Why Ginger and Tall chose to work only with charities

When I founded Ginger and Tall, I always believed design could be used to help people, not just to sell things. For a long time, the business looked fairly typical for a small design studio. We worked with a mix of commercial clients and charities, with social impact sitting alongside everything else rather than driving it.

In 2024, I made a conscious decision to change that. Instead of treating charity work as a bolt-on or a CSR strand, I chose to make it the whole focus of the business. That meant reshaping how Ginger and Tall worked, who we worked with, and how we made decisions day to day.

We moved to supporting charities and third sector organisations almost exclusively. I knew this wasn’t the most profitable route in the short term, but it felt like the right one. I led the shift personally, changing our client base and how we work so our values show up in practice, not just on a website.

Making values real

One of our core values is people before pixels, and that genuinely guides the choices I make. It’s not a slogan. It affects who we work with, what we say yes to, and what we walk away from.

I regularly turn down work, including well-paid projects, if it doesn’t sit comfortably with our purpose. We don’t see charities as a money tree. We work alongside real people under pressure, often with limited budgets, tight deadlines and a lot of responsibility. Living our values means adapting how we support them and choosing impact over short-term gain, even when that’s uncomfortable.

Choosing focus over playing it safe

Specialising fully in the charity sector was a strategic decision, but it was also a risk. Turning away work reduces income in the short term, and that matters when you have staff to support.

This caused some sleepless nights.

But trying to be everything to everyone was holding the business back. I strongly believe strategy is about knowing what to say no to. By understanding our numbers and being honest about where we do our best work, I made a deliberate choice to focus, reduce distraction and build something more sustainable.

Handling change without burning bridges

When we stopped working with non-charity clients, it wasn’t a blanket goodbye. I made sure there were proper handovers and that relationships were handled with respect.

Internally, the team was involved in the change and understood why we were doing it. Our charity clients have been very supportive of the focus and often refer us because they believe in what we’re doing. Suppliers were largely unaffected but supportive. Being open, fair and consistent helped balance different interests without compromising our values.

Building a business, not just a studio

As the business grew, I had to stop thinking like an individual designer and start thinking like a company. I developed the operating plan and led a restructure that clarified roles, delegated responsibility and trusted people to lead in areas they’re stronger in than I am.

That shift allowed me to focus on strategy, leadership and relationships rather than trying to do everything myself. I’ve also built links with universities to support research and future talent, which helps strengthen the business beyond the day-to-day workload.

Staying close to quality and impact

I stay closely involved in overseeing quality and performance. I don’t see design as a commodity, so I make sure our work always aligns with what clients are actually trying to achieve.

A lot of our value comes from helping organisations think things through, not just producing assets. We’re often trusted at difficult moments, not just when things are going well, and that only happens because we listen, stay involved and care about the outcome.

Why this approach works

The biggest change at Ginger and Tall was making social impact the business model, not an add-on. In 2024, around 30 percent of our income came from charity work. Today, it’s over 95 percent.

We worked with 65 charities in 2025. This year our target is 80.

That didn’t happen by accident. By committing fully to one space, we became much better at understanding the pressures charities face, from funding and governance to confidence and capacity. That depth of understanding has become our competitive advantage.

In many ways, what we’re doing shouldn’t feel innovative. But in practice, committing fully to purpose over profit, and sticking to it, is unusual. By embedding that choice into strategy, operations and leadership behaviour, we’ve built a focused, resilient business with clear differentiation and real social impact.

If you’re a charity looking for design support, we’d love to talk. And if you’re exploring similar decisions in your own organisation, I’m always happy to share what we learned.