Non-profit Organizations | i-tees

In my last post, I wanted to highlight that in many cases I’ve seen websites and print marketing done by individuals and small companies without hiring a professional designer. In various group discussions on LinkedIn, artists from all over are commenting with their experiences. In these comments, some artists have brought up a few very important points, which I’m going to pass on now.

As designers, many times, friends and family ask us to “help them out” with a project. Depending on who this is and the scope of the project, we may decide to help. One artist reported that after creating various materials for a friend and gratis of course, the friend didn’t use any of them and instead got a family member who just happened to have a computer and “Word” & “Photoshop” to create something.

Now, I suppose the big question here is, why wouldn’t you use the materials created by the professional designer, and instead use the amateurish piece by the family member. Instead of using a professional printing company, it was printed out on their home printer. The end result did not look professional. Secondly, wouldn’t the friend realize how rude that was, after asking the professional to invest time and effort in the project.

In addition, they have said that it always seems to be the non-paying, non-profit clients who they’re “helping out” who send the most changes or edits. It’s interesting how when someone has to pay, they understand the rules a bit better.

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Clients change their look and their logos. As artists we understand this, we do as well. I had changed my company logo a few times over the years, until I settled on the (sndi) I have now and the current color palette. I also previously wrote about how I changed this (i-tees) site into a blog, and I’m sure at some point, I’ll change the look again.

One thing an artist just reminded me of, is when you’ve created a wonderful website for someone and they seemed to be very happy with it… then a short time later it has been replaced with a totally different design. The most important part to remember, is not to be too disappointed. With the web, this is bound to happen, hopefully not often, but face it, it will. I suppose what bothers us most, is that it happened and the client didn’t tell us or come back to us for the new design. We wonder about whether they really liked the original or just said they did, so they’d have the site up, (urgency again, content over design and style) who knows? I always wonder about this. I remember a magazine site I did a few years ago, and about one year later there was a new site up. It didn’t really have any new features, or e-commerce, it just had a different look.

It’s also important to realize that if they do create a new website with new features, they may not realize you can do what they want. Always be sure that your clients know about all your capabilities. I have a current client who’s website I update and he never knew I designed books, good thing I mentioned this, and was able to design his book cover.

What you need to do, is check all the links you’re featuring on your portfolio website, perhaps once a month. I sometimes forget to do this, but will this week. You don’t want to have an image or link up and a potential client goes to see it, and it’s a different site. I’ve also had sites disappear or go down for one reason or another. So be sure to update your portfolio and site often.

For the most part, over the years, I have had good experiences working with non-profit organizations and first-time clients. I do however think this depends on the type of company. Some of them have been theatrical companies, and since we know that the “arts” funding and budgets have been slashed, I’m always willing to help them when I can.

Since the Spring of this year and the launch of my blog with Mary Jo Rhodes, Frogs Are Green, more non-profit agencies have been coming my way. I’ve been writing estimates for different types of companies, from theatrical companies to environmental agencies and charitable organizations. The assignments range from blog or website design, to brochures, signage and print marketing.

From my experiences, both good and bad, I want to share a few tips to keep in mind when working with non-profits or first-time clients.

1- Just because a company is a non-profit, it doesn’t mean they don’t have the money to pay you. Make sure to write an estimate, get a signed contract, and a partial payment up front. This way if they cannot find the funds for the balance, at least you were paid something. You should always divide up the payments, so there are milestones. You also have the option of a suing if you’ve got the documents in writing and signed, and the client didn’t pay.

2- You believe in their cause and that’s why you’re working with them, but don’t let them take advantage of you, by having you revise over and over. Make sure the amount of “rounds” were written in your estimate and/or contract, so both parties know what to expect. Make sure the client knows that if the scope of the project changes, the price goes up.

3- Make sure that you know who you’re working with. If a certain person hired you, but then all of a sudden you seem to be taking corrections or working with a bunch of different people. Stop. Talk to the person who hired you, have them field all opinions and have that person write or call you.

4- Make sure that the client only has low resolution files, and once all payments are made, you give over the final files or high resolution work. I know this can be difficult, because many clients won’t pay the balance till they know they have the files, but it’s important to at least attempt this. Now, I’m not saying this should always be done, only with first-time clients. Too many times a client takes the work and you do not get the balance, or hear from them again.

5- I suggest a bit a research on the first-time client. Look them up on Google, who are they?, learn about their company. Make sure you know who you’re working with.

6- Some clients have day jobs and work on their company or non-profit on off hours. May sure they’re not calling you on those off hours. When you work all day and want to relax in the evening, you don’t want clients calling to discuss projects.

7- Design may be subjective, but our business is no different than any other. If you hire someone to paint your house, and after they’re finished you decide you don’t like the color, do you think the painter will not expect payment? What if you decide now you want him/her to start over with a new color, don’t you think they’ll expect to be paid more? So, why in the design profession does it seem acceptable, if someone isn’t happy with the result, they can walk away without keeping up their end of the agreement? A perfect example of this practice would be an online job search listings website, where a client can hire you and put a payment into escrow. I will never agree to this because as I just stated they can withdraw if unsatisfied, or they might be satisfied and planning to use the concepts without your knowledge. Escrow agreements are a terrible idea and quite one-sided.

8- My policy is a simple one. If you want to know what I would design for you, and you alone, you must hire me to find out. And absolutely no free sketches! Let me repeat that, never give away your ideas for free, unless you’re truly compelled to do something! My years of experience and portfolio should speak for the quality of what someone would get. If there aren’t enough design examples in my portfolio, for you to know what you would get from me, then you’re probably not a client I want to work with.

9- Knowing when to walk away. Sometimes with all good intentions an assignment gets out of hand. Recently, I was engaged to revise something for an individual. With each round of revisions made, I received, in the mail, a printout with a ton of additional corrections. After completing my third and final round, the client gave me some new guidelines on the project, and if I were to go to a fourth round, with these new guidelines, I was going to have to start over. Instead of asking for more compensation, I chose to walk away. The whole experience did not go well, and I knew it was never going to end. I made the smart decision in this case.

10- I want say a little about mutual respect. I work very hard for my clients, and I’m very thankful for each client I gain. I treat them with respect and will always do all that I can. By respecting my clients and gaining their respect in return, I’m fortunate to have a lot of repeat business. I’m proud that so many of the websites I’ve designed are still online, year after year. Whenever my clients need something they know they can count on me.

You’ve done all the work, created something of value, and the client isn’t fulfilling their end of this agreement. This is always going to be different for each individual and assignment. I have had and heard my share of complaints. Sometimes, you’ll go to court and sometimes you’ll just be upset and let it go. We have to determine each case as it comes along, but if we can remember to be careful, and protect ourselves, this business will always go better for us.