Rip It Up and Start Again: Why Charities Need Drastic Structural Change
By Deniz Hassan, Digital Director AAW
23rd July 2025
In the 1980s, the band Orange Juice urged us to rip it up and start again. Today, that call rings truer than ever for our sector. Charities have been clinging to legacy structures and outdated ways of working while the world around us has transformed at pace. The result? We’re now stuck with monolithic systems that stifle innovation, repel talent and make it nearly impossible to understand or drive impact.
It’s time for something bigger than incremental change. It’s time to reimagine our organisations from the ground up.
The Same Old Story: Structures Holding Us Back
Over the last few years at AAW, we’ve reviewed some of the UK’s largest charities. Despite their scale and ambition, the pattern is consistent:
Earning income is harder than ever, and even when we succeed, we often have no clear view of what worked and why.
Spending money is paralysing, because without a confident understanding of impact, leaders feel unable to invest.
Critical functions are neglected, simply because they never existed before.
A quick search on LinkedIn reveals the scale of the issue. When looking for data engineer roles in the not-for-profit sector, chances are you’ll be met with a handful of poorly paid listings, if anything at all. Meanwhile, there’s an abundance of generic fundraising and data analyst posts. These roles can’t thrive in isolation. They need modern support structures and interdisciplinary collaboration to be effective.
Missing Roles, Missing Skills
Too many of us assume that because certain jobs have always existed - fundraisers, analysts, comms managers - they’re the ones we need most. But the reality is that the roles charities don’t have may be the most important of all.Where are the people who connect the dots between strategy, finance, technology and impact? Where are the data engineers and integration specialists who can turn fragmented information into actionable intelligence?
These aren’t “nice to have” positions, they’re foundational. Without them, our sector will continue to fall behind, unable to attract and retain the talent that could propel us forward.
The Cost of Standing Still
While the world has raced ahead, charities have remained stooged in outdated models. We can no longer pretend that minor tweaks will suffice.
If we don’t act, we will keep:
Losing skilled professionals to other sectors with more compelling career paths.
Squandering resources because we can’t trace impact with confidence.
Delivering less for the people and causes we exist to serve.
This isn’t about tinkering at the edges. It’s about having the courage to rip it up and start again.
What Needs to Change and Fast
To remain relevant and effective, not-for-profit leaders must commit to bold structural change:
Invest in new roles that didn’t exist ten years ago but are critical now (especially in data, digital transformation and systems integration).
Design support structures that empower teams rather than confine them.
Challenge legacy thinking about what skills matter and how organisations should operate.
The sector is brimming with serious talent and big brains. But unless we create the conditions for them to succeed, we’ll never harness their full potential.
Time to Act
This is a pivotal moment. We can choose to keep papering over the cracks, or we can rebuild with intention and ambition. The old ways are holding us back. Let’s be brave enough to leave them behind.
Partner with AAW to Build What Comes Next
If the challenges outlined here feel familiar, you're not alone, and you don't have to tackle them alone either.
At AAW Integrate, we specialise in helping charities make bold, structural change a reality. Whether you're rethinking your digital architecture, reviewing your digital strategy, or recruiting the data and technology roles that will shape your future, we bring deep sector experience and a clear-eyed view of what it takes to thrive in a fast-changing world.
Don’t just tweak the edges. Let’s rip it up and rebuild - smarter, stronger, and future-ready. Explore our services and get in touch to start your transformation.
