|
Post by johny9 on Jun 13, 2020 8:24:47 GMT
Good work jim and everyone , My only concern is what if people agree to a direct debit but then cancel after a couple of months If they lose their job or throw the toys out of the pram after a poor result ? If the club has counted the year contribution but then it’s cancelled will the club be left short ? For example if joe bloggs has pledged £100 a month direct debit ( £1200 a year ) but then cancels it after 2 months will the club be out of pocket if we have counted the £1200 To the total budget for the year ?
|
|
|
Post by happyclapper52 on Jun 13, 2020 8:34:20 GMT
Excellent initiative professionally presented. Please remember REGULAR FEEDBACK on amount raised is so motivational....suggest weekly updates. Lack of this in the past has resulted in previous initiatives disapppearing down the proverbial "black hole". How about mailings to all pubs and clubs and issue of " We support Chester FC" sticker to those who take up?
|
|
|
Post by Blockhead on Jun 13, 2020 8:49:17 GMT
Good work jim and everyone , My only concern is what if people agree to a direct debit but then cancel after a couple of months If they lose their job or throw the toys out of the pram after a poor result ? If the club has counted the year contribution but then it’s cancelled will the club be left short ? For example if joe bloggs has pledged £100 a month direct debit ( £1200 a year ) but then cancels it after 2 months will the club be out of pocket if we have counted the £1200 To the total budget for the year ? Jim has tweeted they have mitigated for this outcome. Some modelling will have been done as to what percentage of pledgers are likely to drop out of monthly payments and the budget will be forecasted accordingly.
|
|
|
Post by classycas on Jun 13, 2020 10:31:31 GMT
I too have signed up for £10 a month. So refreshing that our club are taking supporters’ ideas into account for a change. Our communication and engagement with fans has improved loads lately so hopefully we will keep it going. Let’s do this blues 🔵⚪️! I understand this will not be a popular post, but the Boost The Budget initiative demonstrates that a fans-owned football club is not sustainable without significant input from a benefactor. Unfortunately, the majority of benefactors pumping £100,000 into a non-league football club will want some kind of control of the business and I cannot blame Stuart Murphy for walking away, particularly when sensitive negotiations with CFU were leaked to the press. While the Boost The Budget initiative is impressive, it fails to spread support of the club throughout Chester’s business community and instead leaves it to us – the fans – to keep the club going. In effect, it increases the admission price to games for loyal fans in return for a badge that might as well read “I’m a better Chester FC supporter than you”. Well done everyone for contributing but how long can it last?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2020 10:43:27 GMT
I too have signed up for £10 a month. So refreshing that our club are taking supporters’ ideas into account for a change. Our communication and engagement with fans has improved loads lately so hopefully we will keep it going. Let’s do this blues 🔵⚪️! I understand this will not be a popular post, but the Boost The Budget initiative demonstrates that a fans-owned football club is not sustainable without significant input from a benefactor. Unfortunately, the majority of benefactors pumping £100,000 into a non-league football club will want some kind of control of the business and I cannot blame Stuart Murphy for walking away, particularly when sensitive negotiations with CFU were leaked to the press. While the Boost The Budget initiative is impressive, it fails to spread support of the club throughout Chester’s business community and instead leaves it to us – the fans – to keep the club going. In effect, it increases the admission price to games for loyal fans in return for a badge that might as well read “I’m a better Chester FC supporter than you”. Well done everyone for contributing but how long can it last? Look, the fan owned model isn’t going anywhere. It doesn’t matter how many people come on here and pour scorn on it. ITS OUR CLUB and we have personal decisions to make, either donate, or don’t. Ultimately as has been said before, we’ll get the club that we all deserve.
|
|
|
Post by lincolnexile on Jun 13, 2020 10:46:49 GMT
Set up my direct debit for a tenner a month. Quick and easy to do.
