Leveraging digital tools to foster resilience in the charity sector: the case of eBay’s Charity Connect initiative

Digital tools can help mitigate serious threats to social and economic activity created by external shocks and reduced government funding. This paper complements Information Technology for Development (IT4D) studies of resilience by focusing on how the introduction of new digital tools can sustain both economic and social activities, potentially leading to further adaptations. It investigates eBay’s Charity Connect initiative, which supported the UK charity sector to continue selling donated items during the COVID-19 lockdown. The findings present three pathways-outcomes used to foster resilience through introducing new digital tools: interim resilience, bounded resilience and enhanced resilience. Using Conservation of Resources Theory, the paper explains the difference between these outcomes and discusses how balancing stress and resource investment can help leverage digital tools and foster greater digital resilience.