Ahead of the organization’s closing days, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has announced it will make one final distribution in Community Service Grants to eligible public radio and television stations, as federal support for local public media ends.
The $7.1 million distribution follows the elimination of future funding under the 2025 Rescissions Act. So far this year, CPB has distributed $388.35 million in FY 2025 grant payments, yet without renewed Congressional appropriations, no additional federal funds will be available after October 1.
CPB confirmed the remaining funds will be allocated according to existing formulas that consider market size and service reach. Each public radio grantee will receive between $5,370 and $26,582. Television stations will receive $15,680.
The $7.1 million being released now comes from unobligated funds left over from grants not awarded or returned during Inspector General audits; funds that would typically roll over into the following fiscal year. However, the cancellation of future funding prompted CPB to issue the final payments this month.
Amid a broader wind-down of CPB operations, the agency warned that the absence of federal support will likely result in widespread cutbacks across local stations, particularly in rural areas and tribal communities where public radio and TV often serve as primary sources of news, education, and emergency information.
Many stations are already reducing staff, cutting local programming, scaling back educational efforts, and downsizing newsrooms in anticipation of the shortfall.
CPB Chief Operating Officer Kathy Merritt said, “Local public media stations are rooted in and responsive to the information and education needs of the communities they serve. Through unique local programming and reporting, civic engagement, and volunteer opportunities, their viewers and listeners become a community of neighbors. But the public media neighborhood has been hard hit because of the loss of federal funding.
