Station Resources
The Public Media Bridge Fund works alongside local public media organizations to secure service — especially in rural and underserved communities where the risks are greatest.
Below, stations receiving or seeking support can find key information, tools, and updates.
Securing Local Service
The Bridge Fund provides timely financial and strategic support to help stations navigate this period of transition following the elimination of CPB funding. Our goal is simple: to keep essential local service on the air and help organizations strengthen their long-term sustainability.
We’ve compiled the following resources, information sessions, and materials to support your station throughout the process.
RESOURCESKey Resources
Program Announcement
Information about the Sustainability Program
Station Grants
Information about Emergency Grant Programs
FAQs
Find answers to common questions about the Bridge Fund
Webinar
Launching the Public Media Bridge Fund
STATION GRANTSSustainability Program
Collaborative Operating Models
The Bridge Fund’s first open call under the Sustainability Program focuses on advancing collaborative operating models across the public media system. The purpose of this initiative is to implement new operating and collaborative structures that strengthen the long-term sustainability of public media organizations while preserving their essential local service.
We recently hosted an information session to share more about the open call. You can watch the recording or review the slides here.
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Through the Collaborative Operating Models open call, the Bridge Fund will support new operational and strategic collaborations involving two or more organizations, at least one of which must be a public media entity.
The emphasis on collaboration in this open call derives from a recognition that a core strength of public media is our national, regional, and local network effects, along with the critical need to maximize scaled efficiencies and sustainability following the loss of CPB.
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For this open call, the Bridge Fund will support collaborative projects that are ready for implementation. At this time, we are not seeking proposals for exploratory projects, research, or discovery efforts.
Funded projects should aim to:
Create measurable operational efficiencies, cost savings, and/or revenue growth.
Reduce structural duplication while remaining deeply rooted in local service.
Establish replicable and/or scalable models that could be adapted across the public media system.
Demonstrate strong governance alignment and organizational readiness among committed partners.
Move organizations beyond short-term stabilization toward long-term sustainability.
Bridge Fund investments will be comprised of three components: grants, low-interest loans, and advisory services. The terms and type of investments will be tailored to each project’s needs, but the grant component will likely not exceed $500,000 per project.
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Projects must include a minimum of two entities. At least one entity must be an FCC-licensed noncommercial public radio or television station that was CPB-qualified as of September 30, 2025.
Participating organizations must demonstrate a need for Bridge Fund support, which could include, but is not limited to: lack of accessible capital, need for specialized advisory services, or barriers associated with governing boards or license holder(s).
The proposed project must be ready for implementation with committed partners. All involved parties must have buy-in and commitment from organizational leadership and license holders.
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Eligible organizations with relevant projects should submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) here. LOIs will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Click here to view a full list of the LOI questions. Please coordinate with project partners to ensure that only one LOI per project is submitted.
A select number of projects will be invited to submit a full application. Applicants will be asked to meet with the Bridge Fund Team as part of this process to further develop the proposed strategy. Funding decisions will be made on an ongoing basis pending available funds.
If you have questions about the Collaborative Operating Models open call, please contact us at bridgefund@publicmedia.co.
STATION GRANTSEmergency Grant Programs
Disaster Recovery Program
The Disaster Recovery Program provides rapid, short-term support to local public media stations facing immediate disruption from natural disasters or other unforeseen crises. These grants help stabilize essential operations so stations can remain on the air and continue serving their communities during recovery.
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The Disaster Recovery Program provides rapid response, one-time financial assistance to public media organizations whose ability to deliver essential service has been disrupted due to a force majeure-type event (severe weather, natural disasters, etc.)
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The Disaster Recovery Program is intended for stations that have experienced significant disruptions to service and/or equipment damage caused directly by severe weather or other major external incidents and do not have available resources to quickly restore service to their communities.
Funding is intended to help stations restore service, repair or replace essential equipment, cover temporary operating costs, and address urgent community communication needs.
Grants will be awarded in amounts up to $100,000.
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Program eligibility is limited to FCC-licensed noncommercial public radio or television stations that:
Qualified for Community Service Grants (CSG) from CPB as of September 30, 2025, or are a current member of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB);
Have an annual operating budget under $3 million as a radio station, or under $5 million as a TV station;
Provide a unique local service (geographic coverage and/or format);
Are located in — or demonstrate operational impact from — a severe weather event or other qualifying emergency;
And do not have the liquid capital necessary to restore service in a timely manner.
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Eligible stations affected by a qualifying emergency can submit a brief application here.
You can also review the program guidelines and preview the application questions.
Emergency Restructuring Program
The Emergency Restructuring Program supports public media stations that have experienced a sudden, external loss of support and/or revenue and are unable to restore service in a timely manner. Through pro bono advisory services and limited financial assistance, the Bridge Fund helps stations stabilize operations and manage complex transitions without interrupting local public media service.
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The Public Media Bridge Fund’s Emergency Restructuring Program provides rapid-response access to pro bono advisory services and limited financial assistance to help a community prevent service loss, stabilize operations, and quickly restructure a public media organization or other service provider.
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The Public Media Bridge Fund’s Emergency Restructuring Program is intended for stations that have experienced a sudden, external loss of support and/or revenue (e.g., state/university cuts, license divestment, loss of a key institutional contract) and do not have the ability to restore service to their communities in a timely manner.
The Bridge Fund team will work with the public media organization and other relevant entities to determine potential paths forward to secure local service. Support will include a rapid response, such as structuring a merger, entering shared services agreements, or reconfiguring the station’s operating model.
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The entity affected by the unexpected event must be an FCC-licensed noncommercial public radio or television station that:
Qualified for Community Service Grants (CSG) from CPB as of September 30, 2025, or is a current member of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB);
Demonstrates a sudden, unexpected loss of significant funding, license divestiture, or other extreme external circumstance that threatens continued service;
Is unable to restore service to their community in a timely manner;
Provides a unique local service (geographic coverage and/or format);
Is open to a restructuring, partnership, or merger aligned with long-term sustainability;
And understands that Bridge Fund support would be catalytic and time-limited, not an ongoing operational replacement.
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Stations, license holders, or other informed stakeholders should email bridgefund@publicmedia.co to alert Bridge Fund staff of the sudden event.
You can also review the full program guidelines here.
TOOLS & SERVICESFree Station Resources
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PRX
PRX offers a suite of services supporting digital content distribution and monetization for public media organizations. Through Public Media Infrastructure, these services are now free for CPB-qualified stations and NFCB members.
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ProJourn
ProJourn, a program of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, provides pro bono legal services to local news organizations, including legal checkups, pre-publication review, and public records access.
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Canva
Canva is a leading graphic design platform and an all-in-one journalism toolkit for crafting impactful stories. Local public media organizations are eligible for a free year of Canva Pro (click here and use code PMBF25 to redeem).
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Local News Catalyst
Local News Catalyst brings together tools, data, and strategic guidance to help local public media leaders strengthen their operations, improve financial sustainability, and better serve their communities.
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Station-to-Station Programming Project
The Station-to-Station Programming Project offers free access to WNYC’s programming catalogue for local public media organizations that received at least 10% of their annual revenue from CPB.
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Community Engagement Learning Path
Offered by PBS, the Community Engagement Learning Path is a six-course, self-paced series that equips station staff with tools to strengthen partnerships, build engagement capacity, and better serve communities.
Downloads
Ready-to-use assets for stations and partners.
Logos
Bridge Fund logos for acknowledgment and attribution