Is your charity harnessing the new possibilities of digital communications? Here are some free online resources to help you to get started.
‘12 questions about digital for trustees’ is a starter’s guide helping to move your charity into the digital age. It isn’t exhaustive, but it provides a good starting point to help with a range of activities including fundraising, strategy and service delivery.
The Charity Social Media Toolkit has also recently been made available online free of charge, covering each area of fundraising through social media, including advertising, growing a social network and employee advocacy. Each chapter includes various ‘how to’ guides, top tips, and links to further resources.
Both of these resources raise a number of important issues that you need to consider when developing your charity’s operations. Here we’ve hand-picked some of the most important.
Optimise your fundraising efforts through digital
For example, when fundraising, two of the first questions you might want to ask are:
- Do we have a compelling fundraising proposition?
- How can this be communicated online?
Once this has been established, you need to identify your digital fundraising channels. There are multiple platforms to use to attract donations, but some will be more effective than others. Consider who you are trying to reach and the best ways to reach them online.
Ultimately, the point of this all is to add value to your fundraising efforts. Ensure you have a strategy in place whereby you can assess the benefits of digital to your charity. This will help you determine exactly what’s working and what isn’t whilst helping you optimise your future efforts.
Adapt your strategy and service delivery
Consider how digital can be used to help achieve organisational objectives. It’s absolutely critical that your board members have a firm grasp of the key trends driving digital and the opportunities and potential risks they may pose to your charity. You might also want to take a look at how similar organisations are using digital, and think about what you can do to differentiate your charity from the competition.
Your audience’s perception of your charity is key, but of equal importance is how you present yourself online to your beneficiaries.
- Can they find information about your services easily on your website and social media channels?
- Is it possible and efficient to deliver certain services online?
These are just a couple of the questions you need to be asking yourself.
Leave your finances to the experts
Both of these resources are excellent reference points for any charity regardless of size, but they don’t quite cover all bases. For specialist advice and support with your charity’s finance and accountancy requirements, look no further than Hillier Hopkins.
Our charity specialists currently take care of around 80 UK charities of all sizes from a variety of sectors, meaning you won’t find anyone better placed to help you meet your financial objectives. For more information, get in touch now.