The WCLV Foundation

The culmination of a three-year process to preserve classical music on the radio in Cleveland took place on November 1, 2001, when WCLV 104.9 FM was donated to the non-profit WCLV Foundation, established under the auspices of The Cleveland Foundation. Robert Conrad and Richard Marschner, the majority stockholders of WCLV, made the donation.

WCLV was founded in 1962 by Conrad and his first partner, the late C.K. “Pat” Patrick. Since then, the station has established a reputation as one of the leading classical music broadcasters in the nation. The donation of the radio station resulted from concerns of Conrad and Marschner that eventually the station would have to be sold, and there could be no legal guarantee that the classical music format would be continued. 

On October 1, 2011, WCLV's license was transferred from the WCLV Foundation to ideastream.