Big thanks to William Joseph who conducted some pro-bono research into the experience of charities using Candle. We were delighted with what they found. Their report starts by saying that Digital Candle is:
Highly valued by vast majority.
“Thanks for your help, it was really instrumental.”
Most said that Candle was a way to start their digital transformation - giving confidence by helping people with where to begin. Practical advice by those that have been through the same experience was most important
“It’s completely changed everything actually”
“It gave us confidence to keep it simple rather than trying to do everything. Focus on one or two things well.”
The researchers found three areas for improvement:
1. There was some nervousness about the call being a sales pitch. It's Important that it wasn’t a ‘sell’ call and was run independently.
2. There was some confusion about who Digital Candle is run by, what exactly it is and what the roles of Catalyst and Platypus are. (Note: we've tweaked our FAQ to make this clearer.)
3. The most productive calls were when a charity sent through information beforehand and the mentor had a chance to prepare ideas. One negative comment was when this didn’t happen:
All three of these could be improved by clearer messaging, so that's something we are going to work on.
Overall, I'm tremendously enthused by the positive feedback. It is clear that Candle is highly appreciated. I'm keen to find ways to reach more charities, as each conversation we enable unlocks a small cascade of benefits, first to the charity and then to that charity's users.
Thank you, experts! It's your generosity with your time that makes Candle possible.