Volunteer FAQ
As a volunteer with the Community Design Collaborative, you
will work directly with nonprofits to provide preliminary design services. Collaborative volunteers contribute their skills
on a wide range of projects and provide design support
on special community development initiatives. View
our work.
Sign up to volunteer.
Who are the Collaborative's clients?
Nonprofit organizations throughout the greater Philadelphia area who have a need for preliminary design services. View a list of our 2010 nonprofit clients.
What preliminary design services does the Design Collaborative provide?
The Collaborative’s service grants offer a package of design services tailored to the specific needs of each nonprofit. On average our grants provide $15,000-$20,000 in pro bono preliminary design services.
Services include conceptual design, feasibility studies, programming/space planning, site analyses and planning, renderings, facade improvement consultations, opinions of probable cost, existing conditions documentation, existing building systems assessments, preliminary code review, historic assessments, sustainability strategies, and assistance with requests for proposals. View the different kind of projects the Collaborative's worked on.
Who can volunteer?
Individuals or firms can volunteer with the Community Design Collaborative. Our volunteers are design professionals and include:
- Registered architects and intern architects
- Registered landscape architects and landscape architectural designers
- Preservationists
- Interior designers
- Urban planners
- Civil, mechanical and plumbing, and electrical engineers
- Cost estimators
- Graphic designers
How many volunteers work on a project?
Each project team is composed of two to six volunteers. The team may include volunteers from a range of disciplines and levels of experience. Each team has a lead volunteer who acts as primary client contact and can coordinate additional meetings.
How much time is a volunteer expected to donate?
A volunteer typically donates twenty to thirty hours of professional services over a six-month period. Volunteers for half-day consultations—multi-disciplinary assessments of existing buildings—donate ten to twenty hours of professional services over a four-month period. We occasionally organize one-day volunteer opportunities like charrettes.
Can I volunteer for a specific project?
Once you sign up, we'll send you quarterly email bulletins listing potential projects and volunteer opportunities. Interest is high, so notify us immediately when you see a project that you or your firm would like to volunteer for.
How do I get selected for a project?
Volunteers are selected on a first-come first-served basis and with consideration for matching skills and specific disciplines with project requirements.
What's the process for working on and completing a project?
There are several milestones in the design process. Projects begin with a kick-off meeting to orient the volunteer team. Your team arranges several on-site meetings with the nonprofit during the course of the project - including an initial site visit, a midterm presentation to discuss work in progress and a final presentation of completed preliminary design services. Your team will also make midterm and final presentations to the Collaborative's Project Review Committee, where you'll receive feedback and advice from peer professionals.
What is the product?
Once preliminary design services are completed, the Collaborative compiles the products into a report. The report provides a way for our nonprofit clients to present the preliminary design work in full to potential funders, consultants, and constituent supporters.
How will volunteering benefit me?
Volunteers can earn IDP and continuing education credits, tackle design and technical issues outside their current professional practice, meet people and organizations engaged in community development, and use their skills to serve communities and improve the built environment
How can I sign up?
Sign up online.
More questions?
Contact us at cdesignc@cdesignc.org or 215.587.9290.
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