered with other non-profit organizations on Kaua'i to bring relevant, timely and meaningful messages to the airwaves. Like ocean safety information and conservation topics.

     -Partnerships with other Media Organizations. We've reached out to Ho'ike TV, our community media partner on Kaua'i and Civil Beat, state-wide non-profit news reporting, to bring more news content to our listeners. 

     -New Shows. Volunteers have stepped up to bring new programming to the airwaves! Catch a Spanish language show on Tuesday evenings and Tagalog on Wednesdays, in addition to the Ni'ihauan dialect show on Sunday. Andrew presents comedy and storytelling, Chad brings poetry to the airwaves, Adriana hosts a New Orleans based music program and Sean is new to the roots reggae scene on Sunday nights. Stay tuned for more new programs!

     -Updating our Mission Statement. To reflect our origins post-Iniki and a desire to share disaster recovery information and emergency preparedness tips, facts, and awareness, station management and Board of Directors approved a new sentence to the mission. It's what we've always done and now it's legit. As the LP2 station on Kaua'i we are listed by the Coast Guard as critical infrastructure. (fancy)

     -24/7 Hawaiian Music Stream at kkcr.org. This is our favorite and long-anticipated project come to fruition. You can now listen to KKCR's extensive Hawaiian music archive all day and all night. Listener surveys show that listeners LOVE Hawaiian music. We've made it accessible to the world! It may be the only station of it's kind. We'll be adding even more music to this collection in the coming months. You can find it at kkcr.org and on the free KKCR smartphone app.

Community Radio differs from Public Radio in subtle ways. It is generally a non-profit affair and a volunteer driven effort. It sustains itself with a significantly smaller operating budget than commercial or public radio. It remains responsive to community needs and consistently seeks input from listeners and provides a mechanism for all people to share their stories, exchange experiences and participate as creators in the realm of media. Community radio is BY the people, FOR the people, and OF the people!

We at KKCR believe that community radio serves a critical service for our island and the world beyond. We bring current events to a news desert. We offer unpredictable entertainment outside the algorithm that chooses for you. We broadcast vital emergency messages when we need it most. We've been doing it for 27 years! 

You're invited to check us out! Email us for a station tour, to become a volunteer, to underwrite our shows, or to become a supporter of community media today!