Homer’s KBBI AM 890 and Kenai’s KDLL 91.9 FM are two among 74 organizations nationwide who recently were awarded “stabilization” grants through the Public Media Bridge Fund. The fund is a “strategic philanthropic initiative” begun earlier this year by the Public Media Company, a nonpartisan national nonprofit organization established in 2001 by an association of public radio station leaders.
The Bridge Fund announced on Dec. 9 that they have distributed an “initial” round of grants, totalling $26 million, to 74 organizations operating 186 radio and television stations and reaching 30 million people in communities across the U.S. The fund held an open call for grant applications this fall and selected recipient stations through an evaluation based on “rigorously developed” criteria that “ensured the service provided by each grantee to its region is unique, non-duplicative and essential to local civic information.”
The Public Media Company established the fund in August, in direct response to the federal government’s defunding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the subsequent loss of federal funding for public media. According to the release, PMC projects that more than 115 stations — who primarily serve rural and underserved areas and often operate as the only outlet for local news and storytelling for those communities — are “likely to close by mid-2026 without immediate aid.” This initial round of funding was focused on stations facing “the greatest financial challenges” and endeavors to help ensure the continuation of local news, civic information, cultural programming and emergency alerts.
“The organizations receiving Bridge Fund grants face an acute funding gap in the next six months that threatens their ability to continue operations,” the release states. “Most of these stations relied on CPB for more than 25% of their annual operating revenue, leaving them vulnerable following the funding cuts earlier this year.”
Since August, the Bridge Fund has raised more than $60 million towards its $100 million goal, thanks to a “wide range” of contributors from individuals to major grants from foundations including the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Pivotal Ventures, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Schmidt Family Foundation, the Mellon Foundation and The Dolby Family.
“With this initial round of funding, our goal was to present each grantee with a foothold to stabilize their infrastructure and continue their vital services. Thanks to the rapid and generous response of philanthropic leaders across the U.S., we’ve been able to raise crucial funds and quickly get them into the hands of the stations that need them the most,” Public Media Company CEO Tim Isgitt said in the release. “These grants not only take another step forward in the collaborative effort to respond to a crisis but also create an opportunity to develop a sustainable future for public media that builds stronger, more engaged, and more connected communities.”
The Bridge Fund will continue working to secure additional philanthropic commitments to provide future funding opportunities for local public media organizations. According to the release, the Bridge Fund will also “engage directly” with local public media in 2026 to “guide them in developing and adapting to new operating models that secure their future and enable them to remain a critical resource in their communities.” Future grantmaking will “prioritize” projects that advance sustainable business models and broaden service to communities.
Twelve Alaska public media stations — in Homer, Kenai, Fairbanks, Haines, Juneau, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Petersburg, Sitka, Talkeetna, Valdez and Wrangell — were selected as initial grant recipients.
General manager Josh Krohn wrote in an email to the Homer News last Thursday, Dec. 11, that KBBI received $114,856 in Public Media Bridge Fund grant funding.
“We’ve already received the first portion of 60%, and we expect to receive the remaining portion in May once all our reporting requirements are satisfied. The grant obligates us to use it by December 2026,” he wrote.
The grant funds will cover programming creation, acquisition and delivery costs and act as a sustainability measure to keep the station available to listeners, according to Krohn. The grant will also fund preservation of public services including emergency announcements, community engagement and educational services; regulatory compliance; salaries for essential personnel supporting programming; critical broadcast infrastructure; and evaluation and planning for future partnerships to ensure continued access for listeners.
Krohn wrote that KBBI will apply for future grants as eligible, and plans to participate in the Bridge Fund’s sustainability training sessions as they occur.
KDLL did not respond to a request for comment.
