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You are here: Home / Administration / Busted! Be wary of images used in fundraising auction displays
Feb 28

Busted! Be wary of images used in fundraising auction displays

Sherry Truhlar Leave a Comment

In the summer of 2015, the nonprofit division of Venable law published “Busted: Nonprofits Will Have to Pay the Photography Piper.”

The article itself is short and worth reading, but here’s the synopsis.

For many years, nonprofits have pulled images from the internet and used them in their publications or websites.

Until recently, software didn’t exist to make it easy for photographers and their agents to track down these copyrighted images.  Now the software exists, and nonprofits are getting busted for using images without proper payment to the photographer.

Venable has been working with its clients that have received bills, which usually total in the few hundreds of dollars per image.

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I can relate.  I myself have had to pay the piper about $800 when I used an illegally sourced image from Getty. 

About 6 years ago I launched a training product with the help of my then virtual assistant.  She had several contractors working for her, and one sub-contractor was assembling the sales page for the product.

The images used on the page were supposed to be placeholders.  She’d quickly grabbed images from the internet to give me an idea of what the mood of the photo would be.  One was a happy woman shouting.

Before the launch, all the images were replaced with properly sourced (i.e. “paid for”) images — or so I thought.  One was overlooked.

About three years after the product launch, I got a stern legal letter from Getty Images, accompanied by a bill for ~$800.

A wedding planner colleague of mine in Georgia shared a similar story.  In her case, one of her interns had pulled an image for use in social media.  She, too, was sent a bill from Getty for about the same amount.

And in an even more high-profile case, this January the White House team got busted.  To presumably show the 2017 inauguration crowds, the newly formed White House staff used a Getty photo from the 2009 inauguration.  It appeared as a Twitter banner photo for about four hours — with the Getty copyright information still intact — before it was identified and removed.

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This made me think of instances where Auction Chairs use images.
  • Emails advertising the fundraiser or specific items
  • Websites
  • Online auctions
  • Onsite displays for silent auction items
  • Onsite displays for live auction items
  • Slideshow images during the event
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Here are my 5 best free stock photography sites for gala auction planners.

This is where you can secure legal images to use in your fundraising auctions.

To compare sites, I opted to test them using the same search term.  Last year at a benefit auction I sold a stay in Pamplona, Spain, perhaps best known for its running of the bulls event.  The word I used to test each site’s functionality was “bulls.”  See results below.

 

1. MorgueFile  https://morguefile.com/

Large photo collection and easy search functionality. Click on each photo to read terms.

Search test: MorgueFile presented me several free images of bulls to use when I typed “bulls” into the search bar.  The images were of more like a typical bull on a farm.  If I put “running of the bulls” into the search function, MorgueFile redirected to display several photos on iStock that I could buy, ranging from $12 to $33.  These were elegant bulls and matadors.

 

2. Pixabay  http://pixabay.com/en
It has a search functionality and beautiful quality photos.  See nice shots of anything from wine tastings to the scenery of Yellowstone.

Search test:”Bulls” produced a wide range of bulls, from illustrations and team mascots to yaks and walruses.  There were 11 pages of images to peruse.

 

3. Pexels  www.pexels.com
This site consolidates stock photography from other sites.  The usage terms of each photo are available when you click on the photo.

Search test: A wide range of bull images appeared — pit bulls, Wall Street bull, cow bulls, and more.  For a true Matador-style bull, I was redirected to Shutterstock to buy an image.

 

4. Wikimedia Commons  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/main_page
Did a celebrity donate something to your auction?  Use this site to find a free image of a famous person.

Search test: Appropriate images were found, though the site doesn’t make it as easy to sort images as the other sites do.

 

5. Stocksnap  https://stocksnap.io/

Easy search functionality.

Search test: Not impressive. Only 2 “bulls” photos appeared — and they were both a game of darts showing a bulls eye.

 

Do you have a favorite place to secure photos that I’ve not shared?  Add your site below.

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About Sherry Truhlar

Fundraising auctioneer and educator, helping schools and nonprofits plan more profitable benefit auctions. A prolific writer for her own blog and other fundraising sites, she’s been covered in The Beacon-News, Town & Country Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine, Wiley's Special Events Galore!, AUCTIONEER, and other publications.

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Sherry, oh, Sherry! You were an invaluable asset to this year’s gala. With your assistance we were able to add so many new elements that truly made a difference in taking our event to another level. This year was the most successful yet! Everyone loved you and the amazing energy that you brought to the event. We look forward to having you again in 2018!

Krystal Fenwick

Thank you so much for the outstanding job you did for us on April 1! I have received so much positive feedback from so many who attended. You even earned Sister Suzan’s (our Vice-Principal) seal of approval! Safe travels to all your many events and thank you for making our biggest fundraiser of the year our best ever!

