Can adland do pro bono work without pain?
In this guest post, Ben Carter takes issue with Mumbrella’s question “How rich does a not-for-profit organisation need to be before they stop asking for pro bono work?’, and suggests a better question is whether Adland and not-for-profit organisations can ever form a partnership which doesn’t end in bitterness.
Despite best intentions, the answer is often a big fat no unless the parties can resolve the fundamental mutual misunderstanding highlighted by the recent article about youth mental health foundation headspace, and the response by many Mumbrella readers.
The following is my take on the steps needed for agencies and NFPs to form a more beautiful friendship:First, get real. All government funding is tied, via super strict contracts, to direct service provision. NFP’s are not ungrateful for ad agency pro bono contributions or unaware of the importance of their brand and reputation – it’s just that they have zero ability to divert government grants to their marketing budgets.
Any attempt to do so would risk future funding and the services vulnerable people in our community need. Any freedom NFPs currently have is about to be further squeezed by yet another layer of red tape in the shape of the Federal Government’s proposed NFP regulator.
I’ve never done freelance work pro bono before (other than early on, when I needed some clips), and never intend to, unless I’m very good friends with the main liaison of the organisation. Maybe a larger agency might get a bit of free publicity from it, but the reality is simple – everybody needs to make a living, and unpaid work doesn’t put food on the table.
Excellent outline of the issues involved – and well done to Mumbrella for giving this some air time. We’ve worked closely with a range of charities, and had both extremely positive and negative experiences, as well as seen other agencies struggle with all of this. Nice post
Lawyers, those much-maligned professionals, manage to do pro bono work without whingeing. Almost all the major law firms and even some sole practitioners engage in work for free for NFPs or individual people. Look into your hearts, ad people!
So, what would the end benefit be for the agency when deciding to take on pro-bono work for a NFP? Is it merely a chance to do some good? In which case, staff involvement in biggest morning teas and movember could provide the same result. @Bob says that there might be publicity, but I can’t see how that might happen.
I have done much pro-bono work in the past for politcal issues and community groups and in each case felt drained by the end with no apparent benefit, so the article is right to insist on setting clear expectations for both sides.
Bob you miss the points Ben has made completely. By the simple fact that your reputation can be enhanced by supporting worthy NFP causes can put food on your plate, but this will only happen if you work at that aspect as well. Its the old thing of a corporate sponsoring a NFP event or organisation, they need to budget both for the cash they give the NFP PLUS the money they need to spend themselves to promote their support.
Naturally, all organisations aren’t in a position to this, particularly small businesses, however, this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not a viable option to pursue. Ben’s point about managing expectations is right on the mark.
There was a great panel on this last year at South by Southwest Interactive, with case studies that highlighted positive outcomes for the agency, the not-for-profit partners and for the world. http://schedule.sxsw.com/2012/.....t_IAP12345
I have worked both agency side and for NFP and all to often agencies (not just ad) consider NFP pro bono work as an opportunity to create campaigns that win awards, and don’t take the account seriously.
I think that if an agency decides to do pro bono, they should do it properly and not cut corners. That way everyone wins. I’ve worked pro bono for a number of NFPs and have to say the partnerships that work are the ones where you treat them in the same way you’d treat a paying client.
All too true sadly Littlemissm.
For some reason in the corporate world there is often a misconception that anything NFP is not a “serious” or “real” business. The bottom-line is that the only profit recognised is a material, financial one, rather than recognising that a profit could also be a successful program that benefits society.
Slowly corporates are recognising a broader base of business outcomes which is reflected in the uptake triple bottom-line reporting, however, I suspect it will still be sometime before it is universally embraced and its importance understood.
@ Littlemissm…. but they aren’t paying clients. And when you worked NFP side, you begrudged the agencies trying to win awards. Which is why I find this thread (and article) confusing… can somebody please tell me what the benefits are for an agency to take on pro-bono work? @ Sue says its the feelgood of it all I guess, but that is driven by personal views/motivations and these people would probably ‘get involved’ regardless of their profession…
The RSPCA made over $20 MILLION dollars last FY. I would say they no longer qualify as not-for-profit and should pay 🙂
Heather
They probably do