As WABE enters its second year without federal funding, the public media organization is setting up for a '100 percent community-funded' future. On March 25, WABE held its first-ever evening benefit fundraiser, WABE Live: Acts for Facts, walking away with $1.1 million in raised funds.
On July 19, 2025, Congress cut $1.9 million in federal funding to the public media organization, roughly 13 percent of WABE's operating budget. It left the PBS and NPR affiliate scrambling to close the gap.
'In year two, we don't want to be approaching it in crisis mode; we want to approach this as let's be 100 percent community funded,' said CEO Jennifer Dorian. The fundraiser featured local on-air personalities alongside hosts like Meghna Chakrabarti and David Branaccio, with a performance from Indigo Girls.
There's still an approximate $800,000 gap to fill, but Dorian said community funding is now the organization's long-term strategy rather than an emergency response.
