Accessibility regulations: What nonprofit boards need to know

Reach, resources, reputation: Three ways accessibility elevates nonprofits from advocates to exemplars.

Accessible spaces — whether physical, virtual or social — invite and welcome members of your community, opening doors and encouraging participation. Accessible websites see 23% more organic search, rank for 27% more keywords and see Domain Authority rise by almost 20%. Across industries, 75% of digital experience professionals believe accessibility drives revenue.

As accessibility requirements spread from public institutions to the nonprofit sector, volunteer boards face a classic sink-or-swim choice. They can forge ahead into enthusiastic, proactive compliance that builds community engagement and goodwill, or they can founder amid legal trouble and weaker public engagement.

This guide makes the right choice more approachable. It provides a bird’s-eye view of the regulatory landscape for nonprofit boards, plus essential, practical knowledge for getting up to speed. It covers:

• Recent regulatory developments by region
• Next steps for putting this knowledge to work
• Insights on staying ahead of change and risk, including ways technology can help

Accessibility regulations around the world

AMERICAS

United States

The bedrock of American accessibility law is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, whose Title III provisions prohibit discrimination in public accommodations, broadly including physical spaces, digital interfaces and provided services.

While the ADA’s requirements for brick-and-mortar locations are by now familiar, well-incorporated into local building and zoning laws, its digital requirements are newer. Less familiar are new obligations, finalized in April 2024, on website accessibility. These ADA Title II rules require compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), version 2.1, at the AA level, for any organization receiving federal funding.

While WCAG 2.1 is not federally mandated for non-governmental nonprofits receiving no federal funds, it does provide the foundations for most global legislation on digital accessibility — in the U.S. and far beyond. WCAG requirements rest on four pillars, requiring that content must be:

1. Perceivable: alt text, colorblind modes, live captions for video, text spacing and much more.
2. Operable: allows multiple input methods including keyboards and gestures, headers and labels make pages navigable and ample time is provided.
3. Understandable: language is clear and matches audience capabilities, information hierarchies are predictable and logical.
4. Robust and conformant: backend and legal requirements that explain how the above features should be documented and implemented.

Other key federal laws include sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which — speaking broadly — apply WCAG 2.1 requirements to federal contractors, grantees, partners and other recipients of federal funding.

Across U.S. states, a number of new and recent laws have looked to expand the applicability of ADA- and WCAG-requirements for nonprofits. Notable examples include:

• California’s Bill 1757, set aside since 2024 and not actively under debate, which would have mandated WCAG 2.1 compliance for the websites of all Californian organizations. The state does, however, require compliance with the 1959 Unruh Civil Rights Act, which allows plaintiffs to sue (and recover damages) over inaccessible websites.
• Maryland and other states apply WCAG 2.1 requirements to digital education materials — whether produced by K-12 organizations or not.
• Colorado, Illinois, New York and many other states have all mandated WCAG compliance for government agencies, departments and contractors.

Canada

Canada’s 2019 Accessible Canada Act aims to remove accessibility barriers from government and public websites.

In 2024, the Act was updated to incorporate EN 301 549, a major update to European technical standards for accessibility that includes WCAG 2.1 requirements for websites (more on that momentarily).

Some provinces, including Ontario and Manitoba, stipulate additional requirements.

Europe

UK

Charities and nonprofits in the UK need to focus compliance efforts on two laws: the Equality Act of 2010 lays out core principles and goals (broadly WCAG-aligned, although not explicitly so), while 2018’s Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations mandates that all charities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) either demonstrate WCAG 2.2 compliance or provide public statements enumerating accessibility concerns with their own website.

Ireland/EU

Like other members of the E.U., Ireland adopted the European Accessibility Act (EAA) into its own national law, with additional requirements for certain types of organizations — including, among others, healthcare charities.

The EAA uses WCAG requirements as its baseline via the EN 301 549 standard; in Ireland, the safest course of action at present is thus to aim for the WCAG 2.2 AA standard. Read more here.

