Oldham Community Radio 15th Anniversary Radiothon

Everyone has been affected by the pandemic. For many listeners to Oldham Community Radio 99.7fm, our station became a lifeline for many in an unprecedented time of crisis. Indeed, radio as a whole learned to adapt, discovering new ways of working - and none more so than community radio, with its hyper-local “narrowcasting” service, keeping people informed and entertained throughout a challenging period.

March 2022 marks the 15th anniversary of Oldham Community Radio 99.7fm being on-air and now, with a renewed Ofcom radio licence to provide news, music and entertainment to listeners for a further five years, plus exciting relocation plans in the future, we want to ensure that your multi-award-winning station remains viable and deserving of its pride of place in the town.

We receive no funding from the licence fee and rely on listener support and small grants.   We provide a unique “narrowcasting” service reaching all the communities of Oldham through our regular programme strands.  

Oldham Community Radio 99.7fm is a not-for-profit organisation, whose volunteers come from diverse backgrounds, ages and abilities and freely give of their time and talents on and off-air. 

We have running costs of tens of thousands of pounds a year to keep us on-air which need to be found by a mix of fundraising, grants, sponsorship from local businesses and organisations; however community radio is legally restricted with the amount of commercial advertising it can sell. That’s why we turn to our audience and others for their generous help during the year with what has become known as our annual Radiothon.

We are keen to expand our programming to include more external community engagement such as local outside broadcasts, events coverage, local news reporting and gathering and so on. This requires dedicated broadcast-quality equipment and, together with ongoing radio station costs, we are seeking support from listeners and anyone who enjoys what we do, during this Radiothon Appeal.

In short, in a crowded airwaves marketplace, local Oldham Community Radio 99.7fm serves a global need.  Our majority listenership is, as you would expect, is located throughout Oldham and surrounding districts but we have many former residents of the town who can and do keep up-to-date with their roots thanks to our online presence at www.oldhamcommunityradio.com.

We want to give you something in return for your generosity and have a range of offers for donors to our Appeal which you can check out on this page.

We will welcome any size donation, even if you can only give the equivalent of some loose change, or you are in a position to make a significant contribution everything will help.

If you wish to make a donation in person (cash, cheque or card) you can do so at our studios in Tommyfield Market Hall during our normal reception opening hours.

If you can see the real value in Oldham Community Radio 99.7fm moving onwards and upwards, please consider making a donation to help us continue providing caring, community broadcasting on-air and online.