I wanted to share a little about my experiences with pro bono work. I have been truly privileged to have been able to work on many worthy causes throughout my career. When you have a profession that lets you do work that you really enjoy, it just seems the right thing to do. You know, to give back. There are people out there who could never afford certain professional services. Sometimes those who are in the most need, have the least access.
It started way back in Atlanta, sometime during my stint at Davison's. Someone had a connection to a gala fundraising event that was to take place at the Fox Theater. The Fox was one of those classic, majestic theaters in need of restoration and preservation. Davison's marketing director threw the production department a bone. The three of us who were all fresh out of school, slaving away in our first paste-up jobs, tackled the assignment. We divided up the work between us. There was an illustration to be done and then, a poster and an invitation. The Fox got some good work done pro bono and we got some printed pieces for our portfolios.
I've always just had a hard time saying no. Skip ahead to a few years ago. My sister-in-law was doing some projects with the Homeless Emergency Project, HEP. They wanted a new logo. They are a faith-based organization and insisted on having an "angel" or "angel wings" somehow worked into the design. I took them through the design process, showing them numerous possible solutions. And upon their insistence, I did some with a "wing" or "angel" element. For some reason the drive to a final logo stopped cold. I didn't hear from them for a couple of months and then I got the word that they wanted to move forward on a design that was my original first choice. Good things sometimes come to those who think all is lost. What they ended up with is a logo that is one of the best designs I've ever done.
Months later HEP wanted to have a large graphical timeline designed for their new 5000 square foot dining hall. I got the call. This time there was an actual budget. No huge dollars, but some money to make it worth my while.
Not all pro bono work is for charities help the homeless or raise money for a cancer cure. Sometimes the organization is simply non-profit. I was approached to design a logo for a documentary film, "Celebrate The Bungalow". It was a collaborative effort that involved a teacher and students from the school where I teach. While I didn't receive a fee for the logo, the Historic Hyde Park Neighborhood Association, HHPNA, later paid me to design a display case exhibit for the Tampa Bay History Center in downtown Tampa.
The association, HHPNA, later awarded me the job of designing a new logo for them. Subsequently, more paying jobs have come from them. But these are the rare exceptions. There have been countless projects for pro bono clients over the years that never led to anything other than the satisfying feeling of having helped a cause.
Networking and making connections can help business. You don't want to be known as the guy who works for free, but on the other hand, if I have the time I'll always at least consider a pro bono solicitation. Recently I've become involved in a cooperative group of creatives who are actively seeking pro bono projects. This is "heavyweight" creative talent. Major players. I participate and contribute my creative time when I can. We are in the process of finalizing a our website, so we haven't gone "public" yet. Still, we've already worked on several projects. I'll write about the group in a future post.
One very important thing in doing pro bono work, is that while there is no monetary compensation, the work itself has great value. You are doing working at your chosen profession that you love. I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression from the experiences that I've told about here. I have never accepted a pro bono project with the expectation of getting some compensation at a later date. Choose your clients carefully. They must appreciate the creative work and recognize the of what you are doing for them. Thankfully, this is usually the case. And doing the work is its own reward.
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