5 common DAM challenges faced by charity Stories Managers

16th January 2026

The charity sector relies on the donations of working people to survive and deliver the fantastic work they do around the world, but the non-profit landscape is incredibly competitive.

There are literally thousands of organisations for people to choose from if they want to donate money to a good cause, while the ongoing Cost of Living crisis has significantly reduced the amount of disposable income available to gift to charity.

This means storytelling is more important than ever before, but there are a number of challenges facing Stories Managers in 2026 (and beyond).

READ MORE: Why ResourceSpace is perfect for... charities

Storytelling for charities in 2026

Storytelling is crucial to how charities and non-profits build trust, grow support and demonstrate the impact of their work. Unfortunately, the pressure on charity Stories Managers has never been greater, thanks to small budgets, small teams and the expectation to do more with less. What’s more, competition for donor attention from countless causes is higher than ever.

Alongside the increased competition and more discerning approach to charity donations, comes heightened donor scrutiny, with funders asking for clear evidence of impact and responsible governance, making the role of Stories Manager even more complex. 

Charity storytelling is also informed by the organisation’s ethical responsibility. Audiences expect authenticity, transparency and respect for the people and communities being represented, which means Stories Managers must carefully manage consent, usage rights and cultural context, particularly when working with sensitive content.

These challenges are made even harder when you consider that charities, non-profits and NGOs often have to do all of this with small, dispersed teams. Field staff, volunteers, partner organisations and agencies are often spread across different countries or continents, often working in challenging environments with limited online connectivity. The result is content assets being created everywhere by siloed teams—and these need to be managed centrally.

Against this backdrop, effective Digital Asset Management is no longer a nice to have for NGOs and charities, but essential to ethical, efficient and credible storytelling.

Challenge 1: Managing consent and ethical use of stories

Managing consent and the ethical use of subjects’ stories is one of the most sensitive challenges faced by charity Stories Managers, and consent is rarely a one-off decision. 

Images, videos and interviews can be reused across campaigns and fundraising activity over many years, and although it ensures charities get the most from their investment, it also means permissions must be clearly documented. Without clear visibility of what has been agreed, teams risk using assets outside their original scope.

When charities are operating across different countries, Stories Managers also need to be aware of cultural context. Content might be created in one country and reused in another, and without proper context or understanding, there’s a risk that these campaigns either don’t resonate in a particular country or, much worse, offends local sensibilities.

The consequences of this can be severe for organisations, and ethical missteps can damage trust with communities, donors and partners, and may expose charities to legal and reputational risk.

How to overcome this challenge

A dedicated Digital Asset Management solution helps Stories Managers put robust consent governance at the heart of their storytelling workflows. 

By storing consent agreements, usage rights, expiry dates and cultural notes directly alongside each asset, a DAM creates a clear and auditable record of what can be used, where, and for how long.

Some DAM best practice processes for charities and non-profits that can help with this include mandatory metadata fields for consent and location, approval workflows before assets are reused and automated alerts when permissions are due to expire. This ensures teams cannot accidentally publish content outside its agreed scope, even when under pressure to deliver campaigns quickly.

With a single source of truth and consistent governance, organisations can confidently reuse stories and assets while protecting dignity, respecting cultural context and maintaining trust.

Challenge 2: Finding the right assets under pressure

Finding the right assets quickly is a constant challenge for Stories Managers, particularly when campaigns need to launch quickly or when responding to urgent events or crises. 

Without a dedicated DAM system, images, videos and case studies will be stored across online storage solutions, personal devices and email attachments, making it difficult to know what assets exist, where they live or whether they’re approved for use.

In high-pressure moments, this lack of clarity costs valuable time, as well as posing some risks. Teams can end up spending hours searching for suitable content, chasing colleagues for files or recreating assets that already exist but can’t be found.

For charities working with limited time and resources, this process inefficiency has a significant impact. Time spent searching for assets is time not spent creating effective campaigns and stories, coordinating responses or engaging supporters.

ResourceSpace has empowered our staff to
find and access the content they need
independently while allowing us to keep
centralised control of assets and metadata.

How to overcome this challenge

DAMs give Stories Managers a single, reliable place to store and find every approved storytelling asset. By centralising images, videos and case studies, a DAM removes the need to search across multiple drives, inboxes and messaging apps.

Tagging assets with accurate metadata by theme, location, campaign, subject and approval status makes it possible to discover the right content quickly, while best practice workflows ensure assets are reviewed and approved before they are made available.

With fast, accurate search and a clear single source of truth, non-profit and charity teams can respond quickly without compromising quality, compliance or impact.

Challenge 3: Proving impact to donors and stakeholders

Proving impact to donors and stakeholders is essential for charities, but this actually becomes far more difficult when digital assets are poorly organised. 