|
|
|
Post by Rio Doherty on Jun 13, 2020 11:38:42 GMT
I too have signed up for £10 a month. So refreshing that our club are taking supporters’ ideas into account for a change. Our communication and engagement with fans has improved loads lately so hopefully we will keep it going. Let’s do this blues 🔵⚪️! I understand this will not be a popular post, but the Boost The Budget initiative demonstrates that a fans-owned football club is not sustainable without significant input from a benefactor. Unfortunately, the majority of benefactors pumping £100,000 into a non-league football club will want some kind of control of the business and I cannot blame Stuart Murphy for walking away, particularly when sensitive negotiations with CFU were leaked to the press. While the Boost The Budget initiative is impressive, it fails to spread support of the club throughout Chester’s business community and instead leaves it to us – the fans – to keep the club going. In effect, it increases the admission price to games for loyal fans in return for a badge that might as well read “I’m a better Chester FC supporter than you”. Well done everyone for contributing but how long can it last? Jonno has said that we will most probably have to revert to being a part time side if we just stand still and do nothing, which would disadvantage us hugely. He also said that if our budget from previous seasons remains the same we wouldn’t be able to sustain the hybrid model, so an additional £100,000 (if we reach that target) on top of our board’s budget will massively increase our chances of promotion. Many other clubs in our league will struggle with finances due to what is going on, but with us preparing our budget early, spending within our means, and remaining debt free, we will be better off than those clubs. If you don’t want to contribute to this fundraiser then that is absolutely fine as nobody is forcing you to dig deep, but you have to understand that as a supporter-owned club us co-owners and us supporters need to fund our club, otherwise there isn’t really much use in our model. Darlington, another similar club to ourselves do this initiative every year and it works for them, so what we need to do is ease the apathy and accept that as co-owners we need to fund our club, otherwise we won’t be successful.
|
|
|
Post by Frank Owen’s Paintbrush on Jun 13, 2020 12:03:06 GMT
I understand this will not be a popular post, but the Boost The Budget initiative demonstrates that a fans-owned football club is not sustainable without significant input from a benefactor. Unfortunately, the majority of benefactors pumping £100,000 into a non-league football club will want some kind of control of the business and I cannot blame Stuart Murphy for walking away, particularly when sensitive negotiations with CFU were leaked to the press. While the Boost The Budget initiative is impressive, it fails to spread support of the club throughout Chester’s business community and instead leaves it to us – the fans – to keep the club going. In effect, it increases the admission price to games for loyal fans in return for a badge that might as well read “I’m a better Chester FC supporter than you”. Well done everyone for contributing but how long can it last? Jonno has said that we will most probably have to revert to being a part time side if we just stand still and do nothing, which would disadvantage us hugely. He also said that if our budget from previous seasons remains the same we wouldn’t be able to sustain the hybrid model, so an additional £100,000 (if we reach that target) on top of our board’s budget will massively increase our chances of promotion. Many other clubs in our league will struggle with finances due to what is going on, but with us preparing our budget early, spending within our means, and remaining debt free, we will be better off than those clubs. If you don’t want to contribute to this fundraiser then that is absolutely fine as nobody is forcing you to dig deep, but you have to understand that as a supporter-owned club us co-owners and us supporters need to fund our club, otherwise there isn’t really much use in our model. Darlington, another similar club to ourselves do this initiative every year and it works for them, so what we need to do is ease the apathy and accept that as co-owners we need to fund our club, otherwise we won’t be successful. Superb post this.
|
|
|
Post by jimgreen on Jun 13, 2020 14:47:48 GMT
Good work jim and everyone , My only concern is what if people agree to a direct debit but then cancel after a couple of months If they lose their job or throw the toys out of the pram after a poor result ? If the club has counted the year contribution but then it’s cancelled will the club be left short ? For example if joe bloggs has pledged £100 a month direct debit ( £1200 a year ) but then cancels it after 2 months will the club be out of pocket if we have counted the £1200 To the total budget for the year ? Jim has tweeted they have mitigated for this outcome. Some modelling will have been done as to what percentage of pledgers are likely to drop out of monthly payments and the budget will be forecasted accordingly. Yes as above, we spoke to Darlington about drop out rates and have factored this into the scheme. It is a risk and of course we hope that fans are not in the position where they have to cancel or feel compelled to do so because of performances/results. I think you’ll see more and more clubs using short term deals or non-contracts to give greater flexibility given the uncertain financial landscape too.
|
|
|
Post by itsme on Jun 13, 2020 15:47:43 GMT
Done the £240 lump sum just in case I change my mind later
|
|
|
Post by weareblues on Jun 13, 2020 17:17:14 GMT
Would be decent if could see a live total figure like Darlingtons If that’s possible for us to do?
|
|
|
Post by jimgreen on Jun 13, 2020 17:43:20 GMT
Unfortunately it’s not possible at the moment due to the way we process and receive the payments.
