National Public Radio (NPR) is a nonprofit membership media organization that exists as a national syndicator to a massive network of public radio stations in the U.S. The organization is funded with the help of public and private donations, and relies heavily on the generosity of the public. NPR is a renowned source for high quality storytelling, and vigorous reporting.
Recently, NPR received a massive donation from four major foundations, three NPR trustees, as well as other private donors, which totaled $17 million. The funds are reportedly going to help the national nonprofit broadcaster expand its news coverage in various areas, as well as improve its media platform. According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, much of the donation will go towards NPR’s “listening platform,” which will “aggregate material from its national programming and from member stations and tailor it for individual listeners based on their location and preferences.” As NPR spokeswoman Anna Christopher Bross explains, “What Pandora did for music, we’re hoping to do for spoken word and for news.”
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is reportedly giving $5.4 million, which will go towards the new listening platform, the organization itself, and member stations. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation also offered a generous donation, as did the Wallace Foundation and trustees and their spouses Paul and Heather Haaga, William and Lia Poorvu, and Howard and Fredericka Stevenson. Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson also reportedly donated $25,000 to the organization, a generous sum that was conditional upon 750 people signing up or renewing their memberships. Happily, the condition was met, allotting NPR even more funding, as well as many new memberships.
For more information about NPR, visit the organization’s official website.