Preparing to use digital skills in the charity sector

‘Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity’. In today’s competitive world, Roman philosopher Seneca’s words ring very true. it can be difficult for a designer to set themselves apart from other creative professionals offering similar services. One solution to this, is venturing into new industries. A sector which is often overlooked is the charity sector: despite its reputation as being strapped for cash, under the right circumstances, it’s a real opportunity for a shrewd digital designer to make it big.

Expect that you might need to do some of the teaching

While there are some notable exceptions, such as the Real Men Wear Pink peer-to-peer fundraising campaign by the American Cancer Society, a lot of charities don’t have the time, money and resources to stay up-to-date with innovations in the digital sphere. When you make your approach, be aware that the people you’re talking to might not know how your services will add value to their NGO. They may also be used to consultants giving pro bono, rather than paid, support. Only give this kind of support if you know you have the capacity to take on this kind of work and produce to the standard you would with paid work. The charity sector is small and everyone knows everyone: a failure to produce work to a good standard for one client could result in difficulties finding similar work.

Don’t just target people working for charities

If you’re unfamiliar with how the third sector functions, it might be tempting to focus solely on targeting the senior management or business development executives of large charities like CARE. However, doing this would mean you’d be narrowing your scope unnecessarily. Charities are part of a much larger ecosystem of individuals and organisations interested in adding ethical, environmental and social value to national and global society. This includes high net-worth individuals. For instance, Nicolas Cary, the co-founder of Blockchain, a software platform for digital assets, most famously Bitcoin, started an initiative to combat youth unemployment in the US. Another example is Jason A. Sugarman, a successful financier, who has donated millions to the Fullerton Technology Foundation in California. Convincing a high-value donors rather than charity executives themselves might give you a better ‘in’.

Taking the risk

As we’ve seen, the charity sector can be a fruitful source of new customers for an intrepid designer. However, anyone new to working with the sector would do well to both be willing to give some free advice to those who might not initially recognise the value of digitising their business, and focusing on individuals from government bodies and companies which have a tangential interest in certain charitable causes. Don’t let these things hold you back too much, however. Another saying of Seneca’s was, ‘we suffer more in imagination than reality’.