Our History

2024

Month of Giving: The Sun Radio Foundation gave $30,000 to Central Texas musicians and community radio stations on the East Coast affected by Hurricane Helene.

Sun Radiothon: During our second annual donation drive, The Foundation announced the net proceeds of the drive would fund the reopening of the Recharge Program later in 2024, and raised over $35,000 to support Central Texas musicians.

2023

Sun Radiothon: In winter of 2022, a combination of fraudulent donations and ice storm damage to our brand new solar panels and three tower sites, including to the original KDRP tower, had hit the Sun Radio Foundation hard. That summer, the Foundation held the first Sun Radiothon, a two day live celebration of our listeners, local music, and the work of the organization. The event raised over $50,000 from over 300 donors and helped get the Sun Radio Recharge program back on track to continue helping Austin musicians.

2022

Fall Recharge/Gas Money Relief: In September 2022, the Sun Radio Foundation gave $13,000 to help touring local musicians with $100 gas cards.

Christmas In July: The Sun Radio Foundation raised $3,600 with ½ of those donations supporting the Operation Blue Santa program!

The Betty White Challenge: On January 17th, 2022 on what would’ve been actress and animal welfare advocate Betty White’s 100th birthday, Sun Radio raised $2,025 in donations with half of those donations going to support PAWS Shelter of Central Texas.

2022 Sun Radio Sessions: Held annually during SXSW music week, the Sun Radio Sessions is a series concerts featuring a mix of local, national and international artists with the proceeds benefiting the Sun Radio Foundation. The 2022 Sun Radio Sessions were held March 11-19 at The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University, Evangeline Cafe, 04 Center, Live Oak Brewing, Still Austin Whiskey and Beerburg Brewing and raised $19,481 to the Foundation.

2021

Summer Of Giving: The Sun Radio Recharge returned in Summer 2021 to once again offer relief to Central Texas musicians in deferring the costs of their electricity bills.

Severe Winter Storm Relief: Following the severe winter storms that plagued Central Texas, the Sun Radio Foundation quickly shift gears and utilized the Sun Radio Recharge program to distribute roughly 500, $100 checks back to community members who were deeply affected by the inclement weather. Just five days after kick-off, the foundation poured over $50,000 back into the community.

2020

COVID-19 Relief: The Sun Radio Recharge in its inception was designed to help defer the costs of electricity bills for Central Texas musicians and community radio stations nationwide. Over the course of a year, the Foundation supported over 500 local artists and non-commercial stations all over the U.S.