Help Someone; Help Yourself •

“US$10,000 grant given to a photographer to fund a project that raises public awareness about an important social, environmental or economic issue.”

Interested? Go to:
www.grant.shootq.com [go now; it's time sensitive].

But it doesn’t take “10 large” for you to get great value from helping out others.

Besides the obvious personal satisfaction you’ll receive; helping out non-profits by donating your work pro-bono can also be a wonderful public relations opportunity to increase the visibility of both you and your client.

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Follow Your Heart

First; choose an organization whose mission resonates with your passion. This will not only improve what you get out of it on a personal level but your passion will also be evident in the quality of the final work. Be very up-front with your intentions and clear everything with them before you start [this might actually take a little extra effort on your part explaining usage rights and licensing as they may have little exposure to copyright law and industry norms. Get releases. Explain everything. Explain it again and get it in writing]. Make sure to use discretion and respect with your usage and publicity paying special attention to delicate subject matter [e.g. children or victims of violence, etc.].

Alert the Media

There’s nothing wrong with tooting your own horn for doing good deeds as long as it is done with good taste. Contact the appropriate media [those that have reader interest or themes that match your project] before you start. Let them know what you’re doing, why you’re doing it [for the cause] who’s involved and what benefit may come from your efforts—maybe they’ll be interested in following your project “documentary” style. Be sure to follow up with them after your project so you can share the results.

Network

Even small organizations can have some “big guns” on their board of directors. Ask to meet with them, explain what you’re offering, ask if there is anything you can do to help their company’s community relations department leverage the exposure; build a relationship.

When handled correctly, donating your time can certainly help your business’s bottom line; but you may soon find the publicity to be just a pleasant side effect to the many benefits you receive when you give from the bottom of your heart.

Are you applying for the grant? Have you donated your time to some project that moved you personally? Did you leverage it for publicity or get work from having it in your portfolio? Leave a comment and let us know about it. Please, DIGG, StumbleUpon and share our articles on Facebook by clicking below.