Sector Response - Sector Response

Find out what leaders think of the results and what they mean for the charity sector.

Will Ranjan-Churchill, Technology Lead, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

This year’s report really highlights the tensions involved in Charity / Digital, particularly when it comes to AI. As with a lot of tech, it’s those on the margins that are bearing the brunt of these tensions. 62% of global majority-led charities lean on AI for grant writing support, and yet nearly half of those same charities cite a lack of trust in AI as a major concern. The Charity Digital Skills Report is quantifying what a lot of us have known; we really need to level the playing field.

If, as a sector, we’d introduced any other kind of tool with the metrics the report is showing us – 79% uptake in AI, but 1 in 3 unable to effectively use it – we’d, for sure, have done something about it by now. And so, as funders, it’s clear that we must do more – about the tensions involved in AI and trust, the gaps in digital funding, and the need for more considered training across the board. This report should be a wake up call that there is a real need for more core, infrastructure, and digital funding options for charities.

Phil McMinn, Chief Strategy Officer, Torchbox

This year’s report is a treasure trove of data that provides as comprehensive a digital temperature check of the sector as we could ever hope for. It begins with an unequivocal rallying cry for funders to sit up and listen to the help being asked for by the sector, most prominently the need for AI upskilling and training. Throughout the report, stat after stat backs this urgent call for help up — 44% of charities say they are no longer keeping up with AI trends, and over half the charities surveyed say they have no AI policy in place.

Elsewhere, the report identifies a missing piece of the puzzle when it comes to strategy — only 28% of charities report having a digital strategy in place. At a crucial moment in time, when UK giving is experiencing a major downturn across all metrics, the need for strategy to respond to these landscape shifts is real. Funders and senior leaders need to prioritise this now.

But there’s also good news too. Emergent tech is beginning to genuinely embed into how organisations work, both at an administrative level and also at a strategic and creative level too. And 81% say they’ve made digital progress in the last year. This is heartening to see. Torchbox is extremely proud to sponsor this year’s report for another year running.

Kye Lockwood, CEO, Datakind

Rhodri Jones, Head of Systems, WCVA

We are pleased to once again review this year’s Charity Skills Report, particularly noting that there was more than double the number of responses from Wales compared to last year.

This year, only 28% of respondents reported having a dedicated digital strategy in place, a significant drop from 44% last year. However, this may reflect a positive shift, with digital increasingly being embedded within overall organisational strategies rather than treated as a standalone or “bolt-on” function.

It is encouraging to see that 82% of Welsh charities are now using AI, slightly ahead of the UK average of 79%. However, it remains concerning that over a quarter of small charities (27%) are not using AI at all, despite the potential benefits it could bring to their day-to-day operations.

Digital skills continue to be a top priority for charities in Wales, with limited skills and technical expertise cited as the biggest barrier to AI adoption (60%). Small charities in Wales are predominantly at an early stage of digital maturity (79%), but it is encouraging that 83% have made progress in their digital development over the past year.

Financial pressures remain one of the most significant challenges, with 62% of organisations reporting squeezed finances, followed by issues relating to capacity and headspace. Looking ahead, 44% of charities identify securing funding for digital costs and projects as a priority, rising to 50% among larger organisations. Across both small and large charities, there is a clear need for funding to support the development and application of AI.

John Fitzgerald, Digital Evolution Manager, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

It’s great to see such a massive response to this year’s Charity Digital Skills report. It’s a really useful benchmark to help understand how charities of all sizes are growing their digital capability. As always, it’s packed with insights. The focus on diversity, equality and inclusion is very welcome – digital has to work well for everyone.

AI has been a big focus for our digital support programme since 2023, and it’s no surprise to see that 8 in 10 charities using AI, but often in quite an exploratory way. It’s striking that over half of charities surveyed have no AI use policy. Developing an AI policy can feel quite daunting, but it’s vital to have one that’s grounded in your context, values and priorities. This will give your staff team the confidence and clarity they need.

I was struck by the fact that concerns about AI accuracy have increased this year. This is probably because charities are now looking at more sophisticated or mainstream uses of AI. So they are rightly looking carefully at the quality and consistency of results they are getting.

Turning to cyber security, more than half of charities surveyed reported they were excellent or good in this area. At the same time, a quarter of charities said their IT support is poor or non-existent. It’s likely that many organisations are still over-estimating their resilience to cyber attacks.

Hameed Adigun, Co-founder & Strategic Lead, Black AI Futures

The finding that stands out most to me is that 69% of charities led by and for Global Majority and Black communities are already providing digital inclusion support, often informally, without the infrastructure or funding that larger organisations take for granted. That number does not indicate a lack of capacity or ambition in these communities; it indicates unmet demand that the sector has not yet responded to formally.

What sits uncomfortably alongside it is that 22% of charities are either not reaching diverse and marginalised communities with their digital services or are unsure if they do, and 27% rarely or never co-design services with the people they exist to serve. The sector’s values are clearly in the right place: 93% say ethics shapes their supplier decisions and 76% look for meaningful lived experience involvement. But that conviction has to translate into how AI tools are commissioned, designed, and delivered. The communities carrying the most informal weight right now should be shaping those decisions from the start, and that is precisely the gap Black AI Futures was built to close.

Jade Staiano, Head of Comms and Impact, Media Trust

We are pleased to see this year’s Charity Digital Skills Report reinforce what we at Media Trust already know: charities need strong digital skills to reach people, raise funds, recruit volunteers and drive positive social change. Nearly six in ten charities (59%) now say building digital skills is their biggest priority, a significant increase from 43% last year.

