We love creating beautiful things for our clients, especially when it benefits our fellow citizens. That’s why we are proud to work with the McGregor Fund.
Renowned in Detroit for its generosity and intelligent approach to giving, 2016 found the McGregor Fund re-evaluating how to better serve our city. Ongoing internal discussions examined both the founders’ intent and shifting economic realities, while identifying the Detroiters who could benefit the most from grants and partnerships. As this was a crossroads moment for the Fund, they needed a design firm to walk along with them as they finished the process.
While they re-defined their grantmaking framework, they asked M3D to create a new website that would reflect the Fund’s new priorities, showcase their philosophy, and provide a clear, user-friendly way for grant seekers to access information. Of course we leapt at the chance to design for an organization we already knew and admired.
Founded by Tracy and Katherine McGregor in 1925, the McGregor Fund’s chief mission is “to relieve the misfortunes and promote the well-being of mankind.” To continuously adhere to this mission in a changing Detroit, in mid-2017, the Fund formally announced they would now be concentrating their grant priorities on strengthening the social safety net and alleviating poverty.
To tell the story of this process and revised grant focus, we partnered with the Fund’s directors to identify their primary design goals and to translate the new grant priorities into concise, actionable visual and written content.
M3D principals, designers, photographers, writers and front- and back-end web developers worked closely with the Fund to precisely convey detailed histories, program descriptions and grant information in the new site. We built in a new grant application process, while refining the Fund’s overall messaging to focus on essential details of services, grant priorities and available resources.
Non-profit work has unique requirements: significant attention to detail; coordination across many actors, including trustees, founders, staff and organizations and individuals served; and careful, targeted resourcing to maximize output while minimizing costs. We handled all technical and design aspects for the client, while maintaining our absolute commitment to gorgeous design, superb user experience and a clear, cohesive brand experience.
Several M3D team members, including our CEO Melissa Halpin, have worked for, consulted to, and volunteered on behalf of various non-profits, from museums and environmental advocacy to a range of education and children’s support organizations. Serving our communities, both in Detroit and beyond, is a key commitment for us as an organization and as individuals.
While we’re excited to participate in Detroit’s growth, we’ve also observed many long-time residents and communities being left behind. It is our privilege to serve organizations, like the McGregor Fund, who are working to change this, and we look forward to supporting the Fund’s good work in the years ahead.