NPR will be able to keep operating as it has been, in part, thanks to a pair of charitable donations that totaled $113 million, the public broadcasting organization announced on Thursday.
Former NPR Foundation board member Connie Ballmer has donated $80 million in order to improve the org’s technological needs, while a second donor chose to remain anonymous after contributing $33 million.
“NPR’s mission is unwavering, but our means must evolve,” CEO/president Katherine Maher said in a statement. “This remarkable investment will enable NPR to continue to deliver the nation’s finest public service journalism, meeting audiences where they are today and will be in the years to come.”
“I support NPR because an informed public is the bedrock of our society, and democracy requires strong, independent journalism,” Ballmer added. “My hope is that this commitment provides the stability and the spark NPR needs to innovate boldly and strengthen its national network.”
Maher went on to address the charitable gifts and their impact after Trump’s 2025 rescission vote stripped $1.1 billion in federal taxpayer dollars from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which itself dissolved in January.
“While these investments are extraordinary, they do not replace federal funding. 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,” she wrote. “Local Member organizations — particularly those serving rural and remote parts of the country — continue to need your support.”
But even had rescission not occurred, it would have been urgent for NPR and public media to evolve,” Maher further noted. “After 50 years of delivering exceptional services to the nation, it was time to reimagine our services for the next 50 years — how we might build a sustainable, innovative and relevant network, native to our omnipresent digital ecosystem; a public service that sustains our common civic identity and sparks our collective curiosity.”
“Public media is an essential ingredient in healthy civic life. It enables strong, independent journalism that holds power to account and serves the public interest, and fosters cultural programming that celebrates our differences and connects around our commonalities,” she concluded. “This is a hopeful moment for the future of the press, made possible by the unwavering dedication of supporters everywhere.”
Last month, a federal judged ruled that Trump’s May 2025 executive order defunding NPR and PBS was “unlawful and unenforceable,” though much of the damage was already done to smaller, local public broadcasters.
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