Women’s Prize secures pro bono support from Midas and Rationale 

The Women’s Prize Trust has secured pro bono support from communications agencies Midas and Rationale.  

Both companies will provide strategic support throughout the 2023/2024 prizes cycle on a pro-bono basis. This will enable the charity to continue its expansion, including launching the new Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction this autumn, developing a new visual identity and designing a new website. 

Claire Shanahan, executive director of the Women’s Prize Trust, said: “We have been overwhelmed with the generous support from across the industry since we became a registered charity, and the additional capacity now offered by Midas and Rationale to bolster our small team will help propel us forward. Their impressive expertise in their respective fields will enable us to realise our mission sooner, with greater impact for our beneficiaries, creating equity of opportunity for women writers and improving access to and appreciation of women’s writing. We would love other partners to come forward if you want to get involved.” 

Midas will work with the trust on its charitable communication strategy, while helping to promote the events programme for the Women’s Prize LIVE festival, which will take place again in June 2024. In addition, Midas will focus on North American media promotion ahead of the Women’s Prize for Fiction’s 30th anniversary celebrations in 2024/2025. The Midas team will work with Christian Lewis, Women’s Prize PR and communications director. 

Rationale will work with the trust to “refine and amplify” its charitable messaging to its diverse audiences, including funders and beneficiaries.  

Jason Bartholomew, c.e.o. of Midas, said: “Midas has long admired the charitable mission of the Women’s Prize Trust – to change the world through books by women – and their ambition to bring this change to life through their influential prizes founded originally by Kate Mosse and their hugely impressive outreach projects. The inspirational team led by Claire Shanahan has celebrated phenomenal success and with greater support can grow the reach and results of this invaluable work even further.  

“While mindful of our bottom line, I want Midas to be a company that supports the initiatives we believe in, and so I made the decision that we would work on behalf of the team on a pro bono basis. We are thrilled to offer our resources working alongside Christian Lewis, in growing a vital charity within the publishing industry and joining The Women’s Prize Trust in their mission to champion equity of opportunity for women in the world of books.” 

Rowan Morrison, m.d. of Rationale, added: “As a BCorp, each year Rationale commits to donating hours to organisations that align with our values. When we spoke with the Women’s Prize Trust, we felt the charity was a perfect fit. Myself and my co-founder, Svein Clouston, are avid readers – I also love to write, when I can! – and we both feel strongly about equal representation of stories and experiences in the arts. It’s important to us to work with people who will genuinely benefit from our input, and the opportunity to feed into the Women’s Prize Trust’s development is incredibly exciting for us and the wider Rationale team.”