Jen Parker of KRFC 88.9 FM receives the 2024 Northern Colorado Torch Award for Ethical Leadership

Jen Parker has been the executive director of KRFC 88.9 FM in Fort Collins since 2018. KRFC is an independent, community radio station, meaning a public radio station that is not affiliated with a larger public radio network like NPR. KRFC's mission is to support Colorado's musicians and music industry and to provide positive local community programming that connects, informs, and inspires listeners. The station is funded through membership donations, underwriting sponsors, and grants. 12 staff and over 190 volunteers produce over 60 hosted weekly shows as well as countless events.

Parker came to KRFC having previously worked across the media industry including video games, publishing, television, and commercial radio. Facing insolvency, KRFC hired Parker to turn the station around and keep it alive, which she has and more. In her six years at the station, Parker has retired the station's debt, substantially grown community partnerships, attracted new donors and volunteers leading to a more sustainable operating budget and schedule, and launched transformative initiatives to push the station forward. The most visible example of the latter is the Power the Tower campaign, a three and a half year capital campaign which raised $500,000 to build a new radio tower for the station which increase their signal from 3kW to 50kW and expanding their reach from the Colorado-Wyoming border to the north Denver suburbs.

In his application on her behalf, KRFC board chair James Yearling highlighted Parker's commitment to all the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative principles but most notably Integrity and Transparency. When Parker was hired as executive director, the station was in dire need of a reset in community relationships. Trust needed to be rebuilt between the station and major local philanthropic organizations like the Bohemian Foundation, Community Foundation of Northern Colorado, and United Way. These partners wanted transparent details on the station’s challenges, financial standing and Parker's plan to right the ship toward success. At the same time, she had to navigate a board of directors that had experienced challenging scenarios with staff and meeting its mission. Parker worked tirelessly to accurately communicate not only daily operational hurdles but also to present the reality of resource shortages related to funding and staffing.

Rebuilding those relationships and trust was just the beginning though. As a result, the station has been fortunate to receive large personal gifts ($100,000 and above) and is the continued recipient of meaningful grants from both local philanthropic organizations all the way up to the federal level via the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Per the latter, the station is required to complete an intensive annual report which not only includes financials, but also mandatory training related to issues such as workplace harassment, financial reporting and other HR-related scenarios. Additionally, on its own dime, the station voluntarily contracts a third-party accounting firm to complete an annual financial audit. This information is readily provided to the public via a more easily digestible annual report that also serves as the backbone for how the station utilizes money garnered from private donors, station members and underwriting partners.

Yearling summed up Parker's contribution to the station thusly: "Jen’s work at KRFC has truly been transformational in creating community, serving musicians and bringing that “hip factor” to an organization that was flat-lining. She has brought forward a massive awareness of the station’s contributions to the community and created programs and initiatives that serve others. This work has brought stability and positioned KRFC as a pillar of the strong non-profit community in Northern Colorado and beyond."