Charities want to respond to the growth of AI, changing digital platforms and evolving audience expectations. We are seeing growing demand for training in short-form video and support to help charities create authentic platform-native content that reaches audiences in the spaces where they are looking for news and information. Many charities are not yet making full use of tools such as paid social media, email marketing and digital fundraising, which could help them reach new audiences, build stronger communities and generate income. At Media Trust, we are excited about the potential to help more charities benefit from these tools, and we will use the report’s findings to shape our Comms Courses over the next 12 months around the areas where support is needed most.

Finally, on the face of it, it may seem surprising that so few charities see tackling misinformation as a focus, particularly as far-right narratives and online hate become harder to ignore. Our experience is that in fact misinformation is a huge source of concern but many organisations feel overwhelmed and unsure how to respond, because there are still too few practical solutions and trusted sources of advice. Charities clearly need the right skills and support to protect their communities, build trust and challenge harmful content online. At Media Trust, we are currently working on two new programmes to train and support spokespeople to speak with credibility and confidence on health inequalities and the impact of no recourse to public funding on communities, respectively.

Carol Rudge, Partner and Head of Not for Profit at HW Fisher, Part of the Sumer Group

I was delighted to be asked to comment on this year’s Charity Digital Skills Report. The report has truly evolved in recent years and provides an important snapshot of how rapidly digital and AI adoption is reshaping the charity sector. The findings highlight a growing disconnect between this pace of change and the governance structures needed to support it. With widespread AI use and many organisations lacking formal policies or updated risk frameworks, trustees face increasing responsibility to ensure risks are understood, managed and aligned to organisational strategy.

At the same time, financial pressure continues to limit charities’ ability to invest in the skills needed to keep pace. With funding constraints cited as a key barrier and a clear need for training across staff, leadership and boards, the role of trustees is becoming ever more critical. The report underlines a significant skills gap at board level, with many charities lacking digital expertise among trustees. Strengthening financial and digital literacy within boards will be essential to enable better decision-making, stronger governance, and ultimately to ensure charities can tackle digital opportunities safely and effectively.

Congratulations to the team for producing another thought-provoking report.

Vicky Charles, Chief Business Improvement & Technology Officer (CITO), Rethink Mental Illness

I always find this report insightful because it reminds me that we are part of a closely connected sector, experiencing many of the same challenges and opportunities. It can be easy to look outside your own organisation and feel that others are progressing faster or have already put in place the building blocks for further development that you are still working towards. However, this report brings us together by transparently sharing both our successes and the areas where there is still more to do.

Digital Strategy

This year we have seen that only 28% of charities have a digital strategy in place compared to the 44% of 2025 and that the majority of charities are at an early stage with digital, this seems concerning however the sample of charities taken part has significantly increased and the financial constraints under which charities are operating is clearly one of the root causes with 63% of charities citing finances as the biggest barrier.

It’s important not to become disheartened by this position as developing a strategy is important to many charities and the report shows clear evidence of digital use, with 64% saying that they are good or excellent at using digital tools their everyday work.

Perhaps this is an indicator that the desire to develop the digital strategy is overshadowed by lack of headspace/capacity, engagement at a senior leadership levels (CEO and boards) and lack of investment meaning that every day use seems more accessible than developing a strategy.

Cyber and IT

It’s positive to see that Charities are doing well in Cyber, although it’s only 43% of small charities that rate themselves as excellent or good, compared to the 79% of large charities. This may be attributed to higher engagement levels by senior leadership and boards in this area as managing risk is often seen as a stronger business case than innovation.

The percentage of charities with poor IT support or hardware is concerning as this hinders effective cyber controls and digital development. A modern and effective IT infrastructure is the foundation to any organisational digital/technological development and requires continual investment.

Data

The growth in charities recognising the value of data and wiling to focus their efforts in collecting, managing and analysing data is positive, as it indicates a move towards using data to inform broad decision making and measure impact, The fall in percentage of charities using data to better understand and engage with their supporters is significant and could be a dependency to the lack of digital strategy in many charities.

Equity, diversity and Inclusion in digital services

Even in times of significant financial constraint, the sector continues to demonstrate its integrity and commitment to purpose-driven values. This is reflected in the way charities involve people with lived experience in shaping digital services and seek to ensure that suppliers align with their values and ethics. It is also evident in the fact that 75% of charities are taking action to reduce the environmental impact of their digital and technology use.

Cherie Chambers, Director of Strategy and Innovation, Manifesto

We were glad to contribute questions to this year’s Charity Digital Skills Report, exploring how charities are set up to deliver digital and how that varies by size. What comes through is a sector working hard under real pressure. Squeezed finances are now the biggest barrier for 63% of charities, and many teams are stretched thin. Against that backdrop, the progress is genuinely encouraging: 81% of charities have moved forward digitally this year, up from 63%, and more are using AI in a considered, strategic way.

There’s plenty to build on, too. Digital strategy has slipped this year as immediate pressures take over, leadership confidence is growing but still has room to go, and many organisations are working out where digital and innovation should sit. These are signs of a sector in motion, finding its footing with fast moving change driven by AI.

For us, the takeaway is a hopeful one. Charities are making real headway, and the right support, practical, values-led and focused on building genuine capability, can help turn that momentum into lasting change.

Hannah Gavin, Growth Director - Charities & NHS, Corndel

The headline for me is skills. Across the charity sector, ambition is high — but there’s a clear gap between confidence and capability when it comes to using data and AI in a structured, strategic way. Bridging that gap isn’t just about training individuals; it’s about aligning leadership and teams, top-down and bottom-up. That’s what we do at Corndel, in partnership with Imperial Executive and Professional Education and supported by Microsoft: build practical, applied data and AI skills at every level, so strategy and impact move forward together.