PUBLIC NOTICE
Federal Communications Commission
News Media Information 202 / 418-0500
445 12th St., S.W.
Internet: http://www.fcc.gov
Washington, D.C. 20554
TTY: 1-888-835-5322
DA 12-1782
Released: November 6, 2012
MEDIA BUREAU ANNOUNCES PROCEDURES FOR OBTAINING COMMISSION
APPROVAL FOR NCE STATION FUNDRAISING TO AID HURRICANE SANDY
RELIEF EFFORTS
The Commission generally prohibits noncommercial educational stations from engaging
in on-air fundraising activities on behalf of any entity other than the station itself.
See, 47
C.F.R. §§ 73.503(d), 73.621(e).
See also, Commission Policy Concerning the Noncommercial
Nature of Educational Broadcast Stations, 90 FCC 2d 895, 907 (1982). The Commission,
however, has granted rule waivers for such fundraising appeals to support relief efforts following
disasters of historic proportions or magnitude, such as Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina, the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City, the January 2005 tsunami in Southeast
Asia and the January 2010 Haiti earthquake. These waivers have been issued for a specific
fundraising program or programs, or for sustained station appeals for periods which generally do
not exceed several days.
The Commission has already received and granted two waiver requests related to Hurricane
Sandy relief efforts, and wishes to provide further information for any other noncommercial
educational stations that wish to seek expedited review of similar requests. Licensees seeking to
solicit contributions from viewers or listeners for relief efforts in light of the recent storm may
file an informal request for a Section 73.503(d) or 73.621(e) waiver, whichever is appropriate, as
follows:
1) The licensee may submit an electronic mail request to Barbara Kreisman
(
barbara.kreisman@fcc.gov ), if the request involves a television station, or to Peter Doyle
(
peter.doyle@fcc.gov ) and Michael Wagner (
michael.wagner@fcc.gov ), if the request involves a
radio station.
2) The request should provide basic details of the fundraising activity:
a. the nature of the fundraising effort;
b. the proposed duration of the fundraising effort;
c. the organization(s) to which funds will be donated; and
d. whether the fundraiser will be part of the licensee’s regularly scheduled
pledge drive or fundraising effort.
For additional information, please contact the television or radio contacts provided above.
--FCC--
