discounts to non-profit
Thread poster: April Berumen
April Berumen
April Berumen  Identity Verified
Local time: 04:18
English to Spanish
+ ...
May 22, 2002

I hope I\'m not repeating past posts. I was reading about this subject not too long ago, and unfortunately I don\'t remember where...



Anyway, I have been offered a large translation for a religious organization...they of course want a discount...what has been your experience? How much, if any, of a discount do you offer?



TYIA!

AB



 
Eivind Lilleskjaeret
Eivind Lilleskjaeret  Identity Verified
Local time: 12:18
English to Norwegian
+ ...
Do you agree with the message? May 22, 2002

Hello,



I would ask myself: \"Do I feel any affinity with the message of this text and with the profile of the non-profit organisation?\" I.e.: Are you willing to work for less to spread the message? I know I would, given the right cause, and I have done so on several occasions; ask yourself how much translating this particular text is worth to you as opposed to, say, a printer maintenance manual.



Also, to operate with several price levels according to th
... See more
Hello,



I would ask myself: \"Do I feel any affinity with the message of this text and with the profile of the non-profit organisation?\" I.e.: Are you willing to work for less to spread the message? I know I would, given the right cause, and I have done so on several occasions; ask yourself how much translating this particular text is worth to you as opposed to, say, a printer maintenance manual.



Also, to operate with several price levels according to the nature of the client and, possibly, negotiations is quite normal and the necessity to do so seems self-evident to me: Agency - Own client; Big, wealthy corporation - NPO. There will always be a difference between your listed rate and the rate you are willing to work for -- that\'s the frame you have to manoeuvre within. My advice would be to set a rate in the lower part of that frame and offer it as a discounted \"NPO-rate\".



If you have no affinity with the NPO or the message, and if you have sufficient work otherwise, I wouldn\'t bother if I were you. You might get in a state over the content, just to aggravate the fact that you are working for peanuts.

[ This Message was edited by: on 2002-05-22 08:41 ]
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Maya Jurt
Maya Jurt  Identity Verified
Switzerland
Local time: 12:18
French to German
+ ...
Most of the time: NO, no discount May 22, 2002

NGOs and other charitable and humanitarian organizations profit largely from professionals who feel almost compelled to help them out for free.



The Geneva International Interpreters Organization - a member told me just recently - has decided to ask the members not to continue to do free interpreting for them.



I have recently been approached by a friend working for such a Swiss organization for a small job. I told her I would do it for free, because of h
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NGOs and other charitable and humanitarian organizations profit largely from professionals who feel almost compelled to help them out for free.



The Geneva International Interpreters Organization - a member told me just recently - has decided to ask the members not to continue to do free interpreting for them.



I have recently been approached by a friend working for such a Swiss organization for a small job. I told her I would do it for free, because of her, because of the good job the organization was doing. She refused. She said we were all exploited by those organizations.



They have a budget and they should provide for those jobs. Every single organization exists because they are sponsored, the get money from the churches, the members, the government. They can pay.



They are clients like anyone else. If you believe what they are doing, become a member, pay a membership fee. But don\'t work for free, don\'t give discounts.



My two Swiss francs, since unfortunately, we do not have the Euro.



Maya
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jccantrell
jccantrell  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 04:18
Member (2005)
German to English
Never say never.... May 22, 2002

While I personally have never given a discount, I have worked for the federal government here in the USA at about 60% of the rate I charged agencies. Why? Simple. They paid regularly (no mean feat in today\'s world), the deadlines were loooooong (can you say \"Glacial?\" I knew you could) and the texts were interesting (one day, rocket launches in South America, next time, spectroscopy).

Of course, I had started with these guys when I was new to free-lancing in the USA, but I stuck wit
... See more
While I personally have never given a discount, I have worked for the federal government here in the USA at about 60% of the rate I charged agencies. Why? Simple. They paid regularly (no mean feat in today\'s world), the deadlines were loooooong (can you say \"Glacial?\" I knew you could) and the texts were interesting (one day, rocket launches in South America, next time, spectroscopy).

Of course, I had started with these guys when I was new to free-lancing in the USA, but I stuck with them because of these factors. I learned something new with virtually EVERY translation. Of course, their priority dropped every time I got another job or the wife said, \"Let\'s go to the beach.\"

All in all, I agree with Eivind. Put a value on the intangibles associated with the job and determine whether you can afford to pay for them out of your own pocket.

While I am against discounts in general, I do have different rates for different customers. These vary based on several factors. If you want to do the job, a lower rate may just be worth it to you.
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Eivind Lilleskjaeret
Eivind Lilleskjaeret  Identity Verified
Local time: 12:18
English to Norwegian
+ ...
Voluntary work is not exploitation... May 22, 2002

...not everything can be converted into hard currency... and besides, Maya, nobody talked about working for free here -- all that was mentioned was a possible discount. Of course, if you know that any funds saved on the translation will just serve to add to an already bulging champagne-and-caviar kitty, well, have no mercy. But not all NPOs are all that wealthy, and I still maintain that if you have a personal interest in getting their message across, a small discount is perfectly OK. There is n... See more
...not everything can be converted into hard currency... and besides, Maya, nobody talked about working for free here -- all that was mentioned was a possible discount. Of course, if you know that any funds saved on the translation will just serve to add to an already bulging champagne-and-caviar kitty, well, have no mercy. But not all NPOs are all that wealthy, and I still maintain that if you have a personal interest in getting their message across, a small discount is perfectly OK. There is no need to fear being exploited as long as the rate you get is acceptable to you.Collapse


 
Maya Jurt
Maya Jurt  Identity Verified
Switzerland
Local time: 12:18
French to German
+ ...
Just reported what was said to me. May 22, 2002

Eivind, remember: I was the one turned down when I offered to work for free. And then I was paid a good rate.



And I also said: most of the time, not all the time, no discount.



If you feel close to an organization or if you like what they are doing, you offer your help spontaneously. You do not go and ask your colleagues for advice.



And: have you ever checked the salaries some, not all, heads of NGOs draw? I could sing you songs abou
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Eivind, remember: I was the one turned down when I offered to work for free. And then I was paid a good rate.



And I also said: most of the time, not all the time, no discount.



If you feel close to an organization or if you like what they are doing, you offer your help spontaneously. You do not go and ask your colleagues for advice.



And: have you ever checked the salaries some, not all, heads of NGOs draw? I could sing you songs about this.
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discounts to non-profit







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