Netcafe with the DFCSG

By Ray Simpson

Apr 14, 2016

Good evening everyone and welcome to our latest netcafe with Wayne Raper and Neil Raper from the DFC...

Good evening everyone and welcome to our latest netcafe with Wayne Raper and Neil Raper from the DFCSG. The previous netcafes have proved very popular, so please send your questions to netcafe@darlingtonfc.org.

There was some great news last night when the £100,000 target was reached, and there are several questions coming up that are linked to that.

First question is from Steve Carter

Steve Carter

I have just returned from holiday today and have so far not pledged any money to the community share. I believe i am too late for this is this correct?

Can i still convert my previous donations to a the community share?

Can i still extend my 5 year season ticket?

I have filled forms out to extend my season ticket and for the community share issue are these to be handed in to Blackwell meadows or at the match Saturday?

Answer:

I'm sorry it is too late to pledge. Our statement on the official and DFCSG websites explains the reasons why have had to close the offer.

Yes you can still convert your equity shares as long as you hold more than 100.

Yes, you can also extend your 500 Club season ticket. You can hand everything in at the fans table at the match on Saturday or at Quaker Retail on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday.

Andrew Foulds

Why is it so difficult to pay money into the B2D account ?

I wanted to pay in some raffle proceeds, but had to make a concerted effort to get the details to be able to do this.

My point is, that if it is not more easily accessible, people will be put off.

There used to be a button link on the DFCSG website (to the previous chairman's e.mail address) with the option to pay via Paypal.

This button link has now been removed, and not replaced.

What is required is a new button link, direct into the B2D account.

Answer

Details of the B2D account are at the bottom of the home page on the DFCSG website for bank transfers, or you can use the same details to deposit cash or cheques into a bank.

You can also hand the cash in at Quaker Retail because they receive donations for B2D.

Alternatively, you could hand the cash to any of the B2D bucket holders and they will ensure that it's paid into the B2D account (just like the chap who donated £1,000 last week). the paypal account handled very few transactions over the past year or more and in any case had to be removed to ensure nobody mistakenly tried to pay directly for community shares instead of using the online system. Paypal is an expensive service.

From David Boulton

Just want to thank you for your great work on community shares. How does the board work with the Directors of the Football Club and are you looking for any more board members now John Tempest has moved to the 1883 board?

Answer

The DFCSG are the majority shareholder in the football club, and with that comes certain responsibilities. Firstly we need to appoint the right officials to run the club on behalf of our members and fans in general. Secondly we need to work with and support the club officials by helping out with activities that they have not got the bandwidth to do themselves. Thirdly we need to provide the right level of governance to safeguard the future of the club for the benefit of our members, the fans and the community. Finally, but very importantly, just like any business owner we need to raise finance to support the development of the business.

But here is the important thing. Once we have worked with the club officials to agree the long term plan for the club as well as operational targets, we will take a step back and not interfere with the running of the club on a day to day basis. The whole point of appointing the right officials is that they have the correct skills to run a successful football club business. However, as indicated above we will work with those officials to make sure that have the support they need to be successful. And obviously we will periodically review performance on behalf of our members to make sure we are on the right track.

We are always on the lookout for new DFCSG Board members with the right skills. Top of the priority list at the moment is someone with good financial management/accountancy skills and someone with commercial legal background.

John Tempest is still a member of the DFCSG board, he has just stepped down as chair.

The conventional route to becoming a DFCSG board member is to seek election at the AGM, which will be around November. This will be the end of the first year of the DFCSG board and the constitution demands that one third of the board members stand down to seek re-election alongside any new candidates.However, the constitution also allows the board to co-opt additional members with specialist skills at any time in order to fill any identified skills gaps.

From Roy Elliott

Question

Following this week’s fiasco where we had to play at Spennymoor due to a waterlogged pitch - can you be more specific on what we are doing to the pitch at Blackwell meadows in terms of drainage.

Answer

Martin Gray has today asked for fans to continue raising funds for a water management system, which includes drainage and sprinklers. (see the story on the website)

We have visited Blackwell Meadows during heavy rain when our game at Heritage Park was postponed and we played Guisborough on the 3G at Longfield Road, and there was no standing water at Blackwell Meadows.

Question

Will the entrance to Blackwell Meadows from Grange Road be widened to accommodate two car lanes as well as additional footpath space to avoid accidents at peak periods just before and after the game.

Answer

The entrance doesn’t need to be widened, it is two lanes wide. There already is a footpath built down the left hand side of the entrance road. There will be a one way system in force, and on exiting Blackwell Meadows at the junction with Grange Road, there will be no right turns, only left towards the roundabout (just like the Arena)

--Peter Haygarth

Question

The move back to Darlington this summer is a truly unique hearts and minds opportunity to gain a new generation of fans, regain many lapsed supporters and finally cast off the spectre of the harmful regimes of the past.

I am concerned that admission price increases will put this opportunity at risk. I do not believe that price increases will gain an increase in support in the long term.

Therefore I suggest that prices are kept at this season's level or a vote of DFCSG members is carried out to determine future prices.

What is your position on this matter?

