Digital Tools We Love (and Why Your Charity Might Too)
14 November 2025
A Digital Dispatch by Sian Jamieson, Partnership Lead
Let’s be honest, we’ve all fallen down the “new tools” rabbit hole at some point.
One minute you’re just looking for a quick design app, and the next you’ve signed up for 14 free trials and a newsletter you’ll never read.
So, to save you the scroll, here’s what the Pooka team actually uses (and loves). These aren’t affiliate links or shiny marketing fluff, just genuinely brilliant digital tools that make our working days smoother, saner, and occasionally more sparkly. ✨
TL;DR: The Short Version
We asked the Pooka team to share the digital tools they actually use, and love. From Asana’s task sanity to Google Sheets magic, these simple tools help charity comms teams save time, stay secure, and work smarter (without fancy budgets or jargon). Think of it as your starter pack for smoother digital days, tested by people who do this stuff daily.
📋 Paul: Asana
Paul’s the organised one (there’s always one). He swears by Asana for managing projects, assigning tasks, and keeping client comms transparent.
“The ability to see where tasks sit within a project and where those tasks sit on team members’ priority lists is vital, I don’t know how we ever managed without it. Giving our clients access to their own Asana boards and being able to tag each other in comments seems simple, but it’s HUGELY useful every day.”
Why charities should try Asana:
If your team ever asks, “Who’s doing what and by when?”, Asana’s your new best friend. The free version goes a long way for smaller teams, and tagging colleagues saves endless email chains.
✏️ Marcus: reMarkable Paper Pro
Imagine an A4 Kindle that lets you scribble, sketch, and annotate PDFs. Marcus uses his reMarkable tablet for notes, reading, and plotting his next great idea (usually with a cup of tea).
“Imagine an A4-sized Kindle with a digital pencil! It’s a beautiful, tactile thing. I love that it doesn’t have any distracting email, web or social integrations, and because it’s not backlit, it’s easy on the eyes for reading.”
Why charities should try reMarkable:
Perfect for directors or comms leads who like the feel of paper but hate losing notebooks. Great for board meetings, report mark-ups, or digital strategy planning without distractions (no social apps, no excuses).
🔐 Mads: Password Manager + Google Sheets Magic
Mads is our resident security sage. Her password manager means she never has to say, “Reset password again.” She also uses Google Sheets for… well, everything, from cleaning data to building mini-apps with scripts that send emails and auto-generate docs.
“My favourite is hands down my password manager, it makes implementing additional security steps so easy. I use Google Sheets probably every day. I’ve even built apps on top of it using Google Apps Script to send emails, generate documents, and request approvals, all through a familiar interface.”
Why charities should try Password Managers + Google Sheets:
For comms teams juggling multiple social logins or membership databases, a password manager is non-negotiable. And if you’ve got a spreadsheet whizz in your ranks, Google Sheets can quietly transform admin chaos into automated calm.
🗂️ Ivan: Obsidian Markdown Editor
Ivan’s digital brain lives in Obsidian, a sleek note-taking app that keeps everything connected. It’s open source, works offline, and has a graph view that shows how your ideas link together.
“It’s local first, saves everything in plain .md files, and has a live markdown preview. There are loads of extensions, and even a canvas feature to bring notes together visually.”
Why charities should try Obsidian
Think of it as a living comms handbook. You can store campaign ideas, social post templates, tone of voice notes, and resources, all linked, searchable, and future-proof.
💾 Lidia: Git
Git might sound technical, but for developers it’s magic. Lidia loves that it lets her experiment freely, she can test new features, break things (creatively), and roll back with no panic.
“It tracks every single change to my code, so I can experiment with new features fearlessly. If I mess something up, I can just rewind. No more panic, no more lost work, it gives me confidence that I won’t lose anything, ever.”
Why charities should try Git:
Version control isn’t just for code. It’s a mindset: experiment boldly, track changes, and don’t fear the undo button. A great principle for any digital team learning new skills or testing campaigns
🎤 Sian: Wireless Lavalier Microphone
I’m obsessed with my tiny plug-in mic. No setup drama, no fancy gear, just plug it into my phone and bam, studio-quality sound wherever I am. It’s my not-so-secret weapon for filming on the go.
Why charities should try it:
If your comms team ever records short interviews, social videos, or updates from events, a £30 mic can make you sound instantly more professional. And you don’t need to be Spielberg to use it.
📚 Sian (off the clock): Fable App
A social book tracker for people who love stories and spreadsheets. I use it to log what I’ve read, plan what’s next, and swap notes with book-nerdy strangers around the world.
Why charities should try Fable:
It’s a great example of digital community done right, simple, human, and built around shared interests. If your organisation runs a reading, wellbeing, or volunteer programme, take notes from how Fable keeps connection effortless.
Making Digital Work for You
The best digital tools aren’t about having the fanciest tech — they’re about saving time, reducing stress, and helping people work smarter.
Real talk: sometimes the simplest tools are the ones that make the biggest difference. (Also: never underestimate the power of a spreadsheet. Or a biscuit.)
Get In Touch
We’d love to hear what you’re up to. Please get in touch using hello@pooka.co or through the form linked below. Don’t be shy!
