When you’re working flat out to support people facing poverty or trauma, “digital skills training” can sound like just another thing on a very long to-do list.
But what if 90 minutes of learning could save you hours of admin every week? What if a single workshop could give a volunteer the confidence to run your social media, or help you gather the evidence you need to keep funding flowing?
That’s what we hear again and again from participants in The Curve - a free digital learning programme open to grant holders of The Robertson Trust.
Why The Curve matters
Since 2020, more than 15,000 people across the third sector have joined Curve workshops.
These are not abstract tech lessons. They’re the kind of tools that help:
- A youth group set up a simple online system so young people can book onto activities without staff juggling paper forms.
- A small advice service use spreadsheets more effectively to track client needs and report back to funders.
- A family support charity create quick videos that reach parents who can’t always make it to in-person groups.
For many, it’s not about becoming “digital experts” - it’s about having enough confidence to try something new, to save time, and to spend more energy where it matters most: with the people they support.
What The Curve offers
The Curve runs as a rolling programme of short, practical workshops, each one focused on a single topic. Over the past year, we’ve covered areas that directly support the challenges charities tell us they face most:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI): demystifying new tools, from drafting text to analysing data, and showing how AI can be used safely and responsibly in the third sector.
- Google Ads and SEO: helping organisations reach more people online, whether that’s families looking for support or donors looking to give.
- Cybersecurity: making sure even the smallest organisations can keep data safe and protect against scams.
- Fundraising online: from running successful digital campaigns to using video and social media to connect with supporters.
- Data skills: building confidence with spreadsheets and dashboards to save time and improve reporting.
- Core tools like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace: helping teams make the most of the software they already use.
- Digital culture and leadership: supporting boards, leaders and staff to embrace digital change without fear.
Each workshop is designed to be hands-on and accessible, with real examples from the sector. Many participants tell us they were able to make small but important changes the very next day.
What people tell us
Victoria from The Yard, which works with disabled children and their families, explained:
“It covered stuff you know you need to know, but don’t make the time to learn.”
For Tariq at One Parent Families Scotland, the benefit was about freeing up capacity:
“Even for experienced digital professionals, The Curve provided valuable new insights … freeing up more time for the team to focus on our mission.”
Those stories echo a common theme - small changes, made possible by short bursts of learning, can have outsized impact on frontline delivery.
Lessons we’ve learned
Running The Curve has taught us a few things about what works:
- Accessibility is key. Free sessions, short time commitment, and recorded workshops mean even the busiest teams can join in.
- One size doesn’t fit all. From social media to trauma-informed design, the topics are shaped by what charities tell us they need.
- Confidence matters as much as skills. For many organisations, the biggest shift is cultural: seeing digital not as a barrier, but as a tool they can make work for them.
What’s next
Before planning the next phase of Curve workshops, we wanted to make sure the training reflected what Robertson Trust–funded organisations actually needed.
We hosted a Have Your Say session earlier this month – an open conversation where grantholders helped shape the topics for the following quarter (and beyond).
It was a chance to co-design the programme, highlight the skills that would make the biggest difference to teams, and tell us what support was needed most.
An invitation to Robertson Trust grantholders
If you’re a grantholder and haven’t yet joined a Curve workshop, we’d love you to give it a try. Whether you want to learn how to make your reporting easier, reach people in new ways, or simply feel less daunted by digital tools, The Curve is here for you. Upcoming workshops are listed at thirdsectorlab.co.uk/training.
Closing thought
At its heart, The Curve is about making life easier for organisations who already carry so much. Because when small charities and community groups feel confident with digital, they can do what they do best: support people to build lives free from harm and full of support.