Kinship Radio

What Kinship Radio does

Kinship Radio is a listener-supported, non-profit Christian radio ministry founded in 1986 and headquartered in Mankato, Minnesota. It operates a regional network of 14-15 FCC-licensed FM stations broadcasting Bible teaching, worship music, and talk programming 24/7 across Southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa, with sub-markets including Mankato, Mason City-Austin-Rochester, Marshalltown, Ames-Iowa Falls, the Twin Cities West/South Metro, and Northwest Iowa. Beyond over-the-air broadcasting, Kinship Radio distributes content through a mobile app on iOS and Android (with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support), online streaming via its website, and a community ecosystem that includes a prayer line, a community events calendar, a volunteer/ambassador program, and signature events such as the Spearhead Summit men's conference.

The underlying technology stack is modest and traditional: licensed FM transmission infrastructure, a mobile app for live listening and listener engagement (recording messages to announcers, daily devotions, event discovery), and standard web streaming. The platform architecture centers on the radio broadcast as the primary product, with the app and website functioning as complementary digital extensions rather than standalone products.

Kinship Radio's revenue model is donor-driven and multi-stream: listener donations, individual and couple day sponsorships (e.g., honoring wedding anniversaries), business sponsorships, planned/estate gifts, and modest event registration revenue (Spearhead Summit at $30 per attendee). Distribution and growth are community-led rather than sales-led, relying on word-of-mouth, social media presence (Facebook, Instagram), community partnerships (Mankato MoonDogs baseball team, Operation Christmas Child, Hosanna Lutheran Church), email newsletters, and event sponsorship. The primary customer segments are Christian families and individuals in the broadcast region, with local churches and ministries as a secondary referral channel; there is no enterprise sales motion or venture funding.

Name

Kinship Radio

Legal name

Kinship Radio

Website

https://kinshipradio.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kinship Radio is a listener-supported, non-profit Christian radio ministry broadcasting Bible teaching, worship music, and talk programming across 14-15 FM stations in Southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa, serving Christian families and individuals via over-the-air, mobile app, and online streaming channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Radio Broadcasting

NAICS

Radio Broadcasting Stations (516110), Religious Organizations (8131)

SIC

Radio Broadcasting Stations (4832)

akta.pro primary industry

Religious Radio Broadcasting (MPAIAEAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Religious Music & Worship Broadcasting (MPABALAN), Local Religious/Faith-Based Stations (MPABACAL)

Keywords

• Christian radio broadcasting
• Religious radio ministry
• Worship music broadcasting
• Community radio programming
• Faith-based media

Headquarters

HQ city

Mankato

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Listener Donations and Sponsorships: Kinship Radio is supported by listener donations and individual/business sponsorships. Daily sponsors and full-day broadcast sponsorships are available for purchase to honor special occasions or commemorate events.
2. Estate Planning Gifts: The ministry accepts planned giving and estate plan inclusions, described as investments in the Lord's mission to seek and save the lost.
3. Event Registration: Revenue generated from event registrations such as the Spearhead Summit men's conference at $30 per attendee.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kinship Radio is a listener-supported nonprofit Christian radio ministry that operates a network of 14 FM stations across Southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa, broadcasting Bible teaching, worship music, and talk programming 24/7. The organization distributes its content through terrestrial FM radio, a proprietary mobile app with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support, and online streaming, while engaging listeners through prayer requests, a community calendar, volunteer programs, and ticketed events such as the Spearhead Summit men's conference.

Product overview

Kinship Radio is a listener-supported Christian radio ministry operating a network of 15 FM stations across Southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa. The organization offers a unified platform consisting of round-the-clock radio broadcasts, a mobile application for iOS and Android with in-vehicle compatibility via Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and community engagement programs including volunteer opportunities and day sponsorship options. The product portfolio includes the core broadcast network, the Kinship Radio Mobile App, programming features (Morning Show, Prayer Requests, Community Calendar), and support programs (Estate Planning, Day Sponsorship, Volunteer/Ambassador Program), all centered on the mission of communicating that Jesus is Lord through worship and the Word.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• KJLY 104.5 FM: Southern Minnesota - Northern Iowa station
• KJYL 100.7 FM
• KJWC 90.5 FM
• KJRX 89.1 FM
• KJCY 95.5 FM
• KJIA 88.9 FM
• KJGA 89.7 FM
• KJLM 88.7 FM
• KJTT 88.3 FM
• KJGT 88.3 FM
• KJLW 89.1 FM
• KJOM 91.9 FM
• KJWR 90.9 FM
• KJTS 88.3 FM
• KJCA 88.1 FM

