collect.give: Photography Meets Philanthropy

2 minute read

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.

Elvis the Zebra (from the series, Carry Me Ohio) To benefit Critical ExposureMatt Eich
Picnic Table, Queenstown, New Zealand, 2008 To benefit the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s ResearchEmily Shur
Cyclone, Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, 2005To benefit the International Rescue CommitteeDavid Leventi
crawfish (lacuna detail), 2009 To benefit the nonprofit "charity: water"Sonja Thomsen
FlagTo benefit the Committee to Protect JournalistsAndrew Hetherington
Wisteria, 2006To benefit the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition Jesse Burke
UnderTo benefit Kids of KathmanduManjari Sharma
Before lunch: Flaccanicco, Italy To benefit Start Small. Think Big., Inc.Kelly Shimoda
HammockTo benefit the Austin Children's ShelterElizabeth Fleming
World’s Largest Rocket, Kennedy Space Center, 2009To benefit Texas EquusearchJohn Loomis
Illness, Female, 60 years old, 2010To benefit the Texas Neurofibromatosis FoundationSarah Sudhoff
Facing North, Barrow, Alaska, 2009To benefit Gift of Life Transplant HouseBen Huff
Big Muskie DraglineTo benefit Coal River Mountain WatchDaniel Shea
Silver Lake at Blackwell Forest Preserve, 2009To benefit The Bryan HousePeter Hoffman
Outdoor World, 2008To benefit Elephant Aid International Colleen Plumb

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