Sierra Club has requested use of one of my images...

[rich815]

Hello all,

 

I have been contacted by an organizing manager of the Sierra Club who

has asked to use an image of mine for a postcard campaign. It is a

campaign to "take action" and to drum up support against a local

development of the shoreline in my area. Since I am against the

development myself (I live very close to the area involved) I am all

for the cause. In her initial email contact she did not mention any

kind of compensation and may be implying I might be willing to do

so "pro bono" (we have not spoken yet). I imagine she'll ask me to

provide a digital image at a resolution high enough for her use.

Having only sold "fine art" prints from time to time I have limited

experience in this sort of thing and was hoping to get some advice.

Should I ask for compensation? ...even if its something like a

membership or similar? Should I do some kind of agreement or

contract? If so, are there any templates of such

agreements/contracts? Ask for a name credit? Anything else to

consider or be mindful of? Thanks in advance.

[keith_van_hulle1]

Yes, you need a licensing contract. You need to explicitly state what use(s) the photo(s) is/are for. Without that, you have no control over how the image YOU CREATED is used. Past that, compensation is an iffy thing. If you feel that strongly as Sierra probably does, you could make an argument that donating it is the right thing. If so, look into claiming the fair market value of normal licensing charges as a non-profit donation against your taxes.

[stephen hazelton]

I remember the issue of donating work has come up before, and the response was that you could claim the cost of donated materials, but not the license fee, as a donation. IE, no deduction in this case.

 

It would not be unreasonable to call her up, ask what size file she needed, how many they were going to distribute, what they'd pay, etc.

[oceanphysics]

You can't deduct your time or "fair market value." All you can deduct is your out-of-pocket costs.

[ted_marcus1]

I have some admittedly limited experience with licensing images to non-profits. First, non-profit organizations are not always "poor." Sometimes they can pay reasonable if not significant compensation. What I might suggest is quoting your normal license fee, but offering a substantial discount on it. Or at least request a token usage fee. The purpose isn't necessarily to make money, but to establish that you're making a "professional" transaction with specific limitations on the usage of the image and not donating the image to them.

 

Regardless, you should explicitly spell out your standard licensing terms (e.g., one-time nonexclusive use for the postcard campaign) as with any normal transaction. And definitely insist on appropriate photo credit, including your Web site URL. That costs them nothing, and makes the deal mutually beneficial regardless of the money (if any) you might get.

[kevinoneil]

I assume the contact has come from a local Sierra chapter and not the Sierra Club. I've sold a lot of work over the years to the Sierra Club for use in its magazine and its affilated annual calendars, and I've never been asked to donate my work. Average pay ranges between $300 - $400 for a one time use. The Sierra Club has a standard use agreement that they will ask you to use when you submit a dupe or original transparency. If it is a local chapter, I have no idea of how they'll deal with you.