Getty Images Instagram Grant

limr · Sep 13, 2015

Amidst the fluff and the narcissism of Instagram, there is this:

The Powerful Photos That Rocked Getty Images' First Instagram Grant

"This past week, Getty Images awarded a $10,000 grant to three photographers —Ismail Ferdous of Bangladesh, Adriana Zehbrauska of Brazil and Dmitry Markov of Russia — for using Instagram to highlight stories from underrepresented communities around the world. The award, called the Getty Images Instagram Grant, is the first of its kind, and was created to recognize emerging talent on new digital platforms. The winners intend to use their grants to continue their work in photojournalism."

Designer · Sep 13, 2015

limr said:
The winners intend to use their grants to continue their work in photojournalism."

Yup, that's what I would do; continue my work in something photo.

A new big camera with all the bells and whistles, a really big Starbucks, and a sammich.

vintagesnaps · Sep 13, 2015

Interesting to see their photos and sounds like a good cause. But why oh why do I always have to look further.

According to the terms they have/had to get a tax ID number in the US to receive the grant money. I'm not sure which one applies since they don't live in the US; I'm familiar with the nonprofit tax exempt number since I did the application for our nonprofit that I started. It was only a one page form and fairly easy to do, just needed mine and one more committee member's SS#. I don't think it cost much either but that was some years ago.

It also says the grant recipients would be responsible for any taxes. I don't know if an individual having a tax ID is necessarily tax exempt; I wonder if receiving a grant is considered income. It just seems like there's always a catch and I hope they read everything.

limr · Sep 13, 2015

From what you wrote, it seems the grant money is clearly not tax-exempt, and it is being earned in the US (technically) so not being citizens, they would need that tax id to pay their taxes.

If the recipients don't want to deal with all of that, I'm sure they could just decline the grant and it could go to one of the runner ups. Even if they have to pay taxes on the grant money and are not getting the full amount, they are still getting something. And I'd bet even that lowered amount can stretch a long way in Bangladesh, Brazil, and probably even Russia (though I don't know what the currency is doing there lately.)

waday · Sep 14, 2015

I'm always extremely leery of large prize winnings, especially when coming from large corporations. They have so many fine details that can either disqualify you or make it nearly impossible for you to take advantage of the win, so they they don't even have to pay out.

Case in point: my wife and her friend were winners of a Twitter contest several years ago (sponsored by a major airline). They had to send the most tweets during a specific timeframe describing where they wanted to go with the airline's hashtag and whatnot.

Really long story really short:

Wife's friend never received the free certificate and airline refused to honor/resend it;
Airline wouldn't honor my wife's certificate for two free riders (despite the fact that the certificate clearly stated two free riders per certificate);
Airline had EXTREME blackout dates that made travel within their short timeframe nearly impossible (had to travel within a couple of months of receiving the certificate), unless we were willing to spend over a month away (not financially feasible, nor would our jobs allow such a time off from work);
Airline increased taxes/fees/charges above normal tickets to recoup their costs of the free tickets; and,
Because we essentially couldn't use them, the free tickets didn't go to the runner-up since we were 'technically eligible'.

It was a publicity stunt to get free advertising. Thousands of people tweeting their name/hashtag, etc. This contest just solidified my distrust of airlines.

dennybeall · Sep 15, 2015

Some folks only read part of something. The rules say each person's tax situation is related to the country where they reside. ANY WINNER IN THE IS must submit a tax ID.
Getty is pretty good, I did a short gig recently and the pay was good.

vintagesnaps · Sep 15, 2015

You're right, I see now rereading it that it says any US Grant winners need a tax ID number, I must have misread it before. (And Denny you could just bring it to my attention that I made a mistake - I don't remember if I read everything, but I did read it and apparently overlooked a detail.)

In this case the winners receive monetary compensation, and mentoring, and being exhibited at Photoville, but they also will be receiving the ever popular 'exposure' mentioned at least 4 times in the FAQ pdf. I'm not sure why that is what's so often being promised to participants when it seems rather meaningless.

I would hope participants are reading terms on Instagram, I read that they and Getty are partnering on this but I don't know exactly what that involves.

vfotog · Sep 15, 2015

vintagesnaps said:
Interesting to see their photos and sounds like a good cause. But why oh why do I always have to look further.

According to the terms they have/had to get a tax ID number in the US to receive the grant money. I'm not sure which one applies since they don't live in the US; I'm familiar with the nonprofit tax exempt number since I did the application for our nonprofit that I started. It was only a one page form and fairly easy to do, just needed mine and one more committee member's SS#. I don't think it cost much either but that was some years ago.

It also says the grant recipients would be responsible for any taxes. I don't know if an individual having a tax ID is necessarily tax exempt; I wonder if receiving a grant is considered income. It just seems like there's always a catch and I hope they read everything.

Denny is right, the terms say you have to deal with the tax laws of your own country. Foreign residents wouldn't need to get an American TIN (Tax ID Number). btw, having a TIN has nothing to do with being tax-exempt. Most Americans have a TIN: the most common TIN is the Social Security Number.

vintagesnaps · Sep 15, 2015

I saw that, paying taxes would be according to laws of each winner's country of residence. I thought it had said winners needed to get a tax ID number (I apparently didn't catch it specifying US) and non US residents apparently can apply for a tax ID number so that's what I'd thought it meant.

No, not everyone getting a tax ID number necessarily has nonprofit status, that just happens to be the form I'd filled out.

dennybeall · Sep 17, 2015

A Tax ID Number is used for entities that don't have SSN's. I can use my SSN for personal wages but if I want to separate my photography income from my personal wages I can get a TIN from Uncle Sam and use that to aggregate other income. Tax laws are complex and this is not legal advice just one aspect of the use of a TIN.

vfotog · Sep 18, 2015

dennybeall said:
A Tax ID Number is used for entities that don't have SSN's. I can use my SSN for personal wages but if I want to separate my photography income from my personal wages I can get a TIN from Uncle Sam and use that to aggregate other income. Tax laws are complex and this is not legal advice just one aspect of the use of a TIN.

um, no. There is not a single specific number that is a TIN; there are actually numerous types of TINs. The social security number IS a TIN, issued by the SSA; the other types of TINs are issued by the IRS. The most common TIN besides the SSN is the EIN: Employer Identification Number. That's the one you see listed if you receive a W2 from an employer.

Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN)