A common and nuanced field to walk in pro bono project spaces is in generating alignment, understanding, and honoring of the effort and resources required to move through the project work being offered. In a capitalist society where money is the ultimate definer of value, a free project may be undervalued or deprioritized (with much empathy and care for our often overworked and overwhelmed client counterparts). In certain spaces, it may be supportive, clarifying, and invigorating to introduce a memorandum of understanding (MOU) - a tool that can serve as a grounding point for not only what the project entails but also many possible norms and approaches that both evaluator and pro bono client can come back to throughout the project.

We recognize that an MOU may not be appropriate in all pro bono relationships.