MVYRADIO has surpassed its $600,000 Bridge The Gap fundraising goal, allowing the public radio station to move forward with financial security after Congress and the administration moved to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting last summer.
The CPB had provided community service grants to MVYRADIO — which broadcasts at 88.7 FM on Cape Cod and the Islands and 96.5 FM in Newport — amounting to about 10% of the station’s annual budget for the past decade.
“Our listeners really stepped up for this Bridge The Gap campaign,” said MVYRADIO Executive Director PJ Finn. “Knowing that we have replacement funding for our Community Service grant means we can keep our focus on our mission, which is ‘Building community through the power of music.'”
A major factor in the campaign’s success was a generous donation from the Maya L. Auchincloss Trust, which accounted for a significant portion of the fundraising goal.
Auchincloss was a lifelong Newport resident who died in 2024 at age 65. She was the daughter of Hugh D. “Yusha” Auchincloss III, the stepbrother of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Despite her family’s wealth, she led a simple and intentional life, according to Keith Kyle, the attorney who manages the trust.
“While Maya had many and varied interests, most of all she was kind, thoughtful, and particularly passionate about the care welfare of animals, preservation of working farms, culture, music, and those less fortunate than herself,” Kyle said.
The charitable impact of the Maya L. Auchincloss Trust extends across Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Florida, California, North Carolina and beyond.
“With our CPB grant replaced, thanks to Maya, and to all of our supporters who helped us reach our goal, we can focus on our general fundraising efforts without the pressure of trying to make up an extra 10% of our yearly budget,” said Karen Altieri, MVYRADIO’s director of development. “We’re beyond grateful for this extremely generous gift.”
