It’s not an exaggeration to say that the fundraising base of most charities will likely shrink in the next five to 10 years unless they transition to online platforms and use more digital tools. We’re living in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, during which physical and digital spheres are merging, and digital adoption and expectations are rapidly increasing.  

The unfortunate truth is that many charities are behind and need to do more than keep up with these accelerating trends. CanadaHelps recently released our Digital Skills Survey Results which surveyed 1,400 Canadian charities on their digital skills and adoption, and we found a staggering number lag behind when it comes to capacity, knowledge, and/or skills. Some key findings include:

  • There’s a major skills gap. The majority of charities rate their digital skill level as “fair” or “poor” for 13 of 15 foundational, software tools. 
  • Small charities are most vulnerable; 58% of charities with less than $100,000 annual revenue (accounting for half of all charities surveyed) have no plans to integrate digital into everyday activities — and that percentage is more than double that of larger charities.
  • More concerning, 38% of charities believe that they’ll soon find it harder to fulfill their mission if they don’t improve their digital capabilities, yet 70% have higher priorities as they struggle to meet their day-to-day operational demands.    

Getting started can be easy. Your first step is to identify and advance your daily use of foundational digital tools, such as those that will help you fundraise more effectively, reach new supporters, and serve your beneficiaries. Next, or in parallel, begin to cultivate a digital mindset and culture within your organization. 

Step number one is essential in the short term. Step number two is where the true transformation begins, where your organization begins to unlock the power of digital to create mission-driven change faster.  

Step 1: Build your digital foundation

A logical starting point is to adopt basic tools and tactics that make future growth highly likely, by enabling your fundraising, increasing your efficiency, and ensuring you can measure your success and impact. 

Start with the public “face” of your charity:

  • Ensure your website is regularly updated, optimized for mobile and SEO, with clear calls to action.
  • Embed an online donation form on your website and add links to donate in your site’s navigation. 
  • Provide donors other ways to get involved digitally, sign up for your email newsletter, follow you on social media, showcase engaging video content, and highlight other ways to support your charity’s work.
  • Ensure your social media and e-newsletters are engaging and compelling.

Find ways to increase efficiency and effectiveness: 

  • Ensure online marketing (including your website, social media, and e-newsletters) is being tracked, and review the analytics to see what’s working and what isn’t. 
  • Invest in your donor stewardship, with a Donor Management System that will allow you to segment and personalize communications to lift results. 
  • Investigate new digital tools to simplify tax receipting, to market and manage your next event, and/or to track participation and effectiveness of your programs.

Step 2: Create a digital mindset and culture throughout your organization

Digital transformation is defined as the process of using digital technologies to create new — or modify existing — organizational processes, culture, and experiences to meet changing organizational requirements and stakeholder expectations. The end goal for a charity is to create mission-driven change faster. Key to achieving that goal is recognizing that thriving in the digital economy is less about software and hardware and more about shifting your organization’s culture and staff mindset.

Not all organizations are in the same stage of their transformation journey. Those early in their journey must start with clarity around the needs, goals, and benefits of digital transformation for their organization.

Your senior leadership needs to lead and model the transformation; they must either master the necessary digital expertise or invest in building the expertise among their colleagues. In addition, senior leadership must empower the entire organization to transform digitally, with skills training and an openness to change. A critical piece is fostering and promoting a culture of experimentation and learning, with a high sense of urgency and shared accountability across teams.

Create an openness to feedback and ask staff and volunteers for their input on where digitization can and should be adopted. We found that employees who generate their own ideas about digitization leads to organizations being 1.4 times more likely to report success.

Finally, reinforce new behaviours through formal mechanisms, such as regular check-ins and reviews of metrics. And remember, quick decision-making and short feedback cycles help immensely, especially if you’re taking calculated risks, which is a must.

Marina Glogovac is president and CEO of CanadaHelps.org, a nonprofit foundation that provides fundraising and donation technology to other charities and donors. Through CanadaHelps, 1.1 million Canadians donated more than $480 million to charities online in 2020. Glogovac has been a technology and media executive for more than 25 years, including roles at Kobo, Lavalife Corp., and St. Joseph’s Media.