Be bold, be insightful, be imaginative, and share success. These are the values that creative agency and Habitat for Humanity partner CMD lives and breathes each day. Co-owner Darren Rankin embodies these values as he is inspired by CMD\u2019s commitment to community impact efforts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Covid swept across the world at the beginning of March of last year, the Portland area\u2019s economy and small businesses took a huge hit. At the same time, Darren and his team at CMD found that they had a little spare time and wonderful talent to put to good use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJohn O\u2019Connell and I had the idea to create Open for Business<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>an initiative that exists today that we’re really excited about,\u201d explains Darren. \u201cIn 2020 and early 2021 we helped around 40 different small businesses here in the Portland area and we are looking forward to doing more in 2022.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Darren describes the initiative as \u201cmatch-making for small businesses and talent looking to help;\u201d aligning creative talents, either freelancers or agencies, with small businesses that need some level of pro bono marketing and design resources. Now, as we head into the new year, Think Northwest, formerly known as the Portland Ad Federation, loved the Open for Business initiative so much that they are taking it on as one of their core social impact initiatives for 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to supporting small businesses, CMD has a tradition of supporting local nonprofits through its own social impact committee. After their staff volunteered to build homes with Habitat in NE Portland\u2019s Cully neighborhood, CMD decided to choose Habitat for Humanity Portland Region as its primary nonprofit pro bono partner for 2020 and 2021. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI just love the utility of getting out there on the build site, grabbing a shovel, getting dirty, and doing work,\u201d shares Darren. \u201cWhen the family sees their new house, you get chills, you get excited, and you realize you just did something amazing. Habitat for Humanity became a very easy partnership for us to focus on and continue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of CMD\u2019s first projects with Habitat was a complex task: to create an educational video and a brief overview of Portland\u2019s legacy of systemic racism in housing that still continues to impact Black communities today. The video complements Habitat\u2019s Race and Housing blog series<\/a> and helps educate our local community on Portland\u2019s history of discrimination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n