Finding the right expertise to grow

Migrant Women Press is a migrant-woman-led independent media platform working to amplify the voices of migrant and racialised women in the media and change how migrant communities are represented in journalism. Through storytelling, training, and mentorship, the organisation supports women from migrant and racialised backgrounds to develop their skills in journalism and media. Alongside this individual empowerment, Migrant Women Press also advocates for more accurate and balanced portrayals of migrant communities in the mainstream press.

Like many small organisations, their ambitions are large but their resources are limited. Building the organisational capacity needed to grow - from governance to communications - has required access to expertise they could not afford to hire. Through Reach, Migrant Women Press has been able to connect with skills-based volunteers who bring the experience and support needed to strengthen the organisation.

Juliana da Penha, Founding Editor and Director of Migrant Women Press, explains:

“Migrant Women Press is a migrant-woman-led independent media platform where we connect women from diverse backgrounds through journalism and storytelling. Our aim is to create a more diverse and equal media industry, while also creating opportunities for migrant women to amplify their voices and build careers in journalism.

“We only have a small team of volunteers in the core team, but our community is much bigger. We have published more than 200 articles and worked with hundreds of freelance contributors across different regions. Many of the women we work with go on to develop careers in journalism, advocacy, research or other areas. It is something I feel very proud of, because while it is the result of their hard work, we were able to support them with mentorship, training and opportunities that help them move forward.

“One of the reasons our work matters so much is because migrant communities are often portrayed negatively in the mainstream press. These narratives can be very toxic and biased. Through our journalism we try to create a more accurate and balanced representation - showing the real experiences, perspectives and contributions of migrant women.

Finding people who align with your mission and values

“As a small organisation, though, it is not always easy to build the structures we need to grow. We often don’t have the financial resources to hire specialists, even when we know that expertise would help us move forward. That’s why finding Reach was so important for us.

“A colleague first suggested the platform when we were looking for board members and volunteers. I created a profile and started sharing opportunities. What I found really valuable was that it isn’t just a place to post a role - you can also explore people’s profiles and see their experience before connecting. That makes it much easier to find people who align with your mission and values.

“We have mainly recruited skills-based volunteers through Reach, particularly in communications. For example, when we decided to produce our first impact report, we knew it was something we needed but we didn’t have the expertise internally to structure and present it properly. Through Reach we found someone with exactly the experience we needed to help us design the strategy and produce the report.

“We worked together for a couple of months, and it made a huge difference. We had been doing a lot of work for years, but everything was spread across different documents and projects. The volunteer helped us bring it together into one clear, strategic report that shows our work and impact in a much more organised way.

“Having that document is extremely important for a small charity like ours. It helps us explain what we do, demonstrate our impact and show potential funders why our work matters. Without that support, it would have been much harder to create something of that quality.

“More broadly, platforms like Reach are really important for organisations like ours. There are other ways to look for volunteers - through social media or LinkedIn - but having a space where you know there are experienced professionals who want to contribute their skills is incredibly helpful. It makes the process easier and increases the chances of finding the right match.

“For small organisations, this kind of support can be transformative. It allows us to access expertise we otherwise wouldn’t have, and that helps us build stronger structures so we can focus on the work that matters most - empowering migrant women and changing the narrative around migrant communities.”