How to: Raise your rates as a charity-focused freelancer
As a freelancer working with charities, it’s natural to want to keep your services affordable. Many freelancers feel deeply aligned with the missions of the organisations they support and hesitate to adjust their rates – even when they know it’s needed. But valuing your time and expertise is not at odds with doing meaningful work. In fact, fair pricing is key to running a sustainable freelance business that can continue to support the causes you care about.
Why raising your rates matters
Your rates don’t just reflect your time – they reflect your experience, reliability, and the results you deliver. As you grow in confidence, skill, and efficiency, the value you bring often increases, even if your hours stay the same. Without regular adjustments, your income can quickly fall behind inflation, rising living costs, and the market rate for your work.
As most people are aware, costs have been going up across the board in the UK over the past 12–18 months. From energy to groceries, everything is more expensive – and that includes the digital tools many freelancers rely on. If your subscription fees for design software, project management tools, or online platforms have increased, it’s worth factoring these into your annual rate review.
By charging fairly, you're also helping raise the standard for freelance work in the sector. Too often, creative professionals undersell themselves when working with charities, which contributes to unrealistic expectations and burnout.
Signs it’s time to raise your rates
It can be hard to know exactly when to raise your prices, especially if you worry about damaging client relationships. These signs suggest it might be time:
You're fully booked or consistently turning work away. This suggests demand exceeds your supply, and your pricing may no longer reflect your market position.
You’ve gained new skills or taken on more complex work. If you’re offering more value, your rate should reflect that.
Your income no longer meets your needs. This might be due to rising expenses or life changes. Your work needs to remain financially viable.
You’ve not reviewed your rates in over a year. It’s good practice to reassess annually, even if you decide not to make a change.
How much should you raise your rates?
A modest increase of 5–10% is usually manageable for most clients. If you haven’t raised your prices in a long time, or if you’ve significantly upskilled, you might consider a slightly larger adjustment in future reviews.
Keep in mind: raising your rate doesn’t mean you’re no longer accessible. You can continue offering discounts or pro bono work on your terms – but from a more stable foundation.
Using Blume to manage rate changes
If you’re a Blumer, you can update your profile rates annually on your Blume profile to reflect your evolving skills, experience, and workload. It’s a great habit to review your pricing at least once a year to ensure it still works for you and your clients.
Blume also gives you tools to communicate clearly with clients mid-project. The built-in chat and intuitive booking system make it simple to agree updated terms, manage expectations, and maintain transparency – all without awkward emails or chasing invoices.
Taking full advantage of these features can help make rate reviews a smooth, professional part of your freelance rhythm.
Communicating the change
Raising your rates is part of running a professional business, and most clients – especially those who value your work – will understand. Here’s how to approach it:
Give notice. Let existing clients know in advance (ideally 4–6 weeks) that your rates will be changing.
Be transparent and kind. Share your reasons in a warm, professional way. Emphasise your commitment to continuing high-quality work.
Keep the door open. Invite conversation. Some clients may need to adjust budgets or project scopes, but many will accept the change without hesitation.
Example:
“From [date], my rates will be increasing by 5–10%. This reflects the continued investment I’ve made in offering high-quality support to my clients and ensures I can continue working sustainably with organisations like yours.”
Final thought
Raising your rates doesn’t mean stepping away from your values – it’s about honouring them. When you charge fairly, you’re giving yourself the freedom to do your best work, avoid burnout, and build a business that supports both your life and the causes that matter most to you.
If you’ve been hesitating, let this be the nudge you need. Your work is worth it.