Home > Commerce > Business Articles > Bill Miller's Strategy for Working with Nonprofit Organizations
Bill Miller’s Strategy for Working with Nonprofit Organizations
For a print article on pages 22 - 24 of the ASMP Bulletin’s Winter 2007 issue, Sarah Coleman interviewed eight photographers who have worked with nonprofits on various levels. She described the obvious benefits, the potential pitfalls and reported on how photographers have managed these relationships, and to what extent their normal business practices were appropriate. Here, Oregon-based photographer Bill Miller provides additional insight into a strategy he’s developed to make his nonprofit work a financially viable enterprise for his business needs and a win-win situation for all.
Northwest Human Services. All images © Bill Miller/allegory-photo.com
Living in a small community, it’s not uncommon for nonprofit and civic organizations to ask me to offer my photographic services at no charge. The underlying mindset usually seems to be that they are doing the public good and therefore it’s appropriate to ask for the donation of time, goods and services. Photo credit, if and when offered, was considered to be fair compensation by such clients.
Like many new businesses, I felt there would be benefits just to get my name and work out there, so I did free work with several of these organizations. Unfortunately, it seemed that the more you did, the more it was expected — with little or no potential for paid work being generated because of it. If work could not be offered for free, there was no paid alternative — just a search by the organization to find someone else who would do it for nothing.
Business Meeting
I decided that I had to break the cycle and look for an approach that would be mutually beneficial for both the organizations and myself. This required that I ask myself several questions to clarify in my own mind what I was willing to do — and then look for answers to the questions.
Was it a risk to future business relationships to politely refuse to donate my work?
Answer: No. These organizations were used to both asking and to being refused. Done nicely, there were no repercussions to saying no.Was my work schedule for shooting and editing as full as I would like?
Answer: No. Being a small commercial photography business, there were always holes in my schedule that I would like to fill.Would I consider discounting from my regular fee to gain entrance into, and potential new business, in this market?
Answer: Yes. While I would always like to get top dollar for my services, I realized that I could create a class of business that would allow me to discount without watering down my regular rates. I would rather work for a reduced fee than not work and make nothing.
Headstart Yamhill County
Could I create a win-win marketing approach that would answer unmet needs of nonprofit organizations and motivate them to pay for something they were used to getting for free?
Answer: Yes. Though it wouldn’t work with everyone, there were benefits that could be sold to nonprofit organizations to meet unfulfilled needs. The key is to discover those needs that are not being met and to create a fee schedule that makes it more cost effective to hire a photographer than to take the time and effort to find the free (and often less effective) alternative.Were there benefits that I would gain by taking this approach?
Answer: Yes. First and foremost, less downtime and increased income. Second, increased referrals between nonprofit organizations. There is a very large and interconnected network of non-profit organizations that know each other on both a personal and business basis. Working with one can often lead to a referral to another. Third, the opportunity to get more of my work published in a variety of high circulation print and Internet venues.
Fundraiser Headstart
After having completed this exercise, the challenge was then to create the sales/marketing tool that would make it all happen. It became the Community Service Program and emphasized the following:
Because of cost and time constraints, it is rare for nonprofit organizations to have a staff photographer.
This creates the situation that they usually have to rely on local newspapers or other non-professional sources for the images they need for their advertising and promotional efforts.
Because of this situation, many functions and events go unrecorded — lost opportunities to record and promote the activities that can lead to increased donations.
The Community Service Program makes available the services of a professional photographer who will be on a fixed retainer, to ensure that the photographic needs of the organization are met.
The Community Service Program delivers to the client a professional product that is individualized to their needs and ready to use for their advertising, promotional and internet activities — without the need for generic, stock images.
Lincoln City Ocean Rescue
The program (that is, the photographer) offers to:
- Work with the organization to help develop visual imaging goals.
- Act as the staff professional photographer to cover assigned events.
- Guarantee 50 hours of shooting and image processing time over a 12 month period. Each hour of shooting will involve one to two additional hours of image processing and editing.
- Develop a body of edited images in a visual library for current and future use.
- Deliver CD/DVD digital files of images for specific projects and as a larger visual portfolio.
- Coordinate with printers and advertising/marketing contacts to ensure proper publication of images.
Charge no fees for client meetings or with printers or other advertising/marketing suppliers.
In addition, the program ensures that there are no additional fees for:
- Travel time up to one hour each way.
- Contact sheets for all final, edited images.
- CD/DVD’s.
- Monthly and quarterly hourly utilization reports.
(Note: While it is offered in the contract, I have never had to meet with any advertising/ marketing contacts or with printers or other suppliers.)
The cost for this program is half of my usual shooting and editing fee. The retainer is paid in three installments. The first installment is due at the signing of the contract or first day of shooting. The second installment is due at four months from that date. The third and final payment is due at eight months, or at the end of the billable hours, should that come sooner. So far, the pre-established time-period of 50 hours of shooting and editing has usually met the needs of the organization within a twelve-month period.
Head Start of Yamhill County (Annual Report)
The end result has been a continuing (now three-year) contractual relationship with Head Start of Yamhill County. My work has been used for funding requests, annual reports, promotional pieces, official portraits and in-house presentations, among other projects.
In addition, the work at Head Start has opened doors for me at Human Services Northwest and other nonprofit and civic organizations.
While the program has helped me to increase workload and income, the bottom line is that, as a photographer, I have gained both the professional and personal benefits because of this new client base.
Professionally, this work has given me a variety of photographic opportunities not available otherwise and it has sharpened my photographic skills. One specialty area that I have especially developed is working in candid situations with children and young adults.
From a personal perspective, this work has exposed me to a much more human side of photography. It has allowed me to work with those with real needs and to document positive changes in those individuals who have a desire to improve their circumstances.
Bill Miller
Allegory-commercial photography
971-237-2513
www.allegory-photo.com
Historic Small Towns