What Does WTTW Mean to You? Share Your Story!

You may have read that Fiscal Year 2025 funding for some government programs, including support for public media, expires on March 14. Growing threats to this funding for PBS stations across the country put access to essential local programming and services at risk. That’s why WTTW is joining the effort to ask everyone to come together on Thursday, March 6 for Protect My Public Media Day – a national day for our local community to celebrate and support public media.

Why it matters

Federal funding, which amounts to about $1.60 per person annually, makes public media possible. While the majority of WTTW funding comes from our local community – individual giving from viewers, members and donors, grants from nonprofit foundations and local underwriting, WTTW also receives a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). This grant, which represents about 10% of our operating budget, helps WTTW and PBS stations across the country provide: 

• Educational programs that help children make strides in literacy, math, and science,
• Immersive documentary storytelling
• Local events that celebrate our communities
• Trusted and essential local journalism

What can you do to help?

Our members are our lifeblood and our most reliable and critical source of funding, but as we are a public service, we also rely to some degree on the CPB grant for support and to strengthen the public media system and member stations across the country, so that we can continue to bring high-quality programming to you.  

There would be no public media without you. Share what WTTW means to you at this link. You can also sign the Protect My Public Media pledge at this link, become a WTTW member today, and spread the love on social media with #ILoveWTTW and #ProtectMyPublicMedia.