Community Broadcasting Foundation
Community Broadcasting Foundation is an Australian non-profit foundation that distributes federal government grants to community radio stations, community television, First Nations media, multicultural broadcasters and RPH services across Australia, administering roughly $21M annually through a peer-reviewed grant process.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1974
- HeadquartersParkville, Australia
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Community Broadcasting Foundation does
Community Broadcasting Foundation (CBF) is an Australian non-profit foundation established in 1974 and headquartered at Level 7, 369 Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria. CBF functions as the primary federal funding conduit for the Australian community broadcasting sector, distributing grants sourced predominantly from the Australian federal government through the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. In fiscal 2024-25 it disbursed approximately $21 million in grants supporting 264+ community media projects, with 197 volunteers assessing over 439 grant applications across the year.
CBF's core offerings comprise five grant streams: Content Grants (for content production across radio, television and online), Development & Operations Grants (for infrastructure, equipment, staffing and operational sustainability), Specialist Radio Programming Grants (covering news, spoken word, specialist music, Indigenous, RPH and ethnic broadcasting), Quick Response Grants (year-round emergency funding for bushfire, flood and equipment-failure events), and the newer Stolen Generations Truth Telling Grants delivered in partnership with The Healing Foundation. Applications are managed end-to-end through the SmartyGrants online portal (cbf.smartygrants.com.au), with two major rounds per year (typically January and July) and continuous Quick Response availability.
The foundation operates a peer-to-peer grant assessment model supported by approximately 95 volunteer Grant Assessors from diverse Australian communities, with recommendations reviewed by Grants Advisory Committees before final allocation. It is governed by a Board led by President Professor The Hon Michael Lavarch AO and managed operationally by CEO Jo Curtin, with a staff of 43 employees. CBF supplements its government appropriation with public donations accepted through the GiveNow platform and is guided by a Strategic Plan aligned with Roadmap 2033 and the Station Resilience Model developed with consultant Think Impact. Customer segments served include community radio stations, community television stations, First Nations media organisations (including ICTV, Yolŋu Radio, 6WR Waringarri Radio), ethnic and multicultural broadcasters, and RPH (Radio for the Print Handicapped) services across metropolitan, regional and remote Australia.
Community Broadcasting Foundation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Community Broadcasting Foundation
- Legal name
- Community Broadcasting Foundation
- Website
- https://cbf.org.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1974
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Community Broadcasting Foundation is an Australian non-profit foundation that distributes federal government grants to community radio stations, community television, First Nations media, multicultural broadcasters and RPH services across Australia, administering roughly $21M annually through a peer-reviewed grant process.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Community Broadcasting Foundation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Nonprofit Grant Funding for Community Broadcasting
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Public Broadcasting Grants & Government Funding Administration (MPABADAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), Public Media Fundraising & Membership (Pledge Drives, Major Gifts) (MPABADAJ)
Keywords
Where Community Broadcasting Foundation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Parkville
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Community Broadcasting Foundation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Government Funding: Primary funding from Australian Federal Government through the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. CBF distributes this funding as grants to community broadcasting stations and organizations across Australia.
- Donations: Accepts donations through Givenow platform for public support of community broadcasting.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Community Broadcasting Foundation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Community Broadcasting Foundation is an Australian non-profit grant-making foundation that administers and distributes government and donated funding to community radio, community television, and online media organisations across Australia. It manages multiple grant programs covering content production, station operations, specialist programming, emergency response, and First Nations truth-telling, and operates a peer-to-peer assessment process supported by volunteer Grant Assessors and Grants Advisory Committees.
Product overview
The Community Broadcasting Foundation is a grant funding body that supports Australian community media through multiple grant programs. The core offerings include Content Grants, Development & Operations Grants, Specialist Radio Programming Grants, Quick Response Grants, and Stolen Generations Truth Telling Grants. These are administered through a peer-to-peer review process involving volunteer Grant Assessors and Grants Advisory Committees. The Foundation also provides strategic planning support aligned with Roadmap 2033 and offers educational resources including grant writing guides, financial management templates, and webinar replays to build sector capacity.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Content Grants Funding for content production by community radio, television, and online broadcasters, supporting the creation of diverse local programming across news, current affairs, music, and cultural content.
- Development & Operations Grants Funding for station infrastructure, equipment, staff salaries, training, governance, and operational needs to support station sustainability and resilience.
- Specialist Radio Programming Grants Funding for specialist radio programming including news/current affairs, spoken word, specialist music, Indigenous, RPH (Radio for the Print Handicapped), and ethnic broadcasting.
- Quick Response Grants Emergency funding available year-round for community media organisations affected by unexpected events such as bushfires, storms, floods, or equipment failures. Also supports time-limited opportunities for matching funding.
- Stolen Generations Truth Telling Grants Funding partnership with The Healing Foundation supporting First Nations media makers to create content exploring themes, stories, and truth-telling relating to the Stolen Generations.
- Grant Assessor Program Peer-to-peer grant assessment program staffed by volunteer Grant Assessors from diverse backgrounds across Australia. Assessors review and score grant applications before they progress to Grants Advisory Committees.
Quantifiable outcome
- 264 community media projects supported in current funding round
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Community Broadcasting Foundation
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Community Broadcasting Foundation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Community Broadcasting Foundation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Think ImpactcoreSocial impact consultants commissioned in early 2020 to assess how CBF can best support and sustain the community broadcasting sector. Conducted extensive consultation with sector organisations and stations, developing the Station Resilience Model with six essential aspects of resilience and 15 recommendations for CBF's future granting strategies.
