Ways to Give

iNaturalist is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the United States as of July 2023. Your generous support makes it possible for iNaturalist to remain freely available to people around the world.

For ways to volunteer your time, check out this post in the iNat Forum.

Online

You can easily donate online in multiple currencies using credit or debit cards, PayPal, Venmo, Google Pay, Apple Pay, ACH bank transfer, or Mercado Pago.

Mail a Check

If you wish to support iNaturalist by check, please include your email address so that we can email a receipt and mail your check to:

iNaturalist
PO Box 150357
San Rafael, CA 94915-0357

Please be sure to include an email address so that we can save stamps.

Tribute Gifts (in honor or in memory)

We are always touched when people think of supporting iNaturalist to pay tribute to someone. When you donate online, you can optionally choose to designate a gift in honor or in memory of someone special to you.

By default, it will ask for an email address to notify someone of the gift. If you don't wish to notify anyone else, you can enter your own email address.

Legacy Giving in Your Will

Making a gift to iNaturalist in your will, trust, or beneficiary designations costs you nothing now but can help secure iNaturalist for years ahead. We've partnered with FreeWill to make it easy and free to create a will or Revocable Living Trust.

Explore how FreeWill can help

As a newly independent nonprofit, you can be among the first to secure a legacy with iNaturalist though planned gifts. Have you separately designated a planned gift for iNaturalist? You can let us know here.

IRA Charitable Donations

Are you at least 70 ½ years old? Do you have an Individual Retirement Account (Traditional IRA) in the United States? If you answered yes to both, Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) are the savviest way for you to maximize your charitable impact.

Please direct IRA distribution gifts directly from your account to:
iNaturalist
PO Box 150357
San Rafael, CA 94915-0357

iNaturalist’s EIN (Tax ID) is 92-1296468 (Note: this may temporarily appear as "Nature Connection Through Technology" but it is the correct organization)

Please be sure to include an email address or notify us via this form so that we can send a receipt for your gift. Please be sure to include an email address so that we can save stamp.

When you take a distribution from your IRA, it usually counts as income for tax purposes. QCDs, also called IRA Charitable Rollovers, are an exception. Individuals 70½ years of age or older can distribute up to $100,000 each year from their IRAs to their favorite qualifying 501(c)(3) organizations without the distribution counting as income.

IRS website has additional useful information on QCDs.

Note: The limit will increase by a percentage in 2024 to account for inflation.

Donor Advised Funds

Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) are a great way to support iNaturalist. The link below allows you to search for your DAF account holder and will take you directly to its login page so that you can securely complete the gift.


iNaturalist’s EIN (Tax ID) is 92-1296468 (Note: this may temporarily appear as "Nature Connection Through Technology" but it is the correct organization)

Please direct gifts to:
iNaturalist
PO Box 150357
San Rafael, CA 94915-0357

Please be sure to include an email address so that we can save stamp.

Donate Stock

Donating publicly traded securities (such as stocks and bonds) can allow more of your funds to directly support iNaturalist. Instead of paying a percentage in capital gains tax on appreciated securities, the full value can be a charitable contribution.

If you would like to donate securities to iNaturalist, please contact us to let us know by emailing carrie@inaturalist.org. We do not receive donor information with the transfer, so this is the only way we can properly recognize and thank you for your gift.

To transfer securities to iNaturalist, here is the information your brokerage will need:

Vanguard FBO iNaturalist
DTC number: 0062
Account number: 14290016
Contact name at Charitable Organization: Carrie Seltzer

Please let us know if we can assist you further with the transfer and thank you for supporting iNaturalist!

Corporate Gifts

You can easily use this special campaign to donate online in multiple currencies on behalf of a company, nonprofit, or other corporation.

iNaturalist is a proud environmental partner of 1% for the Planet.

1% for the planet environmental partner logo
Employer Matching

Each year, $4-7 billion US dollars are left unclaimed in employer matching gift programs. More than 26 million people work for companies that offer matching gifts.

Does your employer offer matching funds for charitable gifts? Put those funds to work for biodiversity!

After giving, you’ll need to follow the steps specified by your employer to complete the matching gift. Search for iNaturalist using the Tax ID/EIN: 92-1296468. If you have trouble finding iNaturalist, please contact us. If you need to enter an email for a confirmation step from your employer, please use matching@inaturalist.org.

Some employers even offer donations for volunteer hours, so you can tally up your time spent on making observations, identifications, or other ways to spend your time supporting iNaturalist!


Grants

Thousands of projects and researchers around the world rely on iNaturalist to collect biodiversity data and build community. Do you work on a grant-supported program that relies on iNaturalist or uses iNaturalist data? If so, please consider including iNaturalist as a recipient of grant funds. Please contact grants@inaturalist.org to inquire about a letter of support.

Revised on November 23, 2023 12:50 AM by carrieseltzer carrieseltzer