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Designed by you, celebrated by us: shining a light on the Canva community
We’re turning 10! As we look back on the last decade, we know it’s our incredible global community that got us here. From Stellar Storytellers to Dream Teams, Campaign Champions, Trailblazing Teachers, and Forces for Good, it’s time to shine a light on the inspiring stories of how you’re using Canva in creative, impactful, and powerful ways.
As Canva turns 10 in 2023, we’re celebrating an incredible journey full of milestones, evolution, and growth. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved so far, and can’t wait to continue our mission of empowering the world to design as we step into our next decade.
Most importantly as we reflect on the decade gone by, we know we couldn’t have done any of it without each of you who make up our incredible community of more than 135 million people who come to Canva each month to create amazing designs. You’re at the heart of what we’re building, and we’re blown away each and every day by the ways so many of you use Canva to unlock your creativity and achieve your goals.
The Canva Community Awards: designed by you, celebrated by us
In celebration of this exciting milestone, we want to shine a light on some of the many extraordinary stories behind the more than 15 billion designs created so far. So, nominations are now open for the second annual Canva Community Awards, where we’re inviting you to share the inspiring, creative, and powerful ways you’re bringing your ideas to life.
Fitting with the theme of our 10th birthday, there are ten award categories inspired by a combination of our values, our suite of products, and our global community:
After submissions close on October 16 2023 at 5:00pm AEDT, we’ll select three finalists for each category, which will then be up for a public vote between January 5 and February 9, 2024. The winners will be announced at our third annual Canva Create event in March 2024!
We can’t wait to see your entries – whether you’re a designer, teacher, part of a team, or a nonprofit, sharing your story could spark others to create a better world.
Our inspiring community
Over the past decade, we’ve been constantly inspired by the inventive, powerful ways our community is achieving their goals with Canva and creating impact in the world. To celebrate Canva turning 10, we’re putting a spotlight on a few of them:
Task Force Nyx
Task Force Nyx is a women-led, all-volunteer NGO, co-founded by Laura Deitz and Sara Gilliam, that fights for the futures and freedoms of Afghan women and girls. They partner with at-risk Afghan women’s rights protesters and activists in the service of advocacy, emergency protection, and access to dignified third-country resettlement and asylum.
With the mission to amplify the voices of Afghan activists, they use Canva to design fundraising reports and presentations, as well as customized case management reports highlighting the stories of Afghan women as part of their asylum replacement process. They use these reports to communicate with Embassies and other government bodies in their efforts to advocate for those who need it.
Andrea Lytle Peet
In honor of Andrea “Drea” Peet becoming the first person with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to do a marathon in all 50 US states, the ALS 50for50 Challenge asked people: “What’s your brave?” Andrea’s nonprofit, Team Drea Foundation, supports innovative research to find a cure or effective treatment for ALS.
Almost 250 people took on a personal or physical challenge based around the number 50, raising $100,000 for the cause (and doubling their goal amount). Using Canva, they shared information about ALS, fundraising updates, and stories from people taking on the ALS 50for50 Challenge and people inspired by Andrea, or who’d lost a loved one to ALS.
Their small but mighty team of 10 volunteers used Canva to create 150 pieces of social media content, and afterward, sent everyone thank-you notes using Canva’s print shop to celebrate their most ambitious campaign ever. Using Canva’s social templates and video tools, the Foundation has raised over $1 million in the eight years since.
What’s your story?
The winners of previous Canva Community Awards included Dr Tererai Trent, who used Canva to help create generational change for girls in Zimbabwe; Zolo, a sustainability startup tackling environmental issues who created their brand identity, social media content, and investor pitch decks in Canva; and Heather Lamb, head librarian at Castleberry Independent District School, Texas, for using Canva to design a library bus!
Inspired, and have your own story to share? No matter if you’re a Print Pro, Goal Getter, or Stellar Storyteller – choose your category and submit your entry now!
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