KMUD

What KMUD does

KMUD (Redwood Community Radio, Inc.) is a nonprofit community radio station founded in 1987 and headquartered in Redway, California. It operates four FM transmitters across Northern California — Garberville 91.1, Eureka 88.1, Laytonville 90.3, and Shelter Cove 99.5 — serving Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity counties with local news, music, talk, weather, and Community Safety and Awareness Reports. The technical platform combines FM broadcasting with global digital streaming through kmud.org and an online program archive at archive.kmudfm.org, extending reach beyond the local RF footprint. KMUD is volunteer-powered with a small staff under Station Manager Rich Culbertson and a member-elected board led by President Charley Custer, and it maintains affiliations with the Pacifica Network, the National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB), and Press Forward.

KMUD funds operations through voluntary listener donations and memberships, monthly contributions, local SMB underwriting (on-air sponsorship recognition), vehicle and property gifts, and grants. In January 2026, KMUD was one of only five California public media organizations awarded a $158,150 Public Media Bridge Fund grant to sustain services through the elimination of Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding. Beyond its broadcast product, KMUD operates a Wine Club supporter benefit (Di Arie partnership), merchandise storefront (kmud.threadless.com), community events (Touch a Truck, Quilt Raffle, community service hours for students), classifieds, and a public-service-announcement channel — positioning the station as a community information hub rather than a purely entertainment broadcaster.

The business is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors that includes member and programmer representatives; the Finance Committee has proposed a restructured operating model that retains the current headcount but routes bookkeeping, accounting, and HR through contract services. Recent governance moves include board nominations for three new directors (Jan 2026) and the hiring of an Assistant News Director (Jun 2026), alongside ongoing investment in WCAG accessibility compliance for the website and streaming products.

Name

KMUD

Legal name

Redwood Community Radio, Inc.

Website

https://kmud.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

KMUD (Redwood Community Radio) is a nonprofit community radio station operating four FM transmitters and digital streaming across Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity counties in Northern California since 1987, funded by listener donations, underwriting, and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Radio Broadcasting

NAICS

Radio Broadcasting Stations (516110), Radio Broadcasting Stations (51611)

SIC

Radio Broadcasting Stations (4832)

akta.pro primary industry

Public/Community Local Stations (PBS Member Stations, Community Radio, LPFM) (MPABACAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community/Low-Power Nonprofit Radio (LPFM/Community Radio) (MPABADAE)

Keywords

• Community radio broadcasting
• Public radio services
• Local news programming
• Digital audio streaming
• Nonprofit media

Headquarters

HQ city

Redway

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Membership: Voluntary contributions from listeners and community members to support community radio broadcasting operations
2. Underwriting: Business sponsorships and underwriting from local businesses and organizations in exchange for on-air recognition
3. Vehicle and Property Donations: Accepts donations of vehicles and property as alternative contribution methods
4. Grants: Received Public Media Bridge Fund grant of $158,150 to sustain critical local public media services during transition period following Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding changes

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

KMUD (Redwood Community Radio) operates a multi-station community radio network broadcasting local news, music, talk programming, and emergency information across four FM frequencies in Northern California (Garberville 91.1, Eureka 88.1, Laytonville 90.3, Shelter Cove 99.5). The station supplements FM coverage with global digital streaming and an online program archive, delivering community-powered nonprofit media content supported by listener donations, underwriting, and grants.

Product overview

KMUD (Redwood Community Radio) operates as a multi-station community radio network offering a unified platform of FM radio broadcasting and digital streaming services. The core offering consists of KMUD FM Radio Broadcasting across four Northern California transmitter locations (Garberville, Eureka, Laytonville, Shelter Cove), complemented by the KMUD Streaming Archive for global digital access. The station provides News Programming including local news and community safety reports, coordinated through a Program Schedule system. Additional supporter services include the KMUD Wine Club as a membership benefit. The organization functions as a nonprofit public media entity with programming spanning news, music shows, and talk shows.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• KMUD FM Radio Broadcasting Community radio broadcasting service delivered across four FM transmitters in Northern California (Garberville 91.1, Eureka 88.1, Laytonville 90.3, Shelter Cove 99.5), providing local news, music, talk programming, and emergency alerts to listeners in Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity counties.
• KMUD Digital Streaming and Online Archive Live digital audio streaming via kmud.org and online program archive at archive.kmudfm.org, allowing global listeners to access live broadcasts and on-demand archived programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly four decades of continuous community radio service since 1987
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• KEETcoreOthers · 8 January 2026Fellow public media organization in California and fellow recipient of the Public Media Bridge Fund grant. KMUD acknowledged KEET as a beloved PBS station on the North Coast and invited community support for both organizations.
• Pacifica NetworkcoreOthersListed as supporter of KMUD; Pacifica is a national network of community radio stations providing programming and resources to independent radio stations
• NFCB (National Federation of Community Broadcasters)coreOthersListed as supporter; NFCB is the national alliance providing resources, advocacy, and support for community radio stations
• Press ForwardminorOthersListed as supporter; Press Forward is an initiative supporting local news and independent media organizations

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• KQED: KQED is Northern California's largest public media organization, operating radio and TV stations. As a CPB-eligible member station, it mirrors KMUD's public-media funding model at significantly larger scale.
• Pacifica Foundation: Pacifica Foundation is the national nonprofit parent of the Pacifica Radio Network, of which KMUD is an affiliated supporter. It provides programming, advocacy, and infrastructure to community stations nationwide.
• NPR (National Public Radio): NPR is the national public radio network whose programming and funding model directly influences community stations like KMUD. It represents the broader system KMUD participates in and competes with for listener attention and donations.
• KPFA: KPFA is the flagship station of the Pacifica Network—a national community radio network and KMUD's affiliate. It operates a much larger, urban listener-funded model with similar nonprofit, volunteer-driven programming philosophy.

Direct peers

• WFMU: WFMU is one of the longest-running independent, freeform community radio stations in the U.S., based in New Jersey. Its volunteer-driven, listener-supported, nonprofit model is essentially the same operational archetype as KMUD.
• KZYX: KZYX is a community radio station serving Mendocino County, California—one of KMUD's core counties. It operates on a comparable nonprofit, listener-supported model with volunteer programming and local news, making it the closest geographic peer.
• KFJC: KFJC is a nonprofit community radio station in Los Altos Hills, California, run largely by volunteers. Its community-supported, volunteer-driven model and eclectic programming format closely mirror KMUD's operating approach.
• KHSU: KHSU is Cal Poly Humboldt's public radio station serving Humboldt County, directly overlapping KMUD's primary coverage area. Both operate as locally focused, donor-supported stations providing Northern California community programming.
• KEET: KEET is a PBS member station on the North Coast of California—KMUD's direct peer and colleague, having jointly received recognition via the Public Media Bridge Fund grant. Both serve the same rural Northern California region with public media programming.

Regional players

• CKUT: CKUT is a nonprofit campus and community radio station in Montreal, Canada. Its volunteer-driven, pluralistic programming model and reliance on listener donations are directly comparable to KMUD, though it operates in a different national market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kmud
• Facebookfacebook.com/KmudNews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kmud-redwood-community-radio

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about KMUD