Giving by Design: Some clarifications

1) It was brought to our attention this morning that we did not include a notice about not allowing design's under copyright to be submitted or sold on our website unless you own the design or have documented permission to use the design. It is important to respect each other as artists which includes not using other people's intellectual property without permission. This will be corrected on our application this evening.

2) We have also been approached about not including art related posts on the blog more often. That is something we will definitely address as our official launch grows closer, since we will be in a better position to feature the emerging artists who will be appearing on our site. We'll try to do better on that score in the meantime.

3) For new readers, if you are unaware of our methods, the blog posts that are not related to art are related to the partner organizations that we support. We do not list any organizations that we would not feel comfortable being personally associated with and therefore we want to do all we can to promote their causes. In the end we're offering people a chance to make a tangible difference in the world simply by doing what they love to do; creating art. Blogging about issues relevant to our partner organizations is one of the ways we can further that goal.

What does GBD do for participating artists?

We are offering the artists who participate on our site the chance to gain exposure and experience and to help make the world a better place simply by doing what they love. Apart from space on our website, artists whose images are used in our marketing materials will be credited, and artists will also have the chance to participate in our live events. Artists who build a good reputation through successful delivery of artwork to clients will potentially be recommended for commission work. We will also be periodically highlighting a participating artist on our Featured Artist page.


That being said, participation in Giving by Design is not a substitute for representation. We want to cater to self-represented artists and offer a cost-effective means for launching their career. We are able to keep our fees low because we do not spend money promoting or advocating for individual artists outside the scope of promoting or advocating for the organization.

We pride ourselves on having a high level of transparency and ethics in our business practices. All of our partner organizations have copies of our application packets and are constantly updated concerning any changes in our application or contract policies as well as any changes in our business practices. Participating artists can keep up with these updates by routinely checking our blog.

We'd love to hear any suggestions or comments you might have.