We opened the doors in 1978. That’s when Denny Williams started writing copy and providing advice to a few Midwestern companies. More than 40 years later, we are a 25-person full-service communication firm serving clients around the world.
IN OUR FIRST TWO DECADES, we worked extensively in the office furniture industry, and we retain deep roots in this sector.
THROUGHOUT THE 1990s, we grew expertise in work culture communications and began engaging with a broader set of Fortune 500 clients in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
IN 1998, we entered the philanthropy sector through our work with Michigan community foundations, which quickly scaled to include national foundations, nonprofits and associations.
TODAY, we help individuals, organizations and businesses of all kinds communicate with the people they care about most.
We believe what we have is special, and worth sustaining. We manage our enterprise with a 50-year horizon—by putting client needs at the center of everything we do, investing in talented people who share our values and making sure we operate from a secure financial position.
Caring is a big part of our formula for success. We're always mindful of doing the right thing for our projects—and for the people and places our work involves.
We’re a community of learners and achievers who value a job well done. Our process is designed to yield an exemplary output and an addicting experience. We thrive in the thick of complex challenges and in the margins of nuance, and will find the right solution for your business or cause.
Content development, information design, creative writing, systems engineering and graphic design are the tools we use to achieve effective communications. But it is our quality of thinking, our commitment to providing an outstanding experience and our readiness to do whatever it takes that allows us to exceed expectations and set a new precedent again and again.
At Williams Group, we believe in the power of community. By joining Wg—as an associate, client or vendor—you’re signing up for a meaningful, collaborative and enduring experience.
Our Wg family extends beyond the people who work here, enveloping our families, our customers and our community in a space that feels like home.
We believe we have a responsibility to contribute to the growth and vibrancy of our community and our world.
Williams Group gives at least 10 percent of our annual profits to charities and institutions doing good work. Each year, we write checks on behalf of each of our associates to support the causes they care about most.
We also make ongoing commitments to Heart of West Michigan United Way, which receives $25,000 from our 25-person team annually.
Our three-year pro bono commitment supported a brand and materials refresh for Kids’ Food Basket, an organization that feeds thousands of local children affected by hunger each day.
We believe quality education is essential to democracy—and we support local public schools accordingly.
Wg donated funds to completely furnish a new library at Congress Elementary School, an inspiring place of growth and learning close to our hearts (we’re weekly pen pals with their fifth-grade class).
Our multi-month contribution of pro bono services helped launch the West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology (WMCAT), an organization offering career-enhancing, life-affirming programs for all ages.
We also have provided hundreds of hours of pro bono services to help the Student Advancement Foundation in its support of Grand Rapids Public Schools.
We believe that diversity, equity and inclusion work together to strengthen our culture, help us create great communications for our clients and contribute to a better world.
Much of our communications work is in support of organizations that are driving toward greater equity—from increasing access to the arts for diverse and immigrant populations to improving structural inequities like food and housing insecurity.
We aim to make our communications accessible, inclusive and culturally responsive—in fact, these efforts are baked into our quality assurance checks. We regularly fine-tune our language and distribution channels against these interests.
We are learning and growing. We work to create an open and affirming culture and encourage all associates to participate in education focused on equity, inclusion, diversity and cultural humility. Our efforts are supported through ongoing partnership with Inclusive Performance Strategies.
