The Austin, TX community is rallying around local broadcaster Sun Radio in the wake of a fraudulent donation putting the company in financial jeopardy. Sun owns and operates eleven non-profit OTA and streaming stations in Central Texas.
During the group’s holiday drive, they received $41,400 in donations that ended up being fraudulent, resulting in their bank accounts being frozen for two months, the station told KVUE-TV. Both the San Antonio and Austin Police departments are still investigating this issue.
This problem was only made worse when the 2023 ice storms caused a chunk of ice to fall from the transmitter tower and damage one of the solar panels that keep Sun Radio powered up. Because the ice fell from the tower, it limited what insurance would pay for the repair.
Sun ran a radiothon over the weekend for donations, along with an event at a local taproom featuring local artists. The group is known for its generosity to the Texas arts community through its Sun Radio Recharge program, which supported struggling musicians during COVID and again during 2022’s high gas prices.
By the end of Saturday afternoon, the network had garnered more than $35,000 in donations from approximately 170 contributors. Sun Radio is still collecting through its website.
