Designing a culture of giving

“When someone’s starting out with nothing more than an air mattress, the space around them shapes how they see their worth—and that’s the gap we’re trying to close.”

That’s how interior designer Evan Comella describes the volunteer work he performs with Chair-ity, a delightfully named Ohio-based nonprofit that helps young people aging out of foster care furnish their first adult homes. Comella got involved with Chair-ity through his employer Bialosky, an architecture, design, and planning firm with offices in Cincinnati, Cleveland, and New York City. 

AIA talked to three Bialosky employees about the firm’s philanthropic endeavors, which are so integral to its identity that they make up the largest section of the firm’s About page. The employees revealed the value of firm-supported volunteer opportunities, plus what firms setting up similar programs can learn from their experiences.

The MLK Day of Service

The Bialosky program that linked Comella with Chair-ity is called the MLK Day of Service. Now in its second year, the program sets aside Martin Luther King Jr. Day as an intentional, accessible opportunity to volunteer. 

One of the program’s leaders is Hallie Crouch, Assoc. AIA, a partner at Bialosky and a member of AIA’s Strategic Council. She describes the MLK Day of Service as a “choose-your-own adventure” event. Employees can design their day as a mix of volunteering, working, or spending time with family members who may be off for the federal holiday.  

Each October, planning begins for the next year’s MLK Day of Service. A committee sets up morning volunteering options on Cleveland’s West Side and East Side as well as afternoon options that are typically close to Bialosky’s office. The committee curates a variety of missions, with the goal of giving employees diverse options and increased knowledge of Cleveland’s civic landscape. At the same time, the committee seeks to achieve a meaningful showing of employees at each site. 

Comella and Chair-ity

For the most recent MLK Day of Service, Comella chose to work with Chair-ity, and he has subsequently continued to volunteer there. The workflow looks like this: Organizers link Comella with an adult departing foster care, providing a sheet that outlines what the young adult needs and their personal style preferences, such as the color schemes and furniture they tend to like. 

The next step is a FaceTime call between Comella and the young adult, which lets Comella see their space and learn more about what they’re looking for furniture-wise. The two also exchange pictures of options over text messages. “It’s super collaborative with the individual on that personal level. … It’s really fun being able to bounce back and forth,” says Comella.

Once the individual has decided on furniture, movers bring it into their space. (Donated furniture makes up most of Chair-ity’s stock, save for mattresses, which are new. The organization also provides other home essentials, like kitchen equipment.)

The homes that Chair-ity furnishes become spaces that “individuals can really enjoy and feel comfortable and safe in,” says Comella. That sense of stability can be life-changing for someone coming out of foster care, which often involves the emotional and logistical toll of moving between households frequently.

For their part, Chair-ity appreciates volunteers with design skills like Comella. In an email, Jaz Robinson, Chair-ity’s director of operations, wrote, “Evan’s participation with Bialosky was much appreciated! … We love getting volunteers involved in [design] because the one-on-one interaction with the youth is so rewarding for both parties and makes what we do that much more personalized.”

Design for Good

This year, Bialosky launched a program called Design for Good, which will grant up to $20,000 in pro bono design services to Cleveland-area nonprofit organizations. Potential services include master planning, site planning, and design consultations, among other offerings. Bialosky intends to repeat the program annually, accepting applications each spring and selecting awardees based on proposals’ urgency and scope as well as applicants’ budgets. 

The program’s lead facilitator, Brian Meng, is a partner at Bialosky who says Design for Good came from a desire to intentionally construct a philanthropic program. Meng describes it as a chance to “focus Bialosky’s services in a more impactful way” (as opposed to reacting to pro bono opportunities as they happen to come along).

Meng is optimistic about Design for Good’s potential: “Even $20,000 of design services can really help springboard bigger things within an organization.” That’s especially true for nonprofits that may have limited financial resources. 

Benefits for all

Along with helping nonprofit organizations and communities, successful volunteer programs benefit participating firms and employees. Comella says that as someone working in an industry where projects take years to complete, he appreciates that volunteering with Chair-ity lets him see an impact over the course of just a few days. “We’re always thinking about how space impacts people—but with this work, you see that impact immediately, on a deeply personal level,” he says.

According to Meng, volunteering programs offer a chance for employees to try tasks and develop skills they don’t always have access to in their day-to-day jobs. For instance, the right project can offer a structured chance for someone to take on a “design role, leadership role, or project management role” that builds their abilities or creates new ones.

Volunteering is also a natural way to strengthen camaraderie between colleagues, per Meng: “When we’re out there moving furniture and stacking boxes and working toward a common goal, it’s very meaningful as a cultural team-bonding experience.”

And Crouch says that the MLK Day of Service has the potential to link employees with organizations they end up volunteering with past the initial service event. Comella’s continued involvement with Chair-ity is one such instance. “I hope for more stories like that, where people find a great match because of the MLK Day of Service,” says Crouch.

Setting up successful programs

For firms creating volunteering programs, Crouch recommends setting aside dedicated volunteering time and giving employees the power to choose how and where they spend that time. She also emphasizes the importance of having an organized committee. In Bialosky’s case, the committee eases the process for employees by preparing volunteer forms, giving updates, and organizing service sites. The combination of employee choice and committee support helped the MLK Day of Service achieve an 80% participation rate this year.

Meng encourages firms to learn from existing programs. For instance, to find guidance on shaping Design for Good, Meng interviewed Michael Hsu Office of Architecture, a firm that runs a pro bono program, and the Cleveland Foundation, a nonprofit focused on improving lives in the greater Cleveland area.

Crouch and Meng both suggest that firms self-analyze what they can offer in terms of logistics and skillsets. For instance, a particular time of year might be well-suited for a firm to ramp up its volunteering efforts, and a firm that focuses on residential work may be able to have a life-changing impact by taking on small pro bono home renovation projects. They also suggest analyzing data on the cost and impact of past pro bono efforts to inform new program offerings.

Comella says that Bialosky’s emphasis on volunteering starts with the firm’s leadership and filters down through the organization, which is a major part of what makes Bialosky’s efforts successful: “Everybody here likes to get involved and give back.” Comella also appreciates that managers empower employees to pursue volunteer opportunities.

While Bialosky celebrated its 75th anniversary this year, firms don’t need a long history of service to make an impact. Any firm can contribute “time, talent, or treasure,” says Meng, referring to giving volunteer hours, skills-based services, or financial resources. “There are so many ways to participate in building up your community.”

Interested in volunteering with Chair-ty? Learn more at their website. Want to volunteer through AIA? Sign up to become a mentor or ask your chapter about volunteering opportunities.

Danielle Steger is AIA’s senior manager, editorial & publications.