Most Churches do what we have done for years: just go to google image search and grab artwork/media. If you are not posting on social media or live streaming you will probably never have a problem with this even if you illegally use copyrighted material. But the moment you post copyrighted material on social media or have it on-screen during live stream you open yourselves to being sued under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). The fines can vary from "Don't do it again" to multiple thousands per item. And many lawmakers are trying to both raise the fines and make it easier for artists to sue.
In all honesty, if a person made a piece of artwork/media then they have the right to charge what they want for it and prevent people from using it without paying.
To prevent your church from being sued for copyright violations you should always use artwork which you:
Have created yourselves from scratch.
Have Purchased from the artist
Have downloaded from a site that clearly states the media is legal for use without royalties (NOT GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH!)
The following is a list of websites where images can be downloaded with clear licenses for usage. Please read the terms as some require that the creator be credited or that media cannot be used directly for fundraising. Some have premium options that require payment or a subscription. Most if not all have free options as well but you may have to filter thru the paid ones (some offer ways to filter your search to only free media)
Scale (clipart) https://2.flexiple.com/scale/home
Unsplash (my personal favorite) https://unsplash.com/
Pexels https://www.pexels.com/
Pixabay https://pixabay.com/
Freely https://www.freelyphotos.com/
Barnimages https://barnimages.com/
Church Motion Graphics https://shop.churchmotiongraphics.com/landing/free-stills (this site contains mostly paid artwork but maintains a collection of free artwork at the URL linked)
ShareFaith https://www.sharefaith.com/category/worship-media.html (same as CMG)
Visual Media Church https://www.visualmediachurch.com/free-church-media
Ministry Design https://ministrydesigns.media/
CreationSwap https://www.creationswap.com/
Church Media Drop https://churchmediadrop.com/
Free Church Media https://freechurchmedia.com/
Other lists:
CollectiveRay https://www.collectiveray.com/free-image-sites
MediaShout https://medium.com/@mediashoutrocks/free-worship-backgrounds-15-places-to-find-free-church-media-8653d60c67a2
Church Website Ideas https://www.churchwebsiteideas.com/free-worship-loops/
Ministry Advice https://ministryadvice.com/free-motion-backgrounds/
Life.church https://open.life.church/categories/330-creative free resources for social media, backgrounds, and a lot of other resources.
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