One of the great things about being a freelance designer is that you have many options. The option to choose when to work, what to wear while you work, who you work with and what you work on. One of the most rewarding clients you can work with as a freelance designer is a non-profit organization.

Non-profits are a driving force for good in the world. They help feed the homeless, help abused and stray animals find new homes, provide clean water to those without and the list goes on. As a designer, you have the opportunity to put a new face on the cause of a worthy organization. It may be that you can create a new website that effectively draws donations or a brochure that explains why an organization's mission is worthy supporting or provide a shiny new logo. You know what they (should) say, "There's a great designer behind every great organization."

Depending on the size of the organization, you may or may not get paid for the work you do, and if you do manage to get paid, be prepared to take a pay cut. Working with a not-for-profit is not about getting paid - immediately anyways. If you donate your work, you may be able to receive a tax write-off.

One great reason to design for a non-profit organization, aside from helping their specific mission, is that it can provide a great opportunity to create a new portfolio piece. This can be especially useful for design students or recent graduates who need to build up their body of work.

Another benefit you can expect is a slurry of referrals. Most non-profits are so grateful for your work that they will turn into great word of mouth marketers on your behalf. One non-profit that I recently did some web work for started sending me referrals before the project was even live.

Working with a non-profit entity is much different than working with a corporate client. Aside from having little to no marketing budget to hire you, their idea of great design can be substantially different than yours. One non-profit organization supplied me with a photo for use as a logo - in their mind that made sense. They did not realize that a pixel-based photo does not work as a logo.

Like any job, the client may give you complete control allowing you to turn-out a truly great design, or, as happens in many cases, the client may decide to micro-manage the entire process and destroy every last bit of your creativity and effectiveness. It's always a good practice to carefully choose which organizations you'd like to work with and steer clear of those that plan on taking complete advantage of your services.