At Good Things Foundation, the UK’s leading digital inclusion charity, we believe everyone should be able to participate in our digital society.

The latest UK Consumer Digital Index reveals that people with the highest digital and financial capability  are saving four times more often, and £1,100 a year more, on average, than those in the lowest groups; people with the highest digital capabilities are 1.5 times more likely to be planning for their financial  futures.

As a charity, we want people to benefit from digital so they can be better off in their lives. We see a  growing overlap between financial inclusion and digital inclusion - and hope this will be reflected in the forthcoming Financial Inclusion Strategy from HM Treasury.

Digital inclusion changing lives

Good Things Foundation is a staff mutual charity. Since launching, we’ve supported over 4 million people through thousands of community organisations, libraries and others using resources like the National Databank (free mobile data), National Device Bank (refurbished devices), and learning resources (now including our new AI Gateway).

We’re so proud of what we’ve achieved with Strategic Partners and National Digital Inclusion Network members … but, as the stats in Digital Nation 2025 show, a digital divide persists. Nearly 8 million adults in the UK lack the most basic digital skills.  Nearly 2 million households struggle to afford mobile data or home broadband. People most affected often face wider disadvantages, yet could benefit most from the financial, time and stress savings which digital inclusion can bring.

Following UK Savings Week, and during our annual Get Online Week campaign (20-26 October), here are three things Building Society leaders, decision-makers and opinion-formers can do:

1. Embed inclusion in your approach to modernisation

In an AI-enabled world, digital inclusion needs to be ‘baked in, not bolted on’ to ensure that people are not left behind. This not only fits with Societies’ priorities to ensure member trust, but also ensures they meet, even exceed, the FCA Consumer Duty and principles. Societies which can harness technologies in ways that are inclusive, ethical, and serve current and future members’ interests will be showing true leadership.

2. Reuse your IT kit for good

Reducing the number of devices ending up in landfill fits with Societies’ ethos to care about sustainability, circularity, and positive social impact. As well as offering the National Device Bank in partnership with Reconome (a streamlined, free-to-use service), we’ve worked with Government to develop the new IT Reuse for Good Charter - a no-brainer to help fix the digital divide while also reducing e-waste.

3. Learn about how digital exclusion impacts your members

Societies care about their members. If they understand more about members’ digital barriers and vulnerabilities, they can better address this. Together with leading institutions, we’ve co-created three  'Indicators of Digital Inclusion’ metrics, covering online use, motivation, confidence, and support. Societies can use these to understand digital engagement among their members. We’re excited that the Money and Pensions Service is already using them in their next annual survey

Looking ahead, we will continue to see AI and digital expanding across everyone’s lives. We can’t leave people behind. It is time for digital inclusion to be baked in, not bolted on.
 

Find out more:

Find out more about Good Things Foundation: www.goodthingsfoundation.org

Use the Indicators for Digital Inclusion: research@goodthingsfoundation.org

Sign the Government-backed IT Reuse for Good Charter:  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/it-reuse-for-good-charter/the-it-reuse-for-good-charter

Check out Digital Nation 2025:

https://www.goodthingsfoundation.org/policy-and-research/research-and-evidence/research-2024/digital-nation

This article was first published in Society Matters magazine