Pro Bono Design Services: Our First Inaugural Update!

As 2022 comes to a close, we’re celebrating all the many little influences our team members have had across our industry and in our communities.  

Cushing Terrell is committed to community engagement and social action. As we see it, “social action” is a designation characterized by movement. It encompasses a wide array of needs and aspirations and includes our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiative, a commitment to sustainable design, pro bono work, and service within the communities where we live and work. 

Our communities are our homes. They sustain our families, our friends, and our business. We, in turn, use our collective efforts to give back. Every Cushing Terrell team member is encouraged to get involved in philanthropic endeavors. Be it a favorite annual event or spontaneous opportunities throughout the year, we bring an enthusiastic team and loads of positive energy.

We kicked off 2022 on the pro bono front with a new program and a clearly defined objective: to simplify and coordinate the donation of services across the firm with an orchestrated pro bono effort.

And over the next three years, we’ve committed to donating increasing services to nonprofit entities with no expectation of a fee or at a reduced fee — leveraging our collective skills and expertise to provide design services that might otherwise be out of reach. Through these efforts, we hope to positively contribute to communities and cause-based organizations that share our dedication to creating positive change.

Through our pro bono program, we leverage the talents of our creative team to support organizations in our communities who need a little design support.

2022 Highlights

With this objective in mind over the past 12 months, 17 Cushing Terrell team members donated the equivalent of $49,000 of per diem work in support of three nonprofit organizations who came to us seeking design help. These are the results of their efforts: 

American Legion, Big Timber, MT: Kitchen assessment to improve food operations. The club serves as a community hub, frequently providing lunches, dinners, and event space for weddings and other community celebrations.

• Impact: 65 Legion members and 1,600+ community members

Sacred Heart Academy, Boise, ID: Kitchen and bathroom assessment to improve flow and function of use for these never-renovated spaces.

• Impact: 250 students and 27 staff members 

Girl Scouts of America Wyoming and Montana, Billings, MT: Accessory building to house transport vehicles and support the confidence-building of budding entrepreneurs in their ever-critical annual cookie distribution.

• Impact: 10,000 area Girl Scouts and countless regional residents

Girl Scouts of America Montana and Wyoming Headquarters in Billings (accessory building designed by Cushing Terrell). Rendering credit: Dylan Davies

Donated services under our pro bono program have allowed us to impact many organizations and countless community members across municipalities, building types, and service needs. Based on the success of this year’s efforts, we are increasing our annual per diem commitment to $52,500. And next year’s pro bono pipeline is already filling up!  

But pro bono truly just scratches the surface of the sum total of this year’s social action. The Cushing Terrell team engaged in community service and fundraising activities, like Food Lifeline’s Food Frenzy in Seattle, Canstruction in Missoula, May in Motion in Boise, and Over-the-Edge in Austin, and supported large-scale equitable community building efforts like the Minneapolis Root District. 

Learn more about Cushing Terrell’s Social Action initiatives. 

We look forward to exploring new partnerships and getting to know and support more great organizations who are taking such good care of our communities!