Business Advantages of Supporter Community ... - Supporters Direct

the area of donations. Many clubs who are currently supporter community
owned have become so in response to a financial crisis, which has resulted
in supporters coming together and raising large amounts of money in a
comparatively short space of time in order to save their club. However, not
all of the examples of supporter fundraising we discovered were reactive,
with a number of clubs operating innovative schemes to ensure that their
clubs can remain financially stable.
Furthermore several clubs pointed to ongoing support, especially in relation
to development or improvement of facilities. For example:
● Exeter City raised £150,000 to support the purchase of a new pitch.
● FC United has raised over £350,000 through its Development Fund to
support the development of their own ground and community facility.
Neil Le Milliere of Exeter’s supporters’ trust said:
‘Whenever we put out an appeal for something, we will always get people helping.
Last year we had a special appeal to buy a new pitch and we got thousands of
pounds in donations, which I’m not sure you would at another club unless it was a
crisis. People understood that the alternative would be to take the money out of the
playing budget. We needed £300,000 and managed to raise half of it.’
Lincoln City – Name Your Seat
In 2002, Lincoln’s supporters’ trust helped save their club via
a ‘Name Your Seat’ initiative which, along with a host of other
fundraising events, raised over £100,000. Since then, the supporters’
trust have provided over £140,000 to the football club in sponsorship
and other initiatives.
The Imps Trust is a major share holder, (with approximately a 25%
stake in the football club) and also has two representatives on the
club board. Lincolnshire Co-operative is one of the next largest
shareholders with around 5% and a director on the board. They have
also sourced more than £200,000 in grants towards the improvement
of resources at the stadium and led the introduction of The Club’s the
Hub, a local regeneration project aimed at benefiting one of the most
disadvantaged areas in Lincoln, as well as delivering a wide range of
community activities, including the GOAL school holiday club.
Business Advantages of Supporter Community Ownership 37