Help bioGraphic grow our team—and our coverage
Big changes are coming to bioGraphic in 2025! But before we get to the good news, we need to share what’s been going on behind the scenes at the magazine.
The California Academy of Sciences has been our home since we started publishing in 2016. But since the pandemic, the organization has faced a number of financial challenges. These circumstances have cut into the bioGraphic budget, and, this year, raised the possibility that the magazine would close.
As our funding from the Academy has shrunk, so has bioGraphic’s staff and the number of stories we publish.
Now, though, we are working to reverse this decline in two ways: by securing a more stable financial base and investing in our editorial capacity. We’re pivoting from relying on a small number of funding sources to a more diversified roster of foundations and major donors, alongside crucial support from readers like you.
Making reader donations part of our core funding strategy will make bioGraphic more resilient and keep us accountable to our readers. And we know this works. Many fantastic nonprofit, reader-funded publications, including The Guardian, Grist, ProPublica, and The Texas Tribune, now thrive in today’s challenging media landscape,
In January 2025, we will welcome experienced staff from Hakai Magazine, an award-winning environmental publication, to broaden bioGraphic’s coverage and enable us to publish more stories. With Hakai Magazine closing at the end of 2024, its team members will bring journalistic expertise, alongside new funding opportunities and an enthusiastic and engaged audience. The future of bioGraphic looks bright! But to get there, we need your support.
Please make a monthly, yearly, or one-time donation towards our 2025 budget.
No donation is too small. Every dollar we raise will go directly toward producing more of the stories that matter to you. Please help us continue this important work.
How to Help
Step 1: Sign up for bioGraphic’s newsletter, so you never miss a story.
Step 2: Make a donation to help us complete our 2025 budget. No amount is too small.
Frequently asked questions
Why is bioGraphic partnering with the team from Hakai Magazine?
Both bioGraphic and Hakai Magazine faced budget shortfalls and potential closure in 2024. By partnering, we can combine our audiences, bringing more eyes to our stories and increasing our potential donor base, all under the auspices of and with operational support from the California Academy of Sciences. bioGraphic and Hakai Magazine share the same ethos and commitment to independent environmental journalism. The publications launched within a year of each other and have followed a similar trajectory over the past decade, including winning comparable journalism awards, hiring some of the same editors, and commissioning many of the same freelance writers and photographers to report our stories. As one team, we can continue to deliver more of the stories that bioGraphic and Hakai Magazine readers know and love.
When will this joint venture begin?
We plan to bring Hakai Magazine team members on board at bioGraphic in January 2025. We will begin ramping up the publishing schedule to eventually produce three to five stories per week. And as this partnership evolves and grows, we will continue to revisit and explore new ways to tell stories about environmental issues and what experts are doing to resolve them. You will likely see an updated look and feel to the bioGraphic website in early 2025. But for now, our emphasis will be on expanding our coverage of some of the most important environmental issues of our time.
Are you building a paywall?
No. We will continue to publish all of our stories online, making them available for free with no limits to how much of our site you can see. Even if you can’t afford to support bioGraphic financially, your access to stories will not change. But if you value what we do and can afford it, please donate.
Can I make my donation by phone or check?
Yes! To donate by phone, please have your credit or debit card handy and call the California Academy of Sciences at 415-379-8000 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific time.
Checks should be made out to the “California Academy of Sciences” with memo “bioGraphic magazine” and mailed to: California Academy of Sciences ATTN: Development Department, 55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco, CA, 94118.
If you have other questions about donations, please contact the California Academy of Sciences development staff at 415-379-5405 or annualfund@calacademy.org.
Is my donation tax deductible?
bioGraphic is supported by the California Academy of Sciences, which is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization and your donation is tax-deductible within the guidelines of United States law. To claim a donation as a deduction on your U.S. taxes, please keep your email donation receipt as your official record. We will send it to you upon successful completion of your donation.
For supporters outside the United States, donations are unfortunately not tax deductible at this time.
