NPR Claims Numerous Funding Sources

Before NPR’s formation, U.S. public radio consisted of decentralized stations airing educational content. For example WHA in Wisconsin may have shared 4-H club updates and dairy price reports, while KPFA in Berkeley, California, broadcast Beat poets and civil rights leader interviews, according to a story concerning the history of NPR funding.

In the 1960s, Congress developed the Public Television Act, initially focused on television. Lobbyists from the University of Michigan’s radio station persuaded lawmakers to include radio, physically taping “and radio” onto the legislation’s title, renaming it the Public Broadcasting Act. This 1967 law established the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). NPR was founded shortly after and launched its flagship program, All Things Considered, in 1971.

NPR’s network of stations expanded, funded through a straightforward model: Congress allocated funds to the CPB, which then supported NPR’s program production. By the 1980s, however, NPR faced financial turmoil due to President Ronald Reagan’s push to slash public media funding. Congress cut CPB funding by 20%. “We literally couldn’t pay the rent,” recalled Jack Mitchell, NPR’s first employee and former programming head. “The phones were nearly cut off. We faced going off the air.”

NPR secured a $7 million bailout from the CPB, restructuring its funding model. Instead of direct payments, the CPB directed most funds to local stations, which then purchased NPR programs—an arrangement still in place today. Mitchell noted this shift aligned with the philosophy that public broadcasting should represent the entire nation, while also appeasing Republicans who favored local control over centralized funding.

Currently, NPR receives about 1% of its budget directly from federal sources. Additional revenue comes from donations, endowment returns, and corporate sponsorships. Approximately 30% of NPR’s funding derives from program fees paid by its 246 member stations, which, in turn, receive about 13% of their budgets from CPB grants, with significant variation among stations.

Efforts to eliminate federal funding for public media recur periodically. In the 1990s, House Speaker Newt Gingrich targeted public media budgets. More recently, on May 1, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order halting federal funding to NPR and PBS, aiming to block direct funds to NPR and prevent member stations from using federal money to support NPR’s programs.