A Word to Wise Nonprofits: Avoid the Pro Bono Trap
The music accompanying this post is about the inspiration I’ve received from everyone I’ve ever met who has committed to a career in the nonprofit sector. I get chills and tears listening to the lyrics of “If I Ruled the World” by Leslie Bricusse and sung here by the spectacular Tony Bennett.
Over the years, I’ve worked with many nonprofits on their marketing and PR programs. The work that nonprofits do is essential to meeting our society’s needs in ways that neither the government nor the private sector can do as well. I consider having non-profit clients a very meaningful part of my practice. I’m writing this post not to be in any way self-serving, but because we need our nonprofits to succeed more than ever!
Although my fees for nonprofits are at a lower rate than for commercial clients, I do not provide my professional services pro bono. I will volunteer in many other ways. However, I believe that marketing is such a mission critical function that I do nonprofit clients no favor by offering a pro bono arrangement. This is a drum I’ve been beating since the stock market crash of 1987 and again in the recessionary aftermath of 9/11.
The topic came rushing back to mind again last week when a respected colleague of mine told me that she had agreed to provide some pro bono web and graphic design services to a local arts group. However, she gave the executive director one condition: No deadlines. She would have to implement the project when she had time, as she owed first priority to her paying clients. This is reality.
And that, my nonprofit friends, is the pro bono trap. You may need a service performed pronto to meet a grant deadline or to announce an important fundraising event. But as the adage warns, “Beggars can’t be choosers.”
When the economy went into the tank in late 2008, many nonprofits immediately cut back or completely curtailed their paid marketing and development activities. So did many for-profit companies to be clear.
During 2009, there were many out-of-work marketers offering free help as a way to keep busy, keep their portfolios fresh or reposition themselves. Admirable that they wanted to turn lemons into lemonade for a good cause.
In 2010, many have either gotten permanent jobs, or transformed themselves into consultants with paying clients.
As the economy improves, nonprofits that have been relying on board members and volunteers to get the word out about their missions, their successes and their funding needs may very well find that they’ve fallen dangerously behind. Pro bono services are generally provided piecemeal in the best of cases. Overall or longer term strategy takes a back seat.
In addition, the world of marketing and PR has changed drastically in the past couple of years. Just putting up a Facebook page – as some organizations have done – does not substitute for preparing to attract meaningful support using online channels. But doing some serious planning and working with professionals – in- or out-of-house – on execution can create never-before-possible efficiencies of scale.
Savvy nonprofit Executive Directors/CEOs need to make a strong case to their boards of directors that marketing is a specialized skill that can’t just be dumped on a volunteer or junior staffer to ‘make it happen’. It goes hand-in-hand with successful development efforts and needs to be in the budget at a serious level every year.
Likewise, foundations and other grantors must recognize that solid and appropriate marketing can help nonprofits leverage funding and improve service to their constituents. Marketing grants need to be more numerous and more generous.
Mind you, I’m not talking about over-the-top direct mail campaigns that, frankly, I find offensive and have written about in the past. Just don’t regard marketing as a frill. Nothing could be farther from reality. As the funding pie shrinks, when it comes to generating revenue it’s the NFP that thinks and acts like a business that will survive to help those who need its services.
New PR Words - and Music! 
Bravo. You so clearly make a case for why non-profits need to take a business-like approach.
Bernadette Nelson
September 14, 2010
i’m constantly bupnmig throughout the internet just about all of the evening as a result I have a propensity to read a good deal, which unfortunately isn’t usually a good matter as almost all of the internet websites I find are made up of unproductive rubbish copied from some other websites a million times, but I’ll hand it to ya this webpage is definitely enjoyable and even boasts some authentic content, so kudos for breaking the phenomena of simply duplicating other folks’ websites
Milorad
May 23, 2012
I totally, totally agree. I’m a fundraiser and am always concerned when I see ads asking for a ‘volunteer grant writer’. The work that we do is time-consuming and it does neither the consultant or nonprofit any good to devalue the work. Folks already have twisted views of the sector as it is…
fundtimes
September 14, 2010
Thank you for weighing in. And thank you for bringing up the idea of devaluation. I intend to give more thought to the mechanisms that allow this to happen.
I appreciate your perspective from the fundraising side!
Ellie Becker
September 14, 2010
Hi, Ellie. I agree wholeheartedly. When I worked on the inside, our nonprofit had to wait, and if we didn’t adore the pro bono work, we couldn’t really ask for revisions that frequently without looking ungrateful.
As a service provider now, I believe that nonprofits should be paying for the services they receive. That way, they will be able to work together as partners with suppliers, get what they need and want, and value what they receive. It’s too easy to discount pro bono work and shelve it. And where does that leave the agency that gave their time?
Nonprofits need to prioritize marketing if they want to succeed and raise revenue. Unfortunately, many have an attitude of entitlement, which doesn’t bode well for their missions and business relationships in their communities.
Elaine Fogel
October 2, 2010
Elaine, thanks for your insights from both sides of the nonprofit divide!
Ellie Becker
October 4, 2010