RURAL STATION DIGITAL EQUIPMENT EMERGENCY RECOVERY GRANTS

Grant: Rural Station Digital Equipment Emergency Recovery Grants
Agency: Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Deadline: This grant has a rolling deadline. Once the full grant amount has been awarded ($500,000), the grant will expire.

Description: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has set aside $500,000 of the remaining Digital appropriation funds to provide emergency financial assistance to rural, economically-challenged public television 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.

Grants made will support the resumption of station services as they were at the time of the disaster, not to expand or increase station services. Applicants must provide a narrative Emergency Justification Summary describing the events that led to the emergency, the results of any engineering studies or evaluations competed, and the steps that will be taken to repair or resolve the emergency situation.

All applicants are required to begin repair and replacement projects promptly and complete projects no later than six months after the grant is made. Longer timelines will be considered by CPB, but must be based on compelling justification and documentation for additional time.

A full listing of eligible stations and the specific equipment which qualifies under this program are found in the Program Notice (see Attachment A and Attachment B).

Fit for Public Broadcasting: This program is made specifically for public broadcasting stations. A full listing of qualified rural stations is found in Attachment A of the Program Notice.

Eligibility: Applicants must qualify as a rural public radio or television station; that is, having a coverage area population of fewer than 40 persons per kilometer. Additionally, applicants must have a level of 2011 Non-Federal Financial Support (NFFS) that falls in the lower 50 percent of CSG recipients of its operation type.

Anticipated Funding: $500,000 is available under this program. CPB may provide funds of up to 80 percent of the total project eligible equipment and installation costs capped at $50,000. Once CPB has made grants totaling $500,000, this grant will expire.

How to Apply: Any questions regarding this program, and grant applications must be submitted via email to Don Lockett, Senior Director of Media Technologies at CPB. Applications should be submitted in Microsoft Word and Excel or PDF formats.

Resources:
Program Webpage
Program Notice