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Funding charities for a digital future
1) The document discusses how charities and funders need to adapt to a digital world by embracing new technologies, skills, and ways of delivering services. 2) It emphasizes challenging traditional approaches and investing in disruptive innovations that could achieve greater social impact at larger scales. 3) The implications for funders include being open to new types of organizations, assessing digital initiatives, funding solutions over problems, and allowing for failure while encouraging flexibility and data-driven decision making.
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Funding charities for a digital future
- 1. Funding charities for adigital future David McNeill Digital Director, SCVO @david_mcneill
- 2. New technology andthe internet has changed the way we live, learn and work. What does this mean for… What we fund Who we fund How we fund
- 3. The primary audience todayis funders.
- 4. Our digital strategy PARTICIPATION Tackleinequality by equipping individuals with basic digital skills EVOLUTION Maximise the impact of the third sector by encouraging digital transformation and evolution INNOVATION Support digital innovation in the third sector to extend the reach and impact of organisations through the use of tech for good
- 5. The Call toAction posed the challenge: As a sector, have we evolved the way we deliver services to support individuals and communities for a digital world? 1 year ago…
- 6. A six monthprocess identified the following themes: • Leadership • Culture • Service Design • FlexibleTechnology • Data Driven Lessons from our Leaders Programme
- 7. We need toexplore • Changed expectations of our service users, beneficiaries, trustees, donors, funders, stakeholders, staff and volunteers • New technology and tools are available to support our work • New ways others are solving long standing problems Doing things differently
- 8. We need toadapt by • Challenging the ‘way we’ve always done it’ • Embedding digital across organisational strategy • Delivering services digitally, where appropriate • Creating a culture that maximises digital opportunities • Being agile and responsive, using data to drive quick decision making Doing things differently
- 9. We need toinvest in • Being curious, testing and learning; not simply to be seen as innovative, but to deliver better services • Equipping people with the skills, equipment and resources to be effective in their roles • Shifting from old technologies and bespoke systems to greater use of low-cost, off-the-shelf, cloud-based applications Doing things differently
- 10. We need tocollaborate by • Sharing resources, skills and technology • Using open standards, open data and open source platforms wherever possible Doing things differently
- 11. So what arethe implications for funders?
- 12. What charity servicewill most people in this room use weekly, or perhaps daily? What we fund... It’s mostly run by volunteers. It disrupted a 250 year old industry and made a Microsoft product irrelevant.
- 15. What we fund... “Asgood as we think many of our services are, almost all of them are in the same shape they were in when we first set them up decades years ago. Actually, that sounds awful. Don’t write that down.” Shift (2017) Driving continuous improvement - Insights from funding social tech
- 16. Providing information, supportand connection isn’t unique to the charity sector
- 17. Are we supportingpeople in the right way? Young people with visual impairments wanted to travel independently, not have someone ‘help them’
- 18. Would you beinterested in achieving the following outcome… 15 million people per month are able to increase their annual income by up to 25% Who we fund...
- 19. Started 15 yearsago for the cost of £100 No public or grant funding Sold for £87m in 2015
- 20. Investing in socialimpact... Investments which can result in social and financial gain Investments which care exclusively about social gain For more, see: medium.com/@nick.stanhope Entrepreneurship across the spectrum
- 21. Are funders opento new ‘disruptors’? Do they recognise the small organisations that could change the world? Are traditional organisations agile enough to respond to emerging needs? Without market forces...
- 22. The internet andnew technology potentially enables us to achieve impact at a massive scale. But nurturing success can be challenging. Investing in the distruptive... More at: progressively.org.uk
- 23. How we fund... “Relationshipsbetween charities and funders look like a silly little dance at times” Funder "We can’t keep on pretending that our product is new… It’s getting ridiculous.” Organisation Shift (2017) Driving continuous improvement - Insights from funding social tech
- 24. Not just aboutonline applications… • Leadership • Culture • Service Design • FlexibleTechnology • Data Driven How we fund...
- 25. Some considerations… • Willyou encourage people to think differently? • Do you have the ability to assess and evaluate digital initiatives? • Do you have the desire to fund ‘disruptors’? • Can you be comfortable providing funding to find solutions to problems? • Can organisations admit failure, stop early or ‘pivot’? How we fund...
- 26.
- 27. • Does thisresonate? Is there an appetite to change? • What are the challenges in changing what, who and how projects are funded? • What are the opportunities in changing what, who and how projects are funded? Group discussion...
- 28.