How 25 years of community expertise has shaped The Rotary Club of Chichester Harbour’s approach to rising demand

The Rotary Club of Chichester Harbour has just completed their 40th project on Match My Project, working with 21 different suppliers to get essential resources to families and individuals in need.

For over 25 years, they’d built strong networks, developed relationships with local partners, and created effective systems for meeting community needs through donations and fundraising.

But the cost of living crisis has changed the landscape.

The club joined Match My Project in May 2023, adding a new tool to their well-established approach to community support.

We spoke to the club’s community chairman, Thérèse Brook, to find out how.

“We could just about rely on donations before the cost of living hit, one way or another, by juggling things around,” Thérèse explained. “But now, we know with the increased demand, the shelf is sometimes bare.”

The problem isn’t just volume — it’s timing and reliability. “The demand and the donations don’t always match up.”

Thérèse explains that they can’t rely on waiting until those key donation periods like the spring cleaning season when people get rid of stuff they no longer need.

Match My Project helps to balance out and minimise those pinchpoints.

A quarter of a century on the frontline

The Rotary Club of Chichester Harbour has been providing wrap-around community support for over a quarter of a century.

Recognised by Rotary International in 1998, they were Chichester’s first dual-gender Rotary club.

They’ve built deep roots in the community, running their own clothes bank, alongside Chichester District Foodbank, and providing practical help for families impacted by poverty, asylum, illness and domestic abuse.

“For some people, it’s the first time they are receiving something new.”

Their work is diverse. They run tea dances for people with Alzheimer’s and partner with Mind charity to support mental wellbeing in the community.

However, much of their work is frontline crisis response, providing essential items for people getting back on their feet. This includes women escaping domestic abuse moving into safe, yet empty, houses to refugees who’ve just arrived, and families pushed into poverty needing a helping hand.

Thérèse makes clear that while a kettle or a toaster might seem small, it can be the life-changing missing piece.

She explains that when you give someone something they’re without, when you show that act of kindness, it makes people feel human.

“I think quite a lot of people, when they get stuff, have been promised stuff over the years and it never happens. But I think the networks we’ve got now in Chichester, working together, I can say if somebody promises, you get it.”

Match My Project helps to make sure the club can deliver every time for the people in need.

Essentials that change lives

This Social Value isn’t simply about items.

It’s about connection and community building.

When the club delivers essential items, they’re not just dropping off a toaster and leaving.

The Chichester Harbour’s Rotary Club has got extensive contacts for signposting, so once people have the essentials that allow them to get out of bed and leave the house, they know where the networks are — the social activities, the food pantries, the skills workshops.

“The first step is restoring self-esteem, and giving hope to individuals. Without that, you’re not going to be fitting into a community or anything else. You have to start somewhere.”

It’s the first connection, or a bridge, so that people can then reach out.

The difference quality partnerships make

Thérèse says Match My Project has given them access to a community of suppliers who genuinely want to help. There’s not that attitude of “they should be grateful for anything. Anything will do” — a misconception that can sometimes surround charity work.

“Anything won’t do,” Thérèse said firmly.

Having a network of businesses who understand this isn’t luxury stuff — that a new kettle represents dignity, that these asks are instrumental to restoring hope for people with little — makes all the difference.

Good working relationships mean suppliers come back again and again to offer support, understanding that their role in this isn’t just about ticking a box or doing the bare minimum, but about enriching lives.

Strategic thinking in action

Thérèse thinks two or three times before posting a request onto Match My Project

In the club’s monthly meetings, they discuss how fundraising is going, the challenges, how they’ll meet them, and where to pull resources from. They’re always weighing up options, drawing on networks they’ve created over 25 years.

“Every time we have a need, we ask ourselves: ‘Is there another way?’”

Their funding pools are always an option, but it’s about understanding trade-offs — what you won’t be able to buy if you use that bit of funding there.

Match My Project has become part of that strategic toolkit — not replacing their established networks and funding streams, but providing that extra degree of assurance when demand is high, one that offers a more direct route, without expenditure or the admin of searching outside their networks.

“It’s not an automatic, go-to. If we can get it somewhere else, we’ll try to widen out that community giving network,” Thérèse explained. “But when I look back on the list of things that we’ve got from Match My Project, we wouldn’t have been able to give nearly as much or the quality.”

Words of wisdom

When we asked Thérèse for advice for other community organisations using the platform, her response was characteristically practical:

“Make each word work. People don’t have the time to read an essay. Be honest with yourself about why you need it and the key difference it will make.”

And to businesses and local authorities considering supporting this work? The message is clear: these aren’t just one-off donations. They’re instrumental to building a happier, healthier community.

After 25 years of community service, The Rotary Club of Chichester Harbour understands that sometimes the most strategic thing you can do is ensure someone has a kettle for their morning cup of tea.

Are you a community organisation interested in receiving resources from businesses on Match My Project? Sign up via your local authority’s homepage at matchmyproject.org. Your project could be the next to receive crucial support and resources.

Extra Resources

🔗 The Rotary Club of Chichester Harbour’s four top tips for community organisations looking to maximise their impact on Match My Project.

The Rotary is a global network of volunteers who lend their time and skills for humanitarian service. United by a belief in service above self, their work is motivated by a desire to create lasting impact in our communities, through local and global projects. Find out more here.