What Mongabay does

Mongabay is a U.S.-based nonprofit environmental science and conservation news organization founded in 1999 by Rhett A. Butler and headquartered in Menlo Park, California. The news service operates under Mongabay.com, governed by the parent nonprofit Mongabay.org (EIN 45-3714703, registered 2012), and has grown into a multinational operation with hundreds of staff and more than 1,000 contributing journalists publishing in eight languages (English, Indonesian, Spanish, French, Hindi, Portuguese, Bengali, and Swahili) across regional bureaus in Indonesia, Latin America, India, Brazil, and Africa. The platform is organized as a core news property (news.mongabay.com, WordPress CMS) augmented by content modules — Features, Videos, Podcasts, Specials, Articles, and Shorts — and specialized products including the Mongabay Data Studio (data journalism, 2024), Mongabay Kids, and the Mongabay Africa Fellowship Program.

The underlying technology stack is conventional web publishing: WordPress for content management, Matomo (self-hosted) plus Google Universal Analytics and GA Demographics & Interest Reporting for audience measurement, DoubleClick for Publishers and Google AdSense for ad serving, and Donorbox for donation processing. Mongabay publishes under a Creative Commons license that permits other outlets to republish its reporting at no cost, functioning as a low-cost distribution amplifier. Personalization is limited to automated decision-making analytics that tailor content and sponsorship messages using inferred user interests.

The business model is a reader-supported nonprofit revenue stack rather than a paid-product model: there are no subscriptions or paid tiers. Revenue is generated from individual reader donations processed via Donorbox (with a $50 suggested default), programmatic advertising largely outsourced to Google, and tax-deductible corporate sponsorships from organizations whose practices are vetted for mission alignment by Mongabay's board. The company also retains licensing rights over user-submitted content. Pricing is not publicly disclosed in the conventional sense because the product (journalism) is provided free at point of access.

Name

Mongabay

Legal name

Mongabay.org

Website

https://mongabay.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Mongabay is a U.S.-based nonprofit environmental science and conservation news platform founded in 1999, publishing in eight languages via global regional bureaus. It serves conservation-focused readers, policymakers, and partner media through Creative Commons-licensed journalism funded by reader donations, programmatic ads, and sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental News

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Periodical Publishers (513120), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Creator Publishing & Membership Platforms (Writer-Centric) (MPACAIAD), Creator Commerce & Affiliate Monetization Platforms (MPACAFAF), Creator Channel Hosting & Publishing Platforms (MPACABAC)

Keywords

• Environmental news
• Conservation journalism
• Nonprofit media
• Science reporting
• Biodiversity coverage

Headquarters

HQ city

Menlo Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Programmatic advertising: Advertising is effectively outsourced to Google; the majority of ads on the site are served automatically by Google based on location or other factors. Mongabay also accepts direct advertising on the site and in newsletters.
2. Tax-deductible sponsorships: Mongabay accepts tax-deductible sponsorships from companies and organizations whose products, services, and practices are not in conflict with its mission, as determined by Mongabay's board.
3. Reader donations: Donation-based fundraising via prominent Donate CTAs and donorbox integration. Mongabay is a reader-supported nonprofit; EIN 45-3714703.
4. User-submission licensing: User Submissions grant Mongabay a non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish and sublicense user content, with Mongabay retaining revenue from advertising attached to such submissions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Core offering

Mongabay publishes free, open-access conservation and environmental science journalism through a multinational digital news platform organized into multiple content formats (Features, Videos, Podcasts, Specials, Articles, Shorts) and eight language editions backed by regional bureaus. The news service operates under the Mongabay.org nonprofit umbrella (EIN 45-3714703), supported by hundreds of staff and over 1,000 contributing journalists, and is funded by reader donations, programmatic advertising, and tax-deductible sponsorships rather than paid subscriptions.

Product overview

Mongabay operates as a platform-plus-modules architecture rather than a single unified product. The core platform is Mongabay News (news.mongabay.com), which is organized into distinct content-format modules — Features, Videos, Podcasts, Specials, Articles, and Shorts — and is governed and operated by the parent nonprofit Mongabay.org. Around this core, Mongabay extends its reach through a portfolio of regional sub-brands that publish localized environmental journalism in eight languages: Mongabay Latam (Spanish), Mongabay.co.id (Indonesian), Mongabay India (English), Mongabay Brasil (Portuguese), Mongabay Hindi, Mongabay Africa (French and Swahili), and a Bengali edition. Specialized products layer on top, including Mongabay Data Studio for evidence-based/data journalism and Mongabay Kids for younger audiences; Mongabay Africa additionally runs a multimedia and fellowship program to train African environmental journalists.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mongabay Latam: Spanish-language environmental news bureau for Latin America, launched in 2016.
• Mongabay India
• Mongabay Brasil
• Mongabay Hindi
• Mongabay Africa
• Mongabay.co.id
• Mongabay Data Studio

