Day 21: What a zoom poll taught me about the challenges charities face when exploring digital

Today CAST had the opportunity to connect with charities to hear some of the challenges they face in exploring technology, and how CAST can help with our free support services.

The event took place online as part of a Quarterly Charities Update delivered by Haysmacintyre. I was bowled over to see that 112 charities joined the session and wanted to share a few highlights and insights I took away. In the session we also heard what charities had to say about the future of grantmaking, and you can read our reflections on this here.

What do you love the most about digital technology and the internet?

I started the session with a quick poll on zoom to check in. I asked everyone to vote what they love most about digital technology and the internet. Unsurprisingly there is a spread votes!

• Practical support — it helps me complete day to day tasks more easily (48%)
• Connection — building new relationships and keeping in touch with my network (25%)
• Supports me to learn— there is a world of information out there (16%)
• Getting inspired — the possibilities are endless (6%)
• Other (5%)

Technology is transforming our day to day lives in new and unexpected ways across these themes, and many more.

Here are some examples:

• Practical support — we expect to be able to do our online banking when it is most convenient for us, without operating around opening hours of bank branches. And we need to be able to book medical appointments from home, without needing to travel to our doctors
• Connection — we need to be able to easily reach out to friends and families, the role of digital here became even more apparent during Covid-19 lockdowns. Digital tools might also help us connect with our favourite hobby, maybe going for a run with a friend and tracking it on an apple watch, celebrating a shared achievement afterwards (kudos all round!)
• Supports me to learn — we might be discovering new ideas by streaming a documentary
• Or getting inspired — searching for our next dream holiday destination

Organisations are being pushed to embrace change, experiment rapidly and risk getting it wrong. This is as true for the likes of Netflix as it is for charities. But the contexts and conditions charities and social impact organisations operate in are unique. And this is where CAST can support.

What does CAST do?

We help charities and social impact organisations harness the power of digital, data and design, enabling them to become stronger, more sustainable and more responsive to the changing needs of their communities.

In the last 12 months CAST has supported 494 (and counting!) social impact organisations develop their digital skills and confidence. We do that through a range of programmes and support specially designed for charities and social impact organisations, just like Sue from a charity called Prior’s Court Foundation.

Sue’s Story

Sue is the Director of Education at Prior’s Court Foundation and she participated on the Deloitte Digital Connect programme which CAST delivers alongside our fantastic partners at Deloitte. Prior’s Court Foundation needed support to explore digital tools that would help young people with autism with their education. Sue and a cohort of 23 charities received support over 6 months to develop the digital skills and confidence to move forward with their digital challenge.

“I think it was absolutely brilliant; I can’t believe how great it was. I wish I’d heard from somebody at the beginning what it would be like throughout the programme; someone who could have said “You are about to experience something completely different to your day job and this will really excite you and really help your organisation move through things… The research bit is the part that I’ve really enjoyed, because I realised that we were spending too long making up our own hypotheses about why people behave the way they do — which meant we had a complete lack of understanding before we even got going. That was a brilliant light bulb moment.”

Sue, Director of Education at Prior’s Court Foundation. Check out this interview to read more about Sue’s journey.

We know the needs of each charity are unique which is why we provide a blend of support to help individuals tackle their digital challenge and overcome barriers getting in the way. On the Deloitte Digital Connect programme, this support includes access to expert masterclasses, 1:1 mentoring, a resources hub packed full of tools and tips to try out in your own time, and facilitated peer support — helping you troubleshoot and connect with other charities.

Time for the second poll: What is the biggest challenge you face in exploring new technology and digital solutions at your charity?

How does this compare to the findings in the Digital Skills report?

The Charity Digital Skills Report is an annual barometer of the digital skills, attitudes, and behaviors across the UK charity sector. The Report tracks how charity approaches to digital change and explores the sector’s response to digital, looking at leadership, strategy, governance, and more. Here are some of the findings:

• 38% of charities say upskilling is the 2nd greatest barrier to digital progress
• 25% of charities do not have diverse teams developing digital products
• 55% of charities are concerned about choosing suppliers who share their ethics and values
• 40% of charities need funding for devices, software, and infrastructure
• 41% of charities view themselves as poor at understanding their users’ needs

Reflections on how our quick zoom poll compares with the findings in the Charity Digital Skills report

• There is a big opportunity to help charities develop their skills, expertise and confidence. This feels familiar, and we have lots of brilliant free support services at CAST that can help with this challenge (check them out below!)
• Funding for digital projects is a challenge. I am curious about this. How could we collect more insight on what is working well when funding digital, and where improvements can be made? Spoiler: I have a suggestion! Read on to find out how you could share your experience working with funders by leaving an anonymous review on GrantAdvisor UK.
• I was surprised to see that risk didn’t get any votes in our poll. I assumed there might be nervousness around exploring tools such as AI for example. In fact I know that there is nervousness. So maybe it just isn’t the biggest challenge. Or maybe, if 36% of charities say the biggest barrier is time — is there enough time to consider the risks? What does that mean for the sector?

How can CAST help social impact organisations

CAST knows that every charity or social impact organisation has unique needs and challenges. Which is why CAST and our friends at Catalyst have a range of free support services to choose from:

• GrantAdvisor UK — Leave an anonymous review sharing your experience working with any UK funder. You can also gain insight to support your grant applications by reading over 450 reviews already shared by fellow fundraisers.
• Coffee Connections — Meet new people in the social sector and learn about how they’re using digital. You’ll get matched with someone every 2 months to connect for a short conversation online. Next matches take place 26th September.
• Deloitte Digital Connect — Develop your service design and user-research skills through a 6 month structured programme, registrations open in October.
• Digital Candle — Get expert support on your digital question — from how to set up mailchimp to GoogleAds.
• Dovetail — A directory of tech for good agencies.
• Shared Digital Guides — Read step by step guides written by charities sharing how they are using digital tools.
• Learn more about the programmes and support CAST provides, as well as our impact on our CAST’s website.

We also offer consultancy and tailored support to charities looking to explore a specific challenge with us. We’re currently working with two fantastic charities:

• We are working in depth with the Lucy Faithfull Foundation to help them develop their innovation processes to support and accelerate the amazing work they do to keep children safe.
• We are working with Refugee Action over a three-year period, to co-deliver elements of support to a group of refugee support organisations.

Are you interested in helping us support social impact organisations develop their digital skills and confidence? Are you a social impact organisation needing support with a challenge? Get in touch!

A big thank you to the team at Haysmacintyre for the opportunity to connect with charities today!

Hello! I am running a 30 day experiment in open working to help me understand the benefits and challenges, so I can get better at supporting social impact organisations to work in the open. I would love to hear your comments, ideas and feedback! Thank you, Ellen