The grants, totaling $17 million, will both deepen and extend NPR's coverage of key issues – education, global health and development, and race, ethnicity and culture – and fund NPR and six Member Stations – KPCC, KQED, MPR, WBUR, WHYY and WNYC – in the creation of a seamless local-national listening platform, helping deliver the work of NPR and stations to tens of millions of Americans everywhere they want it, in words, images and sound.
This work is receiving generous support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Wallace Foundation and Ford Foundation, and individual contributions from Paul Haaga, acting President & CEO of NPR, and Heather Haaga; William Poorvu, former Vice Chair of the NPR Foundation and Trustee emeritus, and Lia Poorvu; and Howard Stevenson, former Chair of the NPR Board and NPR Foundation Trustee, and Fredericka Stevenson – each investing in specific elements of the journalism and innovation strategy. In total, the foundations and individuals are contributing nearly $17 million to NPR over the next two years. These gifts will serve as a catalyst for additional resources being sought by NPR and Member Stations.
"This support will allow NPR to build transformative platforms that secure the future of public media journalism, and represents a powerful vote of confidence for that vision," said Kinsey Wilson, NPR's Chief Content Officer who leads its news, programming, music and digital teams. "We'll be able to dive deep into issues that are at the center of people's lives, and drive tremendous innovation in how we engage people with those issues."
Today, NPR and Member Stations reach a weekly audience of 35 million people on radio and tens of millions monthly online and on mobile. These grants will enable the public radio network to serve that audience better than ever before, while also pursuing new audiences with an increasingly diverse racial, geographic and ideological profile.
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