Case Study

Unleash the Good Grant recipient. Accessible WordPress redesign for Twin Cities Indigenous food sovereignty nonprofit.

Dream of Wild Health homepage after ArcStone’s redesign, showing a clean hero section with mission headline, navigation menu, and a prominent Donate button.

Dream of Wild Health (DWH) is an intertribal, independent 501(c)3 nonprofit that serves the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Native American community. As one of the longest continually operating Native American organizations in the Twin Cities, DWH owns a 30-acre farm in Hugo, Minnesota, providing educational programs that reconnect the urban Native American community with traditional Native plants and their culinary, medicinal, and spiritual uses. Their mission is to restore health and well-being in the Native community by recovering knowledge of and access to healthy Indigenous foods, medicines, and lifeways. Through youth programs, the Indigenous Food Share, the Indigenous Food Network, and community outreach, DWH reaches over 12,000 people annually while growing more than 26,000 pounds of organic produce.

Our Role

Unleash the Good Grant Recipient (2024)
Website Discovery and Sitemap Development
Custom WordPress Design and Development
Accessibility Best Practices (WCAG 2.2 AA)
Information Architecture and Content Strategy
SEO Optimization for Key Pages
Content Migration and Entry
WordPress Training and Launch Support
Managed WordPress Hosting

The Challenge:

Dream of Wild Health needed a digital platform that could communicate the breadth and depth of their programmatic work with the community. Their existing website did not adequately showcase their diverse offerings, from youth education programs like Garden Warriors and Cora’s Kids to the Indigenous Food Share and the broader Indigenous Food Network. Key challenges included making the site more engaging for Native youth considering participation, streamlining redundant content across multiple pages, improving the visual appeal of critical program pages, and creating clear pathways for donors and supporters interested in their farm expansion efforts. Additionally, the Indigenous Food Network required its own visual identity within the site while maintaining cohesion with the overall Dream of Wild Health brand.

Dream of Wild Health homepage before ArcStone’s redesign, featuring a photo of hands holding seeds beneath a red navigation bar and mission statement.

Our Approach

ArcStone approached this project with deep respect for Dream of Wild Health’s cultural mission and community-centered values. We began with comprehensive discovery sessions to understand their programmatic structure, audience needs, and organizational goals. Working closely with their Communications Coordinator, Executive Director, and program staff, we mapped the full scope of their offerings and identified opportunities to better communicate the breadth of their impact.

Our team developed a revised sitemap that consolidated redundant content while creating clear pathways for key audiences: youth and families seeking programs, community members interested in the Indigenous Food Share, partner organizations in the Indigenous Food Network, and donors supporting farm expansion. The design approach honored Indigenous visual traditions while ensuring WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility compliance. We prioritized making youth-focused pages more eye-catching and accessible, recognizing that these pages are often how families first interface with DWH.

The WordPress development included intuitive content management tools, enabling the DWH team to easily update program descriptions and employment opportunities as they evolve. We also addressed specific functionality needs, including an improved events calendar, streamlined donation pathways with a GiveMN linkout, and a structure that allows the Indigenous Food Network to maintain its distinct visual identity while remaining cohesive within the broader site.

Dream of Wild Health mission and core values page with red background, floral illustrations, and text describing Indigenous health, knowledge, and community values.

Dream of Wild Health cookbook product page featuring the Youth Leader Cookbook cover, price, and add-to-cart and PayPal purchase options.

Reviewing the Results

Through the Unleash the Good Grant partnership, Dream of Wild Health received a fully redesigned, accessible WordPress website that better serves their mission of restoring health and well-being in the Native community. The new site effectively communicates their 25+ years of impact, highlights their diverse programming, and creates compelling pathways for engagement. Youth program pages now capture attention and provide clear information for families seeking cultural education opportunities, while the Indigenous Food Network maintains its distinct visual identity within the broader site architecture.

The improved events calendar and content structure make it easier for community members to stay connected with DWH activities, from seasonal farm programs to the annual Indigenous Food Tasting. The accessible, mobile-friendly design ensures the site serves all community members effectively, continuing ArcStone’s commitment to digital equity for mission-driven organizations serving the Twin Cities.