After supporting diverse communities for 40 years, we're ready for our next adventure and we need your support to help us get there!

Help us stay on the air an grow onto Digital Radio!

Our biggest goal this year is to keep our doors open and expand to digital radio! This means our reach will extend beyond the inner west to our audiences in the western suburbs who desperately need the vital connection to language, culture, music and community provided by Radio Skid Row. It’s also crucial for us to pay much needed attention to repairs and upgrades needed across the station.

This year is an ALL or NOTHING campaign! if we don't reach our 40K target, we don't receive anything!

This is where your support comes in! 

Radio Skid Row is for storytellers, activists and artists! 

Radio Skid Row 88.9 FM is a pioneering community radio station in Sydney which has been providing a platform for marginalized and underrepresented voices since 1983. Our station was founded by a group of activists, artists, and community members who wanted to create a space for alternative media and to challenge the mainstream media narratives. 

Radio Redfern, and later Koori Radio, started off broadcasting on the Radio Skid Row frequency of 88.9FM before getting their own lisence. We provide a space for communities to broadcast on their own terms, a space that no-one else in Sydney can give them. We have languages that you can’t hear anywhere else on air in Sydney!

Throughout our history, we have continued to prioritize the voices of those who are often ignored or silenced by the media, including Indigenous peoples, people of color, people who are sleeping rough, queer and trans folks, people with disabilities, and working-class communities. We believe that everyone has a right to be heard and that community media can be a powerful tool for building solidarity, understanding, and social change.

Real Talk!

Over the years, we have faced many challenges, including financial difficulties, censorship and attempts to shut down our station. Despite these obstacles, we have persevered and continued to provide vital connection to the community. We offer a diverse range of programming, including music shows, political discussions, community news and programs in 18 community languages. We also provide training and support for community members who want to learn how to make their own media.

We do all of this with a powerful group of volunteers and a very small amount of funding. They don’t call us Radio Skid Row for nothing!  But we can't do this alone. 

This is where you come in!

As a community radio station, we rely on the support of the community to keep us on the air. We are a non-profit organisation and our funding only covers half of our operating costs. The rest comes from donations and sponsorship from individuals, organizations, and businesses who believe in our mission.

We know from experience that we can’t rely on government funding streams to keep us afloat; this money can and has been withdrawn without notice! We dream of reaching full independence with the support of you, our community.

Breakdown of costs

Your donation will help us continue to provide a platform for underrepresented voices and to promote social justice and equality, as well as excellent music contributions to the airwaves. Every donation, no matter how small, makes a big difference.

We intend to use $20,000 of all funds raised to aid the expansion onto Digital Radio, reaching our most valued and diverse communities who have either had to move or settled further out west. These costs include fixing some of our old gear, upgrading our networking,  buying some new equipment and soundproofing the studios and production training rooms. 

The other $20,000 contributes to the cost of employing and training the Skid Row staff and volunteers, keeping the lights on and the doors open to newcomers. With our expansion to digital we intend to expand our On-Air schedule to include even more languages and new programming.

Every dollar we raise over $40,000 will mean that we can bring the station to more listeners by expanding our Outside Broadcasts at community festivals and events all over Sydney. We need to get out into communities and let them know they can now tune into Radio Skid Row!

So please, consider donating to Radio Skid Row today. Your contribution will help us continue to provide a space for community voices, and to work towards a more just and equitable world. Thank you for your support!