Wednesday, September 2, 2009

The Wall Street Journal confirms that pro bono work can bring great rewards—both financially and personally—to architects and designers struggling in this economic downturn.

In “Pro Bono Work Helps Firms Fight Economic Slump,” published September 1, 2009, WSJ small business writer Raymond Flandez points to a growing pro bono trend. Increasingly, architecture and design firms are considering pro bono work as a marketing and customer-relations strategy. Highlighted in the article, Studio G Architects —a long-time member of The 1% program—found that taking on pro bono work helped maintain the design vigor in the office and resulted in finding new clients.

The article points to some of the many benefits of pro bono work.

•    Employees engaged while cultivating new relationships
•    Increases local visibility, deepens local business ties
•    Creates opportunity for new business
•    Provides leadership opportunity for junior staff

Public Architecture is proud of The 1% participants commitment to pro bono work, serving nonprofits and their communities. Currently, over 600 architecture and design firms across the U.S. have already pledged their time through The 1% program, delivering an estimated $25 million in pro bono services yearly. New firm and nonprofit registrants to The 1% program are listed below:

 Firms

Architecture, Incorporated (Memphis, TN)

BarberMcMurry architects (Knoxville, TN)

box: Building Open Xchange LCC (Portland, OR)

Creative Architectural Team, Ltd (Wheeling, IL)

David Magid (Los Angeles, CA)

Demerly Architects (Indianapolis, IN)

dsgn associates (Dallas, TX)

Glenn Design Initiative (Seminole, FL)

Henretty Design Associates, Inc. (Glen Mills, PA)

Integrative Design, LLC (Ann Arbor, MI)

Jaeger, Nickola & Assoc., Ltd. (Park Ridge, IL)

JBA Architecture and Consulting (Sea Girt, NJ)

M Designs Architects (Los Altos, CA)

Michael Wilk Architecture (San Francisco, CA)

shelter design studios (Jackson Hole, WY)

Stimpson Design (San Francisco, CA)

Studio De La Garza (Mill Valley, CA)

Takahashi + De Miguel Architects (New York, NY)

Wilson Fuqua and Associates (Dallas, TX)

Nonprofits

Anderson Partnership for Healthy Children (Anderson, CA)

DALLAS Film Society (Dallas, TX)

Frisco Family Services Center (Frisco, TX)

Cradles to Crayons (Horsham, PA)

Helping Restore Ability (Arlington, TX)

Irving Cares (Irving, TX)

KIPP Foundation (San Francisco, CA)

National Art Education Association (Reston, VA)

One To World, Inc. (New York, NY)

Quality of Life Health Services, Inc (Gadsden, AL)

Seeds of Africa (New York, NY)

Taproot Foundation (Chicago, IL)

The Global Education and Action Network (GLEAN) (Mill Valley, CA)

www.theonepercent.org

“The 1%” is a national program launched by Public Architecture in 2005 that challenges architecture and design firms to pledge 1% of their billable hours to pro bono work. Over 300 firms have signed on to date. If every architecture professional in the U.S. dedicated just 20 hours annually, it would add up to 5,000,000 hours each year—the equivalent of 2,500-person firm working fulltime for the public good. The 1% program was launched by Public Architecture in 2005 with the support of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and is presently supported by a range of groups, including the NEA, American Institute of Architects (AIA), Boston Society of Architects (BSA), corporate and private foundations, as well as leading firms such as Elness Swenson Graham Architects (ESG), Hammel, Green & Abrahamson (HGA), Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum (HOK), HKS, McCall Design Group, and Perkins + Will.

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