WASHINGTON (CNN) - National Public Radio said it received a gift of more than $200 million from the estate of philanthropist Joan B. Kroc, widow of the founder of the McDonald's fast-food chain.
It is believed to be the largest monetary gift ever received by an American cultural institution, NPR President Kevin Klose said.
At a news conference Wednesday, Klose called it "wonderful news, not just for NPR but everybody who believes that a democracy must have a wide-ranging, energetic discussion."
Klose said there were "no strings attached" to the gift and it will be some months before the actual monetary value of the trust will be known. "This is not about dollars and cents," he said. It is "about her vision for what public radio could be."
But the bequest amounts to almost twice the size of NPR's annual operating budget of $104 million.
The non-profit organization, which claims to have 22 million listeners and 750 member stations, plans to hold a series of discussions with member stations and stakeholders to decide how to use the money, Klose said. However, he added that most of the money will not be spent, but will be saved.
Most of it, he said, will become part of NPR Endowment Fund for Excellence, created in 1993 to provide a sustaining source of support for NPR activities that is independent of other revenue sources, which are affected by the economy and other factors beyond NPR'S control.
Kroc had a longtime interest in public radio, particularly the member station KPBS in her home town of San Diego. She left that station a bequest of $5 million.
Susan Stamberg, NPR special correspondent and longtime host of its premier program, "All Things Considered," said the gift was "totally unexpected" and was "a wonderful, powerful validation of the work that we have been doing for all these decades. Mrs. Kroc just wouldn't have trusted us with a lasting gift like this if she didn't believe we really did have the power to make things happen and the power to really make a difference."
She said she and her fellow workers at NPR were "deeply touched and honored, not to mention elated" by the gift, and "we're going to do everything we can to live up to the confidence that Mrs. Kroc put in us."
Asked if they think this size of this gift might prompt other donors to close their purses, both Klose and Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., co-founder of the Congressional Public Radio Caucus, said they felt it might do the opposite.
Klose said he hopes it will make potential donors think about this as setting a very high standard for commitment to the power of public radio.
Blumenauer said, "I think this is an affirmation of the value of Public Broadcasting. I think it's going to lead this week to hundreds of people changing their wills."
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