A Letter from Eric and Taylor

Eighteen years ago, we had an idea, a couple of laptops, and a 3' x 4' whiteboard sitting on a cheap easel. More than anything, we believed the internet could be used for more than selling things. We believed it could become one of the greatest tools ever created for advancing the common good.

Before there was an office, there was a dorm room. We built websites between classes, learning as we went. We weren't trying to build an agency. We were trying to help people take an idea in their head and make it real. That has always been the work: helping leaders clarify vision, helping organizations discover their voice, and creating brands and digital experiences where trust is built, stories are told, and movements grow.

In September 2010, we gave that idea a name: Whiteboard. Named after the literal whiteboard beside us every day, it became the place where vision became strategy, and strategy became brands, websites, campaigns, and organizations making a meaningful difference in the world.

One client became ten. Ten became one hundred. Eventually those relationships stretched across more than twenty countries. Along the way, we earned a few awards, became a Certified B Corporation, welcomed incredible teammates, and joined forces with Widgets & Stone and later FiveStone. Every chapter reinforced the same belief: vision, brand, and digital experience have the power to transform organizations.

Years ago, one of our mentors, Uli Becker, former CEO of Reebok, told us something we've never forgotten: "Your vision is bigger than the resources you've assembled to fulfill it." At the time, it was difficult to hear. Today, we're grateful he said it because he was right.

From the beginning, we've wanted to build more than a creative agency. We wanted to help the world's most important ideas travel farther, shape culture, and create lasting impact. We wanted to invest more deeply in our team, embrace new technologies, and continue pushing the intersection of leadership, brand, and digital experience. Our aspiration simply outpaced our ability to fund it.

Until Now.

Today, we're excited to share that Whiteboard is joining RKD Group. For nearly sixty years, RKD has helped many of the world's leading nonprofit organizations inspire generosity, strengthen donor relationships, and fund missions that improve lives every day. As we've spent time together, we've realized we've been solving different parts of the same problem. Whiteboard has helped organizations clarify who they are through brand and digital experience. RKD has helped those organizations activate generosity through fundraising, technology, data, and strategy. Together, those capabilities become something neither company could build alone.

This partnership allows us to right-size the vision. It brings together brand, creativity, fundraising, technology, and data in ways we've imagined for years while continuing to pursue what we've always believed: building an internet for good. More importantly, it gives us the opportunity to help even more organizations whose work genuinely makes the world better.

Whiteboard isn't going anywhere. Our team remains together, and our home remains Chattanooga. While most of our work has always happened far beyond Tennessee, this city is where our ideas were born, teammates became lifelong friends, and clients became collaborators. That doesn't change.

To every client who trusted us with your vision, every teammate who poured your talent into this work, and every mentor, partner, collaborator, and friend who believed in Whiteboard before there was much to believe in, thank you.

Together, we've spent nearly sixteen years proving that the right combination of vision, brand, and digital experience can change organizations, communities, and lives. We believe the next chapter allows us to do that on an even larger canvas.

We're grateful for every chapter that brought us here, and we can't wait to show you what's next.

Here to serve,

Eric and Taylor

‍