- SmartyGrantscoreOnline grant management system provider used by CBF for grant applications, reporting, and tracking. Applicants submit through cbf.smartygrants.com.au.
- Dreamtime Art Creative ConsultancyminorPartnership in production of CBF's Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan 2026. Artwork 'Resonance' by Matt Everitt featured in the RAP.
- Healing FoundationcorePartnership to develop Stolen Generations Truth Telling Grant opportunity supporting First Nations media makers to create content exploring themes relating to Stolen Generations.
- ARDS Aboriginal Corporation (Yolŋu Radio)minorFirst Nations media organisation featured in CBF's call for First Nations grant assessors, broadcasting at Garma Festival.
- Community Media Training Organisation (CMTO)coreSector training organisation offering courses including Financial Management Made Easy for community media. Referenced in CBF's financial management resources.
- Our CommunityminorProvides governance training and resources referenced in CBF's guide to financial management. Also provides auditor directory.
- CPA AustraliaminorAuthor of 'A Guide to Understanding Financial Reports for Not-for-Profits' referenced in CBF's financial management guidance.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Community Broadcasting Foundation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Screen Australia: Australian Federal Government's primary funding body for screen content (film, television, digital). It is a comparable federal-aligned grantmaking body for media content, though operating at significantly larger scale and broader scope than CBF's community broadcasting focus.
- Public Broadcasting Service (PBS): US national public television network funded in part through CPB. While PBS operates broadcast networks rather than grantmaking directly, it shares CBF's underlying mission of supporting non-commercial public media in the public interest.
- National Public Radio (NPR): US national public radio network funded in part through CPB. Analogous to PBS but for radio; both share with CBF the mission of supporting non-commercial, community-oriented public broadcasting infrastructure.
- Creative Australia (formerly Australia Council for the Arts): Australian Federal Government's primary arts funding and policy body. It is a comparable government-aligned grantmaking organization that distributes public funding to arts organizations, sharing operational characteristics (multi-year grants, peer review, government funding) with CBF but at much larger scale and across all art forms.
- Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB): United States nonprofit that distributes federal funding to public radio and television stations (PBS and NPR). It is the most internationally analogous organization to CBF in terms of mission (federal pass-through funding for community/public broadcasting) and operating model, though operating at vastly greater scale.
Direct peers
- Community Media Training Organisation (CMTO): Australian sector-wide training organization for community media. Listed as a core strategic partner of CBF and serves the same Australian community broadcasting sector, with overlapping audiences (community stations, RPH, ethnic broadcasters) but focused on training rather than grantmaking.
- First Nations Media Australia: National peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander media organizations. Both organizations fund and support First Nations broadcasting (e.g., ICTV, Yolnu Radio, 6WR) and partner on reconciliation programming such as the Stolen Generations Truth Telling Grants.
- Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA): National peak body for Australian community broadcasting; while CBAA focuses on sector representation, advocacy, training, and awards (e.g., CBAA Excellence Awards in which CBF grantees are recognized), while CBF focuses on grantmaking. They are deeply intertwined in the same Australian community broadcasting sector ecosystem.
Emerging players
- Open Technology Fund: US-based nonprofit that funds internet freedom and independent media globally. Comparable in being a mission-driven, government-funded grantmaking body for independent media, though operating internationally and focused on digital/internet freedom rather than terrestrial community broadcasting.
Regional players
- Community Broadcasting Foundation of New Zealand / NZ On Air (community media arm): New Zealand government broadcasting funder. NZ On Air includes community media funding functions analogous to CBF, operating in a different geography but with highly comparable mission (supporting diverse community broadcasting through government appropriations) and model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks1 record
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Community Broadcasting Foundation social profiles
Digital presenceCommunity Broadcasting Foundation compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Community Broadcasting Foundation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Community Broadcasting Foundation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Community Broadcasting Foundation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Community Broadcasting Foundation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Community Broadcasting Foundation
What does Community Broadcasting Foundation do?
Community Broadcasting Foundation is an Australian non-profit grant-making foundation that administers and distributes government and donated funding to community radio, community television, and online media organisations across Australia. It manages multiple grant programs covering content production, station operations, specialist programming, emergency response, and First Nations truth-telling, and operates a peer-to-peer assessment process supported by volunteer Grant Assessors and Grants Advisory Committees.
Is Community Broadcasting Foundation a public or private company?
Community Broadcasting Foundation is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Community Broadcasting Foundation founded?
Community Broadcasting Foundation was founded in 1974. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Community Broadcasting Foundation based?
Community Broadcasting Foundation is headquartered in Parkville, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Community Broadcasting Foundation make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Government Funding is the primary driver. The others are donations.
Who are Community Broadcasting Foundation's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Screen Australia, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), National Public Radio (NPR), Creative Australia (formerly Australia Council for the Arts) and Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). Direct peers are Community Media Training Organisation (CMTO), First Nations Media Australia and Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA). Open Technology Fund is listed as an emerging player. Community Broadcasting Foundation of New Zealand / NZ On Air (community media arm) is listed as a regional player.
Does Community Broadcasting Foundation have an API?
No public API is recorded for Community Broadcasting Foundation.
What industry is Community Broadcasting Foundation in?
Community Broadcasting Foundation's product category is Nonprofit Grant Funding for Community Broadcasting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPABADAM, Public Broadcasting Grants & Government Funding Administration, with a secondary code of BPAGAKAB, Community Foundations. Its NAICS code is 813211 and its SIC code is 8300.