Mailchimp is weird in a lot of ways. One thing that makes us different from many other tech companies is that we don’t have investors. We’re privately owned, bootstrapped, and proud of it. We chart our own course, guided by our core values and the needs of our users.
But one day a few months back it struck me that Mailchimp actually does have investors: our nearly 1,000 employees.
We all work hard to make a great product and support our users. We’re good at what we do, and our business is profitable. If we only cared about making money, we’d just line our coffers and move on. But we’ve always thought ourselves as being part of a community, and that comes with great responsibility.
That’s why, since 2013, we’ve invested more than $3 million in organizations in our hometown of Atlanta.
In particular, we’re committed to adding value to the many small and medium-sized nonprofits doing amazing work in the city. Organizations of this size are often unheralded underdogs, and we take pride in helping them succeed.
But it’s not just about “giving back” or “doing good.” We expect something in return, but our ROI is pretty different too, I guess. What we want is an Atlanta that’s better, weirder, and more human.
This spring, we decided it was time to report back to our investors. We did this project for our employees, but we’re sharing it with the world to further elevate the individuals and organizations that inspire us. Have a look:
We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, but there’s always more work to do. Is there an organization or project you think we should know about? Send it our way.