Darlington have a bespoke fundraising platform and we’re looking to replicate this, but the time it will take to get in place was against us. Definitely something we want to bring in though.
In the meantime we will ensure we provide regular updates on social media and via the website to show the progress we are making collectively.
|
|
|
Post by geoff on Jun 13, 2020 19:52:41 GMT
Jim....and hopefully on Deva Chat too
|
|
|
Post by bing on Jun 13, 2020 19:57:27 GMT
Great that there already seems to be a good take-up on this scheme - my hat goes off to everyone who has chipped in and well done for the team for coming up with an engaging initiative.
My concern though is what happens next seasons... and the season after that? Surely we can't be asking fans - even if they are willing and able to commit to hundreds of pounds above and beyond their season ticket - to donate again and again to the playing budget?
Wouldn't we be better donating say 75% of money raised to the squad, then keep aside 25% to improve infrastructure?
As brilliant as it would be to raise 100k, it's just a sticking plaster really - we need to improve other revenue streams.
|
|
|
Post by Arthur's Carpet slipper on Jun 13, 2020 22:11:29 GMT
Great that there already seems to be a good take-up on this scheme - my hat goes off to everyone who has chipped in and well done for the team for coming up with an engaging initiative. My concern though is what happens next seasons... and the season after that? Surely we can't be asking fans - even if they are willing and able to commit to hundreds of pounds above and beyond their season ticket - to donate again and again to the playing budget? Wouldn't we be better donating say 75% of money raised to the squad, then keep aside 25% to improve infrastructure? As brilliant as it would be to raise 100k, it's just a sticking plaster really - we need to improve other revenue streams. Other clubs have offered up the form of bonds to generate money for infrastructure. This doesn’t impact on the ownership model and provides a way of getting to that necessary large sum of money for major projects. I’d like to think we are looking at this or similar. We really need to be building the infrastructure that will generate more income
|
|
|
Post by paulinem on Jun 13, 2020 22:56:12 GMT
I too have signed up for £10 a month. So refreshing that our club are taking supporters’ ideas into account for a change. Our communication and engagement with fans has improved loads lately so hopefully we will keep it going. Let’s do this blues 🔵⚪️! I understand this will not be a popular post, but the Boost The Budget initiative demonstrates that a fans-owned football club is not sustainable without significant input from a benefactor. Unfortunately, the majority of benefactors pumping £100,000 into a non-league football club will want some kind of control of the business and I cannot blame Stuart Murphy for walking away, particularly when sensitive negotiations with CFU were leaked to the press. While the Boost The Budget initiative is impressive, it fails to spread support of the club throughout Chester’s business community and instead leaves it to us – the fans – to keep the club going. In effect, it increases the admission price to games for loyal fans in return for a badge that might as well read “I’m a better Chester FC supporter than you”. Well done everyone for contributing but how long can it last? To be honest the club has managed to survive despite a few close shaves until now without any additional income that could have arisen from a good cup run etc. Our record in practically any cup we have competed in has been woeful of late. While we don’t have a magic wand to wave may be one day our luck will turn in that respect to bolster our income and give us that cushion to push on! It’s hard relying on the core supporters but we must keep that going in the belief that one day our luck will turn!
|
|
|
Post by Neil Hunt Nonsense Potter on Jun 14, 2020 10:39:44 GMT
I understand this will not be a popular post, but the Boost The Budget initiative demonstrates that a fans-owned football club is not sustainable without significant input from a benefactor. Unfortunately, the majority of benefactors pumping £100,000 into a non-league football club will want some kind of control of the business and I cannot blame Stuart Murphy for walking away, particularly when sensitive negotiations with CFU were leaked to the press. While the Boost The Budget initiative is impressive, it fails to spread support of the club throughout Chester’s business community and instead leaves it to us – the fans – to keep the club going. In effect, it increases the admission price to games for loyal fans in return for a badge that might as well read “I’m a better Chester FC supporter than you”. Well done everyone for contributing but how long can it last? To be honest the club has managed to survive despite a few close shaves until now without any additional income that could have arisen from a good cup run etc. Our record in practically any cup we have competed in has been woeful of late. While we don’t have a magic wand to wave may be one day our luck will turn in that respect to bolster our income and give us that cushion to push on! It’s hard relying on the core supporters but we must keep that going in the belief that one day our luck will turn! Our core support are our owners. Owners have to fund clubs. If we dont contribute funds to the playing budget, we will have a poor playing budget. Take the point about a cup run though, a good enough one would enable us to fund the KGV project properly and develop a proper income stream for our future.
