Don’t get me wrong. I fully support non-profit organizations. I’m a particular fan of Heifer International. However, being a non-profit shouldn’t be an organizations excuse to get talent to work for free. Non-Profits are organizations. They have employees, they own or rent buildings, and they have budgets to spend on advertising. The CEO of many non-profits get paid six figures a year. So needless to say, there’s big money in not making a profit. So don’t get taken advantage of simply because someone says they’re a non-profit.
However, if you’re feeling generous and want to donate your time to a non-profit, then power to you. Just know that not everyone else is a volunteer. My personal credo (and many other talents’) is that if it’s a charity I want to support and everyone else is donating their time and service then I’ll consider it. But if others are getting paid, then so should I.
I use charitynavigator.org to check out the finances of an organization that wants my money. I used to donate to a local food depository, until I found out that the CEO makes 500K a year!! So THAT kind of non-profit would not get a break. I did some work for a global-warming organization and charged them my full rate, since I know the founder is a very wealthy woman. But I do offer a “non-profit rate” for some organizations (mostly in the arts), and it usually is half my regular rate.
So my bottom line is – depends on the organization. And, do your due diligence.