The station is currently funded through a combination of listener sponsorship, underwriting by local businesses and support from nonprofits, student fees, and various other sources.

[5] The board ultimately decided in 1965 to broadcast from a transmitter on top of the Student Union Building, with Sandia Crest planned as an expansion later.

[6] The Board of Regents made the application in March 1966 for a construction permit for 90.1 MHz, which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted on July 18.

[9] As a result, on October 19, 1966, the station went on the air, broadcasting with 3,700 watts of effective radiated power and the provisional call letters KLNB.

KUNM moved its studios from the Student Union Building to Oñate Hall in 1976, simultaneous with the activation of the Sandia Crest facility.

[16] NPR membership required additional staffing,[17] and federal legal changes also led to the establishment of a community advisory board.

[24] The dispute escalated to a temporary restraining order on spending listener contributions, threats of charges against the program director, and lockouts of employees by campus police.

[24] In 2014, an ombudsman with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting criticized KUNM's handling of plagiarism charges made by a former reporter, Tristan Ahtone, who left the station over its alleged failure to respond to the accusations.

[26] In addition to such NPR national programs as All Things Considered and Morning Edition, the weekday KUNM lineup includes Performance Today and blocks of jazz and freeform rock music.