Raising Finance for the Trust

[Burnham Lad]

OK, hardly any readers and no response on the Trust Forum, so let's try here!!!! <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

 

I think it would be really helpful if we were able to show on the Trust site if and how people can contribute to the Trust, or to buy or promote things which would raise cash, as per Chris Sliski's post on the main website.

 

For starters is the Trust registered as a charity? If it is a registered Charity, then Gift Aid would apply, so that the Trust could reclaim 28p in the £ of any donations - see http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/charities/claim_tax_back.htm

 

Having details of this and any forms on the site might help make it easy for people to donate and encourage us all to do so.

 

Not everybody can afford to sponsor a player for example, but the Barmy Army last season enable people to club together to do it. Perhaps we could use the trust site to put together a few other groups who would like to club together to sponsor a player, a game etc?

 

Perhaps we could collect together some items we could sell and run a STST car at local car boot fairs, all the profits to the Trust.

 

One or two other clubs run and annual dinner with a soccer speaker and member of the Management and Team present and make money out of the tickets, a raffle etc.

 

I sure there must be plenty of cash raising ideas out there which we can tap to help the Trust at this crucial time.

 

The only other thing I think we need to do is to find a way of getting the message to those fans who do not come onto the Forum or the websites - DO you think we could persuade The Observer or the Express to give us an STST corner for announcements, news and gossip?

 

Or perhaps they could suggest some way we could do it?

 

[Guest]

Slough Council says there is no money available!

 

However here in Staines the council has acquired money form the Deputy Prime Ministers Office (2 Jags Prescott - will it now be 2 bikes Janik?) for the building of a skateboard park in the Lammas Park.

 

Pity Slough council are not prepared to find this funding or is it because they would need to talk to Labour!

 

Come on Councillor Stokes start representing your constituents and pull down the funding we are entitled to!!! or are you just a dead duck council?

 

[evadne]

Re fundraising, I don't think it likely that the trust would be able to qualify as a charity - while running a semi-professional football club might seem like a charitable business (i.e. money in for no return), the Charity Commissioners may have other ideas.

 

As I wrote on another thread (Money Matters), I'm willing to up my monthly contribution to the Trust, if it turns out that the Trust will be left as the only viable source of income. We should know if this is the case after this week's meetings.

[PJ-STFC]

Regarding 'STFC as a charity', I think this is a non-starter.

 

For a start, and especially if STST were actually running the club, a separate body would need to be incorporated as the "STST Charity", since a charity may not take part in any form of trading (which would include selling replica kit, etc). This would require a whole heap more administration and additional (charity) trustees.

 

Secondly, and more significantly, I don't think that STFC would count as a 'charitable purpose'.

I just consulted document CC21 "Registering as a Charity", published by the Charity Commission, which gives clear guidelines about what constitutes a 'charitable purpose'.

 

Now it could be argued that STFC, and in particular the Kennedy Park Development, could be crow-barred into one of the 'Second Group charitable purposes':

 

Quote:

Other charitable purposes for the benefit of the community

 

35. Purposes which benefit the community and are considered to be charitable include:

 

- [several that do not apply to STFC - omitted]

- the provision of recreational facilities which are open to everyone (for example, a sports centre) or which are for particular beneficiary groups such as people with disabilities or the elderly;

- urban and rural regeneration and community capacity building;

- promotion of health (eg through education, access to medical facilities or the pursuit of healthy recreation through sport).

 

However, I think that the Charity Commission are already expecting approaches from groups such as STST, as the following paragraph elaborates...

 

Quote:

Some non-charitable purposes which are often presumed to be charitable

 

36. The following are examples of organisations or purposes which are often assumed to be charitable, but in fact are not:

 

- individual sports clubs set up to benefit their members or promote excellence (as distinct from sports facilities open for everyone or specifically provided for special groups of people, such as elderly people, or as a method of promoting healthy recreation);

- [several more, including promotion of political matters, omitted as not relevant here]

 

 

So, much as we would like to be able to donate to STFC as a charity, I think this idea is dead in the water.

 

PJ <img src="/images/graemlins/chat.gif" alt="" />

[Guest]

I work for a Charity and it is also a limited company.

 

If the Trust is looking at charitable status, yes there is additional paperwork and audits but the Trust will need to take legal advice - preferably from an expert in charity law.

 

The Charities commision has tightened its description of what constitutes a charity and its activities to close down some of the Tax loopholes that were being abused.

 

If the Trust could get charitable status it would improve the level of income and may also change the councils attitude to the club.

[Ted]

I think Andrew raises some good points---for me the car boot idea works---there must be a lorryload between us, it would raise money, but probably just as importantly it would raise our profile locally. I'd be mad enough to do it occaisionally if others would.

[Burnham Lad]

Hi PJ,

 

I take your point about STST as an organisation running a semi-pro football club not being a Charity in the sense of the word as applied by the commissioners, but looking at some of the other objectives of the Trust in relation to the community and youth football, perhaps at a later stage and in happier times, it might be worth investigating establishing a subsidiary trust for those activities which would meet the requirements of the commissioners and help stretch the cash the Trust can afford to spend on such things.

 

However, I meant that really as a "by the way" - the important thing is to get some cash for the Trust. Is there a fund raising committee of the Board? Perhaps they could coordinate some activity on this and get together some volunteers to get some of the ideas going?

 

[GarySTFC]

Andrew, there are two people set to look at fund raising, would it be ok to pass on your email address to them to contact you directly?