Across the country, charities are juggling increasing pressures on time, resources and organisational capacity. In that context, conversations about “digital” can sometimes feelbabstract or overly technical.
Yet, as recent sector research shows, digital now sits underneath many of the everyday decisions that boards already face.
The 2025 Charity Digital Skills Report found that while 74% of charities say digital is a priority, fewer than half (44%) have a digital strategy in place.
Almost a third of charities reported low digital confidence at board level, and many said they did not feel fully prepared for issues like data protection or online security. These gaps are not simply technical-they relate directly to safety, access, and the ability to use limited resources well, particularly for organisations supporting people affected by poverty and trauma.
Who is around the table, and why it matters
Alongside digital confidence, long-standing questions about who sits on charity boards continue to surface. Charity Commission data shows that only 8% of trustees are aged 44 or under, and just 1% are 30 or younger.
Research drawing on the Taken on Trust study highlights that only a third of trustees are under 50, 8% are people of colour (compared with 14% of the UK population), and over half of charities feel their boards do not
reflect the communities they serve.
When boards are making decisions about digital access, online safety or information use, these gaps in perspective can have a real influence on how decisions are made and whose experiences are represented.
What Digital Trustees is trying to address
Digital Trustees is a Third Sector Lab initiative supported by several funders,
including The Robertson Trust, the National Lottery Community Fund Scotland and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. Its aim is simple: to connect charities with volunteers who bring experience in areas like digital, data, cyber security or service access, and who can contribute that insight at governance level rather than through operational roles.
Recently, The Robertson Trust supported a full cohort of its grant holders to take part in the Digital Trustees process. Rather than searching for people to “fix the IT”, organisations are supported to think about digital in the context of risk, access, safeguarding, data responsibilities and the systems that shape daily working life. This helps boards to build confidence around decisions that have become unavoidable as digital expectations rise across the sector.
Broadening the mix of voices in governance
One of the most notable outcomes of Digital Trustees to date has been the diversity of people who express interest in joining boards through this route.
The roles often attract younger professionals, those earlier in their careers, and people with lived experience of digital exclusion or barriers-groups who have not always felt represented in traditional trustee recruitment.
This does not resolve the wider diversity challenges facing the sector, but it does create another pathway for charities to widen the perspectives informing their decisions.
Why this matters for organisations funded by The Robertson Trust
For charities working in areas such as poverty, trauma and disadvantage, digital confidence at board level is increasingly linked to resilience. The Charity Digital Skills Report also found that 92% of charities now use digital in some part of their service delivery, and 44% say digital plays a key role in how those services are organised.
Boards that understand digital risk, access and data responsibilities are better positioned to protect the people they support, make informed decisions, and adapt when circumstances change.
Digital Trustees sits alongside other non-financial support funded by The Robertson Trustsuch as The Curve and the Open Working Programme- as part of helping organisations build the capacity and confidence they need for long-term sustainability. The intention is not to push organisations toward a particular model, but to ensure that support is available as digital considerations become increasingly embedded in everyday governance.
A changing landscape for governance
The evidence shows that digital questions are becoming central to how charities operate, and many boards feel they do not yet have the confidence or skills to navigate them fully. It also shows that broadening who takes part in governance can enrich conversations and lead to stronger decision-making.
Digital trusteeship sits at the intersection of these two findings. It offers one practical way for organisations to bring additional insight into the room-not to lead the mission, but to help protect and sustain it.
As the landscape continues to shift, boards that feel confident discussing digital issues are likely to be better equipped to support their staff, volunteers and communities, now and in the years ahead