Open grants and requests for proposals

All Open Grants and RFPs

Program Challenge Fund

The Program Challenge Fund was created to support high-profile, primetime, limited series for the national public television schedule. The Program Challenge Fund is jointly administered by CPB and PBS, which make funding decisions based on mutually established programming goals and objectives.

  • WHO Any station, person, or entity may apply.
  • WHAT Funding for high-visibility, high-impact limited series and feature length documentaries.
  • DEADLINE April 4, 2013; August 1, 2013

American Archive Permanent Entity One-Time Grant Award

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is seeking an entity to serve as the permanent home of the "American Archive" - the acknowledged archive of public media programming in the United States. CPB is seeking applications from major library, academic, archive or media institutions that are accustomed to preserving cultural archives, capable of digitizing and sharing media assets, dedicated to supporting the mission and organizations of public media, and able to raise or generate substantial funds to sustain these efforts over many decades.

  • WHO Any qualified entity may apply.
  • WHAT The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is seeking an entity to serve as the permanent home of the “American Archive”.
  • DEADLINE March 12, 2013

Rural Station Digital Equipment Emergency Recovery Grants

CPB has set aside $500,000 of the remaining Digital appropriation funds to provide emergency financial assistance to rural, economically-challenged public TV and radio stations to purchase and install digital master control room and/or transmission equipment that has been damaged or destroyed as a result of a natural or man-made disaster or act of terrorism.

  • WHO Rural public TV and radio stations who meet additional eligibility criteria.
  • WHAT Emergency financial assistance to rural, economically-challenged public TV and radio stations to purchase and install digital master control room and/or transmission equipment damaged or destroyed by a natural or man-made disaster or act of terrorism.
  • DEADLINE Rolling

Support for Participation in TV Multi-Station Master Controls

This program will assist eligible public TV stations with grants to pay for equipment or fees that are required to participate in existing multi-station master control projects. CPB will provide grants of up to 50% of total project costs for eligible budget items up to $50,000. Priority for grant support will be given to stations that are likely to encounter difficulty in securing capital equipment funding (based on market size, type of service, location or other circumstance), with the highest priority among these being rural stations. Please also note that priority will be given to grantees that plan to participate in multi-station master control projects that are currently operated by public television stations and organizations.

  • WHO CSG-eligible TV stations who meet additional eligibility criteria.
  • WHAT This program will assist eligible public TV stations with grants to pay for equipment or fees that are required to participate in existing multi-station master control projects.
  • DEADLINE June 30, 2013

Collaborative Operations and Services Grant Program

The Collaborative Operations and Services Grant Program (COS) supports projects that use mergers, consolidations, functional integration, centralization or collaboration to assist public media stations in allocating more of their financial, human and other resources toward delivering content and services and less on administrative or operational activities.

  • WHO TV, Joint or Radio CSG recipients in good standing, collaborations of CSG recipients, independent joint ventures formed prior to proposal by CSG recipients, and/or existing non-profit organizations that deliver services to, or represent, CSG recipients.
  • WHAT Assist public media stations in allocating more resources toward delivering content and services and less toward administrative or operational activities, via mergers, consolidations, functional integration, centralization or collaboration.
  • DEADLINE April 30, 2013; June 30, 2013

Local Journalism Centers

CPB seeks to enhance the capacity of public radio and television stations to create high quality original journalism by supporting the establishment of multimedia reporting collaborations or Local Journalism Centers (LJCs) among small groups of stations. CPB is offering grants to qualified groups of three or more stations willing to form LJCs.

  • WHO Qualified groups of 3 or more public broadcasting stations
  • WHAT Funding to form multi-platform reporting Local Journalism Centers that will result in an elevated quality and quantity of journalism designed to better serve their collective audience.
  • DEADLINE April 19, 2013

About CPB

CPB promotes the growth and development of public media in communities throughout America.

Programs & Projects

CPB awards grants to stations and independent producers to create programs and services.