Alternative ways to boost in-house digital with out of house resources

Data Kind pro-bono partnerships

The charity DataKind links up charities and good causes with data science and social sector experts to help develop data projects that address humanitarian problems and advance data science. The charities involved get access to data and artificial intelligence skills outside their organisation. Meanwhile, the specialists involved benefit from supporting good causes and helping their own professional growth. This has seen 250 projects completed globally, including in the UK, involving more than 18,000 volunteers.

Among those to be supported is Citizen’s Advice. Through the partnership, a Civic Dashboard tool was created which mines data from Citizen’s Advice consultations to help it understand emerging social issues in the UK. This helps the charity to better identify and react to changes in society and how they affecting people.

Digital Candle free advice

Charities looking for outside digital help can access a free hour of advice from an expert through Digital Candle, an initiative by consultancy Platypus Digital and supported by digital partnership Catalyst. Types of issues it supports charities with include remote working and collaboration, pivoting services online, setting up Google Ad Grants and improving digital support for community action.

Human rights charity Birthrights is among those to access Digital Candle’s service. It’s Chief Executive Angela Style was supported by Beehive’s Head of Creative Ben Serbutt to move its training programme online.

Just had an incredibly useful & though-provoking hour with @benserbutt frm @fatbeehive talking through shifting @birthrightsorg training prog online. Thank you Ben and Digital Candle - such a quick turnaround from my ask to getting loads of doable ideas & answers to my questions t.co/MQ9xKI6wYI

— Angela Style (@angelacstyle)

Just had an incredibly useful & though-provoking hour with @benserbutt frm @fatbeehive talking through shifting @birthrightsorg training prog online. Thank you Ben and Digital Candle - such a quick turnaround from my ask to getting loads of doable ideas & answers to my questions https://t.co/MQ9xKI6wYI

— Angela Style (@angelacstyle) June 26, 2020

People Per Hour

Freelance platform People Per Hour offer organisations fixed price offers for work across a range of issues from freelancers. They can either be hired hourly or by the project. To buy help charities can post a project to the platform, which uses artificial intelligence to match the work with the best available freelancers. Each can then respond with their own proposals. This involves paying a deposit and then paying when the work is completed.

There are a number of freelance charity specialists using the site from governance consultants to marketing directors.

Fiverr

Another platform where charities can source outside help is Fiverr, which organizes payment to the freelancer hired when the work is completed. Work it provides covers areas such as logo design, website development and charity or campaign video production. All are areas of specialist expertise that charities may not have access to in house.

CharityComms freelance directory

Voluntary sector communications organisation Charity Comms has a freelance directory to help charities hire charity communication specialists that best fit their needs. This offers category and location filters to hone down searches. For example, if searching for marketing freelancers in the South West a search using this function will flag up experts with experience in marketing with charities such as Save the Children, MacMillan, Home-Start UK and the Alzheimer’s Society.