The Advocate is turning to charitable support to strengthen its LGBTQ+ journalism as it approaches 60 years in print. Its new nonprofit fundraising project aims to fund investigations, develop future reporters and preserve an archive built over decades. For readers who rely on independent coverage of queer lives and rights, the campaign is about more than keeping a magazine on the shelf.

Essential Takeaways

  • A new funding initiative: The Advocate Journalism Project is raising money to support the magazine's reporting and preservation work. [2]
  • A long-running record: The Advocate's roots date to 1967, and its archive documents LGBTQ+ history, culture and civil rights. [3]
  • Print still matters: The magazine continues to publish in print as well as online, offering another way to access LGBTQ+ news. [2]
  • Donations have several routes: Supporters can give once or monthly, and the project also welcomes donor-advised fund contributions and enquiries about grants and partnerships. [5]

A nonprofit project for LGBTQ+ journalism

The Advocate Journalism Project is designed to fund reporting that can take time, persistence and resources: investigations, original storytelling and journalist training. The magazine says donations will also support the preservation of its print publication and archive, giving the campaign both a forward-looking and historical purpose. [2]

That combination feels especially apt for a publication approaching its 60th anniversary. Journalism can document what's happening now, but an archive helps readers see how today's arguments and milestones fit into a longer story. [3]

The Advocate's roots reach back to 1967

The magazine traces its beginnings to a 1967 newsletter published by Personal Rights in Defense and Education, a Los Angeles gay rights organisation. Its creation followed police violence at the Black Cat Tavern, an episode that helped galvanise protest and organising against police brutality. [2] [4]

Over the decades, The Advocate has covered LGBTQ+ civil rights, culture and personal stories, building a record that stretches from the years before the Stonewall uprising to the present. Its archive offers a glimpse of that changing coverage through magazine covers and other historical material. [3]

Why print remains part of the picture

The Advocate publishes daily news online and continues to produce a print edition. That matters for readers who prefer a physical magazine, and for people without home broadband access. The publication cites an estimate of 81 million people in the United States without a home broadband internet subscription. [2]

Print also gives the publication's reporting a tangible life beyond a news feed. A bound archive can be revisited, shared and studied, which is a quietly powerful way to keep community history within reach. [2] [3]

How donations can support the work

The project says contributions can help journalists investigate threats, pursue public records, question those in power and explain what developments mean for readers. It also aims to make room for stories of resilience and queer joy, a welcome reminder that coverage shouldn't be defined only by crisis. [2]

Readers can make a one-time gift or set up monthly support. The project also accepts donor-advised fund donations and invites enquiries about legacy giving, grants, partnerships and corporate sponsorships. It operates as a fiscally sponsored project of Independent Arts & Media, a nonprofit organisation, with donations granted to the project and tax deductibility subject to applicable law. [2] [5] [6]

A wider shift in how journalism is funded

The Advocate's campaign reflects a broader interest in nonprofit support as news organisations look for ways to sustain reporting. The Institute for Nonprofit News tracks revenue and expenses across its member organisations, offering a window into the financial models used across nonprofit journalism. [7]

For readers, the practical question is what support makes possible: more time for investigations, training for the next generation and a record that doesn't vanish when a story drops off the front page. The project is asking its audience to help carry that work forward. [2] [7]

It's a chance to support both the next story and the archive that helps make sense of it.

Source Reference Map

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