Are small charities digitally excluded?
In a world where most of us rely on technology to go about our day-to-day lives, it’s hard to imagine what it would be like to not have access to digital resources and technology. Unfortunately, even in 2024, many small charities are dealing with this battle.
In this article we look at what being digitally excluded can look like as a charity, and what small charities can do to help push digital development.
What does digital exclusion mean?
According to Charity Digital, digital exclusion is where an organisation isn’t using digital technology in its day-to-day operations. This could be for a number of reasons including financial struggles, lack of infrastructure and volunteers’ understanding of technology. Being digitally excluded as a charity could look like:
- Not having up-to-date software to help with admin tasks, for example managing donations or organising fundraising events.
- Inability to reach a key segment of their audience due to the charity’s lack of technology. For example, they struggle to market to 18-24 year olds as the organisation doesn’t use digital marketing channels, like social media, which are popular among this demographic. Amongst the 2 billion monthly Instagram users, 30.8% of them are 18-24 year olds.
- Unable to keep charity members in the loop with recent community updates. For example, they can’t send out weekly newsletters as their software doesn’t allow them to, or sufficient training hasn’t been provided for this to be done.
Why are small charities facing these digital struggles?
1. Financial struggles
People all over the world face digital exclusion, but why specifically are small charities at risk? A survey showed 72% of small charities are struggling digitally due to squeezed organisational finances whilst 45% of charities say a lack of suitable digital funding is their biggest barrier.
Unlike small businesses who are able to make a profit and reinvest this back into the company, charities rely on funding to be able to develop and grow. Without an adequate amount of funding, not-for-profit organisations are unable to progress in all aspects.
Due to these financial factors, charities simply do not have enough money to put into digital expansion. Purchasing technology, such as computers, laptops and phones initially has a huge cost. Adding to this, there is the cost of buying the necessary software and programmes for the devices including cyber security, Microsoft applications and more.
Charities also need to take into account the cost of monthly subscription fees they need to pay for specific tools, like an email service provider or design software required for advertising events. Ideally, money should also be set aside for unexpected repairs and replacements.
Along with all the other expenses charities come across such as rent, energy bills, supplies and accounting, this added expenditure can be unachievable for many organisations. A survey we ran in 2023 showed that nearly 63% of charities experienced a loss in revenue in the past year. This figure suggests that charities are struggling financially and would need help to develop digitally.
2. Lack of time
Another factor that causes small charities to be digitally excluded is time. In the same survey by Charity Digital Skills, 66% of charities said the most significant barriers to progressing digitally is lack of headspace and capacity.
Small charities are usually run by very few people, therefore research into digital development slips through the cracks due to it not being seen as a priority.
Many volunteers will not have used the software or understand the processes, so training would be needed to get employees up to speed with different technologies. This training is also very time-consuming, which is a privilege many small charities can’t accommodate.
3. Expertise
The survey also showed that a top priority for 50% of charities is an increase in funding, to bring in someone with digital expertise. Bringing in a professional would help charities develop a digital strategy, as currently only 50% have a strategy in place and only 14% feel as if this has been embedded in their organisation.
Having a digital strategy is important for small charities as it means it’s easier to make decisions, keep an eye on growth and plan where to go next with digital, data and upcoming technologies . According to the Digital Marketing Institute, having a digital strategy can improve efficiency, boost productivity and increase ROI.
Digital expertise is also needed as many volunteers will not have used specific software or understand the processes, so having a professional to control and maintain software will keep technological issues at bay.
What charities can do to help push digital development
Lloyds Bank Academy
A good place to start would be making the most of free online tutorials and webinars to help grow your digital skills. Lloyds Bank offer online webinars and courses on the Lloyds Bank Academy. Their aim is to support people with the financial and digital skills they need. The Lloyds Bank Academy has a business section, specifically focusing on business tips and tricks, which could be helpful for small charities looking to widen their digital knowledge.
Enterprise Nation
Enterprise Nation, brings together pledges from big businesses like Facebook, Virgin Group and Microsoft to support SME’s (small and medium-sized enterprises) and small charities with building their digital capabilities. Enterprise Nation offer various e-learning, ‘lunch and learns’ and local meet ups. They also work in partnership with Mastercard and Strive, which enables small charities and SMEs to thrive in the digital economy by creating them a free personalised plan with strategies.
Google Workspace
Google has made Google Workspace free for non-profits. Workspace includes Gmail, Google Ads, Google Docs and Google Earth. Google has also provided guides and a learning centre for charities, to help them navigate the tools. This could help small charities communicate and collaborate more effectively with volunteers and donors, with no financial cost.
Consider funding sources
Finally, if your charity is struggling financially, there are many different types of funding available however it is usually difficult to know where to look. Visit our article here to learn about the potential funding sources for charities and non-profit organisations.
For any further advice on running a small charity or not for profit organisation, look at our help and guidance section for charities.
All statistics in this article have been taken from the Charity Digital Skills Report 2024, which included 635 organisations and ran from March to April in 2024. Full sample details can be found here