The Woods Hole home of CAI is for sale and a local group is trying to raise the necessary funds to keep the radio station in its current location.

GBH, the public broadcast organization based in Boston and WCAI’s parent company, is selling the Captain Davis House on Water street, where the radio station has been housed since its inception in 2000.

GBH president and CEO Susan Goldberg wrote in an open letter last week that the decision was based on finances. Ms. Goldberg stated in the letter that WCAI loses approximately $500,000 a year, and over $2 million over the past five years.

“GBH is responsible for those financial losses,” Ms. Goldman wrote. “We need a new studio not only because we cannot afford to stay where we are, but for operational reasons, as well, including the need to upgrade our studio to meet specific broadcast standards.”

The announcement caught CAI employees by surprise.

“This came really out of blue for the staff at CAI and most importantly the community,” said Jay Allison, the station’s founder. “Everybody feels like, why didn’t we talk about this...it’s a small town way of talking about things as opposed to a corporate way of dealing with things.”

Mr. Allison is currently an independent journalist and no longer works at the station, but said that the location is essential for CAI’s mission in serving both the Cape and the Islands.

“That building is really important. That building connects us to the Vineyard,” he said. “Anyone from the Vineyard can come here without having to rent a car or call a cab, and it represents that we are connected to them, too. I wanted to make sure that this station spoke for the Vineyard in the way we could.”

WCAI staff found out about the sale in late October, as did the rest of the Woods Hole community.

Catherine Bumpus, the president of the Woods Hole Community Association, said she was stunned.

“It is certainly a building of note in the village so it came to a shock to us. It also brings concerns about the future of the radio station,” she said.

Ms. Bumpus said the Woods Hole Community Association has begun to raise money to provide a counter offer to the current buyer in order to keep the historic building in the hands of the community and to increase the likelihood of CAI maintaining its home.

According to Ms. Bumpus, the association will need to raise $1.9 million to meet the asking price, a number she said she received from the realtor.

“I believe we have the capacity to raise all of the money currently,” she said. “The community association has put in $300,000 of its own reserve,” she said.

Ms. Bumpus said that a separate organization, the Woods Hole Foundation, had also pledged $300,000 to the cause and that private donors are interested too.

In Ms. Goldberg’s open letter, she apologized for not being more open about the sale.

“We also heard from some of you who were dismayed that we were not more collaborative in our decision-making about selling the property,” Ms. Goldberg wrote. “For that we apologize. Our work is built on trust and we’re sorry for letting you down. We certainly could have done a better job sharing our needs and challenges, and hearing from you about potential solutions.”

Ms. Goldberg also wrote that GBH would be open to hearing any counter offers to the current buyer.

“Once we realized we needed to move, an offer came quickly, and we accepted it,” she wrote. “Now, assuming the Woods Hole Community Association comes forward with its promised offer, we can evaluate that as well.”

Ms. Goldberg affirmed that CAI will continue to air regardless of what decision is reached on the building.