[Lightstalkers] Working With NGOs

Working With NGOs

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:32:08 +0000

Presently I do a lot of work in the regional and local editorial market, but am hoping to transition into working with NGOs as a photojournalist; writing and photographing their work. I am an active volunteer in my community, and would like to use my professional abilities to help out as well; but to do so sustainably. I certainly didn't get into the photo business for the money, but I'm wondering if/how to work with NGOs in such a way as to generate a livable income. I've spoken with several people outside of this forum, and the strategy seems to be to either obtain grants to do projects or to tag along with smaller agencies in exchange for full expense and possibly a day-rate and then use the work in books, stock sales and all the ways we presently make money off our work. So how does one approach these organizations, and how does one structure the deal? I'm not looking for actual money figures, just best practice tips. Thanks!

Re: Working With NGOs

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:40:13 +0000

Well, it really depends on what you're interested in photographing, on what stories/struggles you find compelling. Most NGOs are understaffed and overworked. Many now have their own "photographers" who document their work for reports, webpages and the like. Many are also extremely protective of their turf, and then there can be all kinds of ideological questions that you have to negotiate. It's not what I'd call easy. You can approach them with projects in mind, offer to write grant proposals and the like, but the bottom line is whether or not they need or want your services. In terms of structuring the deal, I would recommend writing it all into the grant proposal after having had a lengthy discussion with those concerned. Hope that's helpful. Good luck!

Re: Working With NGOs

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:34:26 +0000

I don't really expect anything in this business to be 'easy.' So you recommend: 1) Come up with idea 2) Pitch to NGO 3) Write grants seeking funds 4) Shoot Is that correct? Or do you mean offer to write grants on behalf of the charity as an added service? Thanks!

Re: Working With NGOs

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:21:55 +0000

Will, You cannot really expect to earn money from an NGO as a photographer. Except you are a well known photographer, you must do it by yourself for a descent amount of time growing your sympathy and reputation eventually. After some time, supposing you are known regarding your known WORK, you may then earn money from several publications that will be interested for you and your photographic (and perhaps writing) abilities. Not directly from an NGO. As far as i know, no photographer had earned money from an organization that involves voluntary work..

Re: Working With NGOs

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:41:10 +0000

Hi Jonnek, Two thoughts: First, I see a model where there are multiple smaller revenue streams, thus allowing me to spread my costs across several places, thereby reducing the costs for all. Second, I have spoken with several people, including development officers operating the charitable divisions of major international corporations, as well as a UNICEF and OXFAM photographer, and it is completely possible to make money in the NGO game. Surely, any NGO has paid employees and expense accounts. For the stingier ones, it might just be a case of marketing a solution rather than 'just photography.' I'm not trying to be argumentative, but rather keep all the information in front of other people who might take what is said here as the complete truth.

Re: Working With NGOs

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:41:30 +0000

Re: Working With NGOs

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:10:46 +0000

Few NGOs have PR or communications budgets that will pay you to shoot pictures for them, but if you get lucky you need to keep in mind that much of this is public relations photography. The organization needs pictures for its website, annual report, donor communications, etc., so your work needs to be in concert with their needs. You can also shoot gala events, conferences, and other functions for NGOs (and be paid competitively), but this probably isn't the type of photography you are talking about. If you are working on some project of your own and it is consistent with an NGO's mission, then you should contact them and find out a way to work together. So if you are doing a project on AIDS in South Africa, you should contact some international and local NGOs that work on this issue, but it's unlikely they are going to pay you to use your photos. But if you are able to shoot something specifically for them -- like portraits of one of their directors in the field -- you might make your day rate. And you might make some good contacts. Remember, though, that NGOs are protective of their clients and unless you have a clear track record doing this sort of work, and come recommended from a trusted source, it's unlikely they are going to open everything for you. Smaller, local NGOs, however, are usually glad to have media interest and can be very helpful but it's rare to be paid for this work. Their budgets are tiny and are often staffed by volunteers. Also, figure out what you mean by NGO. There are thousands and thousands of such organizations all over the world, and they can be helpful to you in all sorts of ways. For my project on the global Indian diaspora, for example, I have made contacts through and photographed the work of lots of community and grassroots organizations, along with a few big charities, in New York, Malaysia, Kenya, Dubai, and other places. Except for the charity galas in New York, these organizations haven't paid me. But they advance my project because they are nodes of the communities in which I am working, are interested in my work and don't really have anything to lose. I have been working this beat for many years now, and Indian communities are very civic and philanthropic anyway, so the community groups and NGOs are really part of the landscape. Bottom line: if you want to work with NGOs and/or on the issues and communities they serve, you need be very specific and smart about what you are doing, build your own networks that include them, and then use them wisely.

