This blog was written by Charity Digital Skills report co-authors Zoe Amar and Nissa Ramsay.
How has the way your charity uses technology changed over the last year? Some of the changes might be obvious: you may be working on ‘big bet’ projects such as a new website or CRM. Other developments might be more subtle. Perhaps you are now using ChatGPT routinely to draft your newsletters or take meeting minutes. Something will have shifted, however subtle, in your charity’s use of digital (and your digital skills) since 2023 and maybe you’re wondering how this compares to other charities.
The recently launched 2024 Charity Digital Skills Report has all the data about the latest trends in digital progress across the sector. It’s been designed to help charities benchmark themselves against the sector and also to make the case for the funding and support they need. I co-author it with the amazing Nissa Ramsay of Think Social Tech. Our report has been made possible by our partners Catalyst, Microsoft, Pixeled Eggs and Stopgap, who have helped shaped the report alongside more than 50 other small large and small charities, funders, networks representing those with lived experience, digital experts and organisations who support the sector who contributed to our discovery and tested the survey. We are very grateful to everyone who took the time to get involved.
There is a lot of juicy data in the report and we know it takes a while for charities to work their way through it, especially with all the challenges facing the sector at the moment. In this blog, I’m going to pick out 7 highlights from the report that I think should be a priority for the sector, along with what you can do about them.
The cost of living is affecting charities’ digital progress
One of the most alarming findings in our report is the impact of the cost of living crisis on charities’ digital progress. A staggering 7 out of 10 charities are struggling to move forward digitally due to financial constraints. This is a significant increase from last year when only 27% reported feeling this pressure. 60% say the biggest barrier is finding funds to invest in infrastructure, systems and tools, up from 47% last year.
This financial squeeze is not just about resources; it’s also about headspace and capacity. This data tells us about the stress charities are under. Two thirds of charities (66%) see a lack of headspace and capacity as a barrier to their digital progress.
Space and time to think, plan and strategise is a recurring theme of the 2024 report. More on this below.
Charities are making digital progress, despite the challenges
The cost of living is squeezing the sector’s digital progress. Yet despite this, there is plenty to celebrate in this year’s report: despite the constraints, charities are still moving forward with digital. Three quarters of charities (76%) progressed digitally this year, whilst 81% of charities are using digital tools in their service delivery. In addition, digital is a priority for 80% of charities and 50% have a digital strategy. This is encouraging and demonstrates the innate resilience and creativity of the sector.
During lockdown, we saw charities innovate and pivot to digital. The results above show that charities still have the muscle memory of digital change and can do things differently under pressure.
Charity AI adoption has skyrocketed
Speaking of reasons to be cheerful, it’s exciting to see that 61% of charities are using AI in their day-to-day work or operations –a significant increase on the 35% last year. Charities are using AI for tasks such as content creation, admin (e.g. taking meeting notes) and idea generation. It’s brilliant to see charities using these tools in innovative ways.
Yet this change is largely organic. 45% of charities are using AI tools informally (e.g. trying out tools) and only 11% of charities are taking an organisation wide approach. Just under a third of charities are worried about data privacy, accuracy and potential bias.
We need to take a more strategic approach to AI within our charities across the sector. This means understanding where AI can make the biggest difference to our strategies and growing our impact, developing AI policies and giving thought to how we adopt AI in line with our values.
Responsible AI adoption should not be an add-on for charities. It will be critical to maintaining what makes us unique as a sector. Without it, our credibility will be damaged. To harness the power of AI effectively, charities need to invest in skills development, establish clear AI policies and ensure that AI use aligns with their values.
Inclusion and digital: an urgent call to action
Our report also highlights the need for greater inclusion in how we embrace digital as a sector.
It is shocking that 41% of black-led charities face barriers to digital project funding, compared to 21% of charities from our main sample. This is absolutely unacceptable and deeply worrying, particularly given the work that’s been done on inclusion across the sector since 2020.
We are calling on funders to act on this to make funding and support equitable and accessible to everyone. We will track this and other data points in access to digital funding and support for marginalised groups again in our 2025 report.
What makes this inequity even worse is that charities led by specific marginalised groups have exciting ambitions for digital. For example, 91% of neurodivergent-led charities are small but are digitally progressive. 51% are advancing or advanced digitally, compared to 36% of all small charities.
In addition, d/Deaf disabled-led charities are largely small and at early stages with digital, yet 87% see digital as a top organisational priority. However, they are struggling with squeezed finances (72%) and need funding for capacity (62%).
Think of the innovation – and the incredible impact – these charities could achieve if they were funded and supported properly.
Small charities: we need to bridge the digital divide
The digital divide between large and small charities is growing, continuing a trend we have seen in previous years. Overall, larger charities are ahead with digital. Almost three quarters (74%) of large charities are at an advancing or advanced stage of digital progress, with a strategy in place for digital, compared to 36% of small charities.
Last year, this was 68% for large charities and 42% for small. The digital divide between large and small charities is widening. We are concerned that AI adoption may make this wider still. In this year’s report, we found that whilst half of small charities (53%) are using AI tools, this is significantly less than the three quarters (78%) of large charities who are using AI.
Digital funding needs to change
The data above shows that charities want to progress digitally. Yet, charities are struggling to access the support they need. Less than 1 in 4 (24%) of charities accessed digital funding this year.
The top 3 areas where charities need digital funding are:
- Time for organisational and strategy development (75%)
- Technology, devices, tools and systems (66%)
- People (internal or external) with expertise (50%)
This shows that not only is there a lack of digital funding, but also that funders need to review their digital funding approach. Charities need resources and they also need funders plus support and guidance to help them develop strategic approaches to digital that will increase their impact.
Charities know that investing in their digital tools and approaches will help them make even more of a difference. As one charity told us:
“Funders, invest in our digital infrastructure and help us build a strong and secure technology base. This could improve our services, making them more accessible and efficient, while also ensuring the privacy and security of my users’ data.”
Systemic issues are holding the sector back
Some of the challenges we see in the report are because of the demands of emerging technologies. Yet, these innovations have shone a light on some of the long-term digital issues facing the sector.
The challenges in accessing digital funding are not new. Similarly, a lack of digital leadership is also a deeply entrenched issue across the sector. When asked which digital skills, knowledge or behaviours CEOs needed to change to ensure digital progress, more than half (55%) want their CEO to provide a clear vision for digital, similar to last year. And 62% of charities say their trustees’ digital skills are low or could improve – a skills gap we have seen since the report began in 2017.
Yet, things are changing. AI is causing a ripple effect across the sector and this means that charities’ expectations of what they want from leaders and boards have evolved.
In our report, 31% of charities told us that they want their board to learn about emerging tech and AI tools. 39% of charities want their CEOs to stay informed on emerging tech trends and AI, whilst 34% want them to understand related risks and opportunities (34%).
Our recommendations
Based on these findings, we’ve outlined several calls to action in the report.
- For charities: Develop a clear digital strategy, invest in data capabilities, upskill your board and staff on AI, and explore responsible AI adoption.
- For funders: Provide funding for capacity building, make digital funding more inclusive, invest in skills development, offer dedicated support for small charities, and recognise digital costs as core costs.
We hope that charities and those that work with them, from funders to boards to organisations who support the sector, will act on our recommendations.
The tailwinds of AI show that more change is coming to the sector. And our report shows there is a lot more we all need to do to help the sector seize the opportunities that digital offers to charities. And if not now, when?
Read the 2024 Charity Digital Skills Report