Switzerland

While the EAA does affect Swiss organizations wishing to interact with other European businesses — specifically, requiring WCAG 2.1 compliance — the nation also sets its own rules.

The Swiss Federal Law on the Elimination of Inequalities Affecting People with Disabilities (formally abbreviated LHand) adopts the eCH-0059 Accessibility Standard 3.0 as its baseline, aligning quite closely with WCAG 2.1.

Middle East

United Arab Emirates

The UAE government recently passed a new National Accessibility Policy, one that upholds and formalizes the nation’s existing technical guidelines for accessibility and builds on the government’s own updates to make their own sites more accessible.

The new policy has been under implementation since 2024, and its effects are expected to be felt in coming years.

Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s 2019 Law on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities sets basic duties for employers, caretakers and other parties, including the need for digital accessibility.

Government guidelines and policies define the scope of these duties and the specific actions nonprofits will need to take in order to remain compliant.

Qatar

In 2011 Qatar formalized a progressive eAccessibility policy — one greatly strengthened by the 2025 passage of a broader Persons With Disabilities law.

The new rules, summarized here in English, include WCAG 2.2 standards for most organizations.

Bahrain

Bahrain’s National eGovernment Accessibility Guidelines include WCAG-alike requirements for public websites, supported by public resources. Private organizations, including nonprofits, are encouraged but not required to follow these same guidelines.

Africa

South Africa

As in many nations that do not — yet — mandate compliance with online accessibility guidelines, South Africa’s Government Communications and Information System still make a strong recommendation: All government sites should aim for WCAG 2.2 level A, if not higher.

Also, and one again echoing patterns common in other countries, South Africa has recently considered additional legislative updates to accessibility requirements, such as the need for sign language interpreters.

Nigeria

Nigeria’s National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) handles most regulation involving disability and discrimination, including progress toward physical accessibility for Nigerians under the 2018 Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities Act (updated in 2023).

In addition, the National Information Technology Development Agency sets standards for government websites, which may provide a basis for future legislation affecting other organizations.

Ghana

Although the country continues to take recent and significant steps toward disability legislation, Ghana does not currently require nonprofits to uphold WCAG-like accessibility requirements. Nonetheless, following accessibility recommendations invites participation from Ghanaians with disabilities — and future-proofs your website.

Tanzania

While key laws such as Tanzania’s Personal Data Protection Act of 2022 and Persons With Disabilities Act of 2010 impose some limits on web activity for nonprofit organizations, the country does not mandate the use of any specific set of accessibility standards.

Botswana

In Botswana, major recent legislation — including 2024’s Persons With Disabilities Act — has reshaped accessibility in the country. However, as of late 2025, these laws do not mandate WCAG-like-compliance for nonprofits, and most public organizations remain noncompliant with the latest web accessibility guidance.

Lesotho

Lesotho protects the rights of disabled citizens through laws such as the 2021 Persons With Disabilities Act and 2023 Disability and Equity Procedure Rules. Like the laws currently in place in Ghana and Botswana, this general-purpose accessibility legislation establishes general principles but stops short of creating a specific duty for nonprofits to make websites welcoming for all users.

Zimbabwe

While the nation stands as signatory to major international agreements prohibiting discrimination, Zimbabwe has not yet set specific standards for website accessibility. In recent reports, government efforts to ensure web access are reportedly focused on internet penetration, infrastructure and costs rather than design and coding criteria.

Namibia

Since 2022, Namibia’s Access to Information Act has set robust standards for transparency and disclosure for both public and private entities. It does not, however, compel them to apply specific standards like the WCAG, nor does the nation’s Communications Regulatory Authority, responsible for more nuanced guidance, specify requirements.

Uganda

Uganda’s 2020 Persons With Disabilities Act establishes basic legal duties for accessibility, supported further by 2017 guidance from the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology and ongoing research, training and other measures aimed to support accessibility for the nation’s disabled population.

Malawi

While internet accessibility for Malawians remains primarily a matter of connectivity, devices and other very general concerns, the nation’s robust 2022 Disability Policy does lay out requirements for nondiscrimination — the same principles that drive requirements for WCAG-compliance in other nations.

