Here are just a few examples of the many successful partnerships formed through Media Matching...

Since the Media Matching service began, many successful matches have been made and hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of free help has been given to charities and voluntary organisations by our volunteer advisers.

Andrew Buchanan and Giving World Online

Giving World Online, part of Konnect9, a Leicester based not for profit organisation whose aim is to divert the world's surplus resources to meet the needs of the world's poorest people, have successfully used our Media Matching service on a number of occasions and had some fantastic work carried out by our volunteer advisers.

Andrew Buchanan responded to a recent request posted on the Media Matching website looking for help in the design and branding of a new project.

Andrew has nearly 20 years experience as a self-employed PR and design consultant and has a particular interest in the not-for-profit sector. He worked with Giving World Online to produce all the materials for their online campaign including a launch invitation, folder, set of 5 insert sheets, 3 banner stands and a branded promotional postcard.

The match went well from the outset as both the charity and adviser were clear about their needs and availability. Andrew explains: 'The match worked well because Giving World Online knew what they wanted to achieve from me, responded quickly when comments were required and were generally very pleasant to deal with.'

Giving World Online said: 'Andrew did a brilliant job. His interpretation of our needs was so accuarate, especially as we were re-branding. We made a number of changes through the process which didn't faze him at all and he provided a great service. We've had excellent feedback on the materals designed saying the materials look so professional and well designed and it's really helped to raise our profile to supporters and funders.'
 
When asked why Media Matching had worked so successfully for them, Sujata from Giving World Online responded: 'For two main reasons. Firstly, all the volunteers that responded to our requests were committed to their offer of help. They are all professionals, willing to give their time and experience to support community work. They were enthused with the project and offered an excellent service. Secondly, we were able to offer an exciting new project and to provide the information they needed at the time they needed it in order to complete the work to agreed timescales.'

George Brock and Medecins Sans Frontieres

MSF were looking to be matched with an editor or journalist who could give some insight into how to get featured in the opinion columns/letters sections of newspapers. We matched them up with George Brock, International Editor of The Times.

George's experience has been entirely in print and, more recently, online. It has included a wide variety of reporting, editing, editorial development and strategy.

Lucy Clayton of MSF tells us about the match: 'We asked George for specific help on how to write opinion pieces and letters to the editor, and how to pitch them to newspapers. Myself and our press officer spent an hour or so with him at The Times, during which time he talked us through how the editorial process works, what comment editors are looking for, and what makes a good opinion piece. He gave us practical advice on who to contact, how long opinion pieces should be, and the best time to submit pieces. He also gave us some names of comment editors. We now have a much better idea of how the editorial process works, and we immediately set about tailoring our submissions accordingly.'

The outcome of the match was that the charity got a Letter to the Editor published in the Times – exactly what they had set out to do!

George was also pleased with how the match went: 'MSF seems to me to have gone well. They came in and we had a good conversation. Then their Press Officer sent me a draft of something their Chief Exec had written. We discussed trying it as a Letter to the Editor, pinged the text around for a bit and, lo, it appeared in The Times. With no intervention by me at this end, I might add.'

Nic Cairns and Cornwall Dyslexia Association

Cornwall Dyslexia Association were matched online with Nic Cairns of Creative Mass Media, based in Nottingham. The charity required assistance to complete a DVD of their workshops having had unsatisfactory results with previous attempts by student volunteers. Nic spent an amazing 104 hours working on the DVD for the charity and produced a fantastic 28 minute mini-documentary featuring footage of all the workshops, an extensive picture gallery of activity and artwork, an introduction to the CDA and web links. He even produced the packaging artwork and gave advice on manufacturing.

The charity were overwhelmed with the result: 'The project with Nic has been an enormous success. He is a thorough and professional artist who has managed the production of the DVD, which he put together from amateur film-clips, faultlessly. We have ended up with a DVD of a much higher quality than I ever imagined possible. I was concerned that the match would not be very satisfactory as Nic and I live at opposite ends of the country, and there was no hope of meeting up. However, this was hardly a problem at all, thanks to email, the postal service and Nic's brilliant organisational skills.  I am very grateful to have been matched with Nic. Thank you for an excellent service.'
Tam Martin, Cornwall Dyslexia Association

Carl Hopkins and J-U-M-P

Carl and J-U-M-P matched online in mid 2008. They are both based in the North West and they met up for a coffee and chat. The meeting was really useful to the charity and inspiring for the adviser:

'I find the whole concept of Media Matching a simple and refreshing idea. For struggling charities to be able to contact and meet with marketing professionals who are willing to give their time is a great idea. I personally was delighted to meet with J-U-M-P, a small regional charity with big ambitions. After our two hour chat they seemed re-energised, re-focused and ready to go. A truly great cause and inspirational people. Thanks to Media Matching for the opportunity.'
Carl Hopkins, Managing Director, Kloog

'Carl gave a very helpful and constructive view on several items and in particular our web site... Carl's ideas have already been discussed at our most recent management meeting and will be acted on. Carl also gave an objective view of our current position with regards to promoting our charity and came up with one or two 'can do' ideas that can be achieved and make a difference in developing our charity's profile. We appreciate the time Carl gave through Media Trust and would certainly come back again for more assistance.'
Christine Hawthorn, J-U-M-P (Jacob's Unique Memory Pot)

We update this page regularly, so if you have a matching story you'd like to share, email us at mediamatching@mediatrust.org