Three years ago, the Sundari Foundation and Martin Z. Margulies Foundation began co-hosting an annual art auction to benefit Lotus House. A shelter for homeless women in Miami, Lotus House can serve 50 mothers and many of their babies and offers a full range of support services for up to a year – until the women are ready to maintain a home of their own (look for more on Lotus House in Do-Gooder next week). In the first year, the art auction raised $225,000. In November of last year, the auction raised more than a million dollars. Constance Collins, who formed Sundari in 2004 and opened Lotus House two years later, shares her strategy for raising money through art.

You started Sundari and Lotus House with your own money, after retiring from a lucrative career in real estate and other business ventures. Where do you find money to keep going, after your initial investment?

You must find ways to self-sustain. Everyone [who depends on government funding] is in jeopardy everyday. The city gave us $150,000 in emergency funds last year, but they have no money for this year. Even private foundations tend to change their focus every few years, as their board members change. Or you win a grant one year and have to wait two more years to apply again. You can’t run an organization like that. You have to find ways to raise money privately.

Why focus on art for fundraising?

Art is integral to our program: Art therapy is part of how we heal ourselves. We also use art to raise awareness and to show the capacity of art to help those in need. Right not we are preparing a photography portfolio called By and About Women. This is a limited-edition, 100-boxed portfolio set by leading women artists from around the world. Each box will contain an image that will be printed and signed as well as poetry written by women in the shelter. We’re hoping to raise a million dollars, selling each box for $10,000.

What does it take to be able to raise a million dollars through art?

When you brand your cause with art, you must have a patron benefactor. One reason we had so much extraordinary art to auction is Martin Margulies, whose photography collection is ranked as one of the top 25 in the world, donates artwork every year. He has nurtured and supported the careers of many contemporary artists for 30 years. Without that benefactor, I don’t honestly think we could be as successful as we have been.