NPR announced Thursday a $113 million windfall from two charitable donors, including $80 million from billionaire philanthropist Connie Ballmer — the largest gift from a living donor in the organization’s history. An anonymous donor contributed the remaining $33 million.
The Washington Post reports the donations come months after Congress, at President Donald Trump’s direction, voted to eliminate federal funding for public media, stripping $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). The CPB, which had long supported NPR, PBS, and local stations, voted to dissolve in January.
Ballmer, a former NPR board member and co-founder of the investment firm Ballmer Group, said in a statement: “I support NPR because an informed public is the bedrock of our society, and democracy requires strong, independent journalism. My hope is that this commitment provides the stability and the spark NPR needs to innovate boldly and strengthen its national network.”
“While these investments are extraordinary, they do not replace federal funding,” Maher wrote. “The permanent loss of more than $1 billion in federal funding has created significant financial pressure across all of public media. No single benefactor can or should carry this responsibility alone.”
Although NPR itself received only about 1% of its budget from federal sources, many member stations relied far more heavily on those funds.
In a related development, a federal judge ruled on March 31 that a Trump executive order blocking taxpayer dollars to NPR and PBS was unconstitutional, violating First Amendment rights. The ruling did not restore the congressional defunding but left open the possibility of future federal support.
The new gifts rank as the second-largest in NPR history. The record remains a $200 million bequest from Joan B. Kroc, wife of McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc, upon her death in 2003.