Charity Digital Podcast
145 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 months ago -Looking to stay ahead of the digital curve? Kickstart your digital journey? Or just see how other charities are making the most of technology? The Charity Digital podcast looks to inspire and educate, and connect charity pros to the latest trends in the (sometimes) scary world of 'digital'. We'll be discussing poignant topics, pain points, and success stories. Don't forget to subscribe through your usual podcast provider to be the first to know when our next pod drops!
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Episodes
136: How to engage supporters in the world of remote working
March 05, 2024 06:00 - 36 minutes - 33.8 MBAs the world moves from in-person to remote, how can charities build lasting relationships with supporters? The picture might seem a bit bleak. Data regulation has impacted outreach opportunities. The pandemic and advances in technology have resulted in changes in supporter behaviour. Trends show a decline in the number of people supporting charitable causes. But the loss of old opportunities presents new ones – charities have an opportunity to rethink how they engage with supporters. ...
137: Podcast: How to be digitally inclusive
February 20, 2024 05:00 - 38 minutes - 35.1 MBThe world has gone digital, and tin many ways, that’s great: processes are quicker and easier than ever before, information is transmitted seamlessly across the globe, and new opportunities have been unlocked far and wide. But what about those who can’t experience these numerous benefits? People of any age and socio-economic background can be excluded from using devices and the internet, meaning that everyday tasks such as accessing information, staying in touch with friends and family, an...
135: Building an income stream through lottery fundraising
February 13, 2024 05:00 - 33 minutes - 30.7 MBDuring the cost-of-living crisis, many supporters have had to review how much they can continue to support their chosen charities, often causing a drop in income. With the number of lottery players in the UK still growing, Your Hospice Lottery and Make a Smile Lottery explain how offering supporters something in return (such as a chance to win money), can help retain and grow income during times when all charities are feeling the financial strain of rising costs. The session, a recording f...
134: The bright future of fundraising
December 12, 2023 05:00 - 36 minutes - 33.4 MBWe might have to whisper...but 2024 looks…promising. Giving trends suggest an uplift. The economic outlook is encouraging, with lower inflation, wage growth, and more spending power. There is a strange feeling in the charity sector, one that we have not felt for years: optimism. That optimism will shift fundraising. We still expect flexible giving to deal with the cost-of-living. We still expect ‘inverse giving’ to dominate and we expect charities to move away from big social media platfor...
133: The UK charity sector in 2023
November 28, 2023 05:00 - 30 minutes - 27.9 MBIt’s been a year of perpetual crises: the hangover of the health crisis, the emergence of geo-political crises, national and international economic crises, and an environmental crisis. Charities had to navigate various issues, overcome myriad threats, and practice resilience in the face of all challenges. But, in the face of such challenges, we’ve also seen so many positives. Charities have shifted towards flexible giving, found innovative solutions to service user demands, embraced new and...
132: The state of climate action in the UK charity sector, Part two
November 14, 2023 05:00 - 30 minutes - 28 MBOur 2023 Climate Action campaign may be coming to an end in December, but that doesn’t mean we should stop acting on climate change. Indeed, climate change won’t stop acting on us. Our survey ‘Climate change in the UK charity sector’ found that more than four in five charities are concerned about the impacts of climate change but the majority rate the sector at a six out of ten in how well they are enacting sustainability in their organisations. Clearly there is still work to be done. Ou...
131: The state of climate action in the UK charity sector, Part one
October 31, 2023 05:00 - 36 minutes - 33.7 MBThis year, Charity Digital has been focused on climate action, aiming to raise awareness about climate change, show charities how digital and tech can help them to minimise their carbon footprint, and empower charities to take meaningful action to protect our planet. But we, along with many other charities, are still trying to improve our environmental impact. Our survey found that although 88% of charities are concerned about climate change, only 48% are taking serious action to address it...