Re: Working With NGOs

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:30:41 +0000

Hey Preston, Thanks for your insights. You've confirmed a lot of my suspicions. I have no expectation that the smaller agencies will have anything other to offer other than in-country support. IE, access, credentials, lodging, transport, etc.; all with no budget for day-rate etc. But I hope that they can get me 'enough' that I'm not losing on the deal and have work that will benefit them (in return for the assistance they offer me), and that has enough monitization potential for me that I can sustain the business. With the larger groups, I hope that budgets will exist to throw a day rate at me (at least for some of the work), as well as taking on the full expense. I really think that the value in this process (secondary to the direct benefit to humanity)is amassing a collection of work that is unique and complete. There might not be a tremendous early return, but I look at this as a more long-term investment. And hopefully one that I can afford to make by getting some help in terms of reduced/zeroed 'getting there' and 'staying there' costs. Perhaps upon settling into one or a few specialized areas, I'll be able to actually found my own 501c3 (USA charitable entity) whose charter it is to collect the information that NGOs need to operate. As I said earlier, I don't plan/think it's possible to make piles of money at this. I think this is an endeavor that will allow me to use my talents for a humanitarian purpose, to offer something that the 'professional amateur' photographers can't, and to build a collection of work that will have long-term value. In this project, I don't see any one large revenue stream, but I see lots of little ones. Ranging from fees and expenses paid by the agencies themselves, to stock sales, book sales, news agency buys, grants (still working out how that end works) etc. I think there's enough to keep it afloat.

Re: Working With NGOs

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:49:06 +0000

Hey, Will. It sounds as if you have your head around this thing. Just keep in mind that "in country support" often means just a cup of tea and a conversation, and you don't really need credentials to do anything unless it involves the military or the government. Really small organizations, and even some of the bigger ones, can't really give you anything except their time, and time is valuable.

Re: Working With NGOs

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:01:50 +0000

Hi Preston, As much as it sounds like I have my head about me (thanks), this is a paper argument at this point. I'm in for a cup of tea and a conversation about how to actually fund this kind of work up-front. Generally, it is my understanding that foundations won't give funds to individuals no matter how illustrious their work and intentions may be. It's just not possible (practical?) to lay out $20,000USD to head out to Nairobi for a couple weeks/months to pull a job that might not/won't pull a worthwhile return. That's where I was hoping to find support to reduce my cost-basis to essentially zero. If the price of 'getting the work' is covered somehow, then I only have to resell/make use of the photos themselves profitably. I have to do that anyway whether it's work for newspapers, weddings, etc. Bringing in $10 from 1,000 people yields the same amount of revenue that bringing in $10,000 from one person brings in, so long as the overhead between the two isn't a deal-breaker. There is a way to do that. Other companies/industries on similar models do it all the time. So how do I/we zero out our production costs, or get funding to sufficiently offset them? I'm hoping to develop a model that works for me, as well as others trying to do the same thing. Part of what's missing in the photo industry is a lack of innovation in model and method.

Re: Working With NGOs

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:30:56 +0000

Many grants can only be given to organizations with 501c status. So, you can either build your own NGO to apply for grants from the appropriate, related funders, or hook up with an "umbrella" organization that could receive money for your project, keep a share of the grant for administrative costs, and then use your work as part of what they do. (Blue Earth Alliance, for example) As many have already mentioned, work for large, international NGOs may be more difficult unless you have a name. Also be aware that, when you sign contracts, they may share your work with their "partners". (WWF, for example) This is turning into a way for stingy "partners" to acquire quality images and then have more money available for their "personal expense accounts" i.e. to guzzle at the bar. Getting the work paid for and then marketing the photos is feasible but your work has to be well in line with the NGO in question, they have to be interested, and they have to accept a shared use scheme for your work. (There may be secondary issues depending on the NGO line of work.) It can get complicated.

