Community Partners
We are always interested in learning about other organizations’ work and how we can be of assistance through design and planning services. We work closely with our partner organizations to develop custom projects that serve their specific needs. Partners range from small and large nonprofit organizations to cities and towns. For New Orleans nonprofits, the annual Request for Proposals (RFP) is the primary submission process for accessing our services. If the RFP isn’t currently open, or you are not a New Orleans nonprofit, feel free to reach out and our staff will be happy to discuss your project idea.
TO VIEW A past application click here
Request For Proposals Deadlines
Application Period opens on February 23rd and will close on April 1, 2026. Selected applicants will be notified in May and public announcements will go out in August.
Do You Qualify for the Program?
If you are a nonprofit organization (or operate under the fiscal sponsorship of a nonprofit organization), and you have a specific project for which you need design and planning services or visual communications support, then you qualify for this program. Small Center has worked with both large, established nonprofits and small, less formal community organizations, and we welcome proposals from groups at either end of the scale.
About the Request for Proposals (RFP)
Each Spring, Small Center invites proposals from nonprofit and community-based organizations for pro-bono design and planning services. Proposals must be for a specific project (i.e. not for ongoing design services for the organization), and the project must address a stated need that exists in the city and region. A selection panel of previous partners, local design professionals, community members, Tulane University colleagues, and Small Center alumni reviews and ranks all proposals based on our mission and our capacity. We prioritize collaborative design projects that foreground equitable approaches to addressing race, gender, and class disparities.
Our Process
At the Small Center, we tackle a variety of project types and scales — connecting them all is a process of engagement that stems from 20+ years of practice guided by six core values. Individually, these values inform our work; collectively, they provide a roadmap that guides it. Our work begins with community — naming it, bringing it together, expanding it. We believe that everyone has the right to be part of the conversations that shape our built environments. We work collaboratively — including perspectives from numerous project stakeholders allows us to see new possibilities and creates space from which a collective vision can emerge. Though our projects are small in context, we work to explore important links that bridge gaps between time, resources, and opportunities — while finding ways to communicate and amplify that knowledge. This often looks like collaborations with partners in the forms of exhibitions, published materials, design visioning, and built projects.
01
DESIGN+BUILD
This service supports small-to-medium-scale projects that can be designed and built within the time frame of an academic semester. Over the course of 15 weeks, our studio team cultivates seeds that emerge during early engagement sessions — taking them from ideas to built form. Material explorations and mock-ups allow for feedback on design ideas and serve as opportunities for students to hone fabrication skills. Once designs are completed, students construct the project throughout the remainder of the semester.
02
VISIONING / PLANNING
This service supports projects typically larger in scale and with multi-year visions for implementation — from building renovations to planning strategies. Faculty, students, and staff work with partners over several months to define project goals, develop design ideas, and provide project documentation. Deliverables include cost estimates and preliminary drawings and renderings to help promote the project for development funding and provide a baseline for working with an architect and developer going forward.
03
DESIGN CHARETTE
This service supports projects that are still in early brainstorming phases and/or could benefit from some initial design ideas and strategies to steer direction and realize possibilities. Faculty, students, and staff work with partners over the course of several meetings to identify important stakeholders to engage, outline priority areas, discuss relevant precedents, and generate visuals (sketches, schematic renderings, collages, etc.) that capture the goals of the project and set a stage for next steps.
04
VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS
This service supports projects that could benefit from strong visual products and graphic design support. Led by the Tulane School of Architecture and Built Environment’s Design program, students and faculty work with partners to develop a cohesive visual identity across graphic products including logos, audience analysis, messaging packages, and both digital and print promotional materials.
Not Sure Where Your Project Fits In?
If your organization has a site and an idea for a built structure that’s viable in a 1-semester time frame and would help advance your mission, we suggest the Design + Build category. If your end goal is beyond our build capacity but could benefit from design and planning services to aid with fundraising efforts, Design Visioning is for you. If you’re still in the early stages of idea development and could benefit from brainstorm sessions, diagrams, and concept sketches to ground your project, the Charrette category offers just that. For organizations that need brand identity support or projects that center specific issues or policies, or calls to action and require creative strategies to communicate and disseminate information, the Visual Communications category is best. If your proposal has multiple projects and could benefit from a multiyear partnership, indicate that in your application. If you are unsure where you best fit, reach out to our team at baronne@tulane.edu!