2014 Letter From the Board

Dan Rogers, CEF Board Chair We recently had our annual general meeting at Compassionate Eye Foundation, which is always a great time to reflect upon and celebrate the past year. So many milestones, so many events, so many achievements! What a wonderfully complicated, intricate, glorious, intensely satisfying organization this is, and what a year this has been!

Last spring Robert Kent came to Vancouver for Pecha Kucha. That was both a great affirmation for CEF, but also something of a “coming of age” for our organization. In front of over a thousand people our story was told eloquently (and appropriately, in pictures) alongside a number of other inspiring groups. CEF is part of the global matrix of inspiring organizations and individuals that make a difference, give to the world and create hope every day. For me, and I’m guessing for everyone involved in CEF, being able to be part of that is so fulfilling and such a privilege.

Our shoots in 2013 were incredibly successful thanks to the tireless work of Fiona Watson and all of our great photographers. I’d like to give special acknowledgement to Rob Daly and Philippa Scaramanga in London who have analyzed all of our sales data so we are even clearer on what works and what doesn’t. This is incredibly important as the industry that we “work” in (stock photography) is changing rapidly and we need to be conscious of those changes and become more adaptable.

Perhaps most importantly, CEF continues to fund very important projects in many diverse areas of the world. We funded another water project in Cambodia, an orphans and vulnerable children education support program in Ethiopia, a peer literacy and teacher empowerment program in Sierra Leone and continued our support of a school in Guatemala. We have fabulous “delivery” partners and are very comfortable that our funds are being put to the best possible use.

And exciting times are just around the corner! We are rapidly approaching the following milestones:

• $3 Million in sales of CEF generated imagery
• $1.5 Million in revenue to CEF
• $800,000 in contributions to projects and programs

And so much imagery is still online to generate further revenue - our investments will pay off for years to come!

Of course, all of this wouldn’t be possible without the dedication, passion and creativity of our team spread out around the world. We are very fortunate to have so many people who support CEF: producers, photographers, board members, volunteers, donors—thank you all! There are countless opportunities for you to participate in your community and “give back” but you chose CEF. I look forward to working with you and watching the organization grow.

Stay tuned for more exciting news, especially as we launch into the 2014 photo shoots!