Non-Federal Financial Support (NFFS) for CPB grants: what it is and how to calculate it

Every public-media organisation that receives funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) must report its Non-Federal Financial Support — NFFS — as part of the annual grant compliance process. The figure matters because it determines grant eligibility and the matching ratio. Get it wrong and the report comes back, often after the deadline has passed.

This guide explains what NFFS is, what counts toward it, what does not, and how Grantforge handles the arithmetic so you can file with confidence.

What NFFS is, in one sentence

Non-Federal Financial Support is the total financial support a public-media station receives from sources other than the federal government. CPB uses it to calculate the matching share requirement: for every dollar of federal grant funds, the station must demonstrate a certain amount of non-federal support.

The calculation is straightforward in concept — total support minus the federal portion — but the definition of what counts as non-federal has specific inclusions and exclusions that trip up first-time filers.

What counts as NFFS

• State and local government grants — appropriations from state legislatures, city councils, county commissions, and similar bodies.
• Foundation and corporate grants — donations from private foundations, corporate giving programmes, and charitable trusts.
• Individual contributions — membership dues, one-time donations, pledge-drive gifts from individuals.
• Underwriting and sponsorship revenue — payments from businesses and organisations in exchange for on-air acknowledgement.
• University and educational institution contributions — when a university holds the license or provides direct financial support to the station.
• Interest and investment income — earned on station endowments or operating funds.

What does NOT count

• Federal grants and contracts — any funding that originates from a federal agency, including CPB itself, the Department of Education, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, or similar.
• Pass-through federal funds — even when distributed by a state or local intermediary, if the original source is federal, it is not NFFS.
• In-kind contributions — donated goods, services, or facilities are not counted as financial support under the standard NFFS definition.
• Capital grants — funds restricted to building, equipment, or other capital expenditures are generally excluded from the NFFS calculation used for the matching requirement.
• Programme production grants that go to specific productions — these may be treated differently depending on the grant agreement; check with your grant officer.

Where the arithmetic goes wrong

The most common error is a simple arithmetic mismatch: the NFFS figure entered on the revenue section does not match the sum of its components. Because NFFS appears in two places on the report — once as a revenue line item and again in the matching calculation — a reviewer can spot a discrepancy immediately. Grantforge checks that every figure is internally consistent across every place it appears, so if your Total Revenue minus Federal Share does not equal your reported NFFS, the finding is named before you download the report.

How Grantforge handles NFFS

When you enter your revenue figures into Grantforge — total revenue, federal share, and the individual NFFS components — the tool computes the non-federal share percentage, compares it against the typical 20–80% range, and flags any inconsistency between the NFFS line and the Total Revenue minus Federal Share arithmetic. The result is a report section that shows your NFFS clearly, with every derived figure labelled and any discrepancy quantified.

Open Grantforge and enter your figures