National Public Radio had a red letter day. A major fan of one of its affiliates, KPBS-FM in San Diego, made a posthumous contribution to the non-profit news and cultural programming service.
But this was no ordinary listener. It was Joan B. Kroc of the McDonald's Hamburger empire, and the contribution, first reported yesterday (11/6 RBR Daily Epaper #218) is expected to be in excess of $200M.
NPR's President/CEO Kevin Klose said the transfer, currently in aggressive capital growth accounts, is still several months away from being transferred to the service.
Ms. Kroc also left $5M for her favorite station, the aforementioned KPBS.
Klose said, "We are inspired and humbled by this magnificent gift. this remarkable act of generosity will help secure the future of NPR as a trusted and independent source of news, information and ideas for millions of listeners."
He said no determination has been made on how to use the money, other than it will be placed in the NPR Endowment Fund. He said generally 5% of the fund is used for various purposes, and that it currently contains $35M.
Meetings with internal staff, foundation members, the NPR Board of Directors and with affiliate stations are planned to discuss possible projects. He said enhancing its Internet presence will definitely be on the table.
The NPR operates on an annual budget of about $104M. 50% of that comes from affiliate payments, 25% from foundation grants and 25% from corporate underwriting. The network receives almost no direct money directly from the government.
Klose said that Ms. Kroc was focused on the necessity for high quality journalism, particularly on foreign news which was hard to come by from other sources. He also noted a surge in listenership following 9/11 - - Klose said its weekly audience went from 16M to 20M literally in three days. Currently, the network is heard by 21M listeners on over 730 stations.
