I have found that volunteering and charging are incompatable. This goes double for someone who is trying to establish a reputation and a client base. There are appropriate venues for volunteering music. There are benefits where many professionals give their time and talents to a cause. At such events, no one is paid. This includes staff as well as performers. Try singing for telethons or charitabile functions. That way, you will be donating your talent without jeopordising your professional standing. Jewish orginizations, Masonic lodges, community events not only have money for entertainment, they provide the lion's share of my income. It is an inescapable fact, you must be prepared to STOP singing for free if you want to get paying jobs. (The only exeptions are auditions and showcases.) And dont let anyone give you that bull about "...It will be good exposure". As Dave Van Ronk used to say, "Exposure is what a folksinger dies of, sleeping in a doorway."