93% of All Classical's financial support comes directly from listeners, nonprofit arts organizations, businesses and foundations in Portland, Vancouver, the Central Oregon Coast, and the Columbia River Gorge.

[6] Additionally, a small portion of the station's annual budget comes from various foundation grants and from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Reed College's KRRC (now KXRY) agreed to shift its dial position slightly, freeing up 89.9 to become the frequency for a new non-commercial Portland FM station.

In 1986, John Pitman, a recent Benson Polytechnic High School graduate, began live announcing during the early evening hours.

At the time, station manager Patricia Swenson and a team of community leaders initiated a campaign to build a new broadcast center with private funds.

As a result, the Portland Public Schools district faced severe budget cuts, which in turn decreased funding to KBPS-AM-FM.

The KBPS Public Radio Foundation purchased the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) broadcast license, ensuring that classical music would stay on the airwaves in Portland.

The power boosts extended coverage in the Portland area by ten miles in all directions and improved reception for listeners.

[9] All Classical's identity and brand may have suffered due to the station's past relationship with Portland Public Schools.

There was also a common misconception that KBPS-FM was part of Oregon Public Broadcasting, which owns a chain of news-talk stations around the state.

In 2009, CEO Jack Allen proposed returning the KBPS call sign back to Portland Public Schools.

As a result, and in order to avoid confusion, 89.9 FM changed its call letters to KQAC (with the AC standing for All Classical).

[8] In 2012, Allen took additional steps to assure independence and brand clarity by engaging Jelly Helm, formerly of Wieden + Kennedy, to design a new identity and positioning statement.

All Classical Portland had long outgrown the facility designed in 1983, which lacked adequate working, meeting, creative and performance space.

Over the 2015-2016 year, All Classical saw a 22% increase in weekly cumulative listeners according to data published by the Radio Research Consortium and Nielsen Audio.

"[14] In December 2024, All Classical completed its move from the Hampton Opera Center to the KOIN Tower in Downtown Portland.