Community station Radio Hartlepool is £54k better off after a grant from a resident-led partnership.
The cash for the station, which started broadcasting last October, will be used to help pay for running costs and split into instalments.
Station Manager Geoff Hainsworth told the Hartlepool Mail: "It has taken a lot of effort and hard work to get the station up and running for the people of Hartlepool and with the great support shown from NDC it can only get better for the future."
The money was donated by the Hartlepool New Deal for Communities, of which there are 39 similar similar initiatives across the country.