A growing number of designers are weaving social justice, mission-driven work and philanthropic endeavors into their firm’s DNA. Here’s how to make giving back (and maybe even changing the world) a building block of your own business.

Design, by its very nature, is a radical act of transformation. But historically, the interior design industry has catered to the select few who can afford the luxury of beautiful, personalized spaces. Fortunately, there’s a growing movement among design professionals to harness their talents for the greater good—whether that’s finding new ways to raise money for a worthy cause or donating their design time to people and places that need it most.

When Washington, D.C.–based designer Kia Weatherspoon founded her own firm in 2012, she went a step further, putting design equity at the forefront of her company’s mission. After a career working on multi-family developments at other firms, she landed her first solo project in the nonprofit space, reimagining the common areas of a transitional housing shelter for domestic violence survivors. She started the project the way she approached all of her work: by interviewing the stakeholders. But when she met with the women and children who lived at the shelter, she was surprised to encounter pushback. “I went in there exuberant and excited to provide my design services, and they said to me, ‘One, calm down. Two, we don’t need this,’” recalls Weatherspoon. “I realized they didn’t know how a well-designed space could impact their life. For me, the next step was to work not for the women, but with them to create an uplifting space.”