In the last 12 months, where have charities found guidance, insights or hands-on support to help them with digital and data?
The most popular sources of digital learning and support are sector newsletters and blog posts, as well as training.
Once again, charities are learning about digital through a mix of formal, informal and peer-led formats. The top places where charities learn or get support from are:
- Sector newsletters and blog posts: Almost 4 out of 10 (39%) learn most from sector newsletters and blog posts. This was also the most popular option last year, although it has fallen from 51%. However, the popularity of this option suggests that sector-specific resources and guidance are shaping how charities adopt digital and AI.
- Training: A similar number (38%) rely on training courses, similar to last year.
- Sector guidance: Just over a third (36%) learn from sector reports, guides, assessments and codes of practice, although this has fallen from 43% in 2025.
- Events, conferences, workshops or network meetings: 33% prefer learning from these, although this has fallen slightly from 39% last year.
- Social platforms: 25% learn or find support through social platforms (e.g. LinkedIn, Slack, WhatsApp). This has decreased from 32% last year.
- Peer learning: 25% of charities felt that guidance from peers in their own or other organisations had helped them learn or find support. This rises to 39% of large charities.
Large charities are much more likely to have accessed guidance across the top 6 formats. The most helpful formats for large charities are:
- Sector newsletters and blogs (59%).
- Events, conferences, workshops or network meetings (58%).
- Sector reports, guides, assessments and codes of practice (56%).
- Training courses (51%).
Small charities
- 21% of small charities have not accessed any digital advice, guidance or support in the last 12 months (compared to only 5% of large charities).
- Low proportions of small charities have accessed all types of support and guidance. This may be indicative of this group having limited capacity available to upskill themselves and to focus on digital.
- Training courses are the preferred format for support (34%), followed by newsletters and blog posts (32%).
- Global majority-led charities (which are also mostly small charities) are most likely to access training courses (48%) and events (41%), with lower proportions benefiting from reports and guides (34%) and sector newsletters (28%).
In an ideal world, which areas of data would charities most like to seek external support, training or guidance for?
The greatest data support need among charities is using AI tools to analyse data – preferred by 47% of charities.
The top areas where charities need support with data are:
- Using AI tools to analyse our data (47%). This was also the most popular need in 2025, with similar ratings.
- Website and social media analytics (38%, similar to last year).
- Storytelling with data (37%, down from 42% last year).
- Technical skills (e.g. working with spreadsheets, survey design) (30%, down from 36% last year).
- Deciding what data to collect and how to collect it (30%, similar to last year).
Different groups of charities also have distinct support needs:
- For large charities, the top two priorities are using AI tools to analyse data (53%) and storytelling with data (48%).
- For small charities, the top two priorities are using AI tools to analyse data (45%), alongside website and social media analytics (41%).
- Neurodivergent-led charities have a higher demand for external support to develop their data strategy (42%) and to choose or review their CRM (42%).
The mix of charities’ needs here indicates a desire to get the fundamentals of data collection and analysis right, along with more technical requirements.
Final thoughts: What else charities want us to know about their digital experiences this year
We invited charities to share anything else they would like to tell us anonymously about how digital skills could help their organisation, or their experiences with digital this year. 156 charities responded, with 68% expressing a neutral sentiment, 21% negative and 11% positive. Six main themes emerged from these final reflections.
Funding is the binding constraint
The most common theme was that charities cannot afford to move forward. Whether it was upgrading systems, accessing training, paying for AI tools or recruiting digital expertise, financial constraints came up again and again as the reason charities were not making the digital progress they would like.
- “We are a small volunteer-led charity that is growing rapidly. We recognise that digital skills will support this growth but do not have the funds or the capacity to carry this out.”
- “We had to downgrade our web package due to cost and lack of funding, we weren’t aware we could access digital funding as we are so focused on our main project. Downgrading has caused capability issues with certain plugins but we’ve done the best we can with our site.”
- “We have potential within the team and the experience and expertise to help the people we support with improving their digital skills around AI, what we need is funds for dedicating time for training and to develop a dedicated project.”
