STATEMENT OF
CHAIRMAN AJIT PAI
Re: Noncommercial Educational Station Fundraising for Third-Party Non-Profit Organizations, MB 
Docket No. 12-106.
In the 1830s, French diplomat and political scientist Alexis de Tocqueville marveled at the good 
work done by private associations in America. As he put it in Democracy in America, “I often admired 
the infinite art with which the inhabitants of the United States managed to fix a common goal to the 
efforts of many men and to get them to advance to it freely.”  In modern times, that selfless spirit lives on 
through countless non-profit organizations that do good work each and every day.  They feed the hungry, 
house the homeless, provide relief when disaster strikes, and serve communities in many other ways,
large and small.    
Today, we take a small but meaningful step to help these organizations help more Americans.  
Specifically, we will permit noncommercial educational (NCE) stations, except those that receive funding 
from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, to devote up to one percent of their annual airtime on 
fundraising for the benefit of third-party, non-profit organizations.  Minimally relaxing our longstanding 
third-party fundraising restrictions will benefit the public interest by making it easier for noncommercial 
stations to partner with disaster relief groups, charities, and other non-profits to raise funds for worthy 
causes.  
Currently, NCE stations need a waiver to do such fundraising.  For instance, when Hurricane 
Andrew struck Florida, the licensee of an NCE radio station and an NCE television station had to 
proactively seek a waiver from the FCC in order to broadcast a two-hour program aimed at raising funds 
and providing information about hurricane relief efforts.  And shortly following the 2010 earthquake in 
Haiti, a station in Asheville, North Carolina sought, and ultimately was granted, an FCC waiver to 
fundraise on-air for relief efforts. As a result, the station was able to raise $272,250.  Today’s Order will 
make it easier for NCE stations to do this kind of important work without having to file paperwork with 
the Commission and then wait for an answer. 
This rule change may also enhance the educational nature of NCE stations by raising public 
awareness about important topics.  For instance, NCEs will now be able to air a fundraising program for 
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which could help to educate station audiences about the hospital’s 
research needs and ongoing efforts to find life-saving treatments for childhood diseases.
I’d like to thank the dedicated staff of the Media Bureau, including Kathy Berthot, Michelle 
Carey, Lyle Elder, Martha Heller, and Mary Beth Murphy, for their hard work on this Order.