Foundation support of public broadcasting increased from $100 million to $118 million from 2009-11, according to a new report from the Foundation Center, Media Impact Funders and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. It’s the first comprehensive look at foundation media grant-making.
The top 10 pubcasting recipients of foundation support during that period, in millions of dollars, were Thirteen, WNET in New York City, $41.5; NPR, $26.7; WGBH, Boson, $26.5; WETA, Arlington, Va., $21.9; Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul, $13.1; Sesame Workshop, $12.4; WNYC, $10.6; KCET, Los Angeles, $8.7; Twin Cities Public Television, St. Paul, $8.5; and KQED, San Francisco, $6.3.
The top pubcasting foundation funders, also in millions of dollars, were the Lilly Endowment, $15.6; Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, $13.5; Margaret A. Cargill Foundation, $9.9; John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, $8.3; Ford Foundation, $7.9; Annenberg Foundation, $7.3; Knight Foundation, $6.7; the Kendeda Fund, $6.6; the PNC Foundation, $5.9; and the Richard King Mellon Foundation, $5.8.