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Connie Ballmer Gives Record $80M to NPR as Public Media Faces Cuts

The record gift comes as NPR and local stations grapple with shrinking federal support.

Philanthropist Connie Ballmer, the wife of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, is making a major bet on the future of public media as federal funding cuts squeeze broadcasters nationwide. She has donated $80 million to National Public Radio, NPR announced yesterday (April 16). The gift, the largest ever from a living donor to NPR, will fund the network’s push into digital platforms. It comes alongside an additional $33 million contribution from an anonymous donor to support stations across the NPR Network, bringing the total infusion to $113 million at a precarious moment for public media.

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