For charities in particular the pandemic has presented unique challenges and obstacles; shops closing, volunteers not being able to help, less fundraising opportunities with cancelled face to face events, ever widening funding gaps, and employees moving to jobs in less risky sectors. And even now with stores being open, the challenges are very much still prominent for them. With the demand for chartities rising and funding pressures remaining, how charities deal with this moving forward could be make or break.
However, it is not all as bad as it seems. Covid has infact demonstrated that there are many new opportunities to take advantage of post pandemic within the digital world. Now it’s time for the charities to take a bad time and run with innovative solutions through fresh and strategic thinking. Boosting their digital capabilities will be the difference between creating resilience and not for this sector.
Adaptive. Nimble. Agile. A digital approach can help you become just this. Providing real chance for charities to boost efficiency within day to day operations, stay relevant, minimise costs, find new ways of working, optimise experiences and help more people through having greater alternatives to delivering their services and fundraising.
%
of charities have seen an increase in demand for their services
%
have started to offer online services in response to demand
%
of charities now have a strategy in place for digital
The Challenge
The challenge with implementing digital for charities is within their capability. 1 in 5 charities say they have poor skills across digital. Therefore training, resources and user-friendly systems are a must. And to have these, leaders are needed who can capture the true vision for digital, understand the value of it and what it can help them to achieve so that they are willing to keep investing resources.
If charities can get the digital element to their operations and marketing correct, they could reap great rewards such as more supporters, raising more money and thus helping more people. The charities that want to steer back to as close to pre-pandemic normal as possible are the ones that are going to hinder their recovery. Now more than ever the lessons learnt from the pandemic need to be implemented long into the future strategy.
Moving Forward
Moving forward, it is essential charities change, adapt and respond. When considering their digital strategy, they need to account for the issue of digital inclusion, as well as aligning it with what is at the heart of their charity; their mission and the reason for doing what they do.
Not only will digital make them more efficient and streamline in meeting their new targets, they are also in a better position to tackle any ongoing challenges by using data more effectively. To ensure this creating a culture that is open, willing and focused on improving digital fundraising skills is essential. One thing we do know for sure is that digital is the way, and fundraising this way is not only key to recovery and gaining back confidence but will also determine the longevity of these charities thriving.
How We Can Help
At Tessiant we have completed large scale change and digital transformation projects for charities. We have shaped and delivered digital transformations alongside charities in the areas of procurement and technology with the leadership, skill and pace desired. Get in touch to see how we can help your charity respond to the evolving challenges and achieve real, meaningful change.
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