Useful School was founded by Ritesh as an online education platform featuring  courses and workshops centered around uplifting people of color in creative fields. 

We recently chatted with Ritesh on their  journey with Useful School, and everything that the online platform has  accomplished as of late. Ritesh shares more about how Useful School is utilizing their Webflow Community Grant and how the greater Webflow Community can join in and support this mission-driven initiative. 

Here’s more from our conversation. 

Give us a quick one-liner on what Useful School is. 

Useful School is the world’s first online pay-what-you-can design school for people of color (POC). We host 12-week virtual classes on everything from product design and branding to topics like decolonization and financial wellness. Our weekly classes feature workshops, support sessions, and secret guests. We have something for every stage of a creative career! 

Tell us more about who you support and your mission. 

The design industry is still primarily dominated by white folx and we are looking to change that by helping creatives of color enter the industry and rise up.

With Useful School, we hope to help POC level up their confidence, craft, portfolios, gigs, and wealth. Our courses not only cover the stuff they teach you in design school, but more importantly, the stuff they don't.

How has your Webflow Community Grant supported the goals of the  initiative?

The Webflow Community Grant was essential because it has helped drive the engine of Useful School and ensure the longevity of this program. Beyond operation costs, with Webflow's support, we've been able to host more classes for beginner and advanced product design, advanced branding, and decolonization.

How can the Webflow Community help further the mission of Useful School? 

The first and most important thing is to share, share, and share Useful School with your friends and colleagues. We want Useful School’s mission to reach as many people as possible, and we’re always looking for incredible applicants to take our classes. 

Some of the biggest ways folx have heard about Useful School is through Instagram, LinkedIn, and communities on Discord and Slack.

We’re also looking for a Webflow developer (who is ideally also a designer) as well as a social media creator/manager! If this sounds like something you or someone you know would be interested in — email me at ritesh@usefulschool.com. 

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To learn more about the Webflow Community Grant program, visit https://webflow.com/community-grants.