A third of boards (33%) and a quarter of CEOs (25%) are rated as poor at AI skills, despite 79% of charities using AI day to day.
This year we have expanded the rating scale in this question, introducing a ‘good’ rating alongside ‘excellent, fair and poor’. This means that direct comparisons with previous years’ data are not possible, but we have drawn parallels where relevant.
CEO digital skills
- 47% of charities rate their CEO’s skills as excellent (10%) or good (37%). This increases slightly to 53% of large charities.
- A further 26% rate their CEO as fair. Combined, 63% are rated as good or fair, up from 54% rating their CEOs’ skills as fair last year.
- 10% rate their CEO as poor at digital, a meaningful improvement on 21% last year.
CEO AI skills
- CEO AI skills are notably weaker than digital skills. Only 5% are rated as excellent and 21% as good, meaning just over 1 in 4 charities (26%) feel their CEO has strong AI skills. The results are similar by size, with 26% of small charities and 28% of large charities rating CEO AI skills as excellent or good.
- A further 27% are rated as fair. Combined, 48% are rated as good or fair, up from 39% rating fair last year.
- A quarter (25%) of CEOs are rated as poor at AI, an improvement on 36% last year.
Board digital skills
- Boards’ skills are seen as lower than CEOs’. Just 4% are rated as excellent and 23% as good, meaning only just over a quarter (27%) of charities are confident in their board’s digital skills. This is concerning. The results are identical for small and large charities.
- A further 38% are rated as fair. Combined, 61% are rated as good or fair, up from 49% rating these skills fair last year.
- The proportion of boards rated as poor at digital has fallen from 28% to 16%, a significant improvement.
- 19% of charities don’t know how to rate their board’s digital skills, suggesting limited visibility of trustee skillsets.
Board AI skills
- Board AI skills are the weakest area, following the trends we saw last year. Only 2% of boards are rated as excellent (similar to last year) and 10% are rated as good, meaning just 12% of charities feel their board has strong AI skills.The results are identical for small and large charities.
- A further 27% are rated as fair. Combined, 37% are rated as good or fair, up from 26% rating fair last year.
- A third (33%) of boards are rated as poor at AI, an improvement on 44% last year, but nevertheless a huge concern for our sector.
- Most strikingly, 28% of charities don’t know how to rate their board’s AI skills.
It is significant to note that these results are very similar for both large and small charities. Overall, our findings show some areas of improvement. However, there are notable proportions of CEOs and boards with poor AI skills and this in turn indicates that a significant leadership challenge remains.
How many charities have a digital trustee?
Almost half of charities (46% overall and 49% of small charities) do not have a trustee or board member with digital skills.
- 27% have a digital trustee.
- 14% have more than one digital trustee.
- However, 46% do not have a digital trustee. This rises to 49% of small charities, vs 40% of large charities. This overall figure is slightly higher than 40% last year.
Whilst the overall numbers of charities with digital trustees has barely changed since 2025, it is concerning to see an increase in charities that do not have a board member or trustee with digital skills. Without digital and AI skills, boards will struggle to help develop the right oversight and strategies.
What changes at board/trustee level would help charities progress with digital?
Nearly 4 out of 10 charities want their boards to learn more about digital.
The most critical areas where both large and small charities would like to see change are:
- Learn more about digital (38%, up from 32% last year).
- Recruit at least one digital trustee with relevant digital expertise (34%, down from 43% last year).
It is notable that “learn more about digital” has superseded “recruit a digital trustee” as the top asks this year, suggesting that charities are focused on upskilling their existing boards.
Other key areas where charities would like to see change are:
- Learn more about emerging tech and AI tools (31%, similar to last year at 34%), rising to 40% of large charities.
- Understand risks (cybersecurity, data protection, safeguarding) (31%, similar to 32% last year).
- Better resourcing and investment in digital and IT (25%, down from 34% last year).
- Greater buy-in to our digital and data progress/strategy (22%, similar to 23% last year).
It’s also worth noting that 19% of charities (and 25% of large charities) would like to see improvements in board diversity and lived experience. This is a new option for 2026, and suggests that diversification of lived experience and perspectives at board level would help make boards more effective and enable greater digital progress.
What gaps would charities most like to address in their CEO’s digital skills, knowledge or practice (or their own as CEO)?
Almost half of charities (49%) say their CEO most needs a clear vision of what they could achieve with digital. This was by far the most commonly cited gap, and has been one of the strongest requirements charities have for their CEOs in our report for several years.
The top 5 gaps that both large and small charities would most like to address in their CEO’s digital skills are:
- A clear vision of what we could achieve with digital (49%). Whilst this has fallen from 64% last year, it is still the most urgent need.
- Engage with emerging trends, tech and AI tools (34%, less than 41% last year).
- Personal digital skills, confidence and ways of working (31%, down from 39% last year).
- Budgeting, resourcing and investment for digital and IT (31%, down from 36% last year).
- Ability to develop and embed a digital strategy (29%, down from 42% last year).
It is encouraging that the number of charities lacking a clear digital vision has fallen by 15% since last year, although it remains by far the most common gap charities identify, and the fact that almost half of charities still need this from their CEO is a concern.
Other notable areas where charities would like to see change are:
- Cybersecurity, data protection and safeguarding (26%, similar to 24% last year).
- An overview of our digital maturity and plan to improve our data (26%, down from 44% last year).
- Risks and opportunities for emerging tech (22%, down from 34% last year).
- Engage with user research and data to inform decisions (20%, similar to 19% last year).
- An agile approach to strategy (16%, down from 24% last year).
Some of these changes, alongside the improvements in CEOs’ digital and AI skills noted in the previous question, suggest that CEOs are beginning to engage further with digital and AI and are developing their capabilities. Nevertheless, developing a clear vision for digital is still a pressing need that many charities have for their CEOs across the sector.
