Getting the most from a pro bono or volunteer expert

This guide is for whoever at your charity will be the main contact for a volunteer expert: an accountant reviewing your books, a lawyer reading a lease, a designer making a logo, a developer fixing your website. Pro bono means professional work given free "for the public good". A volunteer expert's time is a real gift, and gifts of skill work best when both sides know what's expected. After reading, you'll know how to run a short kickoff, keep the work moving, handle the moment the job starts to grow, and close it well.

Before the first call

You've agreed in principle. Now spend 20 minutes getting ready, so the expert's first hour goes on the work and not on finding things.

• Name one contact. One person at your charity answers the expert's questions and makes small decisions. If the board must approve the final result, say who and when.
• Re-read your request. Our guide on asking for skilled help explains how to scope one. If the request is fuzzy, sharpen it now.
• Gather the materials the expert will need, and decide how you'll share them safely. Share only what the work needs.
• Check the calendar. Note any deadline that matters, like a board meeting, a grant due date or an event.

Run a short kickoff

A kickoff is the first working conversation, usually 30 minutes by video or phone. It sets the tone for everything after. Cover five things:

1. The problem and the goal. Say it in your own words, then let the expert ask questions. They may see the problem differently, and that's part of the value.
2. What "done" looks like. Agree one sentence: "This is done when…".
3. What's not included. Saying out loud what's outside the job is the easiest way to prevent misunderstandings later.
4. How you'll work. How often you'll check in, which channel you'll use, and how fast each side will usually reply.
5. The timeline. The finish date, and any point along the way where you'll review a draft.

Write the scope down

After the kickoff, send a short written summary the same day. A scope is the agreed description of the work: what's in, what's out, and when it's due. It doesn't need to be formal. Five lines is plenty:

Work: Review our volunteer handbook for legal risks. Done when: we have a marked-up copy with comments. Not included: rewriting the handbook, or advice on our lease. Timing: comments by March 1, then a 30-minute call. Contacts: Ana (us), Sam (expert).

On the Golden Hint Exchange, you and the other charity accept a short agreement covering the scope, time, format and credits before work starts, and the credits are held until you both confirm the work is done. Keep your written summary in the exchange's messages, so the record of what you agreed sits in one place. See the credit rules for how holds, completion and disputes work.

Keep the work moving

Most volunteer projects don't fail. They stall. The expert waits for an answer, gets busy with paid work, and three months later nobody remembers where things stood.

• Reply quickly. Aim to answer the expert's questions within a day or two. Your speed sets theirs.
• Keep check-ins short and regular. A five-minute message every week or two ("Here's where we are, here's what we need from you") beats a long meeting once a month.
• Make decisions on time. If you need the board's view, get it before the expert is left waiting.
• Say early if your plans change. If your priorities shift, tell the expert straight away. It's kinder than letting them finish work you no longer need.

When the job starts to grow

Scope creep is when a piece of work slowly grows beyond what was agreed: "While you're in there, could you also…". It's the most common reason volunteer projects run late or end badly. It usually comes from good intentions on both sides.

When you notice it, pause and name it:

• Finish first, then ask. "Could we finish the handbook review as agreed, then talk about whether you'd be willing to look at the lease as a separate piece?"
• Swap, don't stack. If something new is more urgent, agree what comes out to make room.
• Write the change down. If you both agree to change the scope, update your written summary. On the Exchange, agree a new or changed exchange rather than stretching the old one.

If the expert is the one adding work, thank them, and check that it's something you want and can use.

Give useful feedback

Experts want to know whether their work helped. Feedback is part of the thank-you, not a complaint.

• Be specific. "The new budget layout let our board see the gap in one glance" is more useful than "Great job".
• Be honest about drafts. If something isn't right, say so early and say why, so there's time to fix it.
• Ask for their view too. "What would have made this easier for you?" Their answer will improve your next request.

Close it well

A good ending makes it likely the expert will help again, or tell a friend.

1. Confirm it's done. Check the result against your "done when" sentence. On the Exchange, both sides confirm completion, and only then do the credits move.
2. Get the handover. Make sure you have every file, login and note you need, and that someone at your charity knows how to use what was made.
3. Remove access. Take the expert off any shared accounts or folders they no longer need. Our cybersecurity guide explains why this matters for everyone, not just volunteers.
4. Say thank you, specifically. Say what the help made possible. Ask whether they'd like to be named in your newsletter or annual report, and respect their answer.
5. Leave an honest review. On the Exchange, each side can leave a short review. Keep it fair and factual.

Records and taxes, briefly

• Keep a simple record of who helped, what they did and roughly how many hours. The Form 990 asks for the number of volunteers, and the IRS says a reasonable estimate is fine if you don't track it. The Form 990 instructions say not to count the value of donated services as contributions, or in the program figures in Part III; you can describe them in words.
• Don't promise a tax deduction for time. IRS Publication 526 says a volunteer can't deduct the value of their time or services. Some unreimbursed out-of-pocket costs of volunteering may be deductible; point volunteers to the publication rather than giving tax advice.
• Don't blur paid and unpaid work. The U.S. Department of Labor says your paid employees can't volunteer to do the same kind of work they're paid for. Our volunteer management guide covers the basics.

Your working-together checklist

• We named one contact at our charity, and who has the final say.
• We held a short kickoff covering the goal, "done", what's not included, how we'll work and the timeline.
• We sent a written scope summary the same day.
• We answer the expert's questions within a day or two.
• We check in briefly every week or two.
• We pause and agree in writing before the work grows.
• Our board, not the volunteer, makes decisions with legal or money consequences.
• We confirmed the result against our "done when" sentence and got every file.
• We removed access the expert no longer needs.
• We said a specific thank-you and left an honest review.

Skilled help is one of the best gifts a small charity can receive, and one of the easiest to waste. A little structure turns a kind offer into lasting change. When you're ready for your next piece of help, find it on the Exchange.