Central Vermont Community Radio is committed to:

Providing access to the airwaves for the next generation and in doing so, protecting free speech and centering the communities' needs.
Helping the helpers during emergencies: Either climate caused or from those wishing harm on our neighbors or public institutions.
Expanding locally made content: from forecasts, to stories and news from your community, to music, and more. We are what your community sounds like.

In the four short years of community ownership, we've transformed the station:

Increasing locally made programming 200% from 23 to 70 shows.
Building up listenership to 18K folks. This is nearly double where we were in 2021. It's more radio listeners, but also way more online listeners.
Plugging in community members in the leadership and running of the station: board expansion, a community run programming committee, volunteer roles, and of course, our programmers.

Now, we are set to ensure WGDR is around for the next 50 years and beyond by moving the antenna to a higher, better location. This will dramatically improve our broadcast coverage, going from 70 square miles to over 700 (not a typo!) [see coverage map to the right. The color blue is the current WGDR signal. Yellow is the projected new coverage!]. It will more than double our broadcast listening audience, while increasing those who give, underwrite, and sponsor the station. It sets us up to make long term decision that ensure the station is sustainable and located where we can have the biggest impact. In short, a new antenna in a new spot, will be a game changer.

Help us raise this antenna in the spring of 2026 with a one time gift of $500 or more, each year, for three years. This "Tower Fund" allows us to plan for the new costs the new tower location will cost us, while also allowing for the new listenership to take shape and turn into more support.

The majority of the costs of this project will be in year one of three, so we are looking to raise most of this by mid year 2026.

These three years of costs will be:

CVCR Sustained Staffing	$80,000	% of Station Manager, part-time Operations & part-time Development role.
Engineering & FCC Attorney	$10,000	Permits and construction
WGDR Annual Operating Costs	$30,000	New tower rent and utilities
WGDR New Antenna Gear & Upfit Costs of Tower Shed	$20,000	Antenna, other equipment, heating/cooling on shed
CVCR Overhead	$35,000	Cost to run organization admin while building this out (10% of budget over three years).
TOTAL	$175,000	Over three years. This is on top of the CVCR annual budget of $135K.

For more information on this project please contact Station Manager: Llu Mulvaney-Stanak, Llu@WGDR.org or (802) 276-0365. Thank you!

WGDR Tower Fund

Invest in the future of WGDR!