This year we wanted to find out what impact the cost of living crisis is having on charities’ digital progress. We discovered a mixed picture across the sector.
30% of charities are spending less money on digital tools.
- Almost half of charities (45%) feel that the cost of living crisis has not affected their digital capacity. In other words, half (55%) indicate how the cost of living crisis has negatively affected their digital capacity.
- However, 3 out of 10 are spending less money on digital tools, 17% are spending less on upskilling staff and volunteers, and 10% are shelving internal digital projects.
- Recruitment has been impacted for some charities, with 9% freezing recruitment or having fewer digital roles and the same number moving digital responsibilities into other roles. 6% are hiring new people with digital skills or roles.
- Importantly, there were no differences in responses from small or large charities, or from those more or less advanced with digital.
- The cost of living crisis is having a greater effect on organisations that were already early stage with digital. Digital capacity has remained the same for 66% of those advanced and 48% of those advancing, compared to 40% of those starting out and 38% of those at the curious stage.
“For us, and I suspect many others, digital stuff is a ‘nice to have’ thing but absolutely not a priority. Our funding is currently extremely precarious – during Covid there was loads of extra funding – cost of living crisis means our costs and wage bill is rising significantly at a time when donations have dropped and funding is far harder to get.”
Almost 40% of charities are using digital to work more efficiently during the crisis.
- Close to 4 out of 10 (39%) are exploring how to use digital to work more efficiently and effectively
- However, only 18% are succeeding in delivering more of their work and services using digital tools.
- Despite rising costs of bricks and mortar, just 13% are implementing more remote working to reduce office costs.
- In contrast to the pandemic, only 12% of charities are developing new digital services to help with the crisis response and only 9% are providing clients with devices or data to get online.
- Only a very small proportion of charities are developing joint digital projects with other nonprofits (5%).
- It is positive to see that only 4% are cancelling or reducing online services.
The answers to this question show that there is potential for more charities to explore how digital could help save them time and money. For those organisations acutely affected by the cost of living crisis, prioritising this will be challenging amidst reduced budgets for internal core costs and limited funding or capacity internally to do so.
Charities also told us that:
“We’re struggling to increase our unrestricted reserves, which means we’re not able to invest in digital or data analysis.”
“Every £ raised goes to service delivery, none is considered for digital investments.”