Library of American Broadcasting Foundation

What Library of American Broadcasting Foundation does

The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that serves as the fundraising, programmatic, and recognition arm supporting the Library of American Broadcasting (LAB) housed within the Hornbake Library at the University of Maryland, College Park. The underlying archive contains 2,000 linear feet of manuscripts, 7,000 books, 6,000 audio tapes (including 1,100 oral histories), 7,000 industry pamphlets, 300 trade magazines, 225,000 photographs, 8,000 recorded discs, and 2,000 radio and television scripts, along with curated collections such as the Broadcast Pioneers Library (1972-1994), Westinghouse Tapes, and the History of Women in Media. The foundation itself produces an annual portfolio of recognition and grant programs, including the Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts Awards Luncheon at Gotham Hall in New York City (honoring 250+ industry figures since 2003), the Insight Award presented at the NAB Show in Las Vegas, the Excellence in Broadcast Preservation Award, the Leibner Cooper Grant and Broadcast Historian Awards in partnership with the Broadcast Education Association, and starting in 2026, four $2,500 preservation grants disbursed to outside archival organizations.

The foundation's revenue model is donation-based and event-driven: tax-deductible contributions from individuals, broadcasters, and corporate supporters; ticket, table, and sponsorship sales for the annual Giants Luncheon; and net proceeds channeled to the University of Maryland collection. Its go-to-market motion is event-driven and partnership-amplified, with distribution through the National Association of Broadcasters, Broadcast Education Association, International Radio & Television Society, Benztown (podcast production), and earned coverage in industry trade publications (Radio Ink, TVNewsCheck, Inside Radio). Customers and stakeholders comprise broadcasting industry professionals, academic scholars and documentary producers, broadcasting companies seeking archival guidance, and the general public interested in broadcast heritage.

Supporting media products extend the foundation's reach: the quarterly 'Past Forward' newsletter, the 'Everybody Loves Chachi' / Meet the Giants podcast, the LABF Radio & Podcast Power Sessions educational webinar series, YouTube acceptance speech archives, and thematic virtual exhibits (e.g., 'The Lost Art of Jingle Writing'). In 2026, the foundation launched the 'Before It Was History, It Was Broadcast' initiative providing pre-produced radio and TV spots drawn from the archive for the nation's 250th anniversary. Operationally, the foundation is led by Executive Director Mary Collins, Co-Chairs David 'Chachi' Denes and Deborah Parenti, and a board of directors composed of senior broadcasting executives, attorneys, and academics; daily operations are supported by a small paid staff including a Director of Philanthropy.

Name

Library of American Broadcasting Foundation

Legal name

Library of American Broadcasting Foundation

Website

https://tvradiolibrary.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that funds and supports the broadcast history archive at the University of Maryland, honoring industry figures via the Giants of Broadcasting Awards and disbursing preservation grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Heritage Preservation

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Media Archives, Libraries & Content Preservation (MPABADAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Broadcasting Grants & Government Funding Administration (MPABADAM), Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

Keywords

• Broadcast history preservation
• Media archives
• Broadcasting awards
• Industry recognition programs
• Nonprofit media foundation

Headquarters

HQ city

Elkridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The LABF operates as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization relying primarily on tax-deductible donations from individuals, broadcasting companies, and industry supporters. Contact: Dan Finn at [email protected] or 732-759-5890.
2. Event Proceeds: Net proceeds from the annual Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts Awards Luncheon benefit the Library of American Broadcasting collection at the University of Maryland. Tickets, tables, and sponsorships are sold for the event.
3. Educational Programs and Partnerships: The foundation conducts educational webinars, podcast sessions, and career fair sponsorships in partnership with BEA and NAB, supporting the academic and professional development of students entering broadcast media.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that serves as the fundraising and support arm for the Library of American Broadcasting at the University of Maryland. Its principal mission is preserving the history and heritage of broadcasting and electronic media through physical/digital archival collections and annually honoring industry leaders through awards programs such as the Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts Awards, the Insight Award, the Excellence in Broadcast Preservation Award, and grants for broadcast history research and preservation.

