Illinois Public Radio and Television

Enable the people of Illinois to have access to locally operated public radio and television stations that provide unique services to their communities.

Type of assistance: Grant Award: $6,000 to $600,000 Total funding: $1657800.00 Cost sharing or matching: No Applications: 2026-07-15 to 2027-08-31 Source: Illinois's list of open state funding notices (GATA, omb.illinois.gov).

Eligible applicant types: Other

Public Radio & Television Stations - a public radio or television station in full-time operation which the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has determined has met its minimum grant criteria (see Appendices A and B of this Part) or eligibility to participate in the grant process before applying for a grant under the Act. Appendix A Corporation for Public Broadcasting Qualification Criteria for Radio Community Service Grants a) Licensing and Power: The station must be designated by the Federal Communications commission as a noncommercial, educational radio station. The station must have transmitter power sufficient to provide primary signal coverage in the community of license. b) Management and Staff: The following conditions must be satisfied: 1) A minimum of five full-time professional radio station staff must be employed on an annual (12 month) basis. At least three full-time staff members should be employed in managerial or programming positions. Minimum staff cannot be paid with Community Service Grant funds. 2) Full-time, professional, radio station staff includes permanent personnel with demonstrated skill and expertise in the management, programming, production, promotion, development, or engineering areas of radio station operation, paid no less than the minimum federal hourly wage plus regular health benefits, whose terms of employment require the exercise of full-time duties in one or more of these areas. The term “full-time” will be understood to be the number of hours that constitute the normal acceptable work week at each institution or station. SCO-440-1 Page 3 3) Custodial and clerical staff, students whose student status is a condition of employment, interns and trainees, do not meet the definition of this criterion, nor do personnel teaching or holding academic duties in excess of the equivalent of one three-hour credit course per quarter or semester. 4) Persons employed on a non-permanent basis, such as on a public service employment training grant, cannot be considered full-time professional radio station staff to meet this criterion. c) Facilities: A station must have sufficient, professionally equipped on-air and production facilities to allow for broadcast of programming of high technical quality including the capability for simultaneous local production and origination. In addition, sufficient office space must be provided. d) Broadcast Operations: The station’s minimum operational schedule must be 18 consecutive hours per day, 365 days per year. However, AM stations which are restricted by the terms of their licenses to less than the minimum broadcast schedule required by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (“CPB”) policy will be eligible for assistance if all other criteria are met. e) Programming: The following conditions must be satisfied: 1) The station’s daily broadcast schedule must be devoted primarily to general audience programming of good quality which serves demonstrated community needs of an educational, informational, and cultural nature, within its primary signal area. 2) A program schedule designed to further the principles of religious philosophies does not meet the definition of this criterion. 3) A program schedule designed primarily for in-school or professional in-service audiences does not meet the definition of this criterion. 4) Stations licensed to political organizations do not meet the definition of this criterion. 5) Radio applicants in areas already served by a CPB qualified radio station must propose a substantially different program service from the existing CPB qualified station(s) in the area and clearly identify the varying needs and interests of the audience to be served. For the purposes of this criterion, counter-scheduling programs already available from a CPB qualified station in the market does not, by itself, constitute a substantially different service. 6) The station must originate a significant, locally produced program service designed to serve its community of license. f) Non-Federal Income: Each grantee must have a minimum non-federal annual income of $150,000. Section 280. Appendix B Corporation for Public Broadcasting Qualification Criteria for Television Community Service Grants a) Management: Each grantee must have a staff headed by a manager or other chief executive officer who: 1) has the responsibility and authority to determine when and what material shall be broadcast over the station; and 2) has the responsibility and authority to administer disbursements under a budget authorized by the governing board of the licensee. SCO-440-1 page 4 b) Staff: The following conditions must be satisfied: 1) Each grantee must have no less than ten staff, which includes five full-time staff with regular health benefits, one of which is the manager or chief executive officer, and the equivalent of five additional full-time personnel, paid no less than the minimum federal hourly wage. The term “full-time” will be understood to be the number of hours that constitute the normal acceptable work week at each institution or station. Likewise, each “equivalent full-time” position will mean equal to the number of hours for a normal work week at each station. 2) Minimum staff cannot be paid with Community Service Grant funds. 3) Persons employed on a non-permanent basis, such as on a public service employment training program grant or a CPB training grant, cannot be considered full-time professional television station staff to meet this criteria. 4) Personnel used to meet the five full-time staff requirement may not teach or hold academic duties in excess of the equivalent of one three credit hour course per quarter or semester. c) Joint or Dual Licensee: When more than one grantee is operated by one licensee, each such grantee in addition to the above, must be headed by a manager or other chief executive officer who reports directly to the governing board of the licensee; or in the case of university licensees, each general manager should report on an equal basis to the next level of governing superiors. d) Non-Federal Income: Each grantee must have a minimum non-federal annual income of $300,000. e) Studio/Production Facilities: Each grantee must have studio and production facilities and regularly produce and broadcast locally originated programming. f) Broadcast Operations: Each grantee must: 1) during the first full year of on-air operation commencing immediately following issuance of Program Test Authority, broadcast on a minimum schedule of six days per week, fifty-two weeks per year, for a total of at least 2,500 hours or 48 hours a week and 2) for all stations during the second such full year of operation and in all succeeding years, broadcast on a schedule of seven days per week, fifty-two weeks per year, for a total of at least 3,000 hours or 57 hours a week. g) Programming: The following conditions must be satisfied: 1) The station’s daily broadcast schedule must be devoted primarily to programming of good quality which serves demonstrated community needs of an educational, informational and cultural nature, within its primary signal area. 2) A program schedule designed to further the principles of religious philosophies does not meet the definition of this criterion. 3) Stations licensed to political organizations do not meet the definition of this criterion. 4) CPB will provide Community Service Grant assistance to all eligible television stations that meet current criteria regardless of overlapping broadcast signals. However a grantee seeking qualification in a market where a CPB-qualified television station already exists must demonstrate the intention to provide a substantially different program service or a new service to a substantial number of underserved homes. For the purpose of this criterion, counter-scheduling programs already available from a CPB-qualified station in the market does not, by itself, constitute a substantially different service.