|
|
|
Post by agl on Jun 14, 2020 11:44:12 GMT
To be honest the club has managed to survive despite a few close shaves until now without any additional income that could have arisen from a good cup run etc. Our record in practically any cup we have competed in has been woeful of late. While we don’t have a magic wand to wave may be one day our luck will turn in that respect to bolster our income and give us that cushion to push on! It’s hard relying on the core supporters but we must keep that going in the belief that one day our luck will turn! Our core support are our owners. Owners have to fund clubs. If we dont contribute funds to the playing budget, we will have a poor playing budget. Take the point about a cup run though, a good enough one would enable us to fund the KGV project properly and develop a proper income stream for our future. Amazing how some people still don't seem to grasp this. For the fans' owned model to have any chance of success then the core fans can't just expect to pay £12 a year and think that's fine. You can't have your cake and eat it. Good to see so many pledges on here but I see this as a real measure of where the club goes. If we can't raise 100k or very near then I don't see much of a future, unless we want to be kicking around in the lower regional leagues. I've never bought into the idea of just having a club to support at any level. When the dust settles after Covid we still need to keep our eye on the eventual aim of playing national football. I also don't see the point of people who are already contributing to other schemes just shunting the money into this scheme at the expense of other initiatives. Isn't the whole point that this is over and above what we already have coming in? I hope the club will be transparent about this when measuring the total and take into account the loss of payments to other schemes, such as lottery, Squadbuilder and existing voluntary contributions over and above the £12 membership.
|
|
|
Post by eddieshead on Jun 14, 2020 13:28:55 GMT
The point is that supporters pockets are only so deep and they also have families to support
|
|
|
Post by tarvinblue on Jun 14, 2020 14:10:35 GMT
Great that there already seems to be a good take-up on this scheme - my hat goes off to everyone who has chipped in and well done for the team for coming up with an engaging initiative. My concern though is what happens next seasons... and the season after that? Surely we can't be asking fans - even if they are willing and able to commit to hundreds of pounds above and beyond their season ticket - to donate again and again to the playing budget? Wouldn't we be better donating say 75% of money raised to the squad, then keep aside 25% to improve infrastructure? As brilliant as it would be to raise 100k, it's just a sticking plaster really - we need to improve other revenue streams. Spot on! As a sticking plaster to get us through this torrid period then it seems an excellent idea and, if successful, will hopefully put us in a strong position next season. However, this is the third time since we reformed that something like this has been required - we had the Steve Burr's budget debacle, then the crisis a couple of years ago and now this. It isn't sustainable long term to keep reaching out to the fans when we are in crisis or need the funds to improve the playing budget. SM and his pennies have prevented the need for this over the last couple of seasons, but now that is gone we are in the position of asking the same people who already hand over significant sums of money to hand over even more. There has to be a long term strategy as to how we can generate the funds required to be competitive on crowds of around 1,800 without having to go to the same pockets time and again. I don't know the answer, but it is the question that needs one for the long term sustainability of our football club.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2020 14:16:48 GMT
Our core support are our owners. Owners have to fund clubs. If we dont contribute funds to the playing budget, we will have a poor playing budget. Take the point about a cup run though, a good enough one would enable us to fund the KGV project properly and develop a proper income stream for our future. Amazing how some people still don't seem to grasp this. For the fans' owned model to have any chance of success then the core fans can't just expect to pay £12 a year and think that's fine. You can't have your cake and eat it. Good to see so many pledges on here but I see this as a real measure of where the club goes. If we can't raise 100k or very near then I don't see much of a future, unless we want to be kicking around in the lower regional leagues. I've never bought into the idea of just having a club to support at any level. When the dust settles after Covid we still need to keep our eye on the eventual aim of playing national football. I also don't see the point of people who are already contributing to other schemes just shunting the money into this scheme at the expense of other initiatives. Isn't the whole point that this is over and above what we already have coming in? I hope the club will be transparent about this when measuring the total and take into account the loss of payments to other schemes, such as lottery, Squadbuilder and existing voluntary contributions over and above the £12 membership. It was amazing around the time of the voting rights for new members suspension to see a load of lads of twitter with CFC in their bio and "Proud Owner" etc, who don't even bother to contribute the £12. Banging on about how we are fan owned and they don't get a vote because they are not members of the CFU, yet they go home and away every week. Actually going to the match is the best part about football, it's the CFU meetings, voting and taking ownership while forgoing a couple of luxuries or saving up so you can support the club financially that is the hard part of being a chester fan. As I've said before anyone who can find the time and money to go home and away all season, owes it to the club to help shoulder some of the financial burden even if attending the AGM once a year for 3 hours is to much of an ask. Hopefully this initiative will be just the thing to bring everyone back around to support the club.
