Next Generation Warning System (NGWS) Grant Program

Next Generation Warning System (NGWS) Grant Program is sponsored by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) / Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). This competitive grant program, administered by CPB on behalf of FEMA, helps public broadcasting stations replace and upgrade infrastructure to expand alert, warning, and interoperable communications, creating a more resilient and secure public alerting system.

CPB Defunding Ends Next Generation Warning System Grant Program for Local Public Media Stations - AZPM August 18, 2025 / Modified sep 9, 2025 2:23 p. m.

CPB Defunding Ends Next Generation Warning System Grant Program for Local Public Media Stations Loss of CPB funding halts distribution of critical public safety grants, jeopardizing local stations’ ability to serve and protect rural and disaster-prone communities With the rescission of federal funding, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) can no longer manage the Next Generation Warning System (NGWS), a grant program created by Congress in 2022 to strengthen local public media stations’ emergency alerting capacity.

CPB WASHINGTON, D. C. (August 18, 2025) -- Following the passage of the Rescissions Act of 2025, which defunded the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and left the organization without operating funds for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2025, CPB no longer can absorb costs and manage the Next Generation Warning System (NGWS) grant program.

Congress recognized the essential role of local public media stations in protecting public safety when it created the NGWS grant program in 2022 and appropriated $136 million over three years to support that mission. It also affirmed CPB’s role as a trusted steward of federal public media funding by directing FEMA to partner with CPB to implement and administer the program in line with congressional intent.

Under CPB’s administration, NGWS was built from the ground up, prioritizing rural and disaster-prone areas. CPB brought the specialized knowledge of local public media stations combined with decades of federal grant management and compliance experience needed to administer such a complex federal program.

In one year, CPB hired a dedicated NGWS team, issued requests for applications, and provided technical assistance to stations nationwide. From the first round of funding received in 2022, CPB awarded 44 grants totaling $21. 6 million.

Demand far exceeded available resources, with a second round of applications drawing more than $110 million in requests from 175 stations. “CPB has been fully invested in the NGWS program and its mission to protect the American public,” said Patricia Harrison, CPB President and CEO.

“This is one more example of rescission consequences impacting local public media stations and the communities they serve—in this case, weakening the capacity of local public media stations to support the safety and preparedness of their communities.

” With CPB’s closure imminent, FEMA should assume responsibility for disbursing the funds as Congress intended, or most of the FY 2022 funding—and all funds from FY 2023 and FY 2024—will go undistributed. As a result, critical emergency alerting equipment will not be purchased, leaving communities, especially those in rural and disaster-prone areas, without the upgrades Congress intended.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a private, nonprofit corporation authorized by Congress in 1967, is the steward of the federal government's investment in public broadcasting. It helps support the operations of more than 1,500 locally managed and operated public television and radio stations nationwide.

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