Blog

This May, Mangrove celebrated 15 years in business. In the last decade and a half, we’ve had the opportunity to work with hundreds of changemaking organizations, from non-profits to large mission-driven corporations in the USA and Canada. These opportunities have allowed us to use our expertise of building websites and brands to tangibly support a wide range of our clients’ meaningful work. As we move into another new chapter, we revisit some of the pivotal moments of our past and offer a glimpse of where we’re headed next. Join us…

One scholarship program alone can’t erase the systemic barriers faced by aspiring designers who identify as Black, Indigenous or as a person of color, but through the Manitoba Studio Fund, we’re addressing the issue head-on. In collaboration with Design Professionals of Canada and six other Manitoba-based design studios, the fund was established four years ago and has since awarded $9,000 to eight student recipients. We take a deeper look at the goals and impact of the scholarship.

Giving Tuesday is on November 28. At Mangrove, we get excited about charitable organizations and ways to support them. Our work and connection with nonprofits means we know of some great change-making organizations that would benefit greatly from your support. Here’s our list—in no particular order.

In 2022 we reconfirmed the “rightness” of the path we set ourselves on— to operate our organization according to shared principles and a greater purpose beyond just profit.

It was a year that saw us evolve and improve, albeit in different ways than we originally planned. We assessed and prepared for a new business partnership, fine-tuned our co-leadership approach, and enhanced our power distribution to create more balance.

After sharing how we team sourced our company values in a B Corp webinar, we realized that sharing this information might be beneficial to our peers interested in doing the same. Engaging your team in identifying company values isn’t necessarily “easy” work, but it is a straightforward and extremely beneficial exercise.

Earth Day provided us with a humbling lesson this year that is worth sharing with our community. Without much forethought, we planned a photo slideshow to celebrate the “beautiful places that inspire our team to stay committed to sustainability.” And then we realized a glaring blind spot.

Mangrove trees are pretty amazing. In honor of Earth Month, we’re sharing an interview with Alfredo Quarto, Co-founder and International Program and Policy Director of Mangrove Action Project (MAP), an organization that we are proud to support. MAP’s work aims to boost awareness of the importance of mangroves with hands-on curriculum and community involvement.

As a purpose-driven company and B Corp, it’s important that we do everything we can to understand how we as individuals and as a company perpetuate systemic injustice.

Over the years, our team has thought in depth about how we can make the greatest impact with our philanthropic dollars. We at various points considered participating in fantastic 1% for the Planet program, but ultimately decided its focus wasn’t broad enough for us. So, we decided to create our own parameters.

As we wrapped up the month of May at Mangrove, I felt that it wouldn’t be right to pass by our 10 year Mangrove anniversary without taking a moment to celebrate it. My mom might be the only one who reads this entire post, but this exercise in its own right is an important one. It’s always good to make time to celebrate the wins, look ahead, and recommit to where we’re going. Over the last decade, I have been lucky to work with an amazing team, and with many clients that continue to fulfill my original vision of creating websites for good people doing great work. Here’s a peek into the history that made us who we are today.