commitment | Community

��Ƶ Communities

Serving all of our communities across America is the core of what we do.

Commitment to Community

��Ƶ Communities, the community engagement division of ��Ƶ, Inc. launched in 2011, focuses the company’s ongoing philanthropic efforts by adding a layer of resources and commitment to address critical issues affecting the local communities we serve, and streamlines all philanthropic commitments, ensuring consistent focus and messaging across all divisions and departments. ��Ƶ Communities amplifies the most pressing concerns facing each local community and adds additional support and focus for local markets and stations working to address these local needs. The company’s local and national campaigns primarily fall into these categories:

Family & Social Impact: ��Ƶ addresses topical issues that will spur positive impact in local communites across the country.
Education & Literacy: Education is at the heart of countless critical issues facing many Americans. ��Ƶ is committed to shining a light on the importance of education and literacy by empowering young people to take control of their future; supporting local schools; enabling teachers; and providing the tools and educational services desperately needed in underserved areas of our country.
Health & Wellness: ��Ƶ works with an array of health-related organizations to bring attention to a broad spectrum of key health issues while promoting the importance of living an active and safe lifestyle. By addressing specific issues afflicting the U.S. population, ��Ƶ hopes to improve the overall physical, mental and social well-being of its listeners, employees and others in the community.
Music & Arts: ��Ƶ recognizes the power of inspiring creativity and is committed to encouraging society to embrace artistic development within their own neighborhoods. The company emphasizes the importance of art and music education and the benefits of fostering imagination through an array of local and national programs, with the mission to improve and increase access to the arts across the United States
Environmental: ��Ƶ continually looks for ways to rally the communities it serves to protect the environment and to conserve energy and natural resources. From Public Service Announcements (PSAs) to local long-form shows and live events, local radio stations use their platforms to inform and educate their audiences and incite action.
Disaster Response: ��Ƶ plays a critically important role in its communities when disasters or traumatic events occur. During these times of crisis, ��Ƶ is essential to the lives of local residents. ��Ƶ’s broadcast and digital platforms often serve as the sole information source for disrupted areas – providing news, support, companionship and critical information on everything from storm updates and evacuation routes to food banks, rescue efforts, medical care and health safety guidelines.

Responding to Crisis

Every year, local communities in which ��Ƶ employees live and work are impacted by unexpected community crises, as well as the domestic effects of global turmoil, natural disasters and terrorism. From gun violence and mental health disorders to racial tension, suicide and acts of terrorism in communities across the U.S., ��Ƶ stations are always prepared to respond immediately.

��Ƶ employees rally their communities and provide essential services that often save lives. iHeart’s dedicated employees are regularly on the front lines of these crises and serve as a helping hand and a calming voice during moments of chaos, always keeping their communities supported and informed.

DISASTER ASSISTANCE & RESPONSE PLAN

During times of crisis, ��Ƶ is essential to the lives of local residents in communities across America. Our broadcast and digital platforms often serve as the sole information sources for disrupted areas — providing local news and critical information on everything from storm updates and evacuation routes to food banks, rescue and medical care.

FIRST INFORMERS: IHEARTMEDIA EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM

��Ƶ has forged a deep and ongoing partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which recognizes that in times of emergency, there is no more reliable source of information than local radio broadcasters. iHeart’s Emergency Response Team – made up of more than 300 ��Ƶ engineers and team members – monitors operations and coordinates emergency planning and response for the company’s 860+ radio stations across the U.S. to ensure that our local communities can be served even under the most dire circumstances.

Additionally, ��Ƶ and FEMA continually partner to improve local and nationwide alert and warning capabilities that are critical when disasters threaten public safety and national security.

Radiothons

At ��Ƶ, we are committed to using the power of our local assets to give back to our communities and assist the organizations that help our neighbors in need. ��Ƶ’s radiothon program has leveraged the company’s unparalleled reach and local influence to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for charitable organizations over the last decade. A radiothon typically lasts between one and two days, during which stations press pause on their day-today programming to dedicate all attention and resources to the issue being addressed.

Through its many local radiothon programs, ��Ƶ is one of the biggest supporters of The Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In addition, many ��Ƶ radio stations have established annual radiothon programs to address local, critical issues, ranging from childhood diseases and homelessness to domestic violence, veteran wellbeing and mental health. And for more than a decade, KFI AM 640’s PastaThon has raised over $5.7 million and 727,000 pounds of food for Caterina’s Club, which to date has provided more than 7 million meals to kids and those in need in Southern California.

$26.2. MILLION
WAS RAISED THROUGH iHEARTMEDIA BROADCAST RADIO STATIONS THROUGH RADIOTHON PROGRAMS

iHeartRadio Communities Spotlight Media Grant Program

The iHeartRadio Communities Spotlight Media Grant Program dedicates free media to support organizations that are making a positive impact within communities and serving the full diversity of our country. To date, we have committed over $7.6M worth of media to leading organizations that support our communities and fight against hate and racism.

2022 Spotlight Media recipients included CENTERLINK, GLAAD, National Black Justice Coalition, Outright International, SAGE, Trevor Project, Operation Hope, Hispanic Promise, Big Brothers Big Sisters Of America, National Faith & Blue Weekend, Shine A Light, UNCF, STOP AAPI Hate and a number of others.

��Ƶ Communities National Public Affairs Show

In addition to the locally produced weekend public affairs shows designed to inform the public about the most relevant issues facing their communities, in 2020 iHeart launched two weekly national public affairs specials – “iHeartRadio Communities” and “Estamos Contigo” -- to address the national pandemic crisis affecting the entire country and to connect community members to one another and to world issues.

Now in its third year, the show was initially created to provide a national platform and voice for the world’s top health experts, government leaders and nonprofit organizations as they openly discussed important topics around the COVID-19 pandemic and social justice efforts.

Once focused on the COVID pandemic, both programs have evolved to include a robust platform of topics and issues that resonate with ��Ƶ audiences throughout the U.S. The weekly shows are hosted by iHeartRadio on-air personality Ryan Gorman in English and WHYI’s Claudia Mendoza in Spanish and air on select stations nationally and are made available weekly on iHeartRadio.