Should your freelance rates change depending on the type of client you work for? Do you charge more for corporate work over a small business? What about when working with nonprofits?
One freelance commercial writer was curious about nonprofit freelance work and whether or not they should cut their rates in half.
Here’s what two long-time pros have to say:
Should You Lower Your Rates for a Nonprofit Client?
The following question was originally posed to Peter:
What do I charge a not-for-profit (NFP)? I’ve read elsewhere that halving your normal hourly rate is appropriate.
Peter Bowerman on Working with Nonprofit Freelance Clients
I typically don’t discount much if anything at all for NFPs.
“Not-for-profit” is an accounting term which generally has little to do with how much money they do or don’t have. Take the Red Cross or United Way. Sure, they’re called non-profits but they’re rolling in cash.
If on the other hand, it’s a small local organization who obviously doesn’t have a lot of money, then you make the call. I wouldn’t halve it though – maybe 25% less, if that.
I just finished a ton of work for a worldwide charity and they didn’t balk one bit at my healthy market rates. More importantly, they got excellent work at a fair and competitive rate, work which undoubtedly boosted their contributions FAR more than what they paid me.
Jenn Mattern on Setting Rates for Nonprofits
Before I went into business for myself, I worked in the nonprofit sector. I’d done earlier work for smaller nonprofits, but the last job before going out on my own was with a big city office of a major international nonprofit. And let me tell you something…
They have money.
One of the reasons I left was because of the waste I saw on a regular basis. They would absolutely try to tug on the heartstrings to get you to lower your rates. But they could afford your standard ones. In cases like this, I wouldn’t lower your rates at all.
Peter mentioned smaller, local nonprofits, and that’s a different thing entirely. You can specialize in these kinds of nonprofit markets, but it’s true the market rates might be lower than you could charge other client types.
I’ve worked with clients who are launching nonprofits, to well-established ones. And I find rather than lowering rates, it can help to work on narrowing scopes. And these have been some of my favorite clients to do training for more than writing. Do a few newsletters for them, for example, but train their staff to take over before long. They’ve always been appreciative to have the option.
For newer freelancers, I’d suggest taking another approach altogether. There are very few cases where I suggest taking on pro-bono work. But if you need early samples, these small local nonprofits are a great way to get them (either pro-bono or at discounted rates).
If you go the pro-bono route though, I highly recommend only doing that for organizations you would otherwise donate to or volunteer for. And I’d suggest using non-business time for any volunteer work, just as you would for non-writing volunteer work.
Just don’t do this for a company profiting from your work, and I’d advise against it with larger nonprofits because they absolutely do, or should, have an adequate budget. And, from experience, they don’t have the same kind of appreciation if you do them that favor.