How is NPR Supported?

NPR (National Public Radio) is a private, self-supporting nonprofit media company with hundreds of independent radio stations as members. NPR receives no direct federal funding for general support. NPR supports its operations through a combination of membership dues and programming fees from stations, contributions from private foundations and corporations, and revenue from the sales of transcripts, books, CDs, and merchandise. A very small percentage - between 1-2 percent of NPR's annual budget - comes from competitive grants sought by NPR from federally funded organizations, such as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. At present, NPR's annual operating budget is approximately $100 million a year (2002 NPR Annual Report).

Published reports in Worth Magazine and Consumers Digest cited NPR as a leading U.S. nonprofit charity because of the company's program spending efficiency, high level of private support, and outstanding public service. NPR produces and distributes 32 programs weekly, including top-rated, award winning newsmagazines Morning Edition and All Things Considered. More than 22 million people listen to NPR programs each week.

The public radio system in the U.S. includes more than 750 local, independent stations of varying formats, whose licenses are owned either by colleges and universities, community foundations, or other organizations. The strength of public radio's vital community service lies in its unique collaboration between local public radio stations and national program producers, such as NPR. NPR member stations are autonomous entities and are not owned or operated by NPR, nor does NPR fund member stations. Instead, station revenues come from a variety of other sources. In 2004, public radio stations and producers will receive $86 million from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which is funded by Congress (that amounts to only 30 cents per American to support local public radio stations). The appropriation from Congress accounts for only about 15 percent of the cost of operating local public radio stations, and the remaining 85 percent must be raised from a variety of sources, most importantly contributions from listeners.