The Collective Digital Fund: a way for funders to support digital skills development in charities | Funders Collaborative Hub In conjunction with CAST, The Clothworkers’ Foundation has supported charities through their digital infrastructure grants. But they recognised the need for a wider, more flexible digital fund. Jackie...

🚀 Funders: Could you help shape a new collective fund?

To respond to digital needs across the sector, CAST & The Clothworkers’ Foundation are looking to establish a Collective Digital Fund.

Read more - & find out how to get involved - in our new Funders Collaborative Hub article 👉 buff.ly/GzHxBTL

Coffee Connections - CAST A free initiative for anyone working in the charity sector who is interested in connecting with a peer to chat about all things digital

☕ Coffee Connections: new matches in May!

If you work for a charity & would like to connect with peers for a chat about digital, join our Coffee Connections community!

The free service matches up peers across the sector every 2 months for a virtual chat about all things digital.

👉 buff.ly/3FWxeuI

🆕 In today's newsletter:

👋 Join our new Design Hop!
🔍 AI survey 2026: all the results
👀 Free digital drop-in sessions
💬 Worthwhile Chat: ask us anything!
☕ New Coffee Connections matches
📅 Events: cybersecurity & agile testing

And lots more!

Read 👉 buff.ly/PfCGIPT
Sign up 👉 buff.ly/3xqPV99

CAST’s AI survey 2026: All the results — and the support available At CAST, we continually sense and respond to sector needs, based on what we’re hearing via our charity and funder peer groups, and…

🔍 Our AI survey results are in!

Check out our new blog covering all the results. Here's just a snapshot:

✅ 60% of respondents were feeling more positive about AI
📍 99% identified at least one support need
💡 88% wanted access to peers to discuss AI

Dive in to all the results here 👉 buff.ly/7ht7zxe

Design Hops - CAST A free seven-week online training programme teaching innovative techniques from the digital world to enhance work and problem-solving abilities.

👀 New Design Hop dates!

Running across three live Zoom sessions (22 & 29 April, and 10 June), with coursework in between, this #free programme helps charities & social impact orgs explore new #digital ideas.

Spaces are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis; sign up here 👉 buff.ly/TeIWbyA

📌 Explore our AI hub

Our AI hub features links to CAST's AI courses, experiments library, peer groups - & more.

It also contains trusted resources from others, including templates, playbooks, toolkits & frameworks.

All support is free of charge.

Explore the AI hub 👉 buff.ly/K1J7GIK

#AI #support

Exploring AI for grantmakers | Funders Collaborative Hub Bringing together funders of all sizes, the AI for Grantmakers peer group provides a space to explore the opportunities and challenges of using AI within the sector.

👋 Find out more about the AI for Grantmakers group

If you’re a UK funder keen to learn more about the AI for Grantmakers group, take a look at Dan Sutch’s recent overview, published on the Funders Collaborative Hub 👉 buff.ly/rmIJ729

Please join us on April 15 for our next meeting 👉 buff.ly/91BDuXq

❓ Do you feel you're advancing with AI?

❓ Would you like to support your colleagues to do the same?

🚀 Then our free self-serve course is for you!

You'll receive 8 weekly emails packed with tips and tools designed to help you support colleagues, and drive your org forward with AI 👉 buff.ly/1KSivpU

Conversations, AI, and funding practice Exploring how AI can support funders, applicants and grantees to have more meaningful conversations

💬 Free workshop: AI & conversations in funding practice

Join CAST & IVAR on 22nd April, for a session bringing together charities & funders to explore how AI can support better conversations in funding practice.

Limited spaces. First-come, first-served. Register your interest 👉 buff.ly/q3xhGSv

Design Hops - CAST A free seven-week online training programme teaching innovative techniques from the digital world to enhance work and problem-solving abilities.

👀 New Design Hop dates!

Running across three live Zoom sessions (22 April; 29 April; 10 June), with coursework in between, this #free programme helps #charities & social impact orgs explore new #digital ideas.

Spaces are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis; sign up here 👉 buff.ly/TeIWbyA

👀 AI Experimentation Canvas: free to download!

Our AI Experimentation Canvas helps you explore AI safely & methodically. It provides clear boundaries & guidelines for testing AI applications, while considering potential impacts on both your work & beneficiaries. Download for free 👉 buff.ly/RjTBsdt

Digital Leads Network - CAST A growing community of not-for-profit digital leads committed to making the most of digital technology for positive social impact.

👋 The Digital Leads Network is open for membership!

Join this vibrant community of 500+ members, dedicated to peer learning & sharing across the sector.

Members gain access to events, networking sessions and an AI peer group.

Joining is free; fill out the short form at our site 👉 buff.ly/4agzkCk

💡 Getting Started With AI: A free self-serve course.

Keen to get to grips with AI, but not sure where to start? Our AI course is here to help!

Each week for seven weeks, you'll receive an email with support & inspiration, helping you discover how AI can make your work life easier 👉 buff.ly/4gfaOEF

Design Hops - CAST A free seven-week online training programme teaching innovative techniques from the digital world to enhance work and problem-solving abilities.

👀 New Design Hop dates!

Running across three live Zoom sessions (22 & 29 April, and 10 June), with coursework in between, this #free programme helps charities & social impact orgs explore new #digital ideas.

