NFP marketing has a chance to live large, thanks to MediaCast’s Pro Bono for Purpose

But that could all be about to change. Applications are now open for MediaCast’s Pro Bono for Purpose grants, with not-for-profits chasing the chance to have a funded, managed national media campaign lift their profile to previously unimagined levels.

The grants are valued at $5000 and $10,000 and cover part or all of the cost of a tailored campaign across radio, TV, print and digital platforms, with MediaCast offering to “harness the power of PR to amplify their stories, reach new audiences, and inspire positive change.”

Last year, two grants were awarded but the number supported this year will depend on the quality of entries and the requested needs.

“When you give a great cause the right platform, incredible things happen,” Fran Chalmers, MediaCast’s managing director, said in announcing the initiative. “PR has the power to help organisations gain momentum and grow, and we’re so excited to be taking on new submissions for campaigns to be delivered in 2026. Through the Pro Bono for Purpose program, we’re honoured to support charities and not-for-profits to cut through the noise and have their voices heard.”

The best news for charities applying for the assistance is that the exposure has been proven to work.

Last year’s winners were Fortem Australia, a small not-for-profit that supports the mental health, wellbeing and morale of first responders and their families, and Basic Rights Queensland, which provides legal advice, advocacy and other assistance to vulnerable or distressed clients.

Between them, their MediaCast-driven campaigns saw more than 1000 media mentions and an estimated 56.4 million impressions across all media, according to MediaCast.

Fortem Australia’s campaign focused on Thank a First Responder Day, when the community is encouraged to consider how difficult, dangerous and potentially traumatic the work of first responders can be, and the mental and physical toll it takes on them and their families. The day, which has been running since 2019, aims to raise awareness of those challenges and provides a chance for community members to acknowledge and thank first responders for their efforts. That gratitude can be important to the wellbeing of the responders.

The difficult part is letting people know when the event is on. The correct answer is the second Wednesday in June, but in a crowded media market, Fortem Australia’s three-person communications team struggles to break through, especially while also juggling all their other tasks.

“Being a small not-for-profit means our capability and capacity to run a full media campaign is quite limited,” said Fortem Australia’s director of communications and marketing, Georgie Wells, in something of an understatement.

“The support MediaCast gave, to run a comprehensive campaign that we never ever would’ve had the resources to do ourselves, really helped drive some good media outcomes and strong awareness outcomes for Thank a First Responder Day. We had such good media right through, thanks to the support of MediaCast, which really worked to build that community awareness,” she said.

Fortem Australia was given $10,000 worth of support, with MediaCast providing expertise as well as media spend. Wells said the result was more than 40 print, radio, TV and online interviews, more than 650 items of media coverage, over 32 million online impressions, and an advertising equivalent value of $1 million.

“MediaCast ran the media campaign for us so we worked with them to identify talent and they did a lot of the reaching out to the media, really promoting it as a day, organising media interviews and all the things that, with a small comms team, we just wouldn’t have had the capacity to do. They were out there pitching us to national media, which was absolutely fantastic.”

Now it could be your organisation’s turn.

MediaCast says that to be eligible for the Pro Bono for Purpose grants, organisations must meet specific criteria, including clearly wanting to create positive social impact through a media relations campaign. Applicants must be based in Australia and registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC).

No less than $20,000 in grants will be awarded.

More information

Applications close on Wednesday, November 12, and successful recipients will be notified by Friday, December 5.  To apply: www.mediacast.com.au/probonoforpurpose