Ramping Up Community Involvement as a Photographer

by Skip Cohen 

We're down to just over 130 days left of 2025. The fourth quarter is six weeks away and brings with it numerous opportunities to get involved in making a difference in the world.  If every photographer got engaged with one more charitable cause or event in the next four months, imagine the impact we could have.

I've written so much about fundraisers, charities, and simply being involved in your community, but there's no such thing as writing too much, ESPECIALLY NOW! This is the time of year when many nonprofits launch their most significant programs. For example, from United Way to the Alzheimer's Walk, to thousands of local nonprofits, now is the time to make sure you're involved.

Jay Conrad Levinson, best known for his expertise in marketing and for coining the phrase "Guerrilla Marketing," lists being involved in your community near the top of his list of 100 things guerrilla marketers need to do.

Why? Because people like buying products and services from companies they perceive as giving back, but it goes a lot deeper. You're looking for your community to be good to you. So, you need to be good to your community.

What amazes me is how many people can't find anything in their community. I've even heard photographers say, "There's really nothing going on around here to be involved with!"

Stuck for ideas? 

• Check out local organizations like Kiwanis, Exchange Club, Rotary, and others.
• Talk to the president of the local PTA, and don't forget there are usually several, with the elementary, middle, junior, and high schools.
• Got a local hospital? They're always looking for help.
• All of the sports teams, from soccer to Little League, the Boosters Clubs always need help. 
• How about talking to the guidance counselors at the high school and finding out about the school paper and yearbook? As a photographer, you can help build their stash of images, but even better is your ability to mentor more student photographers.
• Big Brother, Big Sister, local children's charities can't find enough help, ever!
• Contact your local Chamber of Commerce to find out where the greatest needs are in your community.
• Animal and pet shelters always need help.
• Retirement and senior citizen homes have an activity calendar of events that never slows down.
• Then there are all the usual national charities supporting the fight against Alzheimer's, breast cancer, heart disease, diabetes – you name it, and there's an organization out there trying to make the world a better place.
• Check out your local food bank, especially in areas impacted by so many recent natural disasters.
• Food kitchens and efforts to help the homeless are abundant in most larger cities.
• Support for our military are everywhere, particularly in the form of photographers helping families with portraits before deployment and upon their return. And with the challenges in the world right now, who knows where or when the next wave of deployment is going to take place?
• Looking for something more photo-centric? Check out Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. It's a tough concept and not for everybody, but every artist I've ever spoken with talks about their experience as "life-changing."

The list goes on, with numerous opportunities for you to get involved. Most important of all, your camera doesn't need to be part of the equation in terms of people to learn that you believe in giving back. Sometimes it's fun to leave your photography skills out of the picture initially, bringing them into play when there's something to document or a project that you can help create, encompassing all aspects of imaging.

And when you do get involved, don't be embarrassed to crow a little! Utilize social media, whether through your blog or sharing on Facebook or Instagram, and become an ambassador for the causes you believe in most.

“I respect generosity in people, and I respect it in companies too.
I don’t look at it as philanthropy;
I see it as in investment in the community.”
Paul Newman