FAQ · Nonprofit design & budget
Pro bono, pricing, and the honest budget answers.
Almost every nonprofit conversation starts with budget. This page answers the questions we get most — what pro bono design services actually look like, what design for nonprofits typically costs, and where volunteers, grants, and free tools are (and aren't) the right call.
Pro bono design services
The most common budget question we get is whether we work pro bono. Here's the honest answer, and what we offer instead when the budget isn't there.
- Do you offer pro bono design services for nonprofits?
- Not as a standard offering. We take on one or two fully pro bono projects a year, chosen in December for the following year, and only for organizations under $500K in annual revenue where a paid engagement would genuinely be out of reach. For everyone else, we offer a nonprofit rate, staged payment plans, and a fixed-scope starter package designed to fit smaller budgets — because a discounted paid engagement almost always ships better work than a pro bono one.
- Why don't more design studios offer pro bono work?
- Pro bono work usually gets deprioritized the moment a paying client has a deadline. That's true at almost every studio, ours included. A paid engagement — even at a reduced nonprofit rate — gets the same project management, timeline, and accountability as any other client, which is what you actually need.
- How do I apply for your annual pro bono slot?
- Applications open each October. Email admin@stephenhaydesign.com with your mission, annual revenue, the specific project you'd want us to take on, and why now is the moment. We review in November and notify by mid-December.
- Are there good alternatives to pro bono design?
- Yes. Taproot Plus and Catchafire match nonprofits with skilled volunteers for defined projects. Local AIGA chapters sometimes run pro bono programs. Design schools often place senior students on nonprofit briefs for course credit. These are great fits for small, well-scoped projects — logos, one-page sites, event collateral.
Design for nonprofits — pricing
What design for nonprofits actually costs, and how to think about budget when you're the one presenting it to a board.
- How much does design for nonprofits typically cost?
- Our nonprofit engagements usually run $3,500 for a focused starter project (logo refresh, one-page site, campaign kit), $6,000–$18,000 for a full website, and $15,000–$35,000 for a mission-aligned rebrand with rollout. Every project ships with a fixed scope and fixed price before you commit — no hourly billing, no surprises at invoice time.
- Do you offer a nonprofit discount?
- Our published rates are already the nonprofit rate — we don't run a separate 'commercial' price sheet. If your organization is under $250K in annual revenue, ask about our starter tier; if you're mid-size and building for a specific campaign, ask about phased scope.
- Can we pay in installments?
- Yes. Standard structure is 40% at kickoff, 40% at design approval, 20% at launch. For larger projects we can split into monthly payments across the engagement, and we've worked with clients to align payment milestones to their fiscal year.
- What's the cheapest way to get real design help for our nonprofit?
- Start with a starter package — one clearly-scoped deliverable done well — rather than a discounted-but-shrunk version of a big project. A $3,500 landing page that converts is worth more than a $12,000 website that doesn't. We're happy to talk through where to start based on what your organization needs to move next.
Volunteers, grants, and free tools
Budget-sensitive orgs ask us these all the time. Here's what we actually recommend.
- Should we use a volunteer or freelance designer instead?
- For a one-off deliverable with a clear brief — a flyer, a social graphic, a simple landing page — a good volunteer or freelance designer is often the right call. For anything that has to be maintained, extended, or shipped on a deadline (a full website, a rebrand, a campaign system), the coordination overhead usually eats the savings. A paid studio engagement gets you a scope, a timeline, and someone accountable when things drift.
- Are there grants that cover nonprofit design or website costs?
- A few. Google Ad Grants ($10K/month in search advertising) doesn't cover design directly but frees up marketing budget you can redirect. TechSoup offers discounted software (Adobe Creative Cloud, Canva, Webflow). Some community foundations fund capacity-building grants that can include branding or website work — ask your program officer specifically about 'operational' or 'capacity' funding.
- Can we just use Canva and skip hiring a designer?
- For social graphics, event flyers, and internal documents, Canva is genuinely great and we recommend it. For your logo, brand system, and website — the assets every other asset points to — it's worth investing once in something built for you, then using Canva to extend it. We often set up nonprofit clients with a Canva brand kit as part of the handoff.
- What's the minimum project you'll take on?
- Our starter tier is $3,500 for a single focused deliverable — a landing page, a logo refresh, a small campaign kit. Below that, we point people toward Catchafire, Taproot, or a good freelancer. It's not that small projects don't matter; it's that we can't do them well at a lower price without cutting the parts that make them good.
Keep reading
Nonprofit graphic design
What it is, why it matters, and how to choose the right designer.
Nonprofit website design
Fixed scope, mission-first, launch in 6–10 weeks.
Creative project management
How to keep creative work on mission, on time, and on budget.
Case studies
Outcomes from mission alignment, storytelling, and design system work.
Still not sure what fits your budget?
Book a 20-minute call and we'll tell you honestly whether a paid project, a starter package, a volunteer, or a grant is the right next move.