UPDATE

Charity Digital becomes home of The Charity Digital Code of Practice

HEADLINE

Charity Digital has become the long-term home for the Charity Digital Code of Practice (the Code). The Code supports charities of all shapes and sizes, helping them to progress in the world of digital, define their long-term futures, benchmark against a wider digital framework, and so much more.

As of November 2021 as you can see above the digital code for charities morphed into something new.  Just to remind you 

 

The Code was launched on 15 November 2018. It was developed by a steering group of organisations across the charity sector, which helped to develop, promote, maintain, and champion the Code.

Zoe Amar serves as the Code’s independent chair and the founding funders were the Co-Op Foundation and Lloyds Banking Group, who were later joined by CISCO and Charity IT LeadersThe Code was the first of its kind in the UK and has proved incredibly important, particularly since the arrival of the pandemic.

If you are interested in reading more and seeing some examples of what it offers take a look here.  They would also like your help 

We want to paint a picture of the current state of digital in the charity sector and use that to improve the future of the Code. If you’ve got an hour to spare to chat to us on a phone or video call over the next month, we’d love to hear from you.

We are looking for 15 participants in total. We particularly encourage users from small and large charities and people from diverse backgrounds to participate.

There are approximately 169 thousand registered charities in England and Wales as of 2021. Between 2000 and 2007 the number of charities increased by 10 thousand, before the 2008 global recession culled the number of charities by the same number in just two years. Since 2011, the number of charities in England and Wales has recovered to levels seen just prior to the financial crash.

In 2022 small charities have never been more important to the local communities they serve and yet it seems that funding is getting harder to win.  Large charities have the internal resources to use digital to their advantage small charities I have worked with do not.

While I agree with many of the aims and objectives of the code it’s my experience that what small charities need is help with the basics which is why in 2019 I created a simple short course for small charities based on what I had seen working with them.  It’s still here if you want to take a look.

My personal opinion is still that having a good understanding of the digital world will be vital moving forward especially for small charities.  I can also see a time in the near future when demonstrating you have adopted that code will affect your chances of funding.  How small charities are supposed to find the skills or time remains unclear.

If you have any ideas drop me a line.

The point is...

Use traditional media.  Social media is fine but bear in mind it’s also a potential real time waster and its being used less by people with a brain as its reputation is on a downward curve.  Don’t get me started.

Traditional media on the other hand has a large local audience and they are often far more responsive and trusting about what they hear and see in the press or on TV and radio.

Start with the local paper that is always on the lookout for stories with a local angle.  Take a look at their website that normally has contact details for most of their reporters and contributors or send something to the news desk.  Personally I would make contact with one or two reporters or contributors.

Local radio, it’s called that for a reason, is another way of letting people know you exist and like the press are always on the lookout for a good story.  The easiest and least threatening way to approach radio is to start with the local BBC station.  Chances are they have a phone in, call them.  Yes it’s live but it’s in the presenter’s interest to make you sound good and it’s just like making a phone call anyway.   You can always just hang up!

If you are interested drop me a line and will put together some quick tips on what makes a good story and how to get their interest.

Now you can go back to the top and discover how we ended up here…