If you’re reading this series, you’ve got the desire to do some pro bono. But it’s not always immediately clear to yourself, friends or potential clients exactly why you’d undertake a professional-level job without a cash return. So, let’s explore a few reasons why you might hoist your pro bono flag high, shall we?

Promotion

“Doing creative work for a local nonprofit organization can be a great way to promote your talents and abilities. I actually look at such projects as part of the marketing plan for my business.” | Jeff Fisher | Profiting from Pro Bono Creative Efforts

Imagine for a moment that you have the chance to run a full page billboard ad in the middle of town trumpeting your fledgling business, or put your work on the front page of a website garnering thousands of hits a day. Guess what: you can!

Your pro bono work, executed wisely and well, will broadcast your talents and skills more efficiently than a two line ad in the back of the phone book. And in truth, may be the cheapest and most effective way to advertise both your creative expertise and your business. It’s like hoisting a page of your portfolio across the sky — what a great opportunity!

And let’s not forget the most-quoted marketing phrase out there: word of mouth sells. Provide your client with quality and professionalism and the reward is a reference that can’t be beat.

Networking

Networking in any business is recommended as one of the best ways to promote yourself. But honestly, have you actually been to one of those ‘mixers?’ It’s HIDEOUS!

There you stand in some beige rented room at the local hotel, desperate to pass out your fistful of sweaty business cards. One by one, random humans stuffed into uncomfortable suits and boring ties in various states of ennui subject you to the same awful question, “What do you do?” followed by “Oh…okay…” In the end you’ve met 100 people just as desperate as you to find valuable connections.

Why not maximize your networking by targeting your pro bono work to an audience that will help you every step of the way. Like Mike Davidson did?

“One of the first pro-bono projects I involved myself in was the Seattle Show — the annual advertising and design awards for the Seattle area…I was able to meet and work with a lot of creative directors, art directors, ad agencies, and design firms around town. It has been a great networking opportunity and it only takes up maybe 40 hours of my time every year.” | Mike Davidson | How to Make Friends and Influence Art Directors

Effective Portfolio Puffing

Everybody pads their portfolio with fake-bakes; I have a few myself, and after a few years I retired them to the back of my filing cabinet. Why? Let me give you a hot tip: an interview for a creative position is, in major part, a determination of how well you work with others. Filling your portfolio with self-generated projects might make you feel accomplished, but to the person across the hiring desk is saying “I wish I could hire them, but I have no idea how they’ll react to criticism or real-life scenarios.

Pro bono work fills your portfolio with real-life problem solving situations and, as a bonus, gives you the upper hand over a waiting room chock full of people wielding finely crafted portfolios full of air.

“You need to demonstrate how you deal with constraint and the best way to get that is to work with clients. Good design, after all, provides a solution that satisfies both the needs of the audience with the requirements of the organization.” | Jeffrey Veen | The Do-It-Yourself Portfolio

Experience Gathering

Pro bono work as a means of gaining practical experience goes without saying, but what ices the cake is the chance to push the envelope. Paying clients will often dictate your creative process; pro bono clients are considerably more flexible.

“The reward for pro-bono work is not always just in heaven. Pro-bono designs do not have to undergo the rigors of marketing and research. And pro-bono jobs are generally more interesting and challenging than run-of-the-mill business assignments which are often driven by time-worn traditions and prejudices.” | Paul Rand | Pro-bono or No-bono

“The donation of my services has also led to greater creative freedom in many cases. The individuals involved in the projects are often very willing to admit the creative aspects of such an effort are not within their area of expertise. They are pleased to give creative individuals free rein to produce the best result - and often the work I consider my personal best.” | Jeff Fisher | Profiting from Pro Bono Creative Efforts

The Warm and Fuzzies

And finally, a well chosen pro bono project will make you feel good. Don’t take a pro bono job for any other reason. Don’t justify working for an organization you don’t agree with. Do bring your heart with you. Because when you sit at a hiring table, you’ll be able to say “I was committed to making a difference and really representing the voice of this project.” That sheer honesty will open more doors than anything else.

“Working pro bono was an excellent way to market my business while giving back at the same time. For instance, I designed around ten posters a year for the Brunei Music Society. Each poster had a credit line promoting my company. With creative freedom, one of the posters won first place in the American Design Awards and ended up in Jeff Fisher’s The Savvy Designer” | Catherine Morley | The Savvy Designer’s Guide to Success: Ideas and Tactics for a Killer Career

“It can be a refreshing, fun, enlightening change …” | Jayne Cravens | Pro Bono / In-Kind / Donated Services for Mission-Based Organizations

“Pssst … there’s another reason for producing pro-bono work…especially on campus. It generates a warm pink and fuzzy vibe about your cooperative, caring and giving spirit - a vibe that will pay dividends over the years in the deliberations regarding promotion, tenure and annual pay increases. Uh. On the other hand, never mind. That’s too commercial. I do the pro-bono stuff because I’m… a sweetheart!” | Lanny Sommese | Beyond Commerce on Campus and Beyond

There are so many reasons and so many positive rewards. What will yours be?

