*DEADLINE EXTENDED*
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“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Are you an extraordinary Canadian non-profit or NGO working to create impact in your community?
Could your organization use fresh insights and hands-on help to better tell your story through communications and marketing?
Narrative Development • Communications Strategy • Brand Repositioning • Speechwriting • Public Relations
If the answer is "yes," we'd like you to apply for UPLIFT 2023.
About Curious Public UPLIFT
We believe that working together and sharing strengths is what builds and uplifts communities. It’s how we approach everything we do for clients and it’s what we pass on each year to a dserving Canadian non-profit or NGO working to create impact for their local community.
Our pro bono work for a successful applicant can look like:
- Refreshed organizational narrative and foundational communications products
- Revised communications, marketing, fundraising, or PR strategy
- New brand positioning and communications/marketing collateral
- Speechwriting, earned media content, or public relations work
If you fit the bill, we want to offer you customized communication services and insights to help you move your audience to action – free of charge.
How It Works
We know your time is precious, so applying to UPLIFT is simple. Just fill out our short application and submit before September 30, 2023. After the deadline closes, our team will review all the applications and choose one organization to receive our UPLIFT support. No matter what, though, we’ll get in touch to let you know the results.
What You'll Get
Every organization’s needs are different going into UPLIFT, and we customize our work for each. But most UPLIFT projects get the following:
A customized workplan to meet your communications needs. A revised organizational story – your core narrative that becomes the foundation for all other communications or marketing materials. Hands-on support to harness your new narrative to meet your larger communications and marketing goals. Five pieces of content to use as you see fit (blogs, op-eds, speeches, web pages, social media content etc.) Whatever your need, UPLIFT delivers the equivalent of three months of our agency’s work to help you reach your goal.
Qualifying for Uplift
We don’t have many restrictions. All we ask is that you are a Canadian NGO or non-profit organization whose work focuses on creating impact within your local community or area and that you operate with limited communications and marketing resources. If you have questions about our qualification criteria, please contact us at [email protected]. We’re happy to answer your questions within 1-2 business days.
Past UPLIFT Recipients
2022-2023
Heart House Hospice
Heart House Hospice has been making a meaningful difference for clients and their families navigating end-of-life care and grief in Mississauga and Brampton since 1985.
The Heart House team of compassionate professionals delivers on their promise to ensure that people live their final days with grace and dignity while offering support and services to families and caregivers. Hospice counsellors work one-on-one or in group settings with people living with a terminal diagnosis and offer services generally with a prognosis of 12-months or less. At the same time, trained volunteers support staff doing home visits and weekly day programs to bring people together for social activities in a supportive community.
Curious Public is revising the organization’s core narrative and social media content and is creating new fundraising materials for Heart House Hospice as part of its UPLIFT project.
2021-2022
Learning for a Sustainable Future
Learning for a Sustainable Future’s (LSF) mission is to empower Canadian kids to change the world. But to prepare young people for a climate-altered future, our school system needs to do more. Teachers need more resources and knowledge about climate change, and students need more opportunities to learn about and act on climate change. As part of its UPLIFT initiative, Curious Public (then LRC) advised the organization on how to revise their communications strategy and build more brand awareness.
2020-2021
The Scarborough Women's Centre
Scarborough Women’s Centre (SWC) is a non-profit organization that gives support, information, resources, counselling and workshops to women in the community. As part of its UPLIFT initiative, Curious Public worked with SWC to refresh its narrative, update communications materials and better connect the centre with its audiences, including women and families, donors, local businesses and supporters.
Curious Public (then LRC) was awarded with the centre’s “Volunteer of the Year Award.”
2019-2020
Urban Alliance on Race Relations
Curious Public worked with the Urban Alliance on Race Relations (UARR) to strengthen the organization’s digital and brand communications.
UARR was founded in 1975 by Torontonians concerned about the recent rise in hate crimes. The founders were an alliance of leaders from the business, religious and political worlds. UARR had been a leading voice in advocating for building a better, fairer region for 40+ years. But UARR came to the UPLIFT program because they felt the organization’s brand was out-of-date and missing opportunities to achieve its mission – connect allied groups to fight for change.
"We try to lift people up to the mic through UPLIFT. The idea is to help organizations get a share of voice out in the community so they can be heard, which is important when fundraising, looking for new people and trying to make an impact on the community.”
-Lloyd Rang, President, Curious Public