Product overview

The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that serves as the fundraising and support arm for the Library of American Broadcasting at the University of Maryland. Rather than offering a technology product, LABF provides a portfolio of preservation services and recognition programs: the core Library Collections (containing manuscripts, audio tapes, photographs, scripts, and oral histories); the Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts Awards (annual lifetime achievement ceremony); the Insight Award (recognizing journalistic/artistic media work, presented at NAB); the Excellence in Broadcast Preservation Award; the Leibner Cooper Grant for creative media productions on media history; and the Broadcast Historian Awards for books and documentaries. Supporting offerings include the Past Forward quarterly newsletter, the LABF Radio & Podcast Power Sessions educational webinar series, the Meet the Giants podcast interviewing honorees, and the America's 250th Anniversary Broadcast Initiative providing pre-produced archival spots. The organization also funds preservation grants starting in 2026 and conducts virtual exhibits of broadcast materials.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Library of American Broadcasting Collections The preeminent national center for preservation and dissemination of broadcasting history, housing 2,000 linear feet of manuscripts, 7,000 books, 6,000 audio tapes including 1,100 oral histories, 7,000 industry pamphlets, 300 trade magazines, 225,000 photographs, 8,000 recorded discs, and 2,000 radio and television scripts at the University of Maryland's Hornbake Library. Open to the public and media industry for research use.
• Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts Awards Annual awards luncheon at Gotham Hall in New York City honoring individuals who have excelled in electronic media, including business executives, innovators, journalists, performers, and producers. Over 250 individuals have been honored since the program's inception in 2003.
• Insight Award Annual award instituted in 2022 in association with the National Association of Broadcasters, presented at the NAB convention in April. Recognizes individuals or organizations for outstanding artistic or journalistic work that enhances public understanding of media's role, operation, history, or impact on society.
• Excellence in Broadcast Preservation Award Annual award presented each fall in New York to an individual or organization for extraordinary contributions to the preservation of media history.
• Leibner Cooper Grant Annual grant of $2,500 awarded in association with the Broadcast Education Association and Leibner Cooper Family Foundation to a faculty member producing a documentary, news story, multimedia project, or sports production focused on historical issues, figures, or events related to media.
• Broadcast Historian Awards Annual awards presented in association with the Broadcast Education Association, including a Broadcast Historian Book Award ($2,500) for published books related to broadcast/media history and a Broadcast Historian Creative Award for documentaries/multimedia projects related to broadcast/media history.
• Preservation Grants Program Four annual grants of $2,500 each awarded to assist broadcasting companies and non-profit organizations engaged in preserving broadcast history, with recipients selected based on historical significance, methodology and feasibility, accessibility and public availability, and impact.
• America's 250th Anniversary Broadcast Initiative Pre-produced radio and television spots featuring archival audio and visuals from the Library of American Broadcasting documenting the nation's defining moments, available for immediate on-air use with royalty-free music.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 250 Giants of Broadcasting honored since 2003
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• Broadcast Education Association (BEA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026LABF partners with BEA on awards for books and documentaries about broadcast history (Leibner Cooper Grant, Broadcast Historian Awards), sponsors the BEA Career Fair and Graduate Student Showcase at NAB Show, and co-produces educational content including the LABF Radio & Podcast Power Sessions.
• California Historical Radio SocietyminorOthers · 1 January 2026First-round LABF preservation grant recipient ($2,500) for preserving, interpreting, and sharing the history of electronic communications in the Bay Area and beyond.
• Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety and Comedy (SPERDVAC)minorOthers · 1 January 2026First-round LABF preservation grant recipient ($2,500) for collecting, restoring and sharing classic radio programs from the 1930s through 1960s.
• TCMediaNowminorOthers · 1 January 2026First-round LABF preservation grant recipient ($2,500) for preservation of the video and film archive of Stan Turner, legendary Twin Cities broadcaster and Minnesota Broadcast Hall of Fame member.
• WHRO Public MediaminorOthers · 1 January 2026First-round LABF preservation grant recipient ($2,500) for preservation of 20 hours of early educational programming that it produced and broadcast.
• National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023LABF partners with NAB for the annual Insight Award presentation at NAB Show, co-hosts webinars on preserving broadcast history, and co-produces educational sessions including 'Save That Tape!' and 'But Who Owns the Tape?' videos.
• International Radio & Television Society Foundation (IRTS)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2022The Giants of Broadcasting event is produced for LABF by the International Radio & Television Society Foundation. Net proceeds benefit the Library of American Broadcasting and support LABF awards for students and scholarly works.
• BenztowncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022LABF Board Member Dave 'Chachi' Denes is president and co-founder of Benztown. The partnership produces the 'Everybody Loves Chachi' podcast interviewing Giants honorees, LABF Radio & Podcast Power Sessions educational series, and the LABF How-To Video on using LAB collections.
• University of MarylandflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 1994The LABF's principal mission is supporting the Library of American Broadcasting at the University of Maryland. The university owns and runs the actual library, while LABF raises funds, promotes its use, seeks new collections, and advises administrators. The library is housed within the Hornbake Library on the College Park campus.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA): A broadcast-industry association supporting journalists with awards, training, and resources. Overlaps with LABF in the journalism and broadcasting community and partnership potential, focused more on active practitioners than preservation.
• Internet Archive: The Internet Archive preserves broadcast content (including television and radio news) in digital form and is a major force in media preservation. Relevant as an adjacent infrastructure provider whose broadcast collections partially overlap with LABF's mission.

Broad incumbents

• Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation: The charitable arm of the Television Academy, with preservation, education, and industry-recognition programs including the College Television Awards. Larger scope and resources, but overlapping mission in television heritage and education.
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: A larger cultural preservation institution with analogous inductee/recognition programming and a physical archive. Comparable in its combination of public recognition events and archival preservation of a specific cultural domain.
• Smithsonian National Museum of American History: A much larger federally-affiliated institution preserving American cultural and media heritage. Comparable mission around media preservation and public access, though broader scope and significantly larger scale.
• Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum: A non-profit cultural institution combining a major archive with annual induction ceremonies and public exhibits. Analogous business model and structure to LABF, applied to country music rather than broadcasting.

Direct peers

• Paley Center for Media: The Paley Center for Media preserves broadcast and television history through its collection in New York and Los Angeles, hosts public exhibits, and runs industry events. Directly comparable to LABF in mission, archival focus, and industry recognition programming.
• Broadcasters Foundation of America: A 501(c)(3) supporting broadcast industry professionals in need, with shared board members (Leo MacCourtney sits on both boards). Comparable as a non-profit serving the broadcasting community through grants and recognition.
• Museum of Broadcast Communications: The Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago is a direct peer: another non-profit dedicated to preserving broadcast history and a recipient of LABF's own Preservation Award. It maintains a major archive of TV and radio content and runs public exhibits, overlapping LABF's mission.
• National Radio Hall of Fame: Dedicated to recognizing radio personalities and preserving radio history, with induction ceremonies. A direct peer in radio heritage preservation and inductee recognition, sharing potential audiences with LABF's Giants program.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@giantsofbroadcastingelectr4471/videos

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Library of American Broadcasting Foundation