Re: Working With NGOs

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:41:57 +0000

Hello David, Thanks for your further input. I assume everything in the life photog to be complicated, especially in the US (land of the attorney). Indeed, nothing that's been said here seems to be that vastly different from freelancing editorial or commercial work. Different sport, but similar rules. My goals for the end-use of the work would likely fall in the realm of books, gallery exhibitions and other outlets that serve to advance the world's knowledge of itself. I certainly don't mean that to sound haughty. I don't necessarily mind the concept of allowing 'shared' resources on the part of the NGOs, because it does open a channel for a new support business: agencies that deal with supplying content (photos, video, text, etc.) to NGOs for a share of the drinks at their 'well' (the massive amounts of funding they receive). The 'right' path is seldom the easy one. I hope to set up a system that allows the organizations to benefit as they should, while at the same time establishing a way that those who seek to help out can sustain themselves. I know there's a way. How's the weather in Chihuahua? I was just in Sonora (Hermosillo-ish), and it's miserable.

Re: Working With NGOs

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:05:18 +0000

Dear Will, I really think that you have completely get the wrong picture regarding the case with NGOs.. I don't mean to intrude in your personal areas but i must warn you about your thought which mixes money, NGOs, voluntary work and photography. The ONLY way to earn money from an NGO is to have ALREADY proved your sociological awareness and devotion through photography. You cannot start from scratch making somekind of a deal with anyone, especially with NGO people-in-charge. Sebastiao Salgado and Jimmy Nachtway can earn money directly from an NGO, not you and me. You simply have to devote your self into NGO missions, to follow as a lonely star, paying for your own everyday expenses. After that, there is great possibility to make some pictures that could shake the sociological photography community, and as a result you get the proper attention from the proper people. FORGET the money, even the money that you need for surviving far away from your house. Focus in a situation, in a sociological condition and simply get your self there. Alone. Checking up your gallery i came up with the idea that you certainly got an eye. You got some fine portraits that could build an interesting editorial. I couldn't however realize watching those photos that you got, any material which can fit the requirements for proofing your potential on this kind of photography. And my friend, to have an official access to public, or worse, private money-space-time, you really need to proof everything. If you have a link or anything with some work of yours that could make the difference I will be very happy to have a look at, and you must excuse then my hastiness regarding your style of photography. I have worked with NGOs. In several ways. I know some people who may have an interest to have a look at your "proofing photos". Let me know. Sincerely, Jonnek

Re: Working With NGOs

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:39:22 +0000

Hey Jonnek, Thanks for your response. As I indicated earlier, a vast majority of the work I've done over the last five years has been work of a nature suitable for the lifestyle and profile magazine market in which I work. Glad you liked the portraits. Indeed, I do need to develop some proof-of-concept work, and with my proximity to the US-Mexico border, shouldn't have to travel too far to do it; even on an international basis. I have, as a personal mission, volunteered my time with local charities (painting fences, building houses and working with children/the elderly). Through my business, I donate my services to the local community food bank. After college, I worked as a staff media relations officer for a large 501c3 performing arts center. I hope to take my professional abilities, and a desire to work for the common good and smash them together. I certainly don't expect to have UNICEF call me tomorrow with plane tickets in hand, but I am looking for a way to sustainably enter the market. If that means that I work directly with a local NGO, but also write grants for that organization to fund the work, so be it. And if there weren't a way to sustain oneself while working for the common good, no one would work for the common good. Nachtwey started somewhere. AP, I believe. For a whole new generation of photographers, the old path is probably gone. We have to start blazing new trails. It's taken me five years of working as a photojournalist to learn that the staff/agency route is probably not the path to do the work I want to do; precisely because of the nature of that industry. When the time comes, I will happily send you some work samples; if your offer is still there.

Re: Working With NGOs

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:48:55 +0000

Will, I sent you a PM.

Re: Working With NGOs

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:32:08 +0000

Will, The weather is glorious here. It has been RAINING! I think Jonnek's point is well taken, and it was a point that I was actually trying to make in a not so direct fashion. The blue earth model is interesting, though. I remember looking at it a while back, and it seems that several people have made good by using their umbrella. The rub is that you have to do all the fundraising. If you've got the connections, but need the roof, it's great for 10% of the grant.