Buy Art, Do Good - ArtSugar in Oregon Jewish Life

Article by Deborah Moon, Oregon Jewish Life

Alix Greenberg has been an artist and an active member of her synagogue for as long as she can remember.

When someone offered to pay for her artwork for the first time a few years ago, she felt she could accept money only if she also gave back to the community that has given her such an incredible life. Alix now co-chairs the young adult leadership group at the synagogue where her mother was on the board. During high school, Alix led the synagogue’s youth group.

She realized other artists who have long stood strongly in support of many important issues often lack a way to directly impact those causes. So she created Portraits For Good (now called ArtSugar), an online conduit to a variety of artists, with proceeds from every purchase donated to a nonprofit.

ArtSugar partners with artists who create original art or limited edition prints that showcase their unique artistic style. Customers can also commission a piece from one of the artists on the site. Alix, herself, specializes in custom portraits of people and/or their pets.

Portraits For Good relaunched last month as ArtSugar with an expanded roster of nearly 50 artists. Artists allow customers to choose a charity from the website’s growing list of beneficiaries; these include UJA-Federation of New York, Museum of Jewish Heritage, One Family: Overcoming Terror Together, Israel Museum-Jerusalem, the American Society For Yad Vashem, Breast Cancer Research Foundation and many others.

Some artists specify a specific charity for their work to benefit. For instance, artwork created by Mike Natter and sold through the site benefits JDRF, which funds Type 1 diabetes research. In addition, ArtSugar and JDRF have produced limited edition prints by Natter, which were placed in each Bag of Hope – a knapsack given to children diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

Artists wanting to join the site should email Alix at alix@artsugar.co. Customers can browse artwork for sale and locate artists who create custom pieces at artsugar.co.