Products and services

• Kinship Radio FM Broadcast Network A network of FM radio stations broadcasting Christian programming 24 hours a day, seven days a week across Southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa, featuring Bible teaching, worship music, talk programs, and local announcers.
• Kinship Radio Mobile App A mobile application for iOS and Android that lets listeners tune into live broadcasts, record messages to announcers, read daily devotions, and browse the local community event calendar, with in-vehicle support via Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
• Day Sponsorship Program A sponsorship offering that lets individuals or couples underwrite a full day of broadcasting on Kinship Radio, often used to celebrate occasions such as wedding anniversaries, with on-air acknowledgment of the sponsor and reason for giving.
• Estate Planning / Legacy Giving A planned-giving program that invites supporters to include Kinship Radio in their estate plans as a way to sustain the ministry beyond their lifetime.
• Spearhead Summit Men's Conference An annual ticketed men's conference hosted by Kinship Radio featuring a notable Christian speaker, worship, breakfast, and fellowship. The 2026 event featured Al Robertson and was held at Hosanna Lutheran Church in Mankato, priced at $30 per person.

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered secondary.

• Operation Christmas Child (Samaritan's Purse)secondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 July 2026Kinship Radio partners with Operation Christmas Child for annual Christmas in July Shoebox Collection Drives, collecting supplies and filled shoeboxes at multiple drop-off locations in their broadcast region for shipment to children worldwide.
• Mankato MoonDogs Baseball TeamsecondaryGTM or Marketing PartnerKinship Radio is a partner with the Mankato MoonDogs baseball team, sponsoring Sunday night Faith Night games. Discounted tickets are offered to church groups, and Kinship Radio maintains a table at games for community interaction.
• Hosanna Lutheran Church (Mankato)secondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHosanna Lutheran Church serves as a drop-off location for Operation Christmas Child shoebox collections and hosts the Spearhead Summit men's conference events.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Moody Radio: The broadcast ministry of Moody Bible Institute, operating a network of FM stations featuring Bible teaching, Christian music, and educational programming — a directly comparable religious radio network with nonprofit funding.
• WAY-FM Media Group: A listener-supported Christian music and teaching radio network operating dozens of FM stations across the U.S., with a comparable mix of worship music, devotional content, and donor-driven funding — directly analogous in format and revenue model.
• Bott Radio Network: The largest independently owned Christian radio network in the U.S., operating multiple FM stations across the Midwest and beyond with Bible teaching, worship, and Christian talk programming — a closely comparable multi-station Christian format ministry.
• VCY America: A Christian radio and television network broadcasting Bible teaching, preaching, and conservative Christian programming across a multi-station footprint — a closely comparable faith-based broadcasting ministry.
• American Family Radio: A non-commercial Christian radio network operating several hundred FM stations nationwide, broadcasting contemporary Christian music, teaching, and preaching — directly comparable in format, faith-based positioning, and listener-supported model.
• Relevant Radio: A listener-supported Catholic radio network operating dozens of FM stations across the U.S., with comparable donor-funded economics and faith-format programming — adjacent niche but identical operating model.

Broad incumbents

• Salem Media Group: A publicly traded multimedia company operating one of the largest portfolios of Christian and conservative-talk radio stations in the U.S. — broadly incumbent in the same religious radio space with a much larger station footprint.
• K-LOVE: The largest contemporary Christian music radio network in the U.S., operating over 600 signals and a leading mobile app — overlapping in worship-music format and app-driven digital distribution but operating at vastly larger national scale.

Emerging players

• EWTN Global Catholic Network: A large Catholic-oriented broadcast and digital media ministry with radio, television, and streaming distribution — comparable as a faith-broadcasting organization but serving a different doctrinal niche with significantly broader scale.

Others

• Keys for Kids: A Christian children's radio program linked directly from the Kinship Radio Resources page — a content partner/supplier whose kids programming is carried by Kinship Radio, illustrating ecosystem-level adjacency rather than direct competition.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Kinship-Christian-Radio-150547917209
• Instagraminstagram.com/kinship_radio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Kinship Radio