Kroc bequest gives NPR a record $200 million donation
WASHINGTON -- National Public Radio will announce today the largest donation in its history, a cash bequest from the will of the late philanthropist Joan Kroc of about $200 million.
The bequest from the wife of the founder of the McDonald's fast-food chain both shocked and delighted people at NPR's headquarters in Washington yesterday. It amounts to almost twice NPR's annual operating budget. "No one saw this coming," said one person.
The nonprofit organization, which will disclose details of the bequest at a news conference this afternoon, called the donation the "largest monetary gift ever received by an American cultural institution" in a brief announcement to its staff yesterday.
The gift was such a surprise to NPR officials that they were uncertain what the money would be used for. The organization's board is expected to meet in the next few weeks to decide what to do with the windfall. An NPR spokesperson declined to comment yesterday.
NPR, best known for its daily news programs "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered," cut back on some of its music and cultural programs earlier this year, and there was speculation yesterday that Kroc's money could be used to restore those offerings. It could also be used to expand NPR's news programs, which are heard by about 22 million people weekly.
Speaking generally, Michele Norris, a co-host of "All Things Considered," said any cash infusion is welcome at an organization that is perpetually on tight budgets. "What we do every day is a miracle on the order of loaves and fishes with such a small and dedicated staff," Norris said.
Kroc, 75, died of brain cancer on Oct. 12 in San Diego. She had been a longtime listener of NPR's local affiliate, KPBS, but had no formal association with NPR or history of funding it. People at NPR said yesterday that she had expressed admiration for NPR's coverage of the events leading up to the war in Iraq and its reporting of the war itself.
Her gift to NPR is one of several that flowed from her estate. Last week the University of San Diego and the University of Notre Dame announced they each had been given $50 million by Kroc's estate. The donations are the largest either university has ever received.
In 1998 she gave $25 million to USD for the establishment of the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice. Notre Dame hosts a similar institution, the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, which was established in 1986.
With a long history of philanthropy, Kroc has donated to individual public radio stations in the past. In 2001 she gave $3 million to KPBS to help the station build a new studio. KPBS spokeswoman Nancy Worlie said that her station also would announce a gift today. She would not confirm that the gift came from Kroc, who lived much of her life in Rancho Santa Fe, near San Diego.
Forbes magazine estimated Kroc's worth at $1.7 billion and ranked her No. 121 on its list of the nation's wealthiest people.
