Business Advantages of Supporter Community ... - Supporters Direct

9 Donations
Key Question:
Does supporter community ownership help generate higher levels of
donations from supporters
Top Three Findings
i) Supporter donations have been a key feature at the clubs we spoke to,
and are another demonstration of the commitment of supporters to
supporter community owned clubs.
ii) In many cases donations have been an important element of enabling
the club to be saved, formed or purchased; and donations provide vital
working capital for other fund raising.
iii) As supporter community owned clubs become more established
supporter donations are also an important element in enabling future
developments – notably facilities and growth.
All the clubs felt that their ownership structure meant that their supporters
were willing to contribute donations to assist the club. For AFC Telford
United, Exeter City, FC United and Lewes supporter donations have been
instrumental in establishing the club.
● AFC Telford raised £17,000 in the space of just two weeks to help
establish the new club.
● Lincoln City Supporters’ Trust raised £100,000 through a name your
seat campaign.
● FC United of Manchester raised £150,000 in two months via the
internet to enable the club to form in 2005 – this was necessary to
provide a guarantee to the league and FA that the club was sustainable
through that first season and it provided confidence to other partners. All
donors were given ‘Founding Member’ certificates.
Supporters of community owned
clubs recognise the important role
that they play with regards to their
sustainability
As highlighted elsewhere in this paper,
supporters of community owned clubs
recognise the important role that they
play with regards to their sustainability
and this would appear to extend to
36 Supporters Direct Briefing Paper No.4