Lightful’s Digital Bootcamp - helping nonprofits create their first digital strategy
111 diverse nonprofits from 44 countries took part in Lightful’s free Digital Bootcamp to create their first digital strategy - we’re so excited to share with you what they learned and free resources for your charity.
In May, we launched our first free Digital Bootcamp aimed at supporting organisations to create or refine their first digital strategy, help better identify, engage and grow their supporters and funders - all whilst increasing their confidence in using digital.
We are so pleased with the results of Digital Bootcamp which found that 97% of all participants now have a better understanding of what they need to do to take their goals forward after two weeks.
Because of this, we want to share some of the materials we used on how to create your first, or refine, your digital strategy. Please find Lightful’s Digital Strategy Canvas here as a free open resource for your organisation to download and use to help build your digital strategy.
Download our Digital Strategy Canvas
About the bootcamp
Organisations from Afghanistan to Venezuela joined us for our two week virtual bootcamp. These changemakers are working across a huge breadth of focus areas - from arts and culture, disaster relief, women and girls, and peace building, to name just a few. Together, these organisations formed a strong network of nonprofits, all with a similar mission to strengthen their digital skills and future-proof their organisation.
“Our fundraising activities really suffered the past two years due to the restrictions of COVID-19, we had to cancel all our activities as they involved physical meetings and we couldn't serve the girls as we had wanted. With that being said we are keen to learn creative ways we can raise funds digitally” Botswana Organization for Sisters Empowering Junior Associates
The Digital Bootcamp focused on the foundation of our BRIDGE programme - digital strategy - and provided nonprofits with a strong starting point from which to integrate digital into their ways of working and understand how digital can help them reach different audience personas.
Participants were all nominated through a network of 26 incredible funders, including Malala Foundation, Obama Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Amplify Change, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and the Global Fund for Children.
Supported by Lightful’s in-house experts, we used a combination of live masterclasses and group strategy sessions. Participants also had access to on-demand, bitesize learning content through our e-learning platform, Lightful Academy. Offering variety ensures that we are catering to different learning styles and helps to maximise the benefits of joining the programme and generate better results.
Measuring the impact
We were blown away by the results and the feedback that we received from these inspirational nonprofits:
- 97% of all participants told us they have a better understanding of what they need to do to take their goals forward after two weeks of Digital Bootcamp
- 85% of all participants now feel more confident in their ability to create a digital strategy
- 100% of participants would be interested in further digital training from Lightful
One of the most important takeaways for us at Lightful has been confirmation that nonprofits from across the world are both interested and calling out for digital capacity building support:
“Taking part in the Bootcamp meant not only raising our knowledge and capacity, but also helping the whole sector” Civic Alliance - Latvia
“It was an amazing experience that sparked a lot of questions regarding what we do, how we do it and how we communicate as well. Pumulo and Róisín, as well as the rest of the Lightful team, were great and always available to answer questions/ concerns.” RACI, Argentina
“The relevance of such Bootcamp to the work we do cannot be overemphasised as it enlightened and broadened my horizon on the various topics of the bootcamp” Women Against Violence and Exploitation in Society, Sierra Leone
Thank you to all of the incredible organisations that took part - we loved getting to know you and the amazing causes you support! We are delighted to be sharing our impact video above, highlighting what we did, and what we learned during the Digital Bootcamp.
About BRIDGE
It’s been four years since Lightful first began our flagship digital learning programme, BRIDGE - a six month, high impact virtual learning initiative for nonprofits which gives them the knowledge and skills to transform their organisation. Since then, over 2,000 nonprofits from over 75 countries have broadened their digital skills, launched inspiring campaigns, grown their audience, raised more vital funds and built resilience in their organisations.
Latest articles
Every year, we wait with baited (and sometimes apprehensive) breath for the annual Charity Digital Skills Report to be released. It’s become something of a key marker of the UK charity sector’s state of digital maturity, and forms a key part of how we at Lightful measure the need for our digital training programmes. Having quickly read the (119 page!) report, here are my *hot takes* and thoughts on solutions:
At Lightful, we believe that telling a compelling story is at the heart of every successful nonprofit. But beyond just capturing attention, it’s essential to tell these stories ethically, upholding the dignity and consent of the individuals whose stories are being shared. That's why we've developed our Ethical Storytelling tool, designed to help nonprofits communicate their mission while respecting and empowering the people they serve.
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Today, Lightful is releasing our Building Resilience Impact Report. As the world around us continues to change at a rapid pace, we have been working to better meet the needs of nonprofits, so that we can all meet the needs of the current moment. I’m so grateful to my colleagues and all our stakeholders who have contributed towards making publishing this important report a reality.
“Women and girls in Africa and the Caribbean are leading climate justice movements, but there aren’t many funders who will give money to young, emerging organisations and movements like these—who might not be formally registered or have long track records of doing this work. That’s why I’m focused on shifting money, power, and other non-financial resources to feminist climate activists so they can build their agency, control their narratives, and scale up their actions. It means meeting groups where they are while providing the resources for them to get to where they need to be to have the greatest impact.” Ayesha Constable, Technical Director for Climate Justice at Global Fund for Women
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