Answer

We will be asking members' opinions on admission prices in the coming weeks and we will be using the feedback to sit down with the football club board, and discuss the outcome. However, we must also recognise the needs of the business when taking that decision into account. Ultimately, it will still be the football club's decision.

Andrew Simpson

Question:

What events have you got lined up after the end of the playing season?

Answer

First and foremost we have the annual players awards dinner on 7th May which is set to be a fantastic evening. Then on 14th May we have the shirt presentations and end of season do, with players attending at Blackwell Meadows.

Further details will follow soon, tickets at £5 will need to be bought in advance.

We have bands lined up to play gigs for us at Blackwell meadows on Saturday evenings after home games.

There will also be plenty of commercial activities during the close season, the club has set up a team to look at these.

Steve Halliday

Question

Yesterday a rush for the take up in Community Shares surpassed the 100k target much earlier than might have been expected. Whilst there is much euphoria in doing so, until the end of the pitch and cooling off period the success of the scheme remains somewhat unconfirmed. Although assurances have been given about not taking pledged money until the end of the scheme, would it make sense to ask those who have made pledges if they would consider releasing the money to the scheme earlier so that the success of the scheme can be judged asap?

As the scheme total for pledges has now gone well over the 100k what will be the position of those who have made pledges over the total and will there be any future opportunity to invest in the club for those who have missed the chance to pledge to the current scheme?

Answer

Whilst it is true that we have only been collecting pledges thus far, 3 out of the 4 payment methods allow us to trigger the transaction without any future input from the investor. Those investing "offline" via cash or cheque have already passed their payment to us ready to be cashed once the offer is successful, which it now is. Those using the GoCardless online payment system have logged their card details and we just need to give 7 days notice to automatically take payment. Those choosing to pay via BACS will need to physically transfer their pledge to us but we don't expect there to be a large scale issue in receiving these.

You may have seen from the statement today that we've built a contingency into the offer by the over subscription of £6,900 which will allow us to call on reserves if needed.

Additionally in the statement you will see that we've also mentioned that whilst the deadline for payment is 7th June we have mentioned that if anyone wants to pay early we will gladly take payment. However, we cannot move onto the payment collection until we resolve the EIS application which is our current priority.

We are currently looking at new fundraising streams which will appeal to a wide range of fans who couldn't subscribe to the community share issue either due to the offer closing or being unable to commit to £100 or more. We hope to circulate details early next week.

Barry Patterson

Question

Is there anyway in putting up some sort of shelter at the western end of the Blackwell Meadows pitch despite the underground water main? i.e a tin shed structure without heavy concrete steps.

We all know how strong the westerly wind can be at Heritage Park, which makes life difficult for the players.

I feel the fans in the planned covered area at the Eastern end of Blackwell Meadows will be in for very unpleasant conditions with the prevailing wind blowing in their faces.

I accept that there are other priorities, one being a good standard pitch and drainage system.

Answer

Sorry, we can't answer that question, it's outside of our scope.

Terry Meredith

Question

Has the target of 1000 DFCSG been realised & how much has this contributed towards the overall appeal. ?

Answer

Before we started the appeal, we had 430 members, and now we are approaching 600. We welcome new members, details of how to join are on our website. We’re making it easier for people to pay on a monthly basis. None of the money has raised so far is made up of DFCSG subscriptions.

Steve Smith

Question:

Do we have a shirt sponsor yet for next season?

Answer: John Tempest is awaiting to sign the agreement and this should be announced next week. Without saying who it is, it will not only benefit the Season Ticket Holders and members of the DFCSG but potentially drive many within the Darlington community to be new members of the DFCSG due to the nature of the overall sponsorship deal.

From Paul Giles

It was my birthday on Tuesday and my parents said they would buy me a share and we went to get one online tonight to find out the site is closed because we have exceeded our target which of course is superb news ! Will there be another opportunity to buy a share as I really want one and I am a dedicated fan of Darlo FC and have had a season ticket for years and could to be even more part of the club I do hope there will be another opportunity for this

Answer

Not at this current moment. It could be that when we ask people for the money, we might get less than £100,000.

If we don’t get £100,000 there maybe another opportunity to re-open the offer.

Why not become a member of the DFCSG? For under 16s, it is only £5 per year, and you will get to know about lots of things going on.

Question

Where are we likely to play on Saturday?

Answer: The league can only decide that and we will obviously be looking at the weather over the next 24 hours.

David Stothard

The overall fundraising target was £130,000. How successful have the other fundraising initiatives been ie the 500 Club renewals been in reaching that target?

Answer: The 500 club currently stands at £38k, but please bear in mind that the fundraising doesn't stop. We need to raise enough money next for a water management system for the pitch.

Martyn Horn

Can you tell us how much is currently in the back to darlo fund? Also could you show a running total for this find on your website in the same way as you have shown the running total for the shares issue.

We currently have £5,500 in the Back to Darlo fund, and there will be buckets next Saturday and Tuesday at our home games.

That's it, everyone. Many thanks for e mailing your questions, much appreciated.

See you all Saturday, at either Heritage Park or somewhere else!