|
|
|
Post by rcb on Jun 14, 2020 14:31:55 GMT
For those who think ‘Fan Owned’ is the holy grail, they have to accept that limitations to the level of football are directly proportional to the match attendance figures. No budget should be set on the optimistic hope of a good cup run, or the excessive contributions of a core of overzealous fans. Such contributions are for times of crises, and for which people have already displayed great support in times of need. Roughly speaking it will take another 1,000 on the gates (normal non-covid times) to go up a division and stay there. A great cup run can of course finance a promotion chase and increase attendances (three successive promotions would do the same), but at current levels of interest we are where we are.
|
|
|
Post by blueforever on Jun 14, 2020 14:44:34 GMT
Yes i completly agree about be fan owned club and as many people have said you you cannot keep asking for fans to keep digging into their pocket Lets hope Johno and Bern can get a decent honest bunch of lads together and we can have a decent season i dont think we were far off this seasone and no need for drastic changes just one or two players to freshen things up .Get a winning team a groupof players who will play for the fans we can then get behind them and who knows,
|
|
|
Post by exiled on Jun 14, 2020 15:04:39 GMT
For those who think ‘Fan Owned’ is the holy grail, they have to accept that limitations to the level of football are directly proportional to the match attendance figures. No budget should be set on the optimistic hope of a good cup run, or the excessive contributions of a core of overzealous fans. Such contributions are for times of crises, and for which people have already displayed great support in times of need. Roughly speaking it will take another 1,000 on the gates (normal non-covid times) to go up a division and stay there. A great cup run can of course finance a promotion chase and increase attendances (three successive promotions would do the same), but at current levels of interest we are where we are. A sensible post IMO.
|
|
|
Post by Arthur's Carpet slipper on Jun 14, 2020 15:24:25 GMT
For those who think ‘Fan Owned’ is the holy grail, they have to accept that limitations to the level of football are directly proportional to the match attendance figures. No budget should be set on the optimistic hope of a good cup run, or the excessive contributions of a core of overzealous fans. Such contributions are for times of crises, and for which people have already displayed great support in times of need. Roughly speaking it will take another 1,000 on the gates (normal non-covid times) to go up a division and stay there. A great cup run can of course finance a promotion chase and increase attendances (three successive promotions would do the same), but at current levels of interest we are where we are. A sensible post IMO. Good comments and as fans that own our club we have to accept what ownership means ie putting our hand in our collective pockets if we want to support success. However this is just one piece of a bigger puzzle. Any business needs to have strong cash flow or this can’t just be from one source. We need to draw together to act out the strategy plan and build sustainable income streams so that a lucky cup run isn’t the only hope we have of survival
|
|
|
Post by dmcnally on Jun 14, 2020 17:11:59 GMT
Great that there already seems to be a good take-up on this scheme - my hat goes off to everyone who has chipped in and well done for the team for coming up with an engaging initiative. My concern though is what happens next seasons... and the season after that? Surely we can't be asking fans - even if they are willing and able to commit to hundreds of pounds above and beyond their season ticket - to donate again and again to the playing budget? Wouldn't we be better donating say 75% of money raised to the squad, then keep aside 25% to improve infrastructure? As brilliant as it would be to raise 100k, it's just a sticking plaster really - we need to improve other revenue streams. Spot on! As a sticking plaster to get us through this torrid period then it seems an excellent idea and, if successful, will hopefully put us in a strong position next season. However, this is the third time since we reformed that something like this has been required - we had the Steve Burr's budget debacle, then the crisis a couple of years ago and now this. It isn't sustainable long term to keep reaching out to the fans when we are in crisis or need the funds to improve the playing budget. SM and his pennies have prevented the need for this over the last couple of seasons, but now that is gone we are in the position of asking the same people who already hand over significant sums of money to hand over even more. There has to be a long term strategy as to how we can generate the funds required to be competitive on crowds of around 1,800 without having to go to the same pockets time and again. I don't know the answer, but it is the question that needs one for the long term sustainability of our football club. Darlington have done this scheme for 3 seasons now with a year on year increase in pledges despite poor finishes in the table. There's no reason why it can't be part of a long term strategy.