130: Making digital transformation less daunting
October 17, 2023 04:00 - 38 minutes - 35.3 MBMore than four in five charities see digital as more of a priority as a result of the pandemic, according to the 2022 Charity Digital Skills Report. Demand for digital services has increased, with 72% of charities actively working towards progressing with digital through tools, skills, infrastructure, and more. But what, exactly, does progress look like? The charity sector has grown significantly in confidence when it comes to basic digital skills, but the digital world changes rapidly and ...
129: Getting started with web accessibility
October 03, 2023 04:00 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBWeb accessibility is increasingly a priority for the charity sector in efforts to reach more people and improve the lives of the people they serve. Around 1.3 billion people around the world experience significant disability, according to the World Health Organisation, representing one in six of the world’s population, many of whom are our beneficiaries, donors, volunteers, employees, leaders, and supporters. Web accessibility is essential to enable everyone to participate in your mission....
128: How to improve your public speaking
September 19, 2023 04:00 - 35 minutes - 32.5 MBContent people are a nervous bunch. We write in darkness, surrounded by books, shrouded in mystery. Many of us picked our roles precisely because we did not have to speak, or because we could speak through writing. But, on occasion, writers and editors have good ideas. And, on even rarer occasions, we might want to share those ideas, with other people, in the actual real world. The Charity Digital Content Team wanted to improve our delivery on podcasts, reduce our nerves and eliminate stage...
127: Do charities care about climate change?
September 05, 2023 04:00 - 29 minutes - 27.4 MBMore than four in five charities are concerned about the impacts of climate change, according to Charity Digital’s recent survey, Climate Change in the UK Charity Sector. Yet only 52% of charities say environmental sustainability features in their strategy. But what do these findings actually say about the charity sector? Charities may well be concerned about climate change, but are they taking meaningful action to address it? If not, what is preventing them from doing so? In this podcast...
126: Digital fundraising trends for 2024
August 22, 2023 04:00 - 39 minutes - 36.4 MB2023 has proved another challenging year for the charity sector. The Cost-of-Living crisis has provoked a Cost-of-Giving crisis, meaning many charities have been faced with less funds to deal with increased demand. But, as ever, we’ve seen charities prove their resilience with a host of novel fundraising solutions and creative forms of service delivery. In 2024, charities will go even further. They may flex their muscles with flexible giving, invert expectations with inverse giving, prove ...
125: Tone of voice 101
August 08, 2023 04:00 - 30 minutes - 28 MBHow you speak to your audience matters. From building trust, to being clear, showing respect and sensitivity, and differentiating your charity from others, it’s important that you get it right. Using the right tone of voice is about being intentional with your words in order to build the best relationships possible with service users, supporters, and other stakeholders. However, communications can often take a back seat in the charity sector, with crisis after crisis exacerbating more immed...
124: The future of content
July 25, 2023 04:00 - 37 minutes - 34.6 MBContent is ever evolving, and it is now evolving at rapid speed. The content of today looks drastically different to the content of five years ago. And content in five years will look drastically different to the content of today. We want to discuss how it might look, the main changes that may take place, the core trends that are set to define the future of content, and so much more. Our guests discuss the unstoppable growth of video content and livestreaming, the mirroring effect of conten...
123: Crisis control: Burnout in the charity sector
July 11, 2023 04:00 - 43 minutes - 40.3 MBThree years after the beginning of a global pandemic, and now months into a cost-of-living crisis that shows little signs of slowing, the 2020s have been a tumultuous time for the charity sector. As we leap from crisis to crisis, charities face a rise in demand for their services, concerns over their ability to fundraise, and rising costs themselves in order to keep the lights on. For those working in the charity sector, meeting these challenges over a long period of time can lead to burnou...
122: Will artificial intelligence revolutionise charity work?
June 27, 2023 04:00 - 38 minutes - 35.3 MBArtificial Intelligence (AI) has already long impacted our lives, but recent developments in the technology have created a frenzy around its possibilities and risks. While some are excited about saving time and money with new AI technologies, others are sceptical and would much rather proceed with caution. The most common ways AI is used in 2023 are to respond to people via text or email, answer financial questions, plan a travel itinerary, craft an email, prepare for a job interview, write...
