‘Life and death issue’ Alaska nonprofit fundraises for state’s public media stations following federal cuts

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU/KTVF) - Following federal public media funding cuts earlier this month, leaders from the nonprofit Alaska Community Foundation (ACF) say they are working to fundraise and support Alaska’s 27 public media stations, including KUAC in Fairbanks.

On July 24, President Donald Trump signed a bill cutting around $9 billion allocated for foreign aid and public broadcasting. Supporters cited not wanting tax dollars used to fund what they viewed as biased coverage.

The loss of those funds has put Alaska in a “public media crisis,” ACF President and CEO Alex McKay said, stressing how, in her view, the state’s public radio and television stations serve as lifelines in many communities.

“Before the cuts, Alaska was receiving 28% of [Corporation for Public Broadcasting] system support funding, a reflection of the state’s vast geography and the critical role public media plays in remote areas that may not have other reliable communication infrastructure,” ACF leaders added.

While McKay acknowledged the stations are doing their own fundraising, she said they have also partnered with ACF, similar to how past funding efforts for floods or earthquakes have been conducted.

“We know that this is kind of a lifeline... all rural communities are very reliant on public media,” McKay said, emphasizing how rural Alaska communities have limited road and broadband internet access to receive communications like emergency warnings and weather changes.

“That’s really a life and death issue,” she said. “It’s really a connection and then the ways that people use it, you know it’s very conversational.”

After better understanding what funding each Alaska public media station will lose, McKay said the goal is to rely on foundations and individuals to make donations to either ACF campaigns or to help stations stabilize for one year and give them a chance to retool.

While future funding efforts remain unclear, ACF leaders say it is possible they could establish a “project fund” to assist long term.

See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com

Copyright 2025 KTUU. All rights reserved.