|
|
|
Post by bing on Jun 14, 2020 21:16:36 GMT
Spot on! As a sticking plaster to get us through this torrid period then it seems an excellent idea and, if successful, will hopefully put us in a strong position next season. However, this is the third time since we reformed that something like this has been required - we had the Steve Burr's budget debacle, then the crisis a couple of years ago and now this. It isn't sustainable long term to keep reaching out to the fans when we are in crisis or need the funds to improve the playing budget. SM and his pennies have prevented the need for this over the last couple of seasons, but now that is gone we are in the position of asking the same people who already hand over significant sums of money to hand over even more. There has to be a long term strategy as to how we can generate the funds required to be competitive on crowds of around 1,800 without having to go to the same pockets time and again. I don't know the answer, but it is the question that needs one for the long term sustainability of our football club. Darlington have done this scheme for 3 seasons now with a year on year increase in pledges despite poor finishes in the table. There's no reason why it can't be part of a long term strategy. Absolutely. If it continues to be successful we should continue it 100% - but only as, "part" of the strategy, as you say. My concern is we've asked fans many times over to help with the playing budget. In ten years time will we ever be closer to improving / extending the bar areas or disabled viewing? Why not squirrel away a percentage to benefit the club in the future rather than solely for next season?
|
|
|
Post by Blockhead on Jun 14, 2020 22:36:31 GMT
Darlington have done this scheme for 3 seasons now with a year on year increase in pledges despite poor finishes in the table. There's no reason why it can't be part of a long term strategy. Absolutely. If it continues to be successful we should continue it 100% - but only as, "part" of the strategy, as you say. My concern is we've asked fans many times over to help with the playing budget. In ten years time will we ever be closer to improving / extending the bar areas or disabled viewing? Why not squirrel away a percentage to benefit the club in the future rather than solely for next season? How would you suggest a sustainable football club should be run? Having the fans as the main revenue stream is the essence of a football club.
|
|
|
Post by bing on Jun 15, 2020 7:38:26 GMT
Absolutely. If it continues to be successful we should continue it 100% - but only as, "part" of the strategy, as you say. My concern is we've asked fans many times over to help with the playing budget. In ten years time will we ever be closer to improving / extending the bar areas or disabled viewing? Why not squirrel away a percentage to benefit the club in the future rather than solely for next season? How would you suggest a sustainable football club should be run? Having the fans as the main revenue stream is the essence of a football club. Sustainable for me sees us attracting a decent revenue through the turnstiles, creating a great match day experience so people spend more at the ground and using the ground more than 20 times a year, by improving our facilities to aid our commercial offering. All this supplemented by a modest level of donations. If we keep asking people to raise 100k every season, you are correct, in a way that is sustainable if fans maintain the enthusiasm to keep digging deep. It would be much more sustainable if we can raise money through other people - new fans, new businesses / individuals using the facilities away from match day.
|
|
|
Post by Neil Hunt Nonsense Potter on Jun 15, 2020 11:46:31 GMT
Hoping to see an update from the club today letting us know how many people have pledged and how much money so far.
|
|