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Sherry is flexible and easy to work with. She gives honest feedback and advice throughout the planning and implementation process. Without a doubt, Sherry and Red Apple Auctions has helped take our annual fundraising event to the next level.

Beckie Middendorf, Development Director and Janet Gulla, Development Coordinator
St. Henry District High School (Erlanger, KY)

Sherry is “on board” from day one of auction planning, works closely with our steering committee and is only just a phone call away. The night of the auction, we toss her the keys and let her drive the event! We are never disappointed!

Charly Ryan, Director of Institutional Advancement
The Academy of the Holy Cross (Kensington, MD)

I was very fortunate to have Red Apple on board for my first auction. Working with Sherry was invaluable. She provided guidance at every phase of planning, from procurement on forward – and she challenged us to make our event more ambitious and more successful at every stage. Thank you, Sherry!

Pete Goldlust, Director of Development
Oak Hill School (Eugene, OR)

If your auction needs to upgrade, call any auctioneer you find on Google. But if you want your auction to be impressive, meaningful, and profitable, you need to call Sherry.

Erin Banda
2016 NYUMBANI Board member

The auction was entertaining .. proactive … the crowd was involved and felt a part of it,” he said, emphasizing, “The entertainment value was huge.

Darrell, a long-time attendee

We plan on booking Red Apple Auctions much earlier for our next event so we can take advantage of more of the pre-event offerings.

Nicole Carr, Director of Grants and Special Events
The Ivymount School (Rockville, MD)

2012 Oakcrest Anne and CarolinaSherry, personally, I can’t even begin to tell you the immense amount of positive feedback that I received having YOU (and Darby) there with is this year!… Read The Rest “Anne Livaudais Knudsen, 5th year gala co-chair”

Aren’t KK and Michael a cute couple? PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9NakF4TWkxSGRXVnpkSE10UW5Wc2JHbHpMVXRMTFdGdVpDMU5hV05vWVdWc0xVcHZjMlZ3YUM1dGNEUT0vP2NvbnRhaW5lcj1ldnAtV0JBVTkwTlVBUyI+PC9zY3JpcHQ+PGRpdiBpZD0iZXZwLVdCQVU5ME5VQVMiIGRhdGEtcm9sZT0iZXZwLXZpZGVvIiBkYXRhLWV2cC1pZD0iTWpBeE1pMUhkV1Z6ZEhNdFFuVnNiR2x6TFV0TExXRnVaQzFOYVdOb1lXVnNMVXB2YzJWd2FDNXRjRFE9Ij48L2Rpdj4= They liked that I “moved the crowd along … kept the crowd engaged but wasn’t obtrusive or invasive. We were able to talk but still keep track of what was going on.”

Staci Meruvia 150 ptYou have NO idea of how many people came up to me (I know Julie as well) and said, ‘That auctioneer was incredible … she engaged the crowd, …… Read The Rest “Staci Meruvia”

Geri said: “Great job of getting potential donors in the room to step up to the plate and not feel guilty or bad about it. They actually wanted to give more … and that’s not something I’ve seen in many other auctioneers.” 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 The following… Read The Rest “Geri”

Irene attended one of my New Hampshire auctions and assumed I must be a radio personality — until I started to chant that fast talk. PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9SM1ZsYzNRdE1qQXhNUzFPU0ZOUVEwRXRTWEpsYm1VdWJYQTBMVEU9Lz9jb250YWluZXI9ZXZwLTVHMlVHQlFGN1YiPjwvc2NyaXB0PjxkaXYgaWQ9ImV2cC01RzJVR0JRRjdWIiBkYXRhLXJvbGU9ImV2cC12aWRlbyIgZGF0YS1ldnAtaWQ9IlIzVmxjM1F0TWpBeE1TMU9TRk5RUTBFdFNYSmxibVV1YlhBMExURT0iPjwvZGl2Pg== “I’ve been to this event before with a couple of other auctioneers,” she said, “Your ability to get personal… Read The Rest “Irene”

Most product & consulting remarks are found on their respective webpages, but I’ve listed two below so you’re assured my products are as spot-on as my auctioneering.   Not only was our 2013 auction a blast, but our Washington, D.C. public school raised $67,000 — that’s $25,000 more than last year! The evening went… Read The Rest “Carolyn Kahn-Hall and Andrea Del Vecchio”

Cynthia Steele Vance_150X180As a former Fox News Anchorwoman, I am often called on to perform at auctions. So, I know first-hand that auctioneering can be a difficult job. Sherry Truhlar is one of the best in the business.… Read The Rest “Cynthia Steele Vance”

Cynthia Steele Vance
Guest at The Potomac School 2014 auction (McLean, VA)

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