How Trustees Can Encourage Digital

Why It Matters

Board‑level digital competence directly influences a charity’s ability to innovate, meet funder expectations, and protect against cyber risks, making it a strategic imperative for sector resilience.

Key Takeaways

• 40% of UK charities lack a digital‑savvy trustee (2025 report)
• Digital trustees boost board confidence and accelerate transformation
• Use NCVO’s free Digital Maturity Matrix to assess readiness
• Allocate budget for AI and digital skills training annually
• Embed digital risk, like cyber security, in governance agenda

Pulse Analysis

The charity sector is at a crossroads where financial constraints intersect with heightened expectations from donors, volunteers, and service users. Digital tools—ranging from cloud‑based fundraising platforms to AI‑driven data analytics—offer a pathway to greater operational efficiency and broader reach. However, without strategic leadership at the board level, many organizations struggle to prioritize technology investments, risking obsolescence in an increasingly connected world.

Recent findings from the Charity Digital Skills Report 2025 reveal that more than four in ten charities lack a trustee with digital expertise, and nearly three‑fifths rate their board’s digital competence as low. This skills deficit hampers risk management, especially around cyber security and GDPR compliance. Simple diagnostics like the NCVO’s Digital Maturity Matrix enable charities to benchmark their current capabilities and identify high‑impact improvement areas. Coupled with targeted training—whether free webinars or bespoke workshops—boards can collectively raise their digital fluency, fostering a culture where technology is seen as an enabler rather than a hurdle.

Practical governance changes cement digital momentum. Embedding digital objectives into the strategic plan, adding cyber risk to the board’s risk register, and allocating a dedicated budget for AI and digital upskilling ensure sustained focus. Moreover, adopting a "test‑and‑learn" mindset encourages low‑risk pilots that generate quick wins and valuable data for scaling. As trustees champion these practices, charities not only safeguard their mission but also position themselves to attract modern funders who prioritize innovative, data‑driven impact.