What Greater Public does

Greater Public is a Minneapolis-based nonprofit membership organization founded in 1982 that serves U.S. public radio and television stations with training, resources, and peer networking aimed at improving member stations' financial sustainability. The organization operates as a sector trade association, generating the majority of its revenue through annual membership fees paid by stations in exchange for access to a member-only library that includes on-air fundraising scripts (including an AI-powered tool called ScriptPro AI), direct mail and email copy libraries, an on-air drive calendar, FCC compliance FAQ resources, halo-effect and corporate-support toolkits, major/planned giving toolkits (Gift Club, Planned Giving, Gifts of Stock), and audience-development resources. Distribution is exclusively direct-to-member through website login, webinars, roundtables, affinity groups (YAYAHPs, DEIB Practitioners Cohort, Legacy Builders, Our Hour for BIPOC professionals), and the annual Public Media Development and Marketing Conference (PMDMC). Its customer base comprises two primary segments: U.S. public media stations (vertical) and the development professionals working inside them (persona). Beyond content distribution, Greater Public also operates Greater Public Services, a separate commercial line offering direct mail and text messaging execution services. Strategic partnerships include co-organized events with the Public Radio Program Directors Association (PRPD) and Eastern Region Public Media (ERPM), and a related-events relationship with the Public Media Grants Conference (PMGC). The organization competes against general nonprofit fundraising consultancies but occupies a sector-specialist position with limited direct substitutes.

Name

Greater Public

Legal name

Greater Public

Website

https://greaterpublic.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Greater Public is a nonprofit membership organization founded in 1982 that provides U.S. public radio and television stations with toolkits, training, and peer networks for fundraising, corporate support, major and planned giving, and audience development.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Greater Public generates revenue primarily through membership fees paid by public media stations. Members gain access to a library of resources including on-air fundraising scripts, direct mail copy libraries, corporate support toolkits, major giving resources, planned giving materials, audience development tools, webinars, and training programs.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Greater Public is a membership organization that delivers resource toolkits, training programs, conferences, and peer networking to U.S. public radio and television stations. Members gain access to fundraising, corporate sponsorship, major/planned giving, and audience development resources, as well as paid direct services (direct mail, text messaging) delivered through Greater Public Services.

Product overview

Greater Public is a membership organization serving public media stations with a comprehensive suite of resource toolkits, training programs, and professional development offerings. The portfolio includes on-air fundraising tools (On-Air Fundraising Scripts, ScriptPro AI, Direct Mail and Email Copy Library, On-Air Drive Calendar), corporate support resources (Credit Copy Central, FCC Compliance FAQ Database, Halo Effect Toolkit, Onboarding Toolkit), major and planned giving tools (Major Giving Toolkit, Gift Club Toolkit, Planned Giving Toolkit, Gifts of Stock Toolkit), audience development resources, and professional training programs (The Inclusive Manager Program, Work Smart Express, The Major Giving Pathway). The organization also provides event programs including Greater Public Roundtables and Our Hour gatherings for BIPOC professionals. Direct services such as direct mail and text messaging are offered through Greater Public Services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Greater Public Annual Membership Annual membership subscription that gives public media stations access to the full library of fundraising scripts, copy libraries, corporate support toolkits, major/planned giving resources, audience development tools, webinars, training, and peer community programs.
• The Inclusive Manager Program Six-week cohort-based training program teaching managers to lead through complex challenges with inclusive leadership skills, situational leadership, and empathy; for public media managers.
• Work Smart Express Public media sponsorship training program for newcomers to corporate support at public media stations.
• The Major Giving Pathway Training program for major giving professionals in public media covering cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Direct Mail Services Direct mail services for public media stations offered through Greater Public Services.
• Text Messaging Text messaging services for member engagement offered through Greater Public Services.
• Greater Public Roundtables Peer discussion sessions for public media development professionals on various topics.
• Our Hour: A Gathering for BIPOC in Public Media Town hall gathering focused on connection and empowerment for public media professionals of color.

Quantifiable outcome

• WFAE grew digital revenue 248% year-over-year using Greater Public resources and strategies
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Public Radio Program Directors Association (PRPD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership for the annual Audience Development Summit, combining Greater Public's development expertise with PRPD's programming director network.
• Eastern Region Public Media (ERPM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of the Audience Development Summit, bringing together public media professionals for training on audience growth and revenue development.
• PMGC (Public Media Grants Conference)minorOthersRelated public media professional development event accessible through Greater Public's events channel. Serves as a resource hub for public media professionals seeking training opportunities.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• M+R: M+R is a fundraising and marketing agency for nonprofits that publishes the annual M+R Benchmarks study co-promoted by Greater Public in member webinars. It serves the same public media and nonprofit fundraising buyer with benchmarking, campaigns, and strategy consulting.
• Public Radio Program Directors Association (PRPD): PRPD is a public media membership association for program directors and a co-organizer of Greater Public's Audience Development Summit. It serves an adjacent public media buyer (programming leaders) within the same station ecosystem.
• Eastern Region Public Media (ERPM): ERPM is a public media membership and training organization for stations in the eastern U.S. and a co-organizer of Greater Public's Audience Development Summit, serving a partially overlapping station base.

Broad incumbents

• Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP): AFP is the largest professional association for fundraisers globally, providing certification, training, and conferences that overlap with Greater Public's development professional audience but across all nonprofit verticals rather than public media specifically.
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB): CPB is the federal entity that funds U.S. public radio and television. It sits upstream of Greater Public's member stations, channeling government support that ultimately drives stations' ability to pay for Greater Public memberships.
• Council on Foundations: Council on Foundations is a national membership association for grantmaking foundations, offering training, research, and networking comparable to Greater Public's offerings but for the foundation/grantmaker side of the nonprofit ecosystem.
• Blackbaud: Blackbaud is the dominant provider of CRM, fundraising, and financial software for nonprofits including public media stations. Its tools and resources compete with Greater Public's toolkits for development department mindshare and budgets.

Emerging players

• Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network (NTEN): NTEN is a membership community for nonprofit technology and digital professionals, offering training and resources comparable to Greater Public's training programs but oriented toward digital/tech rather than fundraising specifically.
• Idealware: Idealware produces research and resources that help nonprofits select and use technology, paralleling Greater Public's research-toolkits model but with a technology-selection rather than fundraising lens.
• Fundraising Academy: Fundraising Academy offers training programs and certifications for fundraising professionals across nonprofits, addressing a similar professional-development need as Greater Public's Work Smart Express and The Major Giving Pathway programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/greaterpublic
• Facebookfacebook.com/GreaterPublic

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Greater Public