Good news for anyone who has stared at an empty corner of the bulletin on a Thursday afternoon: yes, your church can use cartoons. Cartoon licensing for churches is simply how you get permission to do it. You need a license for the way you plan to use the cartoon, from whoever looks after it. This guide covers how it works in church life and at CartoonStock, and where to go with your own questions.
This post is part of our guide, Cartoons in church life and ministry (coming soon).
Do we need permission to use a cartoon we found online?
Yes. Someone drew every cartoon, and using it in your bulletin, on your screens or online needs their permission. A license is that permission in writing. It is also how the cartoonist gets paid for making your congregation smile.
We know how it happens. Someone forwards a cartoon that is exactly right for Sunday’s sermon on patience, and the bulletin goes to print in an hour. At moments like that, two well-meant shortcuts catch churches out. First, a cartoon in another church’s newsletter isn’t free to share, because their license covers their church, not yours. Second, putting the cartoonist’s name underneath is a lovely courtesy, but it isn’t permission.
The fix is usually quick: find out who licenses the cartoon. If it’s a CartoonStock cartoon, you can license it in a few minutes. If it came from somewhere else, ask that source.
Why do the rules differ from one source to another?
Each supplier’s terms reflect what it has agreed with its own artists. So if your church uses more than one supplier, you’ll find the rules vary. One may let you print as many copies as you like, while another licenses each use separately.
That makes the first rule of cartoon licensing for churches an easy one: follow the terms of the place you licensed the cartoon from. Everything from here on is about how it works at CartoonStock.
How cartoon licensing for churches works at CartoonStock
At CartoonStock, the license follows the use. That’s a tidy way of saying we’d like to know where the cartoon is going. The bulletin, the sermon slides, the website and a Facebook post are each a different use, and each has a license made for it. Churches and church groups come to us for cartoon licensing regularly, and the same idea applies to all of them. You can read more about how we work with churches on our page for churches (coming soon).
So before licensing, picture where the cartoon will actually end up. Is it for the people in the pews, or for anyone who finds you online? Is it a one-off, or the start of a weekly habit? Once you know that, choosing the right license is quick.
What if we use one cartoon in more than one place?
It depends on whether the cartoon stays inside the thing you licensed it for. For example, a bulletin printed on Sunday and posted on your website as a PDF on Monday is still the same bulletin. The cartoon is being used the same way. However, posting the cartoon on its own on Facebook is a new use, and it needs a license of its own.
Good cartoons tend to travel, so this question comes up a lot in cartoon licensing for churches. If you already know a cartoon will appear in several places, tell us before you license it and we’ll help you cover them all.
What can we change, and what stays as drawn?
You’re welcome to change the font and size of the caption so the cartoon sits nicely in your layout. Anything beyond that, such as rewording the caption, cropping or adding color, needs a quick word with us and our written okay first. The cartoonist’s signature always stays where they put it.
Also worth knowing: what you license is the use, not the cartoon itself. If the volunteer who licensed the cartoon on your website moves away, it stays on your website. If they join another church, that church needs its own license.
Picking cartoons for a printed bulletin? Our guide to using cartoons in a church newsletter or bulletin (coming soon) covers where a cartoon sits best on the page. It also covers which ones still shine after a trip through the church copier.
How do we find the right cartoon for what we want to say?
Start with the Faith Collection (coming soon), a collection we’ve put together for churches. It gathers cartoons about church life, Bible stories and everyday faith, from Noah’s ark and Sunday school to the choir and the church sign. Church life gives cartoonists plenty to work with, so the potluck is in there too.
You can also browse it by sermon theme, such as forgiveness, gratitude, generosity, patience, prayer and community. So if Sunday’s sermon is on patience, finding a cartoon that fits takes minutes, not an afternoon. And if you ever need something broader, our full catalog of more than 750,000 cartoons by over 1,000 cartoonists is one click away from the collection.
Where can we find out more?
When you want the detail on cartoon licensing for churches like yours, here’s where to look.
- Our Faith Collection (coming soon) is the place to start browsing cartoons for church life.
- Our pricing page sets out each license by use. You can choose a single cartoon, a pack or a subscription.
- Our license agreement has the full wording of what each license covers.
- Our team is a message away. Contact us and tell us your plans. We’ll point you to the right license.
We’d much rather hear from you than have you guess.
Questions churches ask about cartoon licensing
Does a church need a license if it isn’t making money from the cartoon?
Yes. Cartoonists earn from every license, whatever the setting. So a CartoonStock cartoon needs a license whether it’s going into a bulletin or a boardroom. The good news is that licenses are priced by how the cartoon is used, so your bulletin isn’t treated like a billboard.
Is crediting the cartoonist enough?
No, although it’s a kind thing to do. A credit line tells readers who drew the cartoon, but it doesn’t give permission to use it. License first, then credit with pride.
Can we share a licensed cartoon with another church?
Not under your license. You can’t transfer a CartoonStock license, so the church down the road needs its own. Providing cartoons across a group of congregations? Talk to us, and see How denominations, dioceses and church networks can provide cartoons to their congregations (coming soon).
Related Posts
- How to use cartoons in a church newsletter or bulletin (coming soon)
- Using a cartoon to open or illustrate a sermon or talk (coming soon)
- Using cartoons in church emails, websites and social media (coming soon)