With so many best-selling exclusive contributors from Istock recently opting to become independent it occurs to me that there is a huge potential to raise significant sums of money for charity via Shutterstock's referral programme. At 3c per image sale it could literally raise millions for a charity such as Medicines Sans Frontiers/Doctors Without Borders.

Is this a practical proposition and if so how could it be implemented? Perhaps leaf could provide some guidance here?

What are your thoughts on this issue?

How about the pay Cory's mortgage charity? It's a good cause trust me.  

Feel free to signup with my referral links:

http://illustrationinfo.com/?page_id=168

BWUHAHAHAHAHA! ...cough... cough... I mean legitimate charity.

I think that's an excellent idea to bear in mind.

Is it 3c per image for ever or up to a certain limit?

It is forever. I referred my brother back in 2004 and I'm still getting 3c for each image he sells. The person who got my referral (from cheekily posting about SS on the Fred Miranda forum) has made several thousand dollars from it. I don't mind though as by alerting me to microstock he literally changed my life.

Nowadays I sell roughly 4x more images each month at SS (at an average commission of 65c) as I do on Istock but obviously I have the benefit of having many images that are well established in the sort orders.

I've got one referral from mid 2008, still active and bringing in 3 cents at a time, $5k and counting. I owe that guy a really nice bottle of wine. And Lee at Microstock Diaries referred me to SS in 2007. Lee, I'm a Pinot Noir drinker

The charity thing is an interesting idea. After all, any exclusive going independent isn't really being referred there. They knew about SS long ago. So I suppose a referral link to an existing contributor isn't really in order. But logistically I can't imagine how a charity referral would be set up.

I'm with you, the Pete Needs a better car charity would like anyone leaving IS Exclusive to please donate. I drive a 1991 Honda now. (isn't that pathetic enough?) 

Here's where to join:  http://submit.shutterstock.com/?ref=111418

Any by the way, I keep telling people, the next person who gets one photo or illustration accepted, with me as their sponsor, will be the firts. I don't know why but I have some people who applied, not one has ever had one picture in their portfolio. That's almost as sad at the Honda. (which I still love by the way, best car I ever owned)

Let me add the cliche' "charity starts at home"  http://submit.shutterstock.com/?ref=111418

Even if you don't use mine, pick a friend or someone else here.