What our users think

Comment card: "We have started from scratch and at every step of setting up as a new community group, the Resource Centre has been invaluable. The information on the website is extensive, clear and very relevant to everything we have had to do." Survey comment: The resource centre is amazing - really helpful, really quick and helpful response to email queries, staff in centre are really helpful& knowledgeable even when clearly very busy - thank you for all your help! Comment card: "A brilliant service - affordable and endlessly useful. Community groups in B&H would suffer and be under-resourced without the RC." Image of three emails, all praising the Resource Centre's online information service. Comment card from Sail Boat Project: "The new colour printer is great and helps us produce quality posters without costing us a fortune. Thank you Resource Centre!" Survey comment: wonderfully relaxed, friendly and informal yet everyone skilled and equipment for printing working and helpfully organised - love it! Comment card: "It was a lifesaver to be able to hire equipment here at short notice! As a result, our conference went smoothly and we are so grateful! Thankyou!" Survey comment: It's wonderful - friendly, accessible, offering the things it's often easy to forget about (eg laminating, urn for making drinks) but which make all the difference. The atmosphere is calm & supportive. The staff are always lovely. Comment card: "All team members have been very supportive. They have gone above and beyond to help us remain financially viable for the longer term. Will recommend them to everyone." Comment on 2014 survey: Really don't know how we would cope without the resource centre in Brighton. I wish that every city had such a great resource for Charities. People I know that have been involved with setting up new charities have all said how useful the Resource Centre has been for them. Comment card: "Brilliant - the kids really loved it." Comment on 2014 survey: Lovely team, helpful with all our many questions. Will be coming back again... Thankyou!

“The support we have had is excellent. Rose Rickford has helped us tremendously. She can be called any time we are struggling. Her work and recommendations are really invaluable. Thanks for the high standard support we have had from you all.”

Brighton and Hove Filipino Community

We welcome feedback from our user groups at any time. All our services have been developed over the years as a result of requests from local community groups, so if you have any suggestions or want to make a comment on our services – good or bad – please do let us know. You can fill in a comment card at the front desk or email us with your feedback.

Our own survey

Every two years we carry out a survey of all groups who contact us during July.

Our July 2016 survey showed that our services are very highly valued by our user groups.

  • 97% of our users were very satisfied with the service they received. The remaining 3% were satisfied.
  • 100% of respondents agree that the Resource Centre makes life easier for their group.
  • For most of our user groups, we are the only support agency they use.
  • The work of our user groups benefits everyone in the city.

For more details, see the survey report (PDF)

Feedback from our priority groups

Each time we carry out a piece of intensive support work for one of our priority groups, we ask for feedback and comments. In 2015-16, we did 90 examinations of accounts and 315 support sessions for our priority groups.

Examinations of accounts

“As a residents association essentially run by volunteer amateurs, it is refreshing as well as reassuring to have the help and guidance of the Resource Centre. Vital to our work in the community.”

Sylvan Hall Residents’ Association

We give groups a postcard to return with a rating of our work and any comments, when we complete the examination of their accounts. 53% of the cards we gave out were returned and 100% of these rated our work as excellent.

Support and advice

We ask for feedback when we have completed a substantial piece of work with a group, such as helping to draft a funding application, drawing up a project plan or advising a treasurer on book-keeping. Often, a single ‘job’ is carried out over a period of weeks, involving several visits, which are counted as separate sessions.

If we discuss an issue with a group briefly at the front desk (our Advice on Demand service), we don’t generally ask for written feedback.

In 2015-16, we completed 91 pieces of support work on which we asked for feedback. 73% of our feedback  forms were completed, and 97% of these rated our work as excellent.

External evaluation

“It’s always helpful coming here to get help and it makes me understand more the work being done. And we can’t thank you enough for the support and understanding. Once again many thanks.”

Senegalese Community of Sussex

Our Money in Mind project was evaluated twice by independent consultants – half-way through the project in 2012 and again at the end of the project in 2014.

On both occasions, the consultants’ report concluded that:

  • Groups found the support offered by the Money in Mind project to be of excellent quality, and all beneficiaries would recommend the service to their colleagues and friends.
  • A large majority of groups who received support from the Money in Mind project reported that their skills, confidence and knowledge had improved following the support.
  • A majority of groups reported that they were better able to raise funds following the support they had received.

Three of the six case studies in each report featured groups who had received support from the Resource Centre (the other three had been supported by our project partners, Impact Initiatives). In the 2012 evaluation, these were:

In the 2014 evaluation, they were:

To read these case studies in context, and see the results of the online surveys, see the full 2012 evaluation report (PDF) and the final evaluation report produced in 2014.

Last updated: October 2016