APAC

Singapore

While the country does not currently require nonprofits to meet any specific accessibility standard, it has begun to move in that direction — and fast. The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) issued rules requiring all government websites to be WCAG 2.1-compliant by 2030, and strongly recommends the same for other entities. Additional legislation is widely anticipated in the coming years.

Australia

The twin pillars of accessibility law in Australia are its 1992 Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and the Australian Digital Experience Policy (DEP), which sets both Inclusion and Access standards for Australian nonprofits. As of 2024, these laws align with WCAG 2.2.

New Zealand

As in other regulatory areas, New Zealand’s government maintains a rich array of resources and guidance. The core of its regulatory regime for accessibility rests on the Web Accessibility Standard (currently version 2.1), which aligns closely with WCAG requirements.

Meanwhile, the nation’s Web Accessibility Guide receives regular, detailed updates to aid in both compliance and proactive website improvement — all working toward the ultimate goal of helping everyone navigate online.

What you need to know now

For mission-driven organizations and their volunteer trustees and directors, the message is clear: Communities want the welcoming power of accessible platforms and regulators are making it a priority.

Your board needs to keep a close on both evolving policies and the strategies that shift to match them. Now that you have a feel for the regulatory landscape and next steps, here are some resources for continued reading.

• Diligent’s recent writeup on accessibility for local governments provides a useful, public-facing list of recommendations for board members 
• Our guide on moving beyond ADA compliance to leveraging diverse perspectives as a source of strength 
• Government guides like this handy page on how best to reach audiences living with disabilities 
• Resources on labor-saving, accessibility-boosting AI tools, designed for use with systems you already know — like Diligent’s GovernAI suite of plug-and-play high-security AI features

Next steps for mission-driven boards

Accessibility, transparency and governance all depend on one another: Your community needs visibility, and that means they need broad-based, comprehensive access through well-built systems. Achieving that kind of access takes strong governance and efficient information-sharing.

Here’s how we suggest you start:

1. See where you stand. Start with an internal audit to establish what content, media and platforms may need to be accessible and what their status is right now.
2. Build out an accessibility governance team. Accessibility demands input from your GC or compliance lead, as well as IT and staff training or development resources. Get the pieces in place before launching your upgrades.
3. Get current on your options, and choose a goal. In addition to a complex and fast-changing regulatory landscape, multiple competing standards may all seem relevant. Choose a well-defined, stable set of goalposts for your accessibility efforts.
4. Keep an eye on the progress. Make sure your board gets regular updates as the organization’s accessibility increases — including remaining areas of weakness, possible effects on the community and any potential legal risk.

How BoardEffect can help

Volunteer boards face stiff challenges and important opportunities for community-building as they navigate the changing accessibility landscape. Not only is digital accessibility increasingly vital as a matter of legal compliance, but ease-of-navigation and an open, welcoming digital presence can be powerful boons for community cohesion.

Rather than a nice-to-have, accessibility compliance must now be treated as a core pillar of your information governance. Agendas and meeting minutes must be accessible; websites must allow all members of the public to engage; stakeholder scrutiny is rising.

BoardEffect makes all that easier. In a single platform, it streamlines both legal mandates and compliance with WCAG or EN 301 549 requirements, offering:

• Built-in compliance with important features such as keyboard navigation, screen-reader support, multi-language interfaces, high-contrast colors and fonts and availability from any device.
• Tools like AI Smart Summary that transform long, dense, inaccessible or badly formatted documents into simple, concise text suitable for diverse readers.
• The ability to work directly within familiar productivity environments like Microsoft 365.
• Robust reporting, follow up and escalation processes for user concerns, including any accessibility challenges.
• A product environment built for, and around, WCAG 2.2 AA standards, with those guidelines informing ongoing development, new features and continued improvements — all part of our broader Accessibility Commitment.

Schedule a demo today to get ahead of the competition on accessibility — and to embrace your community with fresh enthusiasm, helping everyone participate and contribute to the mission.