Simplifying charity story collection with smart uploads and consent

Charities do fantastic work that delivers a positive impact for individuals and society. Collecting powerful stories isn’t particularly difficult but the challenge is bringing together all the photos, videos and supporting information needed to use those stories effectively.

Stories Managers have to deal with disorganised content across multiple siloes and locations, with localised teams taking photos on phones, freelance photographers working independently and videographers sharing huge files whilst internal teams create their own assets using a variety of different content.

Another potential pitfall for storytelling is consent, with permissions recorded separately from the assets they relate to, or not recorded at all. This creates uncertainty every time an image or video is selected for a campaign or fundraising appeal.

READ MORE: Five common DAM challenges faced by charity Stories Managers

Capturing consent at the point of upload, not after

One of the most effective ways to reduce risk in charity storytelling is to capture consent and usage information at the moment an asset is uploaded to the system, rather than trying to gather it later.

In many organisations, consent forms, usage restrictions and expiry dates are stored separately from the images and videos they relate to. When a Stories Manager finds the perfect image for a campaign, they then have to spend time checking spreadsheets, emails or shared folders to confirm whether it can actually be used.

Instead, a Digital Asset Management system should make consent metadata part of the upload process itself. 

In ResourceSpace, when contributors submit photos or videos, they can be prompted to complete key fields such as consent status, usage permissions, project details and any expiry dates, while also attaching signed consent records to the asset or collection. This ensures it remains visible and easy to find throughout the asset lifecycle.

Using a structured metadata template also helps ensure consistency, with required fields preventing contributors from skipping important information before an upload is completed. The result is a more reliable content library where assets can be used with confidence.

Smart uploads: letting field teams and volunteers contribute without friction

Collecting stories often depends on people outside the communications team, including volunteers, photographers, programme staff and local partners all capturing valuable content. However, the process often breaks down when contributors are asked to create accounts and learn new systems or processes — or when DAM Managers are sent various transfer links containing hundreds of different files from various different projects..

ResourceSpace’s Upload Links feature can solve this problem and remove the friction. Instead of requiring every contributor to have a user account, you can generate secure upload links that allow files to be submitted directly into the DAM system with metadata. Contributors simply click the link, upload their content and provide any required information, without needing access to the wider platform.

In ResourceSpace, each upload link is connected to a specific collection, helping to keep incoming content organised from the start. All contributions need to be reviewed by an administrator before going live.

This creates a simpler experience for contributors while giving Stories Managers a structured, centralised workflow for collecting and managing new content.

Keeping control with approval workflows

Making it easy for volunteers, photographers and field teams to contribute content is important, but this shouldn’t be at the expense of good governance. Charities still need confidence that every asset is suitable, compliant and ready for wider use.

This is where approval workflows are essential, because rather than making newly uploaded content immediately available, assets can be routed through a review process first. This allows a DAM Manager or designated reviewer to check image quality, confirm consent information, verify usage rights and ensure metadata has been completed correctly.

READ MORE: Making charity volunteer uploads simple and secure

This streamlines the uploading process in two ways: DAM users can upload content quickly without unnecessary barriers, while DAM Managers retain oversight of what’s uploaded and can approve content easily.

This helps reduce risk, improves consistency and ensures that only trusted content is accessible in the DAM.

ResourceSpace has been instrumental in streamlining our process for finding, sharing and properly crediting images. It's taken out the stress of not knowing the source of our digital assets. It's become a cornerstone of our digital strategy.

ResourceSpace celebrates it’s 20th birthday this year, having been originally developed for Oxfam. In the two decades since, we’ve established ourselves as the leading DAM supplier for the charity sector.

To find out more about why international charities and NGOs use ResourceSpace for Digital Asset Management, book your call with a ResourceSpace specialist below.