Case Study: How Culture Enabled CharityComms to Transform During Crisis
At CharityComms, it wasn’t tools or processes that catalysed transformation during Covid, it was culture. A culture of trust, empowerment and honesty enabled CharityComms not only to survive the crisis but to evolve rapidly. Their experience underscores a powerful truth: culture doesn’t just support transformation, it drives it.
The Challenge: Covid-19 Disruption
Before 2020, like many organisations in the charity sector, CharityComms, an organisation dedicated to supporting communication professionalism, operated largely through face-to-face channels. But when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the rules changed overnight.
“Our new reality, and it has been for some time, is that nothing stays still. Everything around us, and we in return, are changing. Being able to operate in that environment is absolutely essential for charities.” reflects Adeela Warley, CEO CharityComms
The pandemic changed how CharityComms worked with its members, forcing a shift to digital operations and virtual collaboration. The immediate challenges were familiar to many: outdated systems, limited digital skills, disconnected teams, and uncertainty about income models.
“It forced us to move out of the face-to-face space into the digital space. That threw up all sorts of challenges around whether we had the right tech, the right skills... How could we keep that contact?”, says Adeela.
But while the surface challenges were technological, the thing that allowed the team to adapt was their mindset.
Culture as the Catalyst for Change
Rather than freeze under pressure, CharityComms’s internal culture allowed it to act with speed and confidence. Staff felt trusted to make decisions without waiting for permission, to try new things, and to learn by doing.
“What I noticed during that immediate crisis was my team feeling empowered to act. They could experiment, innovate, and try things out without going through lengthy processes... It was a liberating work culture.”
This wasn’t something that leadership engineered. In fact, Adeela Warley, the CEO, acknowledges she had to catch up with what was already happening around her.
“That shift happened naturally during Covid – I didn’t engineer it. I had to catch up with what was happening.”
Learning Through Reflection
Post-Covid, CharityComms didn’t rush to revert back to the old culture. They created space for collective reflection to understand what worked and what could be sustained.
“We made time to reflect on what changed, whether those changes were positive, and how to sustain them.”
One of the biggest shifts was in leadership behaviour; replacing top-down control with openness, transparency and vulnerability.
“I learned to be more transparent – with my team and peers – about what I didn’t know, what I was learning, and the challenges I faced.”
Empowerment With Accountability
While empowerment flourished, CharityComms remained grounded in accountability - not through rigid hierarchies, but through cultural norms, shared learning and peer support.
“Accountability is difficult... there’s no simple answer. You reinforce positive messages, model good practice, and celebrate those who manage well, deliver value, and innovate.”
Anchor Your Culture and Mindset to Your Purpose
Adeela and the CharityComms team used the charity's purpose to guide their decisions.
“For charities, purpose is the guiding star. Be clear on what change you exist to make. Then ask: what do we need to do to achieve that? How can we work together – trustees, leaders, practitioners, beneficiaries – to accelerate impact?”
Investing in Culture is Essential to Sustaining Change
CharityComms thriving through change was not about a new CRM or a slicker webinar platform. It was about people behaving differently – being braver, more honest, more agile. The adaptations that Covid-19 required, have stuck around.
“The ability to act rapidly, to cope with risks, and to embrace new opportunities – particularly around technology – became essential.”
The crisis accelerated transformation of their business model and audience experience. The key now is to sustain this change:
“Crisis forces change, but not everyone sustains it.”
CharityComms’ experience is a vivid reminder that transformation is not only about tools – it’s about culture. As Adeela puts it:
“Transformation isn’t just about tools and skills. It’s about the behaviours and attitudes that underpin your organisation’s work, and allow effective, transformative work to happen.”