National Federation of Community Broadcasters lands $1.25M MacArthur grant

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has awarded a $1.25 million grant to the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, NFCB announced Wednesday. 

The one-time, general operating support grant will help NFCB plan for long-term sustainability in a “post-CPB environment,” NFCB said in an update on its website. 

“NFCB’s mission is to ensure that local voices remain strong, especially in the communities where access to trusted news, culture, and information is most needed,” said NFCB board President Kerry Semrad in the update. “This grant provides the foundation to sustain that work far into the future.”

The organization represents nearly 200 stations, with most serving rural, Indigenous and underrepresented communities. 

The MacArthur Foundation is also part of a group of foundations that announced in August that it would provide $26.5 million for the Public Media Bridge Fund, an effort managed by Public Media Co. to help at-risk stations. At that time, it was also announced that the MacArthur Foundation was committing another $10 million for “direct support to public media stations, programs, and organizations” in addition to its contribution to the Bridge Fund. 

“It is both an affirmation of the essential role community radio plays in civic life and an investment in the infrastructure that sustains it,” said NFCB CEO Rima Dael in Wednesday’s update. “Receiving this support during NFCB’s 50th anniversary year is an incredible honor and gives us the ability to serve our members well, deepen our partnerships, and build the foundation for the next fifty years of community radio.”