Giving Back

At Ampersand, we believe in a diverse and inclusive industry, and so
we made a commitment to do more.

Below is the work we have done, and are continuing to do. We hope this inspires you to do the same.

B Corp™

In 2024, we earned our B Corp™ certification! Ampersand is helping to pave the way for other industry players to use business as a force for good. Read Our Press Release

FAQs
Ampersand's B Corp Page
We're Happy to Chat

Fellowship

In 2024, to help make our industry more diverse, we launched an annual ten-week Fellowship Program designed to provide individuals from underrepresented communities with tangible skills and experience to work in publishing.

Living Wage

Ampersand is an official Living Wage Employer in British Columbia and Ontario.
Living Wage BC
Ontario Living Wage

Financial Contributions

In 2021, we started our Commissions Donations initiative, where we select a book each month by a Canadian BIPOC or LGBTQ+ author or illustrator, and donate pub month commissions to a charity of the creator’s choice. We have also donated books to various charitable organizations. Our efforts to date equals $40,171.64. See the list: here

Diverse-Owned Bookstores

We created social media resources, such as lists of the following diverse-owned bookstores in Canada. These are updated regularly.

Asian-Owned Bookstores
Black-Owned Bookstores
Indigenous-Owned Bookstores
LGBTQ+ Owned Bookstores

Inclusive & Diverse Lists

We are so lucky to be able to rep some amazing & diverse creators! So we have committed to developing more diverse book & gift lists.

Book Lists
Themed Gift Catalogues

Land Acknowledgement

We are continually working on educating ourselves on the history of these lands and their people, to show respect, and help bring an end to the effects of colonialism in Canada. One of the ways Ampersand has approached this is through educating ourselves on the importance of land acknowledgments, which we include in all of our email signatures as well as here, on our website. We recognize how we benefit as settlers on this land.

We at Ampersand would like to respectfully acknowledge the people of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, the Huron-Wendat, the Mississauga and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, on whose traditional territory our Toronto office resides.

We would also like to acknowledge the people and the histories of the Coast Salish, Tsawwassen, Stó:lō, Kwantlen, Stz'uminus First Nation, Musqueam and Hul'qumi'num Treaty Group, on whose unceded territory our Richmond office occupies.

We invite you to join us, and learn more about whose land you are on: https://native-land.ca/

Other Things We've Implemented!

Expanded where we post our jobs ads to reach a more diverse population.
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Committed to salary transparency and accessibility information in all of our job postings as of 2021.
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Developed and shared a code of ethics.
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Switched to using the terminology of parental leave, and not maternity or paternity.

On our to do list!

We are in the business of books & paper goods, and strive to be as sustainable as possible. We're looking into ways we can truly go green!

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