KPTZ’s planned move to Fort Worden recently got a big boost from one of its longstanding on-air voices.

The volunteer DJ, who wishes to remain anonymous, has donated $100,000 to the “KPTZ 2.0” capital campaign to raise funds for the move.

KPTZ Board President Robert Ambrose noted the donation is bolstered by the $500,000 challenge grant the station received from the Sage Foundation in November.

It provides a double-match for any dollars raised through the capital campaign.

Ambrose said the campaign is to fund the station’s relocation from its current portable home on the Mountain View campus to a space that promises to be more roomy and well-equipped in the center of the proposed Makers Square arts campus at Fort Worden.

To cover the costs of constructing state-of-the-art studios at Fort Worden and securing a permanent transmitter site, the “KPTZ 2.0” capital campaign aims to raise $986,000.

Ambrose said the acquisition of the transmitter site would “secure the stability of KPTZ’s signal” into the future.

“The capital plan is central to the sustainability of KPTZ,” Ambrose said. “It will give us the infrastructure necessary to meet growing community information needs and allow us to create a comprehensive emergency broadcast facility for disaster response and recovery at the transmitter site.”

Ambrose recalled how the seeds of the capital campaign were planted two years ago, when KPTZ was told it would need to vacate the Mountain View campus for its rebuilding.

“And with our transmitter site’s lease set to expire in September 2020, we started developing a plan,” said Ambrose, who recounted how the station negotiated with the Fort Worden Public Development Authority to move into the fort’s historic Building 305.

“We’ll be entering a community of fellow nonprofits, many of which we’ve already partnered with,” Ambrose said.

KPTZ Station Manager Kate Ingram said Building 305 is one of the oldest buildings at Fort Worden, “and the half we’ll be occupying was supposedly the quartermaster’s place.”

The capital campaign has drawn contributions from every KPTZ board member, with $50,000 from the station’s dedicated capital fund reserves, and leadership donations that generated $80,000 in seed money.

The First Federal Community Foundation awarded the station $25,000 in November.

“Community radio enhances the spirit of a community,” Ingram said. “It can be a unifying force in a time of divisiveness by representing multiple points of view without favoring one over another.”

Ambrose said KPTZ is developing its programming according to what the community wants and needs.

“And this allows us to continue to provide those services,” Ambrose said.

For more information, call 360-379-6886 or email contactus@kptz.org.