So, what’s the connection? The evidence of a charity’s impact is often found in photos, videos, beneficiary stories, reports and field documentation. However, when these assets aren’t stored centrally or consistently labelled, pulling together a clear and credible picture of outcomes is slow and frustrating.

Poor asset organisation makes it harder to track when and where content was created, who and what it relates to, and which programmes or outcomes it supports, undermining transparency—especially when donors expect clear links between funding, activity and measurable impact.

This can lead to rushed or incomplete storytelling, because impact reports are gathered based on whatever content is easiest to find, rather than the strongest or most relevant evidence. Over time this erodes donor and stakeholder trust, because they want to know that funds are being used effectively and ethically, and that claims are backed by real-world proof.

For charity Stories Managers, poor asset organisation does not just slow reporting, but also limits their ability to demonstrate accountability, tell credible impact stories and build long-term donor confidence.

READ MORE: How Digital Asset Management supports key charity success metrics

How to overcome this challenge

A DAM system provides Stories Managers the structure and visibility needed to confidently demonstrate the impact of campaigns. By storing all assets in one central system, teams can clearly link photos, videos and stories to specific programmes, locations, timeframes and outcomes.

Using consistent metadata standards is also key to this, because tagging assets with info such as project name, donor, consent status and reporting period makes it far easier to retrieve data when preparing reports. What’s more, best practice processes that are built into DAM workflows (and, importantly, a requirement) encourage teams to upload and document assets as they are created, rather than trying to piece it together later.

With a single source of truth and reliable asset context, charities can build transparent, evidence-led stories that demonstrate accountability, strengthen donor trust and support long-term relationships.

Challenge 4: Working with dispersed teams and partners

International NGOs typically work with dispersed teams and partners to deliver the work they do, but it creates significant challenges when digital assets are shared and stored inconsistently. Field teams, local partners, agencies and volunteers often capture and create powerful content. However, without clear processes and standards, assets are stored inconsistently, with no consistent structure or oversight, while content can also be created in the incorrect format. 

Once again, this leads to duplication of effort and a waste of resources, as teams recreate content they can’t find or assume doesn’t exist. It also increases risk, because files might be shared without the right context, missing consent information or unclear usage restrictions. Version control is also really difficult, making it even harder to identify which asset is approved and safe to use.

This lack of control makes collaboration between remote teams much harder, ultimately undermining operational efficiency.

We can upload, share and store our best
visual files across all our global channels
for staff across the CARE world to instantly
access – significantly improving our ability
to respond in a coordinated manner, and at
speed.

How to overcome this challenge

A DAM is a shared framework that brings dispersed teams and partners together by offering a single central platform for uploading, managing and accessing assets, ensuring that content created in the field follows consistent standards from the outset.

To facilitate this, your processes should include providing clear upload guidelines, mandatory metadata fields and templates for partners and volunteers. This helps ensure assets are submitted in the correct formats, with the right contextual information, consent details and usage restrictions recorded as soon as files are uploaded.

Role-based permissions and approval workflows add an extra layer of control for Stories Managers, allowing them to review and approve content before it is shared more widely. With version control and a clear audit trail, teams can collaborate confidently, reduce duplication and maintain quality, even when working across borders and time zones.

Challenge 5: Losing institutional knowledge when staff leave

Losing institutional knowledge when staff leave is a significant challenge for charities at the best of times, but this is felt particularly acutely when digital assets are poorly managed. 

When executing proper processes is dependent on specific individuals, rather than clearly documented, staff turnover will leave serious gaps. Information about why a photo was captured, who approved its use, what consent was given or how an asset has been used previously disappears with the previous Stories Manager, Marketing Manager or content creator.

For charities focused on project-based work this is a particular problem, because contractors or short-term staff are often responsible for capturing and managing content. Without clear records, new team members are forced to make assumptions, track down former colleagues or avoid using valuable assets altogether due to uncertainty and risk.

How to overcome this challenge

With a DAM system, organisations retain institutional knowledge even as teams change over time. By centralising assets alongside their full context, a DAM ensures that critical information doesn’t live only in people’s heads or personal folders. Detailed metadata, notes, annotations and audit trails create a clear narrative around each asset, making it easy for new team members to understand how and why content can be used.

This reduces reliance on individuals, shortens onboarding time and allows non-profits to continue telling powerful, ethical stories without disruption when staff or contractors move on.

Ready to find out how ResourceSpace helps non-profits and charities all over the world to tackle these DAM challenges and streamline storytelling processes.

To find out more book a call with one of our solutions experts and we’ll demonstrate all of the key features that can make your job much easier—and help your organisation deliver maximum impact.