Products and services

• Mongabay News Flagship Mongabay news site publishing conservation and environmental science journalism, supported by hundreds of staff and over 1,000 contributing journalists, organized into multiple content formats including Features, Videos, Podcasts, Specials, Articles, and Shorts. Targeted at general readers, researchers, journalists, and conservation professionals worldwide.
• Mongabay.org Registered U.S. nonprofit organization (EIN 45-3714703) that supports Mongabay's education and journalism initiatives under a sustainable business model and houses the editorial bureaus and programs that feed Mongabay.com.
• Mongabay Latam Regional Spanish-language environmental news bureau launched in 2016 to deliver Mongabay reporting to Latin American audiences.
• Mongabay.co.id (Mongabay Indonesia) Indonesian-language environmental news service run by a team of Indonesian journalists; the first editorial project launched under the Mongabay.org nonprofit.
• Mongabay India India-focused regional edition of Mongabay launched in 2018 to cover South Asian environmental stories.
• Mongabay Brasil Portuguese-language regional bureau launched in 2019 to deliver Mongabay's environmental journalism to Brazilian and Lusophone audiences.
• Mongabay Hindi Hindi-language regional edition launched in 2020 to expand Mongabay's multilingual environmental coverage.
• Mongabay Africa Africa-focused environmental news bureau launched in 2023, with French (fr.mongabay.com) and Swahili (swahili.mongabay.com) editions and a multimedia, podcast, and fellowship program to train African environmental journalists.
• Mongabay Data Studio Data journalism initiative launched in 2024 to support Mongabay's global newsroom with evidence-based reporting derived from data and analysis.
• Mongabay Kids

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature4 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• AFP/Reuters Environment: Major global newswires and broad media groups with dedicated environmental/sustainability reporting desks. Comparable to Mongabay in producing environmental news, though they operate at a much larger scale with wire-distribution and generalist editorial portfolios.
• National Geographic: Large global media brand with deep coverage of nature, wildlife, and environmental science. Comparable to Mongabay as a publisher of conservation and environmental storytelling at global scale, though it is a much larger commercial brand with a broader editorial portfolio.
• Mongabay-competitor The Guardian (Environment vertical): Major global news organization with a dedicated environment and climate desk. Comparable to Mongabay as a publisher of environmental journalism reaching a large global audience, though it operates a much broader mainstream newsroom funded by a mix of subscriptions and advertising.

Direct peers

• The Revelator: Environmental news and commentary platform run by the National Wildlife Federation. Comparable to Mongabay as a nonprofit editorial outlet producing original environmental journalism distributed freely online.
• Carbon Brief: UK-based nonprofit news website covering climate science, policy, and energy. Comparable to Mongabay as a specialist nonprofit environmental news outlet with a single-topic editorial focus and a donation/grant funding model.
• DeSmog: Nonprofit investigative news outlet covering climate disinformation and the fossil fuel industry. Comparable to Mongabay as a nonprofit climate/environmental newsroom relying on donations and grants with an editorial mission aligned with environmental advocacy.
• Earth Island Journal: Quarterly environmental journal published by the Earth Island Institute nonprofit. Comparable to Mongabay as a nonprofit environmental publication with an advocacy-adjacent editorial mission.
• Yale Environment 360: Online magazine published by the Yale School of the Environment covering global environmental issues. Comparable to Mongabay as a nonprofit, editorially focused environmental publication with a global perspective and similar long-form reporting approach.
• Inside Climate News: Nonprofit, Pulitzer-winning newsroom covering climate and energy. Comparable to Mongabay in nonprofit structure, donation/foundation funding, and exclusive focus on environmental/climate journalism.
• Grist: U.S.-based nonprofit news outlet focused on climate and environmental journalism, funded by a mix of donations, grants, and sponsorships. Closely comparable to Mongabay as a mission-driven nonprofit environmental news organization with a similar reader-supported funding model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mongabay
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCnrubbmyCz8krGnpsbhJRYg/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/mongabay
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mongabay.com
• Instagraminstagram.com/mongabay
• TikToktiktok.com/@mongabay

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mongabay