Jared Polin is Giving Away $92,000 in Camera Gear

Photographer and YouTuber Jared Polin (AKA FroKnowsPhoto) has announced one of the biggest camera gear giveaways the Internet has ever seen. He’s giving away 50 camera kits worth a total of $92,000 to young people who could use the help.

Polin’s newly launched project is called Fund A Photographer, and it started as an idea that popped into his head a decade ago.

“Many years ago I had an idea where I wanted to give away camera kits and education to kids and young adults who could use the help,” Polin says. “I called it Fund A Photographer and I never launched it. Fast forward to 2021 and it’s now a reality.”

Polin was inspired again to launch this project recently after talking to his first high school photography teacher, who shared that he had personally purchased five camera kits for his classroom because his school didn’t have the budget for it.

Upset that his teacher used his own money on classroom cameras, Polin reached out to Canon USA, which decided to partner with Polin and jumpstart the project with 50 cameras and 50 lenses.

The cameras include 10 80D, 10 70D, 15 Rebel T6i, and 15 Rebel SL2. The lenses include 5 70-200mm f/2.8 II IS, 6 16-35mm f/2.8 II, 15 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, 15 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS, 9 24-105mm f/4.

Each kit to be given away will include a camera, lens, SD memory card (donated by ProGrade Digital), bag (donated by Think Tank Photo), and photography education. Polin says he hopes to one day be able to include laptops and Adobe Lightroom in the giveaway kits as well.

“Photography is a powerful creative outlet,” Polin says. “But the tools of photography are out of reach for so many students and young adults, both at home and in the classroom. That’s why I created Fund-A-Photographer; to give schools and individual students the tools they need to discover a love of creativity and photography.”

Here’s a 17-minute video in which Polin announces the launch of Fund a Photographer:

If you have someone you’d like to nominate to receive a free camera kit — “Please DO NOT request a FREE camera for yourself,” the program says — you can do so through the Fund A Photography website.