According to Shine, the project began in 2003 as a fund raiser for the Arizona Ballet, but switched focus once his wife, Linda, was diagnosed with breast cancer. His wife's cancer recurred in 2006, but the two have remained positive and focused during the past nine years.

The website for The Tutu Project launched on March 12, 2012, and is currently selling prints and t-shirts to raise money. Carey's book, Ballerina, will be published this fall and compiles over one hundred photos of Carey in the tutu in a number of settings, as well as anecdotes from shooting the photos. Their goal is to raise $75,000, and net proceeds will go directly to a number of breast cancer organizations.