Dear Ben,

As we enter this season of gratitude, I want to extend our deepest thanks for the extraordinary support you’ve shown since Maine Public lost its federal funding earlier this year. That loss created a $5 million budget gap over the next two years—about 12% of our total resources—and we turned to you, our community, to help us meet this challenge. Many of you stepped forward, and because of your generosity, we are moving into the new year with hope and momentum.

Your support sustains the essential journalism and programming that Maine people rely on every day, and it empowers us to keep strengthening the ways we serve communities across the state.

What Your Support Made Possible This Year

Thanks to contributions from supporters like you, Maine Public continued to deliver trusted news, cultural programming, and community connection across radio, television, digital, and local outreach. From climate and public policy reporting to arts and culture storytelling, your generosity ensures we can do this work with depth, integrity, and statewide reach.

And this past year, your support helped power one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in our organization’s history.

Rural FM Expansion: A Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity

When the FCC opened a rare filing window for new Noncommercial Educational FM radio licenses for unserved areas in 2021, we were fortunate to secure Construction Permits for seven new signals—allowing us to expand Maine Public Radio deeper into the interior of the state and extend Maine Public Classical farther Downeast and into Aroostook County. Click here for more on the new signals.

Last year at this time, we were in the home stretch of launching seven brand-new FM transmitters. We were thrilled to share that all seven were operational by April 2025, expanding Emergency Alert System capacity and delivering Maine Public News and Classical to communities that have long been underserved or entirely unserved.

This project was made possible by a USDA Rural Development grant to strengthen vital public safety communications in rural Maine through Congressionally Directed Spending supported by Senators Collins and King. This expansion is a major milestone for our state and a public-private partnership that your support helps make possible.

Looking Toward the New Year

As we continue navigating the financial realities of operating without federal funding, we remain committed to delivering the journalism, educational resources, music, and storytelling that knit Maine’s communities together. Your generosity ensures that we can honor that mission—today, and in the year ahead.

If you are able and have not yet given, please consider a year-end gift to help Maine Public remain strong during this time of transition and continue serving every corner of our state.

Thank you for being a valued part of the Maine Public community. Your commitment inspires us, sustains us, and allows us to do what we do best: keep Maine informed, connected, and engaged.

With gratitude,

Click to view the full interactive report and explore more of the work your support makes possible all year long.