Celebrating our public charity milestone

There's something deeply satisfying about having your work officially recognized. Earlier this year, we received confirmation that DIA Design Guild is now formally classified as a 509(a)(2) public charity. 

For those unfamiliar with American nonprofit classifications, most people know about 501(c)(3) organizations, but there's an important distinction within that category. A 509(a)(2) designation means we're considered "publicly supported" rather than a private foundation. In plain terms, it recognizes that our organization thrives from a broad base of community support—through client partnerships, individual donations, and volunteer contributions—rather than relying on a single wealthy donor or endowment. We are here because of you. If you'd like to support our work, we welcome donations and volunteers. 

This recognition reflects how we operate: as a design consultancy offering social media marketing and website redesign services, we reinvest in our community through a yearlong pro bono apprentice program and mentorship.

The intentional path we chose

Building something sustainable requires navigating plenty of uncertainty along the way. There were moments over the years when I wondered if we were doing enough, moving fast enough, thinking big enough. The tech world rewards rapid scaling and exponential growth, but we've intentionally chosen a different path—one that sometimes felt lonely or left behind almost as we moved slowly to figure out our intentions. We've prioritized depth over breadth, authenticity over efficiency, community over metrics, even when it meant slower progress or smaller numbers than other approaches might have yielded. As I recently shared with a new board member, "Maybe I like going slowly because at the same time, whatever we do is very intentional."

For example, we submit proposals for projects that allow space for teaching. And clients choose for being teaching consultancies. Similar to teaching hospitals where residents learn and rack up experience, we teach through client projects.

Every mentor who's shared their wisdom, every apprentice who's trusted us with their career transition, every person who's donated coffee money or spread the word about our work—they've all contributed to something larger than any one person could create alone. This collective investment is what makes our approach genuinely community-centered rather than founder-driven.

In other words, we seek to move slowly to move forward.

What this means moving forward

Eight years in, this official recognition confirms we're on the right path. We started DIA because we wanted to be the mentors we wished we'd had, and we've built it with the kind of intentional approach that reflects those values. The designation also opens new doors for deeper partnerships and enhanced support, which means we can continue doing what we do best: creating space for authentic mentorship and meaningful career development.

— Grace Lau
Executive Director, DIA Design Guild

Want to work with DIA?

We offer consulting services in social media marketing and website redesign. Through these client projects, our apprentices gain real-world experience working alongside our team to understand client needs, navigate stakeholder goals, and learn how to balance information, needs, and intention in design work. Every project is an opportunity for meaningful mentorship and skill-building within a community-centered practice.

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About the DIA Design Guild

DIA Design Guild is a volunteer nonprofit organization dedicated to providing design education and career development opportunities to people from underrepresented backgrounds. We provide a space for people to learn from each other, collaborate on projects and share their work with the community. We offer a variety of programs, including apprenticeships, workshops, and mentorships. Our goal is to help people find their way through the UX and tech industry and to create a more diverse and inclusive design community.