Charity media relations
Charity media relations that earn coverage
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Charity media relations means building working relationships with journalists, producers and podcast hosts so a nonprofit's stories reach them.
Susan von Seggern's media relations work for charities and causes combines sustained outreach, podcast pitching, daily lead service monitoring and hyper-local coverage. Over more than two decades in Los Angeles PR she has built a broad network of media contacts and service providers, and she has placed lead service coverage in national outlets.
How do charities get media coverage?
Charities get media coverage by offering journalists timely, specific stories and expert sources, and by pitching the right contacts consistently. Susan von Seggern adds a reactive channel: she monitors five lead service feeds every day and pitches journalist requests that match a client's expertise.
That approach has produced placements in Good Housekeeping, Yahoo, the New York Times, HuffPost and Best Life, among other outlets.
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Media relations, defined
Definition: charity media relations with Susan von Seggern
Media relations is the part of PR focused on the press itself: knowing who covers an issue, understanding what they need, and supplying stories and sources at the right moment. For a charity, that means presenting programs, leaders and results as news rather than appeals.
Susan von Seggern works both directions. Proactively, she identifies target outlets and contacts, including podcasts, and pitches them. Reactively, she watches lead services, journalist emails and Substacks for reporters who are already looking for exactly the kind of expert a client has.
How lead service monitoring works
Monitor
Check five lead service feeds daily, plus journalist emails and Substacks.Match
Spot requests that fit a client's expertise, such as a nonprofit leader on giving or a doctor on sleep.Pitch fast
Send a concise, useful response before the reporter's deadline.Follow through
Arrange the interview or quote and track the resulting coverage.
The giving landscape in numbers
- U.S. giving in 2025, up 5.7% in current dollars and 3% after inflation
- $617.2B
- of that total given by individuals
- 64%
- overall donor retention; first-time donors 18.9%
- 43.3%
- projected fall in UK regular donations over three years
- £125m
Sources: the first three figures are reported in EPR, Nonprofit PR: The 2026 Guide, with retention from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project Q4 2025 report. The UK figure is a headline in Third Sector, Free PR guide for small charities. With fewer individual donors carrying more of the total, visibility with the public matters.
Which media channels fit a charity?
| Channel | Reach | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| National outlets via lead services | National | Expert commentary from leaders and specialists |
| Podcasts | Niche, engaged audiences | Long-form mission and founder stories |
| Hyper-local outlets | Neighborhood or city | Events, volunteers and local donors |
| Trade and sector press | Sector peers and funders | Programs, research and partnerships |
Hyper-local coverage in Los Angeles
Los Angeles is a region of distinct communities. Hyper-local coverage targets the outlets that serve a specific neighborhood or city, which often reach exactly the people most likely to attend, volunteer or give. Susan von Seggern names hyper-local coverage as one of the newer tactics she uses alongside established methods.
For event-driven campaigns, see event publicity. For the full overview, return to the nonprofit PR Los Angeles guide.
Common questions
- What is lead service monitoring?
- Lead service monitoring means watching services where journalists post requests for sources, then pitching the requests that match a client. Susan von Seggern monitors five lead service feeds daily, plus emails and Substacks from journalists seeking leads directly. She has placed lead service coverage in Good Housekeeping, Yahoo, the New York Times, HuffPost and Best Life, among other outlets.
- What is sustained media outreach?
- Sustained media outreach is the steady work of identifying the right outlets and contacts and pitching them over time, rather than sending one blast. Susan von Seggern includes podcast pitching in this pillar, since a podcast can give a cause a long-form conversation that a short news item cannot. It is the backbone of most campaigns.
- What is hyper-local coverage?
- Hyper-local coverage is media attention from outlets that serve a specific neighborhood, city or community. Susan von Seggern names it as one of the newer tactics in her campaigns. For a Los Angeles nonprofit or a neighborhood benefit, local outlets often reach exactly the donors, volunteers and attendees the organization needs most.
- Does Susan von Seggern pitch podcasts?
- Yes. Podcast pitching is part of her sustained media outreach pillar and one of the newer tactics she uses alongside established methods. Podcasts can suit cause clients well, because hosts often give guests time to explain a mission, a program or a book in depth, which a short news story rarely allows.
- What if our news is not that exciting?
- Most organizations have more news than they think: a milestone, a new program, a partnership, a notable supporter, an event or a timely expert view. Lead service monitoring helps here, because journalists post requests for experts on specific topics, and a staff expert can answer them even without a big announcement.
- Can PR guarantee media coverage?
- No honest publicist can guarantee coverage, because editors and producers decide what they run. What a publicist controls is the strength of the angle, the targeting and the persistence of the outreach. Susan von Seggern describes her style as honest, positive and tenacious, and her framework is designed to create many chances at coverage.