Nonprofit organisations around the world need to radically rethink their digital transformation strategies to build sustainable financial and operational models, with just 7% able to access this data in real-time.

That’s according to the latest report from software firm Unit4, The NFP Sector in 2025: From Transition to Transformation, which found that almost three-quarters (72%) of nonprofits need up to a week to pull together operational or financial data, with 40% having only a partial or limited view of this data at best.

That data is crucial for humanitarian organisations to understand rapidly evolving health, geopolitical and environmental situations, with delays proving costly as more than a third (37%) admit it takes one to two weeks to activate programs in the field.

According to the report, however, this process could be sped up by breaking down silos to build a more holistic view of organisations’ data, and marrying it with external sources to enable more real-time insights.

That process is already taking place, with 40% of nonprofits centralising their HR and IT functions, and 50% looking to centralise their finance and accounting over the next three years, while 45% plan to move governance and compliance functions.

Those ambitions are being matched by investments in technology, with 70% of nonprofits planning to ramp up spending this year in their digital transformation. More than half (56%) identified cost efficiency as the primary driver behind these plans, as 79% expect rising service demand alongside increased costs.

A third of organisations (33%) said that harnessing AI’s potential is a primary driver for their overall digital strategy, with legacy applications being the top barrier to innovation and transformation for 45%, contributing to the pains caused by lack of data insight and poor integration between key applications.

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“The nonprofit sector thrives on innovation, driven by the need to prove the impact of every spend. But in 2025, that challenge will be greater than ever,” said Chris Brewer, global director for nonprofit at Unit4.

“Digital transformation is already benefiting nonprofits, but a water-tight business case is crucial to win stakeholder support. PAC’s research reveals where to invest to tackle legacy tech debt and drive more agile, real-time decision making.”