Several NPR stations across the United States are seeing some financial support from former NPR CEO Jarl Mohn, who’s donating $1,000 to each of the 251 NPR affiliate stations.
“It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. The idea came to me about five years ago while I was at NPR,” he told Greater Public.
“My office was next to [NPR VP for Member Partnership] Gemma Hooley’s, and I’d always be dropping in to talk about ideas. One day I said, ‘I’d love to join every one of our stations.’”
There’s one catch to this financial assistance; he wanted a coffee mug from each station that received a donation. The concept for the motion came as Mohn’s 70th birthday was approaching in December but had roots from his days of leading NPR from 2014 to 2019.
“My birthday was at the end of December, and I turned 70,” Mohn explains. “I wanted to do something as a gift for myself and thought what a great gift for me to become a member of every station in the country.
“I didn’t want to be buried in tote bags, but I like the mugs. So, every day, boxes have been arriving with mugs from the different stations.” Mohn has been posting photos of the coffee mugs given by the NPR stations that received a donation on his Instagram page.
“But the best gift of all is that I’ve gotten the most amazing, heartfelt notes of appreciation along with the mugs,” he continued. “I didn’t expect that to happen.”
As the former NPR executive prepared for the venture, Mohn reached out to Hooley to deliver a database of connections to send his donations.
“So, when I told her I wanted to give $1,000 to every NPR station, she didn’t even pause before she asked, ‘Are you going to become a sustaining member?’ That’s what an advocate she is for stations,” Mohn said.
“The gift I made is modest. It might not be that consequential for some of the larger stations, and for some of the smaller stations, it could mean a lot. I hope it feels like a recognition of what they’ve accomplished. I also hope it feels like encouragement to continue the work they do in their communities.”
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
