Who we are

25 years at the heart of Brighton & Hove

Community Base is an independent charity providing a home for community and voluntary groups in Brighton and Hove and services to the local community.

In our accessible seven-floor building a few minutes from Brighton station, we provide low-cost office space, meeting rooms for hire, and a postal address service to community groups and charities. Income from these services is used to repay the mortgage on the building and meet our running costs, ensuring the building remains available for community use in the long term.

We also provide a range of free services:

The friendly, supportive environment provided by Community Base allows a wide range of charities and community groups to work together, share their expertise and provide much needed services to the local community and beyond. Groups at Community Base work with tens of thousands of service users every year.

Governance & management

Community Base is a registered charity (1052456) and a company limited by guarantee (3121688) with no share capital governed by a memorandum and articles of association. The membership of Community Base is composed of charities and other not-for-profit, non-governmental organisations that use Community Base services.

Our finances

Community Base uses income from rent, service charges and advertising on its north wall to repay a mortgage on the building we own and meet our running costs. Brighton and Hove City Council shows its support for Community Base by giving us discretionary rate relief..

Our Values

We are committed to providing a home for community and voluntary groups in Brighton and Hove.

We give meaning to this commitment by licencing space in our building to not-for-profit, non-governmental organisations and by maintaining our identity as a home for community and voluntary groups.

Support for local community and voluntary groups

We are committed to providing high quality services to local community and voluntary groups whether they licence space with us or not.

We give meaning to this commitment by making our conference room available for hire by community and voluntary groups at an affordable rate and by providing local community and voluntary groups with other services free of charge.

A community resource for the people of Brighton and Hove

We are committed to providing the people of Brighton and Hove, especially those most in need, with free, accurate and accessible information about local community services.

We give meaning to this commitment by maintaining an informative, welcoming reception open to the public five days a week, by publishing and distributing a free guide to local community services every year and by maintaining and promoting our free online information services Brighton and Hove volunteer search, Brighton and Hove community job search, Brighton and Hove service search and Brighton and Hove venue search.

Multiculturalism and diversity

We are committed to opposing racism and promoting multiculturalism.

We give meaning to this commitment by providing a home to groups providing services to local black and minority ethnic communities alongside groups providing services to the wider communityand by holding events to promote multiculturalism.

Human rights and social justice

We are committed to promoting human rights and social justice and opposing discrimination on the grounds of age, disability, gender, gender identity, race, religious or cultural beliefs, trade union or political activity or sexual orientation

We give meaning to this commitment by providing a home to groups campaigning for human rights and social justice and by promoting human rights and social justice and opposing such discrimination when providing services, dealing with suppliers and employing staff.

An independent community and voluntary sector

We are committed to the existence of a strong, independent and diverse community and voluntary sector as an essential element of a democratic society.

We give meaning to this commitment by developing our services in response to grassroots need rather than government or funders’ priorities and by promoting the importance for a democratic society of robust, grassroots community organisations independent of government or business.

Cooperation without incorporation

We are committed to cooperating with other organisations in pursuit of our charity’s objects while maintaining our independence.
We give meaning to this commitment by cooperating with other organisations in pursuit of our charity’s objects without being incorporated into partnerships that require us to compromise our independence.

Reducing our adverse environmental impact

We are committed to minimising the adverse environmental impact of our activities and encouraging others to do so.
We give meaning to this commitment by using electricity supplied from 100% renewable sources, by providing recycling facilities in our building, by using energy efficient appliances whenever possible, by making our conference room a throwaway-free zone and by taking other practical steps to reduce our carbon footprint and the energy used in our building and in our activities.

An open and listening organisation

We are committed to being open and transparent about our activities and regularly seeking the views of people using our services about our services.

We give meaning to this commitment by publishing on our website our policies, accounts, budgets and minutes of our general meetings and board meetings and by regularly seeking the views of people using our services about our services through surveys, meetings, consultations and other mechanisms.

This statement of Community Base’s core values was agreed by Community Base’s board of trustees in November 2009 following consultation with the Community Base membership.