121: What’s it like to work in the charity sector?
June 13, 2023 04:00 - 35 minutes - 32.3 MBThere are lots of theories about life working in the charity sector. We’ve heard that it provides huge job satisfaction, that it is bureaucratic and frustrating, that it pays badly or well, that the benefits are few or many. Surveys suggest a sense of fulfilment, but also point to an unhealthy work culture, high expectations to go above and beyond, and a poor work-life balance. So we thought we’d clear the air. We use our knowledge from working with people across the sector, our experience ...
120: The rise of the content bots
May 30, 2023 04:00 - 38 minutes - 35.3 MBContent bots are a form of generative AI that create content in seconds. ChatGPT, Jasper, and various other platforms generate content at overwhelming speed, averaging around 20-30 seconds to respond, offering complete articles, lists of facts, and even poems. The content bot can provide huge benefits to charities. But they also pose substantial risks, not just in terms of your organisation, but in terms of wider social problems they create. So charities need to practice caution when using ...
119: How to campaign for the climate
May 16, 2023 04:00 - 38 minutes - 35 MBWe discuss how charities can use campaigns to tackle climate change, consider the role of digital technology, and reflect on what we have learnt from our own Climate Action Campaign
118: Can technology save the planet?
May 02, 2023 04:00 - 38 minutes - 35 MBTech has always played a paradoxical role in the history of climate change: as both problem and solution. Tech is one of the main drivers of greenhouse gas emissions and pushes us further into the climate crisis. Tech also helps us to limit our emissions and deal with the various impacts of the climate crisis. The choice rests on humans and our collective choices. We need to ensure that, now and in the future, we use the right tech in the right way, reject catch-all and one-stop solutions, ...
117: The latest in charity cyber security
April 18, 2023 04:00 - 39 minutes - 35.8 MBThis podcast is sponsored by the Public Interest Registry (PIR), the non-profit organisation that powers the .ORG domain. Looking after your cyber security is a constant process. Cyber threats grow more sophisticated, new tools to tackle them arrive on the scene, and charities must stay up-to-date in order to stay secure. In 2022, 30% of charities were able to identify a cyber attack that happened over the last year, with almost two in five of these attacks impacting their services and 1...
116: Everything we've learned about writing content
April 04, 2023 04:00 - 33 minutes - 30.7 MBReports of the death of written content have been greatly exaggerated. Blogs were the second most created form of content in 2022, according to research from HubSpot, while reports from Statista found that How To articles were the most popular content formats. Whether it’s a blog, website home page, or a press release, writing is essential for communicating with your audiences, for establishing your charity as an informational authority in its field, and for helping your organisation reach...
115: How to talk about climate change
March 21, 2023 05:00 - 36 minutes - 33.8 MBAs a team, we are thinking a lot about climate action and how charities can get involved. Our 2023 Climate Action campaign aims to impart those findings to our audience. In this podcast, we think beyond why it’s important to talk about climate change to discussing how we and other charities can talk about climate change. We ask: how can charities talk about this complex issue in ways that are both accurate and make sense to their audience? Join host Lisa Chomette with guests Ioan Marc Jones...
114: Cost-of-living crisis: the main challenges of 2023
February 28, 2023 05:00 - 39 minutes - 36.3 MBCharity professionals are all too aware of the cost-of-living crisis. It has posed a dual threat to non-profit organisations: funds decrease as service demand increases. The crisis is the defining issue of 2023, so much so we’ve put it front and centre of our #BeMoreDigital Conference. This year, charities will need to work out how to tackle the challenges arising from the crisis. So in this podcast, we’re going to discuss and provide advice on just that. We will consider, among many other ...
113: Using data to develop user personas
February 14, 2023 05:00 - 35 minutes - 32.4 MBUser personas are an essential tool for charities. They are fictional representations or archetypes created to help you target and optimise various aspects of charity operations. Personas allow your charity to segment users, practice precise targeting for marketing campaigns, streamline volunteer management, improve donor recruitment and retention, and even boost efficiency around service delivery. Simply put, personas can drastically enhance so many elements of your charity’s work. Our pod...
