"Photography that makes a difference" is the tag line for Blue Earth Alliance, a not-for-profit organization that uses documentary photography to bring about social change. As they explain: "A dramatic image can change our perception and alter our understanding of a subject. This idea defines the mission of Blue Earth: to raise awareness about endangered cultures, threatened environments and social concerns through photography. By supporting the power of photographic storytelling, we motivate society to make positive change."

Blue Earth aims to raise awareness and money for "issues often overlooked by traditional media" including the Arctic, the loss of open space in LA, global warming, and the role of grandmothers in the AIDS epidemic in Africa. They work with selected artists (like Perry Dilbeck, Florian Schultz, and John Trotter) and offer them not-for-profit sponsorship for things like fundraising, advice on grant writing, contacts, marketing/PR strategies, an experienced Advisory Board and technical resources. Their final projects are featured in books.

Photographers can submit educational and informational projects twice a year, by March 21 and September 21. Your application must be submitted on a single CD including a letter describing your proposed project and previous work, your resume, the budget and schedule, a list of who you are approaching for funding, references, 20 images of recent work (preferably the work for your project), a caption sheet, $60 for the submission fee and your contact information. For more information view their submission guidelines .

Even if you are not interested in submitting your work, I hope you'll check out their Web site and all the great work they are doing. You can see current and past projects, the schedule for their Blue Earth lecture series, read their blog and much more.

Image by Jon Orlando from "Warriors for Peace"