Charity leaders issue a call to action - urging the sector to adapt to digital or face the consequences
Charities must adapt to the digital world or they will simply not survive.
That is the stark message being put forward by sector leaders in a rallying call to voluntary groups to seize the initiative with new technology.
Over the last six months, 19 key figures in the Scottish third sector have pooled their knowledge, skills and vision for digital leadership within charities. Now, they have come up with a call to action that they hope will encourage more charities to embrace the digital agenda within the next year.
Organisations will have to embrace it – if they don’t they may not die straight away but they will wither
Recent estimates from Lloyds Banking suggest that 49% of third sector organisations in Scotland lack basic digital skills and are not making the most of using technologies.
This could meany they are not accepting online giving, not using social media effectively, or not providing digital services to their supporters or beneficiaries.
However, the leaders, who represent a range of local and national charities, say the rate of change is such that adopting digital is not an optional extra – it is a matter of survival.
David McNeil, director of digital at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, which co-ordinated the call to action, said: “The digital revolution has already happened, but there is a danger that charities lose their relevance by failing to respond to how people are using new technology and the internet.
“New technologies offer the potential for us to evolve many areas of our organisations to make them meet the needs of the people help, support and provide services for. More than ever before we will be able to see the transformative nature of this culture change. It’s hard to see how charities will survive if they don't take this opportunity and adapt.
“We all know that securing funding and resources are increasingly difficult for charities, but by using new technology and the internet more effectively there is an opportunity to both improve the quality of services and reduce costs.”
Key figures from across the third sector are backing the call ot action.
Judith Turbyne, head of engagement for the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, said: “It’s hard to see what organisations will survive which don’t at least consider what it is that their users want.
“Organisations will have to embrace it – if they don’t they may not die straight away but they will wither.”
Shelagh Young, director of Scotland at Home-Start UK, a family support charity which is supporting the call to action, said: “Many organisations with a social purpose have a proud history of innovation in the ways they seek to change lives for the better.
“That pioneering spirit needs to be applied to embracing the digital agenda. Home-Start UK, like many other charities, needs easier access to unbiased knowledge and adequate resources to help us use digital systems more effectively.
“We support the call to action because we owe it to the families which need our support to keep making sure we are offering the best possible service we can using whatever means available.”
