Art of Giving Art (AOGA) Launches Online Fundraising Store For San Diego Center for The Blind As Nonprofit Donations Ravaged By COVID-19

The Art of Giving Art (AOGA) is an online store featuring a growing community of artists and nonprofits. Bringing both together to support the arts while giving back, a donation is made to a nonprofit with every purchase.

These donations are especially critical during COVID-19. According to the Association of Fundraising Professionals, nonprofits have been hit by a 6% decline in giving due to COVID. In total throughout 2020, nonprofits stand to lose more than $25 Billion.

The Art of Giving Art (www.artofgivingart.com) is pleased to announce that San Diego Center for the Blind (www.sdcb.org) is now one of their nonprofit partners with an AOGA online art store embedded into SDCB's website. Each time someone visits the store and makes a purchase from the wide selection of artisan works including fine arts, jewelry, pottery, photography and more, 30% of the sale is donated straight to SDCB (www.sdcb.org/art-products-that-give-back).

"This program is doubly important to SDCB because the services that we provide to blind and visually impaired individuals are not covered by insurance nor do we receive any government funding. An added benefit is this is a total plug-and-play program. From setup through execution and management, AOGA has done everything. I haven't had to lift a finger," says Dennis Smith, COO of SDCB.

The Art of Giving Art was started when Katharine Coles, CEO and Founder, created a way to combine her love of the arts with her extensive work in the nonprofit world, encompassing many hundreds of nonprofits across almost every state. Artists whose work is currently featured on Art of Giving Art include:

Paula Gibbs – originally from Palm Springs, CA and now working out of Tucson, AZ, Paula creates metal (aluminum) work, acrylic on canvas, and multi-panel installations.

Deco – working with paper, scissors and glue, Deco creates her paper collage masterpieces in her workshop in Santa Fe, NM. Her work has been featured in the White House.

Alyse Hart – with every painting revealing a surprise, her art is original, vibrant, abstract, contemporary, and "happy art" using watercolors, mixed media, acrylic, pencil and crayon on canvas and paper – currently located in Tucson, AZ.

Mike Jenkins – a Washington, DC favorite caricaturist (whose political cartoons have been featured in many newspapers).

Josephine Lai – a Tucson-based painter and ceramics artist whose work reflects her Asian heritage and Western education.

Daniel Leighton – located in Los Angeles, creates prints and paintings based on his experiences with Crohn's disease.

Manu – native of Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico who lives and works as an acclaimed painter in Tucson, AZ. He also works with local youth teaching them painting skills.

Lilly Lerner Reilly – a clay artist from Houston, TX, whose work often represents women's individual and collective voices in the community.

Francis Morgan – a Tucson-based graphic designer and design manager who focuses on printmaking and photography.

Anna Leighton – a Los Angeles designer and jeweler creates bracelets and necklaces from recycled silver.

AOGA offers this fundraising program at no cost and minimal effort to nonprofits. The program also benefits the artists by providing a vehicle to promote their works via online stores.

Additionally, the artist is able to receive a tax deduction with each sale. Traditionally, artists that want to give back often donate their work. However, the tax benefit is typically minimal as they are only able to write off the cost of their materials. In contrast, as part of AOGA, artists can deduct a portion of the actual value of the work, affording them a far greater tax benefit.


About Art of Giving Art
With a passion for the arts and for nonprofits, the Art of Giving Art's mission is to support the arts while giving back. AOGA provides a community of artists with a new way to get more national exposure and sales, while also helping nonprofits with this easy-to-implement, online fundraising program that offers generous donations.

Any nonprofit can also apply to the program and easily embed their own AOGA online store directly into their website at no cost. A perfect fundraising program that's a win-win-win for everyone, especially during COVID-19 when it is difficult for nonprofits to otherwise run traditional fundraising programs.