The HBCU Radio Preservation Project (HBCU RPP) has received $750,000 from the Ford Foundation, which has been used over the past year to support radio stations at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The funds enabled the HBCU RPP to provide unrestricted budget infusions to 14 HBCU radio stations through a non-competitive formula-based grant process. The money helps fill gaps and contributes to the stations’ long-term sustainability.
Grant funds have been used to stabilize operations; support essential staffing; sustain and expand programming; maintain and upgrade critical broadcast and digital infrastructure; cover carrier fees; address funding shortfalls due to the loss of funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB); and support community engagement and long-term sustainability initiatives. The grant will also be used to provide travel stipends to radio station personnel to attend the 2026 HBCU RPP Symposium in Baltimore, MD, in November.
“We are grateful to the Ford Foundation for recognizing the critical needs and importance of supporting HBCU radio stations,” said HBCU RPP Director Jocelyn Robinson. “While the funds have been used to meet present-day needs, they are also helping secure longevity and support the continued relevance of these stations to their communities.”
Radio stations that received grants include:
- WNSB – Norfolk State University
- KTSU – Texas Southern University
- WCLK – Clark Atlanta University
- WURC – Rust College
- WESM – University of Maryland Eastern Shore
- WPRL – Alcorn State University
- WJSU – Jackson State University
- WEAA – Morgan State University
- WNCU – North Carolina Central University
- KJLU – Lincoln University
- WRVS – Elizabeth City State University
- WSSB – South Carolina State University
- WJAB – Alabama A&M University
- WVAS – Alabama State University
The HBCU Radio Preservation Project is a part of the Center for Radio Preservation and Archives at WYSO. In partnership with the Northeast Document Conservation Center, the project provides free preservation services for radio stations and institutional archives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Its mission is to honor and preserve the rich history and cultural legacy of the stations while fostering an ethos of preservation.
Almost a third of the 101 HBCUs have radio stations, many of which have been on the air for over 50 years. Much of the material these stations have created, primary source material that documents the rich history and diversity of the Black experience, is at risk of being lost because obsolete formats are deteriorating.
Without proper preservation methods, even current digital material risks deterioration. The project serves all 30 HBCU radio stations, and its replicable model is of use to any college radio stations, tribal stations, rural stations, or other public and community stations.
