wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

If there was ever a two-edged blade, it's working for free. I'm not talking volunteering here, as that's something that to put it in an excessively prolix way, the economic model for providing the service doesn't allow for payment for the work. Overnighting at a homeless shelter, for instance. Two or three nights a month, I do that. I'm talking doing what it is that I do for my living for free. It's most definitely a two-edged sword. I stopped thinking that those people would be people who called me for work when they had money a long time ago. In my world? They're looking to trade up. Guys who work for free don't have the cash flow to remain current, which is what goes on now. So it's simply not going to happen. The sequence being: Hell freezes over. Vaudeville makes a comeback. I get THAT call.

I do it to keep my reflexes sharp, my thinking oriented to the job that I do. I do it for myself. Let the dogs grab the rest of them.

Craig Webb Art is creating pro-bono email and craigslist ad marketing for Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Astoria, to help them increase their membership.
See samples and learn more about GSUMC services and events by searching www.newyork.craigslist.org/cal/
craigwebbart.com develops marketing communications for new business including print and online design.

As an independent consultant to Architects and Engineers, I also take on small firms where the Principal needs help in finding projects to bid on, networkig or "teaming" opportunities. I provide the marketing and business development acumen they may lack on a Pro-Bono basis. This keeps me in the loop while doing something beneficial for the A/E entrepreneur in dire need of survival!

Since my consulting business dried up in the summer, I've started volunteered with a group that does pro bono consulting for nonprofits. I figure it is a good way to keep busy and to make some new connections, but I don't know if it will lead to paid work. Also, I've become active in the management of our coop building and volunteering in the local community, which has been a good way to meet neighbors and give back. So far I'm just holding out, living frugally and trying to use this period to reach out and make new connections while not going too crazy worrying about money.

Materials for the Arts is the name of the warehouse in Queens.

I am doing technical writing for the NJ Society for Technical Writers and also for my chorus, The Monmouth Civic Chorus, which is presenting a free-to-all Lincoln Bicentennial at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, NJ on February 8, 2009 @3 PM

I want to remain anonymous.

My two elementary school age twin sons and I have saved spare coins to do something special with. They both love art.

We haven't counted it--it is not alot--but we'd love to give it to the school for supplies. If you get the name and school of the teacher, we will send him.

Please email back if you get the name.

Please keep my name off the air.

Thanks,

Pam

"Do this at a discount and it will lead to more full price work in the future."

I know a lot of freelancers and consultants do this -- BEWARE.

The first rate you charge -- even free -- is the one that sticks!

Babysitting! Alot of the folks whose kids I watch aren't going out as often- but when you spend so much time and become part of a child's life it's important to remain connected....not to mention great for the sanity of my friends with kids!

I'd be glad to help out with art supplies or money for the listener who called who is buying his own art supplies for his students. Can you set up a link for donations? I'm unemployed but I also live in the town of Rye where I know the art supplies for my school kids are abundant. This is shameful.

i have been working on several projects during the work week that are un-billable.. requiring me to work my weekends to fill full time staffing. There is no longer room on construction budgets for added professional costs.

DAN THE ART TEACHER:
Try home depot - they have leftover paints (house paint & Interior) cheap. Teach Jackson Pollack, he bought industrial leftovers.

To the teacher who was just on your show.
i remember reading a couple of years ago about a warehouse in Queens that is STOCKED with supplies...maybe art supplies only??....that teachers are allowed to take. It was for teachers. I'm not sure if it still exists.
Maybe another listener knows where this is.

I work in the arts and recently found myself without work. Being bored i decided to learn a new craft and am now involved in my first internship. It keeps me from spending too much time idling, i am learning a new trade and i'd Like to think i am helping.

Yesterday I became "acting editor" for a new Web site that may or may not become an internet force to be reckoned with. It was fun; I enjoy working with words and writers, but my pay for the day (and the foreseeable future) consisted of:

- Cheap coffee

and

- a $10 Skype account to talk to the writers across the country because my cell phone bill is too low on minutes and I can't afford to make many calls.

I am teaching ESL to adults for free when i used to get paid for that due to budget cuts. I do so because I need to make sure I stay in the educational loop, for more opportunities to come up later and because I feel my students need this right now more than me.

I am a psychologist, researcher, author and activist. I earn a dwindling income from private practice psychotherapy (don't ask). BUT I used to get sums from guest lectures at universities in NY and elsewhere. The "elsewhere" ones often generated honoraria of 3 and 4 figures. No more. Expenses is all they offer. But I want to get my ideas out, so I am continuing to accept these opportunities.

As a freelance graphic designer, I find myself doing lots of minor updates and maintenance work on client projects for free.

In the past, I would have charged hourly for this work, but now I do it for free, in the hopes that I can retain these clients and (hopefully) make them feel like they owe me some larger, paying jobs.

As a freelancer I'm constantly looking for new work and new opportunities. However, this year, in this time, I'm looking for a lot more free gigs just to make contacts with people that may, one day, be able to pay me.

More and more, people seem to ask for free work preceding actual pay, as funding is more difficult to come by. I've had 3 meetings about a large-scale project and been asked to read massive amounts of scholarly literature. While it appears I'm the choice for the position, no one has officially hired me or told me it's happening. I'm doing the research to stay visible when/if the time comes.

But the subject matter is interesting, and I've got nothing to lose. Importantly, I'm doing this while being paid for another job, so I can't complain too much.

I learned in my youth that there is never a shortage of work, and during hard times, there is even more work since it keeps piling up.

It is just a matter of how much you get paid.

Here is the story I wrote about how I learned this from an 18 year-old high school graduate. She taught me more of value than my MBA.

http://www.internationalfamilymag.com/IFarchives/archives/aug07/stories.htm

Best of luck, keep working, and keep your spirits up.

After being laid off a good while ago I'm trying to stay active and visible and avoid the personal isolation by doing some volunteer work in the same professional field. But I've become pessimistic that these employers will consider my work valuable enough to spend money on. Callers who use volunteers might describe candidly how they value volunteers as potential employees. It's difficult, but very important to find volunteer opportunities with responsibilities that will count as a professional credential when applying for paid employment somewhere else.

I do writing and editing only for free/as a volunteer these days, but it's because I switched my career to something more lucrative. It's a good way to remember what I love about it and to avoid what I disliked. But I don't think it has anything to do with the economy (although, maybe it's that people might need free services more?)

I have always been involved in volunteer work and encourage others to do the same. It is a great way to give back to the community and help others while gaining experience in a field that you may want to pursue in the future. I am currently looking into working as a volunteer teacher of ESL or GED classes. I will be helping others and exploring a field that I am considering as a career change.

Yes! I am working for free - Some folks just can't pay me, and I am hoping that as soon as they get some cash they will. In a lot of cases though, I am hoping that my efforts will lead to PAID work - NYC is such a network town...

As a writer, there are some things that I do "for free". Like, for example, the PTA newsletter, ghostwriting for friends and family who have points to make and need help making them, and certain low-budget pubs that are worth it...as long as I'm making money in my day job (I run a successful copy writing business), why not give back? Especially in this economy, it pays to generate good karma and increase the well-being of others.

NOTE: Please see my post on next Monday (1-19-09) about why I will be working in honor of MLK AND drinking coffee---drinkingcoffeeallthetime.com. Schools are closed, I'll be on mom duty, and I'm a born-post-Civil Rights African-American woman living in super-tolerant Montclair---AND that's why I'll be working---and probably doing some of it for free!! Because I'm grateful...