Next time: Just Like Melons: Identifying your pro bono client.

This series is dedicated to the exploration of pro bono practices: from how to find the non-profit client, understanding the expectations of not-for profit work, setting up contracts to protect both parties and the successful (and not so successful) ways to educate yourself and your client on how creatives can and should work together to the benefit of all involved. Along the way we’ll include international design experts, research and statistics, etiquette and most importantly, how to be part of the solution. Stay tuned and let your voices be heard.

Thomas (Tom) Stephan | Director of Something Clever
BoDo Author | Dyer Straits | Working Pro bono

A member shall not work for a client or employer without compensation, with the exception of the occasional pro bono work for charitable purposes or for work performed for family members.

Quoted from “A Graphic Designer’s Guide to Pro Bono Work” by The Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario.

A volunteer rebuilds houses after a hurricane; a volunteer brings food to the invalid and housebound; a volunteer shelves books at a public library. All these people are working for free. What are they getting out of these experiences? The answers are as varied as the opportunities. Maybe we step forward to help our community. Maybe we feed the sick because either our family or ourselves were once in the same dire need. For some people it’s about serving a spiritual component of our lives. Whatever the reason, there is something gained on both sides. People have a home, a meal, a chance to learn something new, and we in return gain a free lunch or two, pad our college applications, have a moment of heart-filling ease that we have done something for our fellow man. This is volunteerism, and it’s a great thing.

But it’s not pro bono work.

Let me give you a minute to let that soak in. Ready? Good, let’s go on: pro bono, as defined by a quick trip across the Internet, is short for pro bono publico, a Latin phrase meaning “for the good of the public” or “for the good of the people.” In the United States it’s a favorite phrase of lawyers, who are often encouraged by the legal associations they belong to to perform a minimum of free legal work for those clients who either cannot afford legal services or for non-profit entities.

My first posting was called “The Subtle Art of Working for Free”. While it is tempting to see the title as a pithy catch-all or catchphrase, nothing could be further from the truth. There is, in fact, artistry in working for free. And therein lies in the difference between volunteerism and pro bono work. Confused? You shouldn’t be. Read on!

Here’s an example of classic volunteerism: You’ve got a few years of school under your belt, or maybe you’ve got a few years of working out there as some production-line designer, fixing those hideous Microsoft Word and free clipart T-shirts that somebody visited on you like a biblical plague. You’re at a point where working for yourself seems like a good way to go and somebody says “Our Church Youth Group needs a logo. You know, something catchy, something to impress the kids.”

Your heart leaps at the chance; after all, this is how you get your work out in the public, right? So you design and draw and erase and print and vectorize and show it and get the seven deadly sins of design from the owner: Apathy, Logo Enlargement, Impossible Detail, Poor Feedback, Napkin Sketches, Just-Copy-This-Idea and Death. Maybe not death. Nope. I’ll stay with death. In the end the logo shows up on the church flyers and you get a lot of people saying “Father Bob said you did that for free. Can I get something for free?”

This is volunteerism. The only thing you can really hope to get out of volunteering is a warm fuzzy feeling. And an ulcer.

I can tell you’re depressed. Take a minute, go get a drink of water and look up. Things are about to get better.

If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably saying “If only there were a way that creatives could market themselves, educate themselves and promote themselves in one package plan.” And guess what? There is. And now let me show you the bright shiny idea that is pro bono work.

Here’s an example of the Pro Bono experience: Your local church needs a logo for their youth group. “Something catchy, something to impress the kids,” is your direction. You say “Great!” Only this time, instead of going home and pounding out that logo, you go home and write up a contract for goods and services. This contract outlines exactly what you’re doing, how you’re going to do it, and a rough estimate of how much time and effort it’s going to take. You take that back and say “I am serious about creating an identity for you that will last longer than summer camp. Let me sit down with the teachers, a few of the kids, the church arm and talk about your needs.” After you get that contract signed, you launch into research, outlining the needs of the group and the needs of the community. You interview and process and come up with well-informed designs that will match the budget of this church, whether they’ve got the money for a little color or none at all. On top of that creation, you offer them a detailed bill of services that outlines the amount of money they might have spent on an identity in the creative marketplace. In the end you haven’t just handed them something you like or they like, but something they need. They walk away with a logo they helped to create, and you walk away with a new experience and an intimate understanding of the community you’ve served.

THAT is pro bono. That is “for the good of the public.” And the people who come up to you won’t ask you for something free. They’ll say “I heard you re-branded the church youth group. I’m working on starting a new company. Can we talk?”

