Last week I blogged for The Guardian Voluntary Sector Network about the launch of Lasa’s Charity Digital Survey.
Alongside the Digital: what every charity leader should know report (which I also worked on with the Lasa technology team) I wanted to research charities’ use of digital and how else they think it could help them. The survey revealed how charities fear that the digital skills gap could hit their bottom line. Two thirds of respondents (66%) said that digital is “essential” to their charities, and that they would be unable to “function without it.” Yet more than three out of four respondents (78%) felt that charities will miss out on fundraising and income generating opportunities if the sector does not engage with digital.
It’s time that the sector confronted the issue of the digital skills gap, and decided how to tackle it. As NCVO’s Back Britain’s Charities campaign reveals, fundraising is down by 20%, and competition for grants and earned income has never been so fierce. Without funds or earned income, charities simply won’t be able to help as many people.
We can’t ignore the digital skills gap any longer, and I think leadership is key to making it happen.