Enriching listeners through music and radio programming
KX FM uses Soapbox Engage to encourage connection and build lasting relationships with radio listeners
KX FM aims to lead the rebirth of FM radio, enriching their listeners with the discovery of alternative music, views, and culture that elevates their home, Laguna Beach, on a global scale. They believe that their audience can be connected through a local radio station that immerses itself in the arts, culture, and events of a community. At the same time, they strive to be a resource for under-recognized musicians and artists that deserve exposure.
With such a community-focused vision, KX FM knew it was important to find online engagement tools that could help them organize and keep track of memberships and donations. These solutions would ensure they find the supporters that make their work possible, while building meaningful relationships with those supporters. Luckily, the Soapbox Engage Donations and Shop apps provided the tools they were seeking.
“Soapbox Engage has given me more time back to interact with the community in a way that I should have been all along.”
Alyssa Hayek, General Manager
Driving community engagement with the Soapbox Engage Donations app
One of the largest and most beloved community engagement/fundraising initiatives of KX FM is an annual event called KX Takeover. This is an on-air pledge drive with a twist! The station gives the airwaves over to members of the community to host their open guest show and compete with other hosts to raise money for the nonprofit radio station. Hosts can be musicians, local business owners, or even the mayor, and listeners can make pledges to help their favorite host win the Silver Tongue Award.
“The Donations app has been a game changer.”
Alyssa Hayek, General Manager
To make KX Takeover possible, KX FM staff have utilized the Soapbox Engage Donations app in a creative way. The Donations app allows the team to create an unlimited number of online donation forms that integrate with Salesforce, their CRM—and that truly means unlimited!
Building beautiful custom donations pages can be done easily with just a few clicks. KX FM staff was able to create a unique mobile-friendly donation page for each host and/or team during KX Takeover— this year, that meant over 80 donation pages! When a listener would like to make a gift, they can select a host from a dropdown menu and that takes them to that host’s specific donation page. This allows KX FM to easily track how much each host/team generated.
The best part? The time-saving benefits of seamless Salesforce integration allows the KX FM team to streamline administrative tasks and track donor activity without any manual data entry. Every donation page integrates with Salesforce and each donation is automatically matched with an existing Contact or creates a new Contact when none exists. Live reports of all donation pages allow staff to track the effectiveness of their fundraising campaigns in real time. Additionally, automatic thank-you emails generated from Salesforce ensure KX FM donors know their contributions are deeply valued.
“I was able to have up to the minute count of our donations… Knowing that the donors will receive the emails as soon as they donate, makes it easier for me at the end of the event.”
Alyssa Hayek, General Manager
Selling memberships with a clever use of the Soapbox Engage Donations app
Another clever use of the Soapbox Engage Donations app allows KX FM to sell and track memberships for their nonprofit. Their membership program has existed since the start of their organization back in 2012. With 4 membership levels that members can pay monthly or annually on a recurring basis, the program helps them perform their daily functions as a radio station.
A user-friendly donation page asks visitors to select their membership level (Charger, Amplifier, Energiser, or Pearl Club), and whether they would like to make a monthly or annual contribution. They can also opt in to the KX FM newsletter and input their sizing to receive their KX FM t-shirt.
Prior to Soapbox Engage, tracking memberships and donations was a major challenge. KX FM staff had no reliable way to track all of the incoming donations and write sufficient tax letters for their donors. Now that memberships and donations are all tracked automatically inside Salesforce, they know who has paid what across the board.
“Now I know exactly who our biggest donors are and who is past due on memberships.”
Alyssa Hayek, General Manager
Funding the airwaves with the Soapbox Engage Shop app
In addition to donations, e-commerce helps fund the work of KX FM. The team uses the Soapbox Engage Shop app to sell merchandise to station fans. Supporters can choose from objects like a KX FM car magnet, hat, or t-shirt. The Soapbox Engage Shop app allows the team to add an unlimited number of items, or create an unlimited number of shops. KX FM staff decided to create a secondary shop that allows them to do preorders for items that aren’t available to the general public.
All online orders are saved straight to their Salesforce instance, making for easy tracking, reporting, and inventory updates. When a purchase is made, the order is automatically matched with existing contacts, or a new contact is created if one does not exist. Simple e-commerce allows KX FM to promote their presence in their community and engage with supporters in a simple, joyful way.
“The shop app has made it easy to add items to the shop and connect with Salesforce to keep track of everyone that purchases an item.”
Alyssa Hayek, General Manager
_______________________________
KX FM believes that locally-focused radio is vital to a community. Since its founding in 2012, the KX FM full-time staff and more than 100 volunteers aim to create radio that is meaningful, locally-oriented, and focused on music discovery. Soapbox Engage is proud to support such an organization and mission. As they continue to build community across the airwaves, Soapbox Engage will be there to support their needs and ensure relationships remain strong as ever.
