WCLK announcer Riva Blue and General Manager Wendy Williams (right) greet a listener at a broadcast earlier this year at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Jazz WCLK 91.9 FM, Clark Atlanta University’s public radio station, is teaming up with CAU’s Music Department, Belle*Noir Productions, and members of the Atlanta jazz community to bridge a significant $300,000 annual funding gap caused by the elimination of federal funds to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

To help recoup part of that gap, the collaboration is holding a “Back To The Roots” benefit concert on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m. at Central Methodist Church, 501 Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr., in Atlanta. The church is located between the Morris Brown College campus and Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

In July 2025, a Trump Administration decision to eliminate over $1 billion in national public broadcasting funds left stations across the country, including WCLK, facing sudden and severe budget shortfalls. The loss represents about 13% of WCLK’s anticipated budget and jeopardizes quality programming, staff retention, and vital paid media training stipends for CAU students.

Most of those funds were already allocated and were waiting to be distributed.

According to WCLK General Manager Wendy Williams, the station has raised $175,000 of the shortfall. Listeners and supporters can still donate by going to wclk.com and clicking on the “Donate Button”. Tickets can also be purchased in advance on the website. The cost is $35 at the door.

Among those noted Atlanta-based jazz artists performing will be Kathleen Bertrand, Tony Hightower, The “British Peach” Julie Dexter, and alumni, faculty, and staff of CAU’s Music Department.

In an interview with The Atlanta Voice, Williams said she and other public radio stations around the state expected the cuts to come after President Trump was re-elected.

“As soon as the vote count was final, we went into immediate fundraising mode,” Williams said.

Realizing that, at least for the next three years, there won’t be any federal funding going to public radio, Williams said they are pursuing other public and private funding sources.

“We are working in tandem with our Clark Atlanta Institutional Advancement Office to identify prime grant opportunities that we can go after. We are working with a new public media company. They knew that this might happen. They started reaching out to philanthropists and foundations months ahead of time, “ Williams said.

“They raised $57 million, and they told us they are planning to make grants and loans to public radio stations that need the funding the most. We’ve also reached out to individuals and those persons who have been big supporters of the station in the past,” she added.

Williams pointed out that the Trump administration’s action to cancel funds that have already been allocated is cruel.

“They took those funds and put them into what they wanted,” Williams said.

“ During (President) Biden’s four years in office, they thought about and planned every cruel thing that they could do. It’s a mess. A nightmare.”