That's what I thought, but someone told me that if the program is funded by underwriting, it would be against the rules....
Not as long as the underwriting announcements conform to the rules... No call to action, no comparative statements, no mention of price, etc. That would probably preclude the underwriter from being able to post his stuff for sale on the show.
That's true. There are quite a few (apparently intentional) loopholes in the non-com rules. For example, the licensed low-power AM Travelers Information Station (TIS) rules prohibit broadcasting either commercials or music. However, they can mention businesses in certain contexts. For example, TISs at airports may mention the names of airlines and car rental companies to help motorists find appropriate parking areas and concourses, and music may be used as part of TIS public service announcements as long as it either isn't copyrighted or the artist gives written permission for it to be used in the TIS message.
Many small and remote communities (particularly in the western states) have TISs for broadcasting forest fire or flood warnings, but a lot of them have *no* other radio stations either in town or within listening range. Most of the time, these isolated towns and hamlets also use their TISs as non-commercial community radio stations, broadcasting high school football games, on-air "swap meets," parades, town council meetings, etc.
Especially in the south, small towns with no local radio stations often set up TISs to entice tourists driving through on the highways to stop and visit. These stations are often underwritten by local chapters of service organizations such as the Kiwanis, Lions Club, Rotary Club, etc. As long as there is no fee for service rendered over the air (no "dollar a holler" advertisements for local businesses), it's OK with the FCC.
-- Black Shire
