In 2021, Canvas is committed to growing our technical footprint with new customers. We are focused on providing our employees with the very best, delivering superior results for our customers, and maintaining our strong family-like culture.
In 2019, Canvas opened Area 220, our Innovation Lab, launched an employee giving fund, Be The Good, and added Biomedical Engineering and Technology and Product Development capabilities to our capabilities. We launched CQ JV, a SBA All-Small Mentor Protégé Program Joint Venture, and surpassed 100 employees with the addition of winning the MyServiceBenefits contract, under the U.S. Army HRSolutions.
Year after year we maintain a retention rate of 98% or more, and we believe it is because of our commitment to our employees, our customers, and our community is at the heart of everything we do. In 2018, we were thrilled to not only win the Government Contracting Technology Company of the Year but also the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) of the Year. To date, Canvas is the only company to win these two categories in one night!
In 2017, Canvas celebrated 10 amazing years of business and to celebrate we gave every employee a commemorative coin and a dollar for every day they had worked for Canvas. Canvas moved our corporate office to its current location in the historic Huntsville Times building in downtown Huntsville and made the top contender list for Best Places to Work. We also topped 100 employees across all seven of our locations.
In 2015, Canvas had 70 employees and over 20 active contracts for a diverse set of customers. We acquired a small business providing Canvas with contract vehicles and past performance in programmatic support with a technical discipline. In 2015, Canvas won Best Places to Work. In 2016, Canvas won its first prime contract supporting the Army and self-graduated from the HUBZone program. In 2016, Canvas spun off Lojix, an independent software company for government contractors.
In 2013, our workforce demographic changed with the addition of millennials. During this year, we kicked off our tuition reimbursement program, and to date 95% of our millennial workforce has utilized the tuition reimbursement program. In 2013 and 2014, Canvas once again made the Best Place to Work contenders list. In 2014, Canvas started developing a software suite for our internal use for contracts management, timecard reporting, human resources, and accounting.
Canvas continued to grow by 10-15% each year. In 2011, we received our HUBZone certification and became subcontractors with larger firms such as Teledyne Brown Engineering and Yulista. We grew our workforce, contract vehicles, and expanded our capabilities to include programmatic services. We extended our footprint outside of Huntsville, AL and into Colorado, Alaska, and Utah. In 2012, our company participated for the first time in the Best Places to Work and made the contender list.
Canvas had contracts supporting the MDA Sensors and System Engineering, SMDC Hypersonic Weapons, and AMCOM Cruise Missile Defense Systems. Quickly approaching 15 employees, we selected an office space in Downtown Huntsville. With over 50% of our employees residing in Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Zones, we decided to apply for HUBZone certification through the SBA. This proved to be one of the best business decisions in Canvas history.
Incorporated in Sep 2007, founder Jami Peyton picked the name “Canvas” as she hoped to use her same passion and energy in the world of engineering and defense as she had in her art. In January 2008, Canvas obtained our first contract supporting the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) Sensors directorate’s mission to combine all X-Band radars into one program office with common software platforms. This contract was key in establishing Canvas’ core strength as a systems engineering and integration problem solving company.
