It often can be difficult to get the media to pay attention to a utility’s charitable efforts (or any business, for that matter).
Yes, charity is a great thing, but most of the time it seems kind of routine. Unless you’ve raised an extraordinary amount of money or have an unusually interesting story to tell, efforts at promotion are likely to fall by the wayside.
But the media does know a hot story when it sees it and will look for any way it can find to cover new angles.
With the public weary of the pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has taken center stage in newsrooms around the world. There’s a clear good guy (Ukraine) and a clear bad guy (Russia), and the public is captivated by the reporting about the war.
Therefore, if your utility has started any campaign in support of Ukraine, you should be actively promoting it. Whether you’re raising money or collecting food or supplies, talk it up. Not only will it help you collect more of what you’re seeking, but the media might be interested.
In addition, consider any Ukraine ties you might have. Perhaps a prominent employee came from Ukraine. Maybe you have relations with Ukrainian utilities or other circles of influence. Or maybe an employee (or even a relative of an employee) made a humanitarian trip to Ukraine.
Not that you want to exploit misfortune, but you should promote what you have.
Anything you do pitch should be done so delicately, both to the press and on social media. You want to be supportive of Ukraine, not condemning Russia, particularly if you have a large Russian community in your service area. You probably don’t want to mention Russia at all, if you can help it.
Pitch all the regular media outlets, including the smaller ones in your area. That’s a way for outlets with limited resources to be involved.
As always, post any coverage you receive to your website and social media channels.