Half of UK charities don’t have a digital strategy, finds report
Melanie May | 24 March 2017 | News
Half of charities are without a digital strategy, with lack of skills and funding two of the biggest barriers, a report has found.
Skills Platform’s Charity Digital Skills Report reveals that less than a third of charities (27%) have aligned their digital and organisational strategies and only 9% have been though digital transformation and embedded it in their organisation, with 50% putting other organisational challenges further up the priority list.
The report, written by Zoe Amar of Zoe Amar Communications, and David Evans, manager at Skills Platform, shows lack of skills (cited by 57%) and funding (52%) are the biggest barriers to charities getting the most from digital, while the biggest threats to charities increasing their use of digital highlighted in the report were lack of resources and skills and weak infrastructure.
- 67% said they needed more resources
- 53% said their infrastructure needed work
- 49% lack the right skills
- 61% of the charities surveyed rate their digital fundraising skills as fair to low
- 69% rate their digital business development skills as fair to low
- 71% say their board’s digital skills are also low or have room for improvement
Demand for digital
However, the potential for digital to help charities raise more money and increase effectiveness is recognised by the majority of charity professionals.
Out of the 485 charity professionals questioned for the report:
- 75% think growing their digital skills would help them increase fundraising
- 71% see opportunities to grow their charity’s network
- 69% see the potential of digital to deliver its strategy more effectively
66% of those questioned said they were worried that they would miss out on opportunities for digital fundraising if their board and leadership team do not develop their digital skills, while more than half are worried about giving competitors an advantage (53%), losing touch with their audience (53%) or their charity becoming irrelevant (53%).
The report shows a demand for greater leadership on digital, as well as a desire from many charity professionals to work for organisations that have a good digital strategy in place.
80% of respondents want their leadership team to provide a clear vision of digital and what it could help them achieve, while 66% want a good digital strategy. On a more personal level, 86% of respondents want to work for a charity that is progressing in digital while 36% of respondents will either look for a job with a digitally savvy charity or are unsure if they can commit to their role for the long term if their organisation doesn’t make progress with digital.
Commenting on the report, Sarah Atkinson, director of policy and communications at the Charity Commission, said:
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“It is encouraging that most respondents to this survey recognise the difference strategic engagement with digital can make to their charities’ success. But there is clearly a gap between the awareness of charity professionals, and the skills and engagement of many charity boards. It is of concern that almost three quarters of respondents rate their trustees’ digital skills as low or having room for improvement.”
Also commenting on the findings, Vicky Browning, CEO of ACEVO said:
“Charity and social enterprise leaders have a crucial role in identifying and capitalising on the opportunities digital technologies present because only strong leadership can drive change. Business models and digital development can no longer be viewed as separate things. What’s vital now is to recognise the role of technology as a key enabler in helping charities to meet their charitable objectives.”
To help charities get more out of digital, the Skills Platform will be launching The Charity Digital Toolkit in April, which will include best practice, expert insight and practical tips for charities.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.