Digital stage
1 in 5 charities are at the earliest stage with digital, with only some basics in place (20%)
We describe four stages of digital development in our survey and ask respondents to select which is the best fit for their organisation (see our definitions). From this we can see:
- 1 in 5 charities are at the earliest ‘curious’ stage with digital and only have some basics in place (20%).
- Nearly a third of charities are starting out with digital (30%).
- Overall, 50% of charities are at an early stage with digital (curious and starting out)
- A third of charities are advancing with digital (36%), whilst 14% are advanced.
- Half (50%) of charities have a strategy in place for digital (advanced or advancing categories). This is very similar to the 48% last year, indicating that digital progress has been static since 2023.
- We find that these four digital stages give a useful indication of overall digital progress, skills, priorities and support needs. We also find that there is a strong correlation between the stage selected and subsequent ratings of specific digital skills. For example, those at the curious stage rate their skills lower than those who have progressed to other stages of digital.
- Whilst overall digital progress remains largely unchanged, it is worth noting that in other questions, three quarters (76%) of respondents indicate how they have made progress with digital this year. Furthermore, 45% say that their digital strategy is a priority this year.
- Our results highlight that it takes time to develop and embed strategy. We are likely to see this trend continue, particularly given the barriers charities are currently facing (see barriers to digital progress).
The gap between large and small charities
Larger charities are significantly further ahead with digital than smaller charities
- Overall, 64% of small charities with an income of up to £1m are at an early stage with digital (curious or starting out), compared to 26% of large charities. In comparison, 74% of large charities have a strategy for digital (advancing or advanced stage), compared to 36% of small charities.
Size can play a crucial role in digital capacity
- We found that income plays a significant role in digital maturity.
- When we look in detail at different income brackets and stages of digital progress, we can see the smallest charities are most likely to be at the earliest stage of digital.
- For the smallest charities, with an income of up to £100,000, 70% are at the curious and starting out stage. This falls to 61% of those with an income between £100,001 and £500,000 and 53% of those in the £500,001 and £999,999 income bracket.
- When we look at the digital stages of specific groups of charities, we can see again that size is a key factor. For example, the greater proportion of black led charities that are at an early stage with digital is, in part, because a greater proportion are small. Overall, 61% of black led charities are at the curious and starting out stage, compared to 50% of all charities. However, when we take size into account, 67% of small black led charities are at an early stage with digital, which is similar to 64% of all small charities.
The gap between the digital progress of large and small charities looks to be growing
- There is a significant difference between the proportions of small and large charities at an early stage with digital (curious and starting out). Furthermore, this difference has increased since last year.
- Last year, 58% of small charities were at an early stage with digital, compared to 32% of large charities, a difference of 26%.
- This year, 64% of small charities are at an early stage with digital, compared to 26% of large charities. This is a difference of 38% and a significant increase on the 26% difference in 2023. We can already see that size has a significant impact on the use of AI across the sector elsewhere in our report. This gap may grow wider if the appropriate support is not made available to small charities.
Digital achievements
Three quarters of charities (76%) have made progress with digital this year
This new question helps us understand how charities are seeing the impact and value of making digital progress in their organisation. Overall, three quarters (76%) of respondents indicate they have made progress with digital this year.
The top 3 outcomes, achieved by 4 out of 10 charities are:
- Increased profile and brand (44%)
- Increased reach online (41%)
- Developed staff/volunteer digital skills (40%)
Differences by size:
- Large charities: The top outcome for 55% of large charities is having found useful insights from data.
- Small charities: The top outcome for 43% of small charities has been to raise their profile and improve their brand.
Digital and data priorities
Digital as an organisational priority
Digital is a top organisational priority for 1 in 4 charities, but over half say that whilst digital is important, other priorities demand attention
- Digital is a priority (medium or high priority) for 80% of charities.
- A quarter of charities say that digital is one of their top organisational priorities (27%). This is similar to 26% last year.
- Half see digital as medium priority (53%), saying it is important, but there are other pressing priorities.
- Almost 1 in 5 (20%) say digital is low priority or not a priority at all.
- Small and large charities gave similar responses and prioritise digital similarly.
Data as an organisational priority
Data is a priority for 72% of charities and a top organisational priority for 1 in 4 charities
We wanted to find out how much of a priority data is for charities, particularly with the uptake of AI this year.
- Almost half (47%) say it is a medium priority – important, but other pressing priorities need addressing.
- However, data is a high priority for 1 in 4 charities (25%).
- It is worrying that data is a low priority for 1 in 5 charities (21%).
- It is worth noting that large charities are more likely to prioritise data, with 37% saying this is high priority, compared to 18% of small charities.
- Charities give digital and data a similar priority level. For example, with 25% saying data is a high priority, compared to 27% saying digital is a high priority.
Digital priorities this year
More than half of charities say their top priorities are to grow their online presence (54%) and increase digital fundraising (52%)
Top priorities
- Building online presence and social media engagement (54%)
- Increasing digital fundraising (52%)
- Using data to improve services or operations (48%)
- Grow our reach (48%)
- Grow staff/volunteer digital skills (46%)
Lower priorities (for less than a third of charities)
- Develop or scale our digital services (26%)
- Improve diversity and inclusion in digital work (24%)
- Improve board/leaders’ digital skills (23%)
- Support clients with devices, data or digital skills (digital inclusion) (22%)
- Offer new digital services (18%)
- Recruit a digital role (10%)
- Recruit a data role (5%)
The top priorities are similar to 2023. However, the top priority of building online presence and social media engagement has decreased significantly from 79% last year to 54% this year.
Significantly less charities are prioritising investing in infrastructure and systems (32% this year, compared to 45% last year). However, there is a clear difference between large and small here, with only a quarter (24%) of small charities prioritising this, compared to nearly half of large charities (47%).
It is surprising to see that using AI tools is only a priority for a third of charities (34%). However, there is also a clear difference between large and small charities here. Half of large charities (53%) say this is a priority. This compares to only a quarter of small charities (26%).
Priorities for large charities
Large charities indicate a higher and wider range of priorities than small charities. Top priorities are using data to improve services or operations (58%), closely followed by using AI tools (53%) and increasing online fundraising (53%).
Priorities for small charities
Top priorities are building online presence and social media engagement (58%), increasing online fundraising (54%) and using data to improve services and operations (48%).
The chart above shows the top 10 priorities. You can see more detail about the full list of the priorities we asked about on this datawrapper chart.
Barriers to digital progress
Almost 7 out of 10 charities (68%) are struggling to progress digitally due to their finances, headspace and capacity
Charities are facing many constraints to digital progress in the current climate and the cost of living crisis, with an increase in need for digital funds this year. The most significant barriers to progressing with digital are:
- Squeezed organisational finances (68%)
- Lack of headspace and capacity (66%)
- Finding funds to invest in infrastructure, systems and tools (60%, a significant increase on 49% last year)
- Staff/volunteer digital skills (47%, up from 41% in 2023)
- Lack of technical expertise or someone to lead on digital (44%)
Financial challenges have increased significantly and this is having a greater impact on digital progress. Last year, only 27% said the cost of living crisis was affecting their progress. Instead, the top challenge faced and highlighted by 49% of charities was ‘finding funds to invest in our devices, software and infrastructure’. This challenge has increased to 60% and has been surpassed by the challenge of organisational finances and capacity.
These barriers are the same for small and large charities, but are affecting a greater proportion of small charities. We can see that three quarters of small charities are struggling due to squeezed organisational finances (72%, compared to 63% of large charities), whilst large charities are struggling more with a lack of capacity (72%, compared to 66% of small charities).
