According to a new report, there has been “significant growth” in the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) over the past year, as more than three-quarters of charities currently use technology.
Charity Digital Skills Report 2025published today shows that 76% of charities currently use AI tools compared to 61% in last year's survey.
Furthermore, the proportion of charities developing AI policies tripled from 16% to 48% since last year.
However, a study examining representatives of 672 charities found that the cost of living remains an important barrier to digital advancement.
Over six in 10 people have made digital advances this year, with three-quarters of respondents prioritizing technology within their organizations.
There have been systematic issues that go back to the first report of 2017, including charities with no strategy, inability to use data to inform decisions or strategies, and lack of basic digital skills.
Barriers to digital progress
The report shows that narrowed organizational finances remained the biggest barrier to digital advancement for 69% of respondents, and then found funds to invest in infrastructure, systems and tools (64%), and lack of headspace and capacity (63%).
The number of charities operating under a digital strategy has fallen from 50% since last year's report to 44%, but nearly two-thirds of what has made digital advances this year (2024: 76%).
Over a third of respondents said the CEO had “poor AI skills, knowledge and confidence,” while four in 10 said the board was poor in this field as well.
The report says upskilling in AI is not just a matter of leadership, with 35% admitting that using AI tools is poor in their daily work, while 29% say they don't.
Half of respondents said they struggled or did not keep up with emerging technological trends with these trends.
Regarding social media, 51% of respondents said they left or reduced their use of X, previously known as Twitter, from 18% they did in 2024.
Meanwhile, only 5% said they were investing more in misinformation and community moderation efforts.
Approximately 27% of respondents reported difficulty accessing digital cost funding, up from 44% of people with black-led charities, 34% of experience-led charities, 33% of organizations with disabilities and D/deaf-driven charities, and 35% of organizations with neurodivergent-driven charities.
Charities in Northern Ireland, Northern England and Midlands reported earlier than they have made digital advances compared to other regions.
“The sector needs partners and funders.”
Zoe Amar, founder of Charity Digital Skills Report, said: “Digital funding is more important than ever in the midst of a live crisis, and narrowed organizational finances are the biggest barriers 69% of charities face when they are trying to advance digitally.
“We encourage funders to consider how to meet these needs and to recognize that charities need to fund core staff and cover staff time spent digital/data.
Rohati Chapman, executive director of Programs, Policy and Impact at Cares Trust, said the charity sector needs “partners and funders who support core skills and strategic leadership” along with investment in tools.
“This means closing the gap between charities that can use digital and AI and those that are pushing uphill with limited resources and knowledge,” she said. “The future is digital, but this transition must be fair too.”
Janine Duggan, digital director of Guide Dogs, said the findings in the report “team together with a complete storm of charities facing pressure from increasing demand for services and reduced resources, as well as an environment of increased costs and a more demanding funding.”
“Therefore, the data-driven, viewer-centric approach is more essential than ever for charities to navigate digital well and is important to ensure that they reach the right people at the right time and in the right way,” she said.
“We need to prioritize strategic decision-making on data structures and marketing technologies, prioritize ways of organizing ourselves, and create new approaches to the way we work.”
