SUPPORT US

SICK is an independent print magazine that is largely reader-funded. In 2019, we began with £600 and a priority of paying all contributors, remaining ad-free, and increasing our contributor rates over time. We are not interested in selling things to our readers, but rather paying contributors well, maintaining an affordable retail price, and offering a sliding scale. Contributor rates for each issue are dependant on sales from the previous issue, grants, donations, and any other products we produce.

In May of 2023, we received a $5,000 grant from The Kindling Fund, a grant program administered by SPACE as part of the Andy Warhol Foundation For The Visual Arts Regional Regranting Program. This allowed us to increase contributor rates for issue 5, host a launch party, provide free copies to disabled people on low/no income, begin with a larger print run, pay myself, and more.

In October of 2023, we received a $10,000 project grant from the Ellis Beauregard Foundation to produce Issue 6. This allows us to publish Issue 6 earlier in the year, increase rates for team members who have been working for low or no pay at some point over the last five years (editor, designer, assistant, copy-editor), host another launch party, provide free copies, and ultimately provide a foundation for SICK’s sustainability. We still have many more goals, such as increasing contributor and team member rates further, increasing our print runs, offering an unlimited number of free copies, making a more accessible website, offering SICK as an audiobook/podcast, creating more merchandise, and much more.

Please consider supporting us on Patreon! There are three membership tiers available, two of which get you access to an exclusive newsletter from me (Olivia, founder & editor)!

Finances

Our currently monthly maintenance costs are £55 (website hosting, online shop, google suite, canva, bank account). The cost to produce issue 4 (including all contributor fees, design fee, & two print runs totaling 1,025 copies) was £6,322. The majority of money spent on issues 01-4 comes directly from sales in our online shop, stockists, and fairs. Issue 4 has produced a profit of £3,534 from 244 online sales across a nine-month period, $1,080 in fair sales, and £2,766 from stockist sales. 

The cost to produce Issue 5 breaks down as follows:
Team member fees (editor, designer & assistant editor, copy-editor, assistant): £1,489
Contributor fees (writers, artists, poets, cover artist, illustrator): £2,522.70
One print run totaling 1,000 copies: £2,739
Total of £6,750.70

We use sliding-scale pricing options in an effort to remain as affordable as possible, knowing that many sick & disabled people live in poverty or low/no income. We hope that those who are able to afford to pay more or offer monetary support will do so in an effort to keep SICK an accessible, ongoing project. 

You can make a one-time donation via the form below, or by sending directly via PayPal to olivia (at) sickmagazine.co.uk or Venmo @sickmagazine. All donations go towards paying chronically ill & disabled writers, artists, designers, and illustrators, as well as printing costs.