collect.give: Photography Meets Philanthropy

A few years ago, I was thinking about selling a photograph on my blog to raise money for a local charity. That led to an idea of having other bloggers do the same thing simultaneously, and it quickly snowballed into a larger, more substantial idea. In December of 2009, collect.give (“collect dot give”) was founded as an online photography gallery helping artists support causes they believe in, by offering a limited edition of their photographs.

The participating photographers pledge to donate 100 percent of the proceeds to organizations they choose themselves, which often have personal connections to their family, friends or community. To date, we’ve raised over $28,000 by selling nearly 600 prints, which range in price from $25-$100.

The structure of collect.give is intentionally simple: collectors buy and receive the prints directly from the photographers, who then make personal donations to their chosen organizations.

Today, we released a book through the print-on-demand publisher MagCloud, which celebrates the release of our 50th print edition, by photographer Colleen Plumb. The 128-page book features our first 50 photographs, with essays by noted photography curators and writers. In keeping with our mission, 100 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a charity chosen by the book’s designer, Heidi Romano.

Kevin J. Miyazaki is a fine art and editorial photographer based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the founder of collect.give.