Established designers, and for that matter most new designers fall into two separate camps in regards to pro bono work. One camp declares their work for non-profit or public organizations to be completely selfless, i.e., done purely for the social service aspect of the deed, with no desire for any return whatsoever. The other, more common group seeks real-life portfolio additions, tax write-offs, or even the chance to beta-test their own skills. Which category do you fall under? In a few weeks we’ll be posting a survey for designers who currently undertake pro bono clientele, and I’d love to have your input to add to this series.

In the end it doesn’t matter if you’re working for a church group, a non-profit organization or some enterprising startup. If you’re willing to commit to the same set of principles of design, education and excellence that propelled you through school or on-the-job training, then you’re on the path to success. Your pro bono mantra is this: always get something back, or you’re just a volunteer.

Next time, let’s talk about the the whys - the rewards and reasons of working pro bono.

This series is dedicated to the exploration of pro bono practices: from how to find the non-profit client, understanding the expectations of not-for profit work, setting up contracts to protect both parties and the successful (and not so successful) ways to educate yourself and your client on how creatives can and should work together to the benefit of all involved. Along the way we’ll include international design experts, research and statistics, etiquette and most importantly, how to be part of the solution. Stay tuned and let your voices be heard.

Thomas (Tom) Stephan | Director of Something Clever
BoDo Author | Dyer Straits | Working Pro-bono

You have your design skills. You spent your time in the educational trenches having your work dissected, rearranged, put back together in new and inventive ways. Perhaps you’re making your bones as a graphic designer at a firm, or maybe you’ve taken the plunge into self-employment. Either way, you never forget the first lesson that every creative discovers from the moment they meet the first or five hundredth client through the door: almost everybody wants something for free.

We’ve all experienced it. A client arrives, bursting with ideas, dreams, sketches on the back of cocktail napkins, or sometimes only the desire to have ’something’ placed on a billboard, written in an advertisement, engineered into a website. They want a unique logo, a campaign, a catchphrase; and they don’t have a dime in their pocket.

And we’re not talking about the lubricious types of businesses. We’re talking about non-profit organizations who put too little faith (and funding) into the benefits of a well-researched identity. We’re talking about fundraisers that need an identity, or young startups that seek to change the world, but aren’t sure how to make their voices heard above the fray.

When you, the designer, set a price on your time, most of these clients wring their hands in shock. If you’re lucky you end up with responses like “How much, did you say?” or “Well, I can’t cover that.” Other responses are almost to colorful to put on the Web. The problem is, whether they respond with curses or handshakes, they leave your business trying to figure out what to do next.

And then it hits them: Let’s see if we can get something for nothing! Some of the more enterprising will contact a local university of design school and inquire about contracting a student for possible credits. Others hang a shingle on the front door braying “DESIGN OUR LOGO! PAD YOUR PORTFOLIO!” Others will go online and pay between $75-1,000 for a logo that ultimately has nothing to do with their organization. And they will defend their decisions by saying “Creative Firms are overpriced, they’re making a killing on the little guy, and I just need a logo to get started.”

In most industries, the concept of payment for goods and services seems fixed. Doctors do not accept word-of-mouth promotions as remittance. Rarely do you find lawyers drafting up pleas agreements in hopes that clients will choose them. Even children at lemonade stands clearly demand a nickel for that glass of lemonade on a hot summer day.

This isn’t a new series of comparisons, and yet, if you truly look at the state of the creative world, doesn’t it strike you odd to see graphic designers, copywriters, website designers and identity consultants pitching speculative designs over the walls of businesses both new and well-established in some desperate hope of acceptance? Hours of unbilled creative efforts are wasted in vain by designers involved in contests, competitions and various “pad your portfolio” offers.

And yet, if you take a stand and say “no, I will not work without compensation, as I believe it cheapens the industry,” there are a dozen designers standing behind you, willing to pick up the mouse and charge forward in the hope that they’ll be the next new design ‘name.’

On the opposite side of the table we have the clients, who have discovered that speculative work is the corporate version of “American Idol.” Ten thousand applicants, five vaguely talented hopefuls and an endless source of amusement and despair with every design that falls short of expectations. Sure, everybody loves watching American Idol, but it ain’t classy. It’s entertainment, but then again so was bear-baiting.

There has to be a better way, right? There has to be a way to bring talented designers together with desirable clients, to introduce both of them to the business-side of working with each other for the greater good.

Maybe there is. Maybe we’re here now.

And maybe, just maybe, It’s a thing called ‘Working Pro bono’

This series is dedicated to the exploration of pro bono practices: from how to find the non-profit client, understanding the expectations of not-for profit work, setting up contracts to protect both parties and the successful (and not so successful) ways to educate yourself and your client on how creatives can and should work together to the benefit of all involved. Along the way we’ll include international design experts, research and statistics, etiquette and most importantly, how to be part of the solution. Stay tuned and let your voices be heard.

Thomas (Tom) Stephan | Director of Something Clever
BoDo Author | Dyer Straits | Working Pro-bono