Time, capacity and the burden falling on one person
Closely linked to funding was the theme of time and capacity. Many charities described digital responsibility falling on one person, often without the headspace to lead change, and the difficulty of finding the time to learn, experiment or implement even when the will was there.
- “A big barrier has been around team culture and skills with the onus being on one person to push this through.”
- “The core team all need more time freeing up from reporting, CRM data entry, poster design etc. We are told AI can help us with all of this but it’s not clear specifically how. We don’t have time to experiment and in that situation it becomes frustrating when the AI process is slow and doesn’t generate what you want.”
- “We are a very small charity with not enough capacity and digital experience. Wish it wasn’t so!”
The need for accessible, practical training
A strong and consistent ask was for more training and support, particularly the kind that is accessible to small charities, practical rather than theoretical, and tailored to where charities actually are on their digital journey. Several respondents asked for “hand-holding” and a structured pathway, rather than being expected to figure things out alone.
“For small charities reliant solely on volunteers we need some introductory hand-holding and support.”
“My organisation needs structured digital skills training. We also demand practical, hands-on AI training. There is a great need for stronger data protection and cybersecurity awareness.”
“Digital skills would make a big difference for us, especially around admin, data management, and communicating more clearly with partners and the people we support…even small digital improvements, better tools, clearer processes, or a bit more training, could save time and reduce stress across the team.”
Board and leadership engagement remains a sticking point
A recurring theme was the challenge of getting boards, chairs and senior leaders engaged with digital. Some charities described boards that underestimated the importance of digital, others wrote about reluctant chairs or senior leaders not understanding why investment was needed. This echoes the leadership skills findings elsewhere in the report.
“Our board is ageing and totally underestimates the importance of digital. We are stretched and unable to focus on digital as a priority.”
“It is difficult to actively harness the power of digital when the board of trustees is averse. The staff team can see the benefits in terms of rich data, team collaboration and time saving, but the board do not support this as they perceive the cost to outweigh the benefit.”
“Senior level buy-in and understanding of why this is necessary just isn’t there.”
AI: Useful but morally complex
AI came up frequently in these final reflections, often with a notable emotional and ethical undertone. Some charities described AI as transformative for their work. Others described a tension between using AI for practical reasons and feeling morally uncomfortable with it, particularly on environmental grounds.
“I literally would not be able to do my role without AI because there are only two of us working part-time and so it is like having an extra staff member, but I do have serious concerns about what it is doing for the planet and yet I always want to ‘keep up’. So morally it doesn’t feel great.”
“We are actively using digital tools and AI in areas such as communications and fundraising, but our digital development is still at an early stage. We lack the time, skills, and systems to fully embed digital across the organisation.”
“Obviously AI is the biggest issue, however in the Church, this is an area where a lot of people struggle and are more likely to see the negativity of it rather than the positives.”
Stories of progress
Despite the challenges, a number of charities used this space to share progress. This ranged from recruiting digital trustees, to implementing new CRMs, to using AI tools to do more with limited resources, to increased confidence and capability.
“We are in the process of recruiting a digital trustee through Reach Volunteering. We have accessed Charity Excellence Learning for all staff and trustees so we’ve made a start.”
“Developing my digital skills has enhanced my ability to use tools like ChatGPT and Canva more effectively, improving the quality, efficiency, and professionalism of my work. It has also increased my confidence, reduced reliance on external support, and enabled me to manage and grow my association more independently.”
“Our digital knowledge is very poor. We have…recruited a new trustee who has digital experience and he is working on improving our digital usage and presence. This will support us in the months to come.”
These final reflections reinforce the themes we have seen throughout the report. Charities are keen to progress with digital, and many are making progress. Yet funding, capacity, training and leadership engagement remain persistent constraints, with AI now layered on top as both an opportunity and a source of moral and practical complexity. Hand-holding, structured pathways and accessible practical support, particularly for small charities, came through as a clear ask for the sector and funders in the year ahead.