Designer Tip: No Pro Bono
posted by Noah at 8:00 AM
I've been meaning for a long while to write a long rant about the problems with designers doing pro-bono work as a way to do good. And while I still don't have the time/energy to write the whole thing out, I did want to relay an anti-pro bono technique I've been using lately...
As someone who runs a socially conscious design firm I frequently I get asked by nonprofit organizations if I know any designers who would be willing to do work for free. My response is to offer to send their request along to a short list of former students/interns that I maintain, HOWEVER I strongly recommend that they offer a token monetary honorarium (a couple hundred bucks usually) as a way to give some value to the project for both themselves and the designer.
I explain that everyone is much more committed when there's money involved (especially if it's acknowledged that it's not even close to the proper amount that should be spent). I also point out that designers (in the US) cannot write off the work on their taxes since it is considered a service and not a product.
Every time I have made this offer, the organization, no matter how small, has come up with an amount of money to offer and the young designers (who are not only in need of experience and portfolio pieces, but also in need of some actual money) are glad to get paid something.
Next time you are approached with a pro bono project (for yourself of to pass along to others) why not give this a try (and of course share the results with me).
P.S. In the meantime HERE's a good overview of the issues with pro bono from NO!SPEC.
As someone who runs a socially conscious design firm I frequently I get asked by nonprofit organizations if I know any designers who would be willing to do work for free. My response is to offer to send their request along to a short list of former students/interns that I maintain, HOWEVER I strongly recommend that they offer a token monetary honorarium (a couple hundred bucks usually) as a way to give some value to the project for both themselves and the designer.
I explain that everyone is much more committed when there's money involved (especially if it's acknowledged that it's not even close to the proper amount that should be spent). I also point out that designers (in the US) cannot write off the work on their taxes since it is considered a service and not a product.
Every time I have made this offer, the organization, no matter how small, has come up with an amount of money to offer and the young designers (who are not only in need of experience and portfolio pieces, but also in need of some actual money) are glad to get paid something.
Next time you are approached with a pro bono project (for yourself of to pass along to others) why not give this a try (and of course share the results with me).
P.S. In the meantime HERE's a good overview of the issues with pro bono from NO!SPEC.
Labels: design, nonprofit, probono, sociallyconsious
7 Comments:
That is great advice!
I agree. Often non-profits will have a budget for design. And if they don't, then they can usually get someone to sponsor at least a part of the costs.
And the passing over of money, even small, does remind probono clients that there is value involved.
Of course, giving them an invoice laying out exactly what it should have cost helps too.
Thanks for the post! As someone who does a lot of work for grassroots organizations, I am constantly dealing issues in this space.
Often when working for free a designer is actually treated with less respect and good will than when she is working for money - and the time it takes to do straight forward projects can multiply if people do not have an understanding of the design process.
I have are recently written my some advice in my own blog here:
http://eco-labs.org/dev/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=167:how-not-to-manage-a-community-design-project&catid=1:latest&Itemid=46
I often recommend that my potential clients looking for pro-bono work contact students looking to build their portfolio, but never thought of suggesting the monetary token. I will be sure to do so in the future as it makes complete sense!
Thanks for the feedback.
Good point about the invoice Catherine! I also think contracts should be used always as well.
I totally agree EcoLabs, thanks for sharing your post as well!
Great post.
Paying even a small amount of money in recognition that the work deserves some compensation (even if it should be way more than the client can offer) is a great motivator for the designer, and an acknowledgement of the value the designer brings to the work.
A contract is a MUST with pro bono, especially since a lot of nearly pro-bono work I've done (or seen done by others) tends to have more scope-creep than clients who pay full value for their work. I did a media kit for a small nonprofit without a well-defined scope written down, and of course it ballooned into multiple iterations, multiple pieces not mentioned in the initial project, etc...My bad. And I'll never work without a contract that defines scope, schedule, and deliverables again--even with friends (especially with friends).
Agreed, Alan, Contracts are an absolute must whether there's pay involved or not! Too many of us have learned that the hard way.
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