Recent cuts in federal funding for PBS, NPR, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting have left many wondering if public media and children’s educational media can survive.

Federal support matters, and the impact of its loss is significant. But zoom out a bit and you’ll see additional forces at work. Nonprofit producers and local stations have been investing for years in relationships with corporate partners, foundation funders, and individual donors (“viewers like you”). Today these relationships are helping the system adapt and even find new ways to thrive.

In this session, leaders from Fred Rogers Productions and PNC will share how their 10+ year partnership has evolved--how they’ve clarified shared values, strengthened operational alignment, expanded local activations, and measured impact to reinforce trust and momentum.

This is not a session about public media alone. It’s about building strength through partnerships such that disruptions don’t define us.

You’ll leave with practical insight on how to:

• Diversify revenue before a crisis hits
• Turn sponsorships into strategic, long-term partnerships
• Activate national partnerships in locally meaningful ways
• Use impact measurement and storytelling to retain and attract funders Position your organization as essential when budgets tighten