The digital tools that are becoming more and more a part of our lives are at their heart, a revolution in communication. We are now able to speak to each other in ways that were seemingly impossible in the very near past. This has amplified all the good and unfortunately much of the bad within our world. Charities exist to bring people together to help fix these problems and so anything which enables them to do that more effectively has to be exciting. For me, what we call digital is an opportunity for charities to fundamentally look at how they work so that they can do things better than they ever have done before. 

 

We're working with a very well-known charity hospital brand and are helping them to work out what digital maturity looks like for their organisation by creating their digital engagement strategy. It's meant running workshops with just about every team in the building and has been fascinating to find out all the opportunities they have. They are able to tell incredible stories about the impact that they have which puts them in a position to really make the most of digital channels.

 

I hope that as a sector we will get back some of the goodwill that we have lost over the last few years. With all the work that's going on to restore confidence in charities and in particular their fundraising methods I'm sure we will. Once the dust and confusion has settled, people will see the opportunity that exists to work in a fundamentally different way - with less of a focus on 'seeking' out every pound through repetitive fundraising techniques, and return to inspiring people to come together to try and achieve things which are impossible by themselves. 

 

I also think that we will see more charities expanding their social enterprise programmes. In my mind, if a business is sustainable enough to make a profit for its owners, then charities could be running exactly the same business but simply donating the profit to the cause rather than shareholders no matter what it is. We've had charity shops for decades and Crisis have been running cafes for a little while now but I suspect they're only the tip of the iceberg. It fits with how society has shifted in the last decade or two - people want to make a difference with their shopping habits, so there's a huge opportunity for the sector. 

 

At the heart of it, the sector is incredibly strong - driving earth shattering impact from a very local level to the most global of initiatives. We need to do a better job in telling those stories to the public and having the confidence that this will drive donations whilst giving people more ways to get involved that suit their ever changing lifestyles. 

 

In short, I was very lucky to have a series of incredibly kind and generous mentors. The first is Claire Horton, CEO of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. I first started working for Claire about 10 years ago at Warwick Students Union and she gave me my first 2 jobs in the charity sector proper at the Variety Club and Battersea. She's an extremely forward thinking leader and really let me do a huge amount with both charities' brands and digital operations. After Battersea I was able to go to CRUK and really understand what digital in charities looks like at a massive scale whilst honing my skills on a wide range of products. My boss there, Michael Docherty, also gave me lots of professional opportunities and really invested in my personal development which has been invaluable to me both inside and outside of work. 

 

- Lessons learned from projects

- Things you've tried that haven't worked

- Unexpected audience insights

- Illustrations of impact which look at things differently 

- Opinions about what the future will hold