The Rhizome Collaborative

What The Rhizome Collaborative does

The Rhizome Collaborative is a privately-held, woman-owned creative agency founded in 1997 by Jen Pennington and headquartered in Greenbank, Washington (Whidbey Island). The firm delivers an integrated portfolio of creative and technical services — including brand identity and graphic design, web development, copywriting, photography, video production, information architecture, and accessibility (WCAG 2.1 & 2.2) auditing — to nonprofits, fire service unions, government agencies, environmental organizations, and cultural institutions. Its core technology stack centers on WordPress and Drupal 8-9 for delivery, Airtable as a relational database backbone, and React/JavaScript/PHP/HTML/CSS for custom builds, with deep integration into third-party platforms such as Salesforce, Stripe, WooCommerce, GiveWP, Eventbrite, Mapbox, and MemberPress.

The firm operates a distributed model of long-tenured independent contractors rather than full-time employees, which keeps overhead low and supports specialized domain expertise across its target verticals. It also operates ECHO Northwest, a wholly-owned digital communications platform serving 34+ partner organizations and 80+ individual users in environmental, public health, and community safety coalitions. Internally, the firm has codified the EZ Tracker (EcoZome Tracker) methodology — an Airtable-based project management system that organizes brand assets, sprints, schedules, information architecture, and content manifests as a single source of truth across client engagements.

Revenue is generated through professional services engagements delivered on a per-project basis via direct client relationships, with no publicly disclosed pricing. Distribution is sales-led, anchored in long-term client relationships rather than channel partners or resellers, and supported by content marketing (the firm's Musings blog), a 'Learn at Lunch' Zoominar series, and a portfolio of case studies. The firm has no external funding, no parent company, and no disclosed investors.

Name

The Rhizome Collaborative

Legal name

The Rhizome Collaborative

Website

https://rhizomecollaborative.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Rhizome Collaborative is a woman-owned creative agency founded in 1997 that delivers branding, design, web development, video, and accessibility services to nonprofits, government agencies, fire service unions, and environmental organizations across the Pacific Northwest.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative and Brand Strategy Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Workplace & Collaboration Consulting (BPAHAEAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Enterprise Work Management & Collaborative Workflow Platforms (HDAEAHAI)

Keywords

• Creative agency services
• Brand identity design
• Web development services
• Nonprofit marketing
• Video production

Headquarters

HQ city

Greenbank, WA

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Creative Services: Professional services revenue from branding, design, writing, web programming, presentations, print, packaging, photography, and video services delivered to clients through project-based engagements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Rhizome Collaborative is a creative agency that delivers integrated branding, design, writing, web programming, presentations, print, packaging, photography, and video services to socially responsible organizations, cultural institutions, and planet-friendly businesses. Services are delivered by a distributed team of long-term independent contractors and span brand identity development, custom WordPress web development with accessibility compliance, UX and information architecture, content creation, and award-winning video production. The firm also operates the ECHO Northwest digital communications platform and the EZ Tracker Airtable-based project management methodology as part of its service delivery infrastructure.

Product overview

The Rhizome Collaborative is a creative agency offering a unified portfolio of services organized around brand strategy, digital design, and technical development. Its core offerings include creative services (branding, design, writing, photography, video, motion graphics), web development and technical innovation (custom WordPress sites, e-commerce, accessibility-compliant builds), and information architecture/UX. The firm also operates ECHO Northwest, a shared digital communications platform serving 34+ partner organizations, and offers its proprietary EZ Tracker (Ecozome Tracker) Airtable-based project management methodology as a core operational tool for its own work and for client projects. All offerings are delivered by a distributed team of independent contractors and are focused on socially responsible organizations, cultural institutions, environmental groups, and public-sector clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ECHO Northwest: A digital platform designed to support a coalition of private and public member organizations working together to craft awareness and actionable community and environmental health and safety communications, graphics, and technical solutions to the public. Created and managed by The Rhizome Collaborative.

Products and services

• Brand Identity & Graphic Design

Quantifiable outcome

• Increased donations over previous years for Arboretum Foundation website redesign
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration32 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Mary Jo Adams (Sound Water Stewards)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Mary Jo Adams, former volunteer and steward at Sound Water Stewards, to revive and modernize the EZ-ID Marine Species Identification database. Trained her to manage the new Airtable-based system.
• Periwinkle Press (Jan Holmes)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJan Holmes, a volunteer with a master's degree in marine biology, originally created the EZ-ID database over seven years. Rhizome honored her legacy by reimagining the database using modern technology.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Elevation Web Studio: Elevation is a web design and development agency focused exclusively on nonprofit and association clients. It is a direct peer because it competes for the same nonprofit website redesign and digital engagement work that anchors Rhizome's web development practice.
• Big Duck: Big Duck is a communications firm that specializes in branding, marketing, and visual identity for nonprofits. It is a direct peer because it serves the same nonprofit customer base with comparable brand strategy, naming, and visual identity offerings that overlap directly with Rhizome's brand identity and graphic design practice.
• Forum One: Forum One is a digital agency that builds websites, platforms, and digital experiences for nonprofits, associations, and mission-driven organizations. It is a direct peer because Rhizome serves the same customer verticals with overlapping capabilities in web development, branding, and content strategy, but at a larger scale and broader national footprint.
• Heller Consulting: Heller Consulting is a technology and CRM consultancy focused on nonprofit fundraising and constituent engagement platforms. It is a direct peer because it serves the same nonprofit customer base and overlaps with Rhizome's digital strategy and platform build work, particularly around donor and member engagement tooling.
• Wired Impact: Wired Impact builds websites, content strategies, and digital communications for nonprofits. It is a direct peer because it offers an overlapping suite of nonprofit-focused web design, content, and donor engagement services similar to Rhizome's core offering.
• Beacon Digital: Beacon Digital is a digital marketing agency that works with nonprofits and purpose-driven organizations on branding, web, and marketing strategy. It is a direct peer because its service mix and target customer base closely match Rhizome's integrated creative and digital offerings for mission-driven clients.
• MediaCause: MediaCause is a marketing and creative agency exclusively serving nonprofits and social causes. It is a direct peer because it offers nonprofit-focused branding, content, and digital campaign services that overlap with Rhizome's nonprofit segment, though with a stronger paid media orientation.
• Claxon Marketing: Claxon Marketing is a marketing consultancy that helps nonprofits and mission-driven organizations build brands and marketing capacity. It is a direct peer because it competes for similar nonprofit brand strategy, content, and communications engagements, although Claxon skews more toward consulting and capacity building.
• Chapman (now part of Goodness): Chapman is an integrated fundraising and marketing agency for nonprofits, with strengths in direct response, branding, and creative campaigns. It is a direct peer because it serves the same nonprofit segment with brand, creative campaign, and audience engagement capabilities that overlap with Rhizome's nonprofit work.

Broad incumbents

• Blue State Digital: Blue State Digital (part of Blue State) is a much larger digital agency and consultancy serving nonprofits, political campaigns, and cultural institutions. It is a broad incumbent because while it serves the same verticals and offers overlapping brand, web, and digital strategy capabilities, it operates at significantly greater scale and broader portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-rhizome-collaborative

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Rhizome Collaborative