112: Gaming for Good: an essential fundraising tool
February 07, 2023 05:00 - 45 minutes - 41.2 MBIn 2020 alone, gaming platform Twitch raised $83M for charitable causes. While it might have started as a niche avenue, with only a few charities playing around on YouTube and Twitch, Gaming for Good has now become an enormous fundraising opportunity, one that also allows charities to reach a new – and generous – demographic. This podcast will help charities navigate this fresh and exciting fundraising world. Each member of our panel possesses a distinct experience within the world of Gami...
111: How to create an environmental policy
January 31, 2023 05:00 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBIt is not a legal requirement for UK charities to report on their environmental impact. Though sustainability is becoming an increasing concern to donors, beneficiaries, and investors, it can be difficult for charities to discuss their green credentials publicly and harder yet for them to know where to start building them. In this podcast, Charity Digital’s host Laura Stanley (Content Writer) sits down with three charities from across the UK charity sector who have established their envir...
110: Show don't tell: communicating the value of tech
January 24, 2023 05:00 - 24 minutes - 22.1 MBThere are now tech platforms to support almost every aspect of your charity’s work and operations. Each year, shiny new software and glittering platforms pop up, all promising to make your fundraising better, your services faster, and your marketing more targeted. But with so much choice, how do you convince senior stakeholders that one thing is more valuable to your mission than another? It’s all about communicating the return on investment (ROI). We explore the different meanings of RO...
109: The essentials of effective online communication
January 17, 2023 05:00 - 32 minutes - 30.2 MBLanguage: it may be easy to take it for granted but where would we be without it? You would not be reading this sentence, and I would not be writing it. Most importantly, you would not have the opportunity to hear the insights of our wonderful experts today – and then where would we be? In the work of charities, language can be a tool for many things, from building connections to tackling injustice. In this podcast, we explore how to use your words online, including tone, voice, inclusivity...
108: Harnessing tech to eradicate modern slavery
January 10, 2023 05:00 - 18 minutes - 17 MBOur latest podcast includes a discussion with people who have first-hand experience of using digital to achieve less with more. Justine Currell, Executive Director at Unseen, explains how smarter tech has allowed the charity to vastly maximise their services and save lives through swift action.
106: Lockdown, digitalisation, and fundraising after the pandemic
January 03, 2023 05:00 - 36 minutes - 33.2 MBOver the past three years the sector has been required to adapt to changes like never before. Overnight charities plummeted into a virtual world of fundraising, ‘pivoting’ and ‘hybrid’ became part of everyday conversations, and service delivery depended on digital solutions. Now that we are well and truly out of the pandemic, fundraising is returning to a new normal. In this podcast, our speakers from Mind explore how their community fundraising team responded digitally to the pandemic, sp...
107: How to overcome fundraising challenges in 2023
December 20, 2022 05:00 - 40 minutes - 37.5 MBCOVID-19 drastically altered the landscape of fundraising. It undermined long-standing traditions, old assumptions, and ingrained expectations, and paved the way towards a brighter, more dynamic, and more digital future. Charities found stability in 2022, or at least some version of stability, but were immediately struck by new political, economic, and cultural challenges. In this podcast, Charity Digital's very own Nick Wyatt (Growth Marketing Executive) is joined by colleagues Ioan Marc J...
105: The benefits of user-centred design
December 13, 2022 05:00 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBCancer awareness messages usually encourage people to check themselves, look out for various symptoms, or potentially go for a test. But for prostate cancer, there’s no clear call to action, so it can be tricky. Prostate Cancer UK developed the 30-second Risk Checker to solve that problem and make effective public health campaigns possible. It led to the largest-ever charity partnership with NHS England – a campaign to find the 14,000 men whose cancer had gone undiagnosed due to the pandemi...