Spaces are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis; sign up here 👉 buff.ly/TeIWbyA

Two days in Birmingham: connection, reflection — and the great chocolate debate! This picture captures a fairly rare (but wholly wonderful) moment: the full CAST team, all together in one place! We met last week in…

🍫 Last week, the CAST team met to discuss strategy and direction - and to take a look at how we can best respond to sector needs and priorities, as the AI landscape continues to evolve at pace.

And we also found the time to engage in a rather heated debate about chilled chocolate! 👉 buff.ly/XdlRogJ

Exploring AI for grantmakers | Funders Collaborative Hub Bringing together funders of all sizes, the AI for Grantmakers peer group provides a space to explore the opportunities and challenges of using AI within the sector.

👋 Find out more about the AI for Grantmakers group

If you’re a UK funder keen to learn more about the AI for Grantmakers group, take a look at Dan Sutch’s overview, published last week on the Funders Collaborative Hub 👉 buff.ly/rmIJ729

And please do join us for our April meeting 👉 buff.ly/91BDuXq

Dan Sutch Part of the AI Leadership Index – a curated list of the most inspirational figures shaping the AI revolution.

We're delighted that CAST's Director Dan Sutch has been recognised by Computing as being one of the 25 most inspirational figures shaping #AI today.

You can take a look at Dan's AI Leadership Index page here 👉
buff.ly/RxBS95W, and find out more about Dan and the CAST team here 👉 buff.ly/43rzvlV

Events & Workshops | Worthwhile AI Online and in-person events to support your AI journey. Free and paid. Check details via links. Read more about events and make a suggestion.

📌 New AI events portal!

We’ve added an events space to Worthwhile AI, bringing together free & paid AI events. The page has a good mix of events listed, & we're adding more each week.

Contact us at worthwhile@wearecast.org.uk if you'd like to add an event, & explore the page here 👉 buff.ly/jqKy55b

Design Hops - CAST A free seven-week online training programme teaching innovative techniques from the digital world to enhance work and problem-solving abilities.

👀 New Design Hop dates!

Running across three live Zoom sessions (22 & 29 April, and 10 June), with coursework in between, this #free programme helps charities & social impact orgs explore new #digital ideas.

Spaces are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis; sign up here 👉 buff.ly/TeIWbyA

🆕 In today's newsletter:

👀 New Design Hop dates!
🧪 Experiments with AI agents
📖 New AI Playbook for Charities
🖼️ Guidelines on AI imagery
📅 Events: CRMs; small charity leaders; AI & data; AI impact
📌 New AI events portal

And lots more!

Read this issue 👉 buff.ly/yK0u2DT
Sign up 👉 buff.ly/3xqPV99

🆕 Experimenting with AI agents

In a new blog, David Scurr explores the potential of AI agents to assist with tasks - including user-testing a survey, analysing a membership database & setting up a project page.

David details the results for each task, & shares reflections on risk 👉 buff.ly/s3IObC7

🔍 Learn user research: a free seven-week, self-serve course.

Dive in and discover:

• Types of user research
• Key recruiting principles
• How to write research questions
• How to synthesise interview notes

Receive a weekly email for seven weeks, packed with advice and resources 👉 buff.ly/3Xj05BK

💡 Exploring ‘Worthwhile AI'

At CAST, we use the term 'Worthwhile AI' to ensure our AI usage aligns with our values - and to help shape AI that is ‘worthwhile’ for all.

Check out our Q&A, in which CAST's Director Dan Sutch outlines the term 👉 buff.ly/cWLxHrA - and please let us know your thoughts!

The 5 parts of our Digital Toolkit, & some of the tools in each:

• Mindset: Interaction toolkit; digital principles
• Discover: Knowledge board; user needs statements
• Define: Rapid 8s; prototyping
• Develop: Service blueprint; pitch deck
• AI: Experiment canvas; spheres visual

👉 buff.ly/3Hc1NvL

📊 Quick survey: Are AI summaries affecting your website traffic?

We've put together a short survey (just three multiple-choice questions) to gauge the impact that AI summaries are having on charities' web traffic. All responses are anonymous.

Take the three-question survey here 👉 buff.ly/cYs7zat

Thanks so much, Madeleine - it's always so lovely to hear about people's Coffee Connections experiences: we're delighted that you had a fab chat! 💙☕

👋 The Digital Leads Network is open for membership!

The network brings together people leading digital change in not-for-profit organisations.

Members benefit from online meetups, Digital Coffee Hours, & a dedicated AI peer group.

Find out more 👉 buff.ly/76KodbI, & apply to join 👉 buff.ly/63VirIP

2026 Charity Digital Skills Report Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

👀 The 2026 Charity Digital Skills Report survey is live!

Whether you're a small local charity or a large national organisation, please share your views: what's digital & AI adoption like in your charity? What support do you need?

Have your say 👉 www.surveymonkey.com/r/CDSR2026

#CharityDigiReport

🚀 The 2026 Charity Digital Skills Report survey is live!

We’re proud to be partnering on this year’s report to better understand what digital and AI adoption really looks like across UK charities.

Take the survey here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/CDSR2026

#CharityDigiReport

With the support of our partners at IVAR, the learning from this peer group feeds into the development of Open and Trusting use of AI in grantmaking 👉 buff.ly/gccz18h