Contingent Magazine is operated by Contingent, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation (EIN 83-2403853). Seven people sit on Contingent’s board of directors: Erin Bartram, Bill Black, William S. Cossen, Rachel Eshenour, Marc Reyes, Michelle Ronholm, and Ravynn K. Stringfield. (You can read profiles of them all here.) Though the board includes the editorial staff (Bartram, Black, and Reyes), board members are not paid for the work of running the corporation.
We are funded entirely by individual donors. All donations are tax-deductible, and donors have the option to give a one-time donation or sign up to give a certain amount each month. (We use Donorbox to manage donations.) Contingent‘s budget is based on what we receive from those monthly donors.
As of January 1, 2021, we receive $2,069.92 a month from 250 donors. Here’s how we spend it:
Approximately $900 a month goes to writers. Contingent usually publishes one piece a week, and the most common payment is $250 (our rate for a 800–1500 word piece). We pay $500 for longer pieces in the 2000–3000 word range. (You can see all rates here.)
$750 a month goes to Contingent‘s three editors, each of whom receives a monthly stipend of $250.
The remaining money (approximately $350 a month) goes toward operating expenses, including accounting software, donor management software, the website domain and hosting, and stamps and envelopes. We keep a web designer on an annual retainer and pay a communications coordinator on an hourly basis. Sometimes we even put money into Contingent, Inc.’s savings account!
Contingent is an affiliate of Bookshop.org. When a book is cited in one of our pieces, we usually link to its Bookshop page in the footnote; the magazine earns a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Visit our affiliate page to purchase books by our contributors and see book lists curated by the magazine’s staff.
Finally, you can read our website’s Privacy Policy here. Our email address is contingentinc@gmail.com