104: Fundraising actually
December 06, 2022 05:00 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MBThe world can sometimes feel a little gloomy. But it’s always worth remembering that thousands of people dedicate time, money, and resources to charities every single day. Even now, in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, in the midst of multiple economic challenges, donations remain strong, with fundraising campaigns continuing amid the various pressures. We want to celebrate fundraising efforts throughout the year. We want to look back at 2022 and discuss our favourite campaigns, our fav...
103: Digital strategy: the road to success
November 29, 2022 05:00 - 44 minutes - 40.5 MBOur latest podcast explores the different aspects of developing and implementing a digital strategy. Each of the guests brings a different perspective to the practice of creating a digital strategy, as leaders, as consultants and advisors, and as professionals in the charity sector. Areas explored in the podcast include the most important elements to consider in developing and implementing a digital strategy, how to overcome the barriers to implementing your digital strategy, and the differ...
102: How to grow a podcast
November 22, 2022 05:00 - 38 minutes - 34.8 MBThe Charity Digital podcast started more than three years ago with old headphones, not much sense of direction, and perhaps a little too much ambition. But now, as we speed past our 100th episode, we are growing and growing, with professional equipment, backing tracks and editing software, external thought leaders and internal experts, and still too much ambition. Our podcast was born in February 2019. In our first month, we received less than 100 listens. By November 2022, on the other han...
101: Fundraise on social media with just 25 minutes a day
November 15, 2022 07:00 - 41 minutes - 38.2 MBSocial media is an essential tool for charities, in terms of raising awareness, increasing reach, meeting demands of service users, and much more. But it’s become increasingly important as a fundraising tool, helping charities to share their impact and find droves of new donors. But charities need to use the tool in the right way. Our latest episode makes it easy. We show you how much you can achieve by dedicating just 25 minutes per day to fundraising on social media. Jen Lowthrop, Digital...
100: Climate change and the charity sector
November 08, 2022 07:00 - 31 minutes - 28.4 MBClimate change refers to long-term shifts in weather patterns and average temperatures, largely caused by human action. The impacts of rising temperatures have already been felt across the world and, if we do not take action, the consequences of further increases could be catastrophic. Charities should remain at the forefront of climate action. They should lead by example, showing others in our communities how to engage in climate action, how to champion sustainability, and how to protect t...
99: Digital hacks: big impact for small charities
November 01, 2022 07:00 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBAs a small charity you can often make change happen quicker than bigger organisations. This podcast talks you through how Agile working can help you act quicker and think big. Our hosts Jen Lowthrop (Digital Consultant and Agile Coach, Feel Good Do Good) and Kathryn Dingle (Digital Product Manager, NPC) look at different software and processes that can help you act like a big charity without the expense and time! They also look at the benefits of quick user research and testing. This...
98: The status of fundraising in the UK 2022
October 25, 2022 06:00 - 38 minutes - 35 MBNearly a third of charities have reported a decline in income over the last 12 months, according to research from Blackbaud. But while funds are required to help charities continue delivering their services as demand continues to rise, organisations also must balance this with looking after their donors too, particularly as money worries grow. In this podcast, Charity Digital’s host, Laura Stanley, is joined by Emily Martin (Senior Fundraising Manager, Mass Participation, GOSH Charity), Ja...
97: Online giving: how charities can effectively manage data
October 18, 2022 06:00 - 34 minutes - 31.3 MBWhen it comes to fundraising, data is your biggest asset. It’s the key to unlocking what, when, and how your supporters want to donate. But with great data comes even greater responsibility. Excellent management should be the number one concern for any charity, especially in the age of online giving. It is now more important than ever for charities to focus on data management, especially when it comes to their digital fundraising strategies. In this podcast, Enthuse and RedFox Resear...
96: How technology builds trust
October 11, 2022 06:00 - 31 minutes - 28.6 MBTrust is bread and butter to charities. Without it, they struggle to build meaningful relationships with donors and beneficiaries, raise funds, and deliver much-needed services to the communities they serve. Good use of technology only reinforces a charity’s commitment to act in its audiences’ best interests. It can make charities more efficient, easier to reach, and crucially, keep their data and systems secure. From marketing and IT teams to frontline staff, technology can make a diffe...
95: Charities of the future: how to #BeMoreDigital
October 04, 2022 06:00 - 25 minutes - 23.7 MBAs leaders, charity CEOs have been at the forefront of every digital change, but they're not necessarily digital experts. Just like others, digital might have been relatively new until the pandemic hit. Digital change is about involving everyone. It’s about using the strength of your teams, asking for help, and achieving lasting impact. Now, charity CEOs face a new age of digital for which they must prepare. In this episode, charity CEOs take centre stage. Each has their own story with di...
94: Getting to grips with Giving Tuesday
September 27, 2022 06:00 - 31 minutes - 29.1 MBTen years ago, the Giving Tuesday movement began to encourage people to give back to a good cause after taking advantage of the money-saving deals of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Since then, Giving Tuesday has grown exponentially, with £14,000 being raised per minute for participating charities in 2020. Giving Tuesday provides charities the chance to expand their supporter base and generate momentum for their cause. It facilitates partnerships with corporate organisations whereby they c...
93: Making your charity inclusive online
September 13, 2022 06:00 - 35 minutes - 32.1 MBOne in five people in the UK are living with a disability, according to disability charity Scope. Yet, despite this number, organisations still fail to cater to people with disabilities online. Confusing layouts, small fonts, and poor colour contrasts all contribute to inaccessible online experiences. For charities, making sure their content and design is inclusive and accessible is more important than most. With such a wide range of audiences, with varying needs, improving accessibility e...
92: How to get through the cost-of-living crisis
August 30, 2022 06:00 - 35 minutes - 32.1 MBThe cost-of-living crisis has swept the UK. Everyday essentials like energy and food is rising much faster than average incomes. The cost-of-living will have a huge impact on charity employees, volunteers, service users, potential donors, and day-to-day operations of the charity themselves. It is vastly important that charities learn about the crisis, understand some of the potential issues that may arise, arm themselves with knowledge, and protect themselves against the risks. In this pod...
91: Email Marketing 101
August 16, 2022 06:00 - 25 minutes - 23.6 MBEmails, emails, emails - they're all we've got to go on. They are, perhaps, the most well-known form of online communication, used for business, replacing meetings that don’t need to be meetings, and, importantly, marketing. Emails are a great way of getting your charity’s message out there to different audiences and at low-cost. They are a way of directly communicating with your key audiences, from trustees to donors, beneficiaries to volunteers, and, when done right, can deepen the conne...
90: How to write a successful blog
August 02, 2022 06:00 - 34 minutes - 31.4 MBIt is a truth universally acknowledged, that an organisation in possession of a website must be in want of a blog. Everybody seems to blog. It is possible that too many people blog. And the abundance of blogs, from organisations of all shapes and sizes, means that your blog gets lost amid the noise. But worry not, bloggers. We are here to help. Today’s podcast is an overload of information on how to create a successful blog. The expert panelists discuss picking the right content, choosing t...
89: How did you get there...with Kirsty Marrins
July 27, 2022 06:00 - 37 minutes - 34.2 MBOur ‘How did you get there...’ podcasts delve into the lives of inspirational people working in the charity and tech sectors. We are going to talk to CIOs and MPs, life-long volunteers and tech innovators, to learn about their experience and to learn from their experience. We want to celebrate the people who inspire, energise, and educate us. In our second podcast, our host, Sacha Dhabalia, talks to Kirsty Marrins, winner of the CharityComms Inspiring Communicator Award and the Social CEOs ...
88: How charities can deliver excellent customer service
July 19, 2022 06:00 - 32 minutes - 29.5 MBCustomer service is essential in the charity sector. Excellent customer service boosts loyalty for donors and volunteers, helps users access services, increases organisational reputation, improves data analytics, and much more. But so many charities see customer service as an afterthought. Today’s podcast aims to show you otherwise. We highlight the importance of excellent customer service and show you exactly what that looks like. We examine the main barriers and opportunities facing custo...