Trust Question ?

Since 62



7) What has the Trust achieved?

The honest personal answer from me is "not enough" and , for as long as members vote for me to be a Trust board member , I will always seek to achieve more.

Keith, Fair play to you for admitting that and that has been the Trusts Main Failure

Since 62



7) What has the Trust achieved?

The honest personal answer from me is "not enough" and , for as long as members vote for me to be a Trust board member , I will always seek to achieve more.

Keith, Fair play to you for admitting that and that has been the Trusts Main Failure

I said it because I believe it. That `s probably my problem , I can upset too many people by telling it like I believe it to be .
But even if the Trust achieves lots of things that even some people on here concede are good (sorry , I just ducked under a flying pig for a minute there) , it will still be the aim to do it better.

Like many other organisations , the Trust will never please all of the people all of the time , and never please some people any of the time. That`s life.

Keith



I did notice though that you failed to include in this post the list of things I said the Trust HAD achieved - the joys of selective editing on your own board eh!!

Keith,

Firstly, Thankyou very much for answering my post ...Although as you state, the Trust hasn't done enough. What do you envisage the future plans are to rectify this.

I'm a little bit confused with the Trust kickstarting the Fred Keenor statue appeal, as I was led to believe that the original fundraising campaign was kickstarted by Graham (Freds Nephew).

I disagree with your opinion (but respect it anyway) that there is little difference between the Trust and this forum..

I respect your opinion as well Keith , but the reason I believe there's little difference is because this forum has also raised funds for the statue and spearheaded the Young Guns campaign...

Again Thanks for taking the time to answer.

I can remember Trust election time , and Since62 spoke well on here.

Keith , if I may call you that , was full of ideas and knew the Trust could be improved. May I ask if you are progressing Keith ? You were never going to change things overnight , so please don't take this as a criticism. Are your ideas being taken onboard ? Are you happy with the set-up you've put yourself into ? I sincerely hope you are , because you and Tony seemed the only ones to realise a new direction was needed.

I have not renewed , but who knows how I will feel in the future if I see an organisation I want to be part of ,

Good luck Keith


Gareth Bluebird

Keith,

Firstly, Thankyou very much for answering my post ...Although as you state, the Trust hasn't done enough. What do you envisage the future plans are to rectify this.

I'm a little bit confused with the Trust kickstarting the Fred Keenor statue appeal, as I was led to believe that the original fundraising campaign was kickstarted by Graham (Freds Nephew).

I disagree with your opinion (but respect it anyway) that there is little difference between the Trust and this forum..

I respect your opinion as well Keith , but the reason I believe there's little difference is because this forum has also raised funds for the statue and spearheaded the Young Guns campaign...

Again Thanks for taking the time to answer.

No problem with answering. The questions were quite valid and deserved an answer albeit , as I said , as personal ones from me , not wearing any officail Trust "hat" as it were.

What specifically the Trust does in the near future will be discussed at the next board meeting on 1 March. Hopefully that will include ideas put forward following a request to members at the recent previous meeting so that any specific campaigns the membership want to pursue can be looked at in detail.Personally I think that there is still plenty of work to be done on improving the image of the club in the community , which is one of the standard objectives of all Trusts. Whatever individual views are on the severity of sentences recently handed out re the Chelsea game , unfortunately these things do little to enhance the image that "joe public" has of football fans , which makes the job that much harder.

Other than the " I`ll be there" campaign which this board got involved in (which was great publicity but hasn`t handed over any money to date - will hopefully add a few hundred quid eventually) the vast majority of fund raising has been driven by David, Phil and Graham`s efforts.The club have also been extremely supportive and helpful , financially and otherwise.
Trying to get money out of Annis for it though is like trying to knit fog. The last time I asked him to put some money in a collection bucket he conveniently had both hands full with burgers

The Keenor appeal started off with a £1k donation from the Trust and most of the fundraising hours and effort are being put in by 2 Trust board members (David Craig and Phil Nifield) in their own time with Graham putting in a lot of effort as well.That`s what I meant by kickstarting it , rather than who first put the suggestion forward.Otherwise would probably got no further than an idea.

I think the Young`s Guns idea is a great one to support the football development centres and I wish it well. No idea how much it has raised so far , but there seems to be plenty of initial interest. Good luck to whoever has to do the cashiering/treasurer work on it because such tasks are a nightmare!

Keith

Keith,

I must again say thanks for your detailed reply.

I would like to stress that my knowledge is far, far more Inferior to yours and the majority on this forum, so I hope you and other forum members don't mind me asking these questions and the reasons for asking them (basically inquisitiveness)...

The endeavour which this Forum and the Trust have tenaciously set about raising money for the Statue is absolutely mindblowing.

Another Question though (you're probably getting sick of me).....With all the money that is raised by the various Fundraising events, does all the money go to that particular sector for that specific fundraising event. (For example, if you raised £15,000 for the Statue appeal would the full £15,000 go into the appeal or do the Trust keep some of the money in the coffers, so to speak).

Keith,

I must again say thanks for your detailed reply.

I would like to stress that my knowledge is far, far more Inferior to yours and the majority on this forum, so I hope you and other forum members don't mind me asking these questions and the reasons for asking them (basically inquisitiveness)...

The endeavour which this Forum and the Trust have tenaciously set about raising money for the Statue is absolutely mindblowing.

Another Question though (you're probably getting sick of me).....With all the money that is raised by the various Fundraising events, does all the money go to that particular sector for that specific fundraising event. (For example, if you raised £15,000 for the Statue appeal would the full £15,000 go into the appeal or do the Trust keep some of the money in the coffers, so to speak).

Any money raised for Fred Keenor events goes straight into a seperate bank account without any deductions. The account is not Trust money , but a totally different fund with different cheque signatories.

If there is an event for the Trust in general (e,g a quiz night) , the money goes into a Trust bank account , from which any costs such as room hire are paid out.Any expenditure is kept to an absolute minimum and all income and expenditure is independently audited. I think the last year end audited accounts for the Trust , which were presented to the members at the AGM , are still to be found on the Trust website.

The "fighting fund" money which I referred to in my previous post is allocated to a seperate bank account from which no payments are made until the membership asks the board to do so (e.g previous share purchases)

Keith

Keith, if I may call you that - great, well-informed answers.

While it seems the trust is a frustrating body for some, I think that we can all agree that we are all better off if we have a Trust.

To those that seem most frustrated I say - get involved and change it for the better!

Long term, at any club, the supporters trust is the best hope of influencing things.

Keith,

I'm slightly confused, I've had a look through the accounts and was wondering why would the Trust who had £20,000 at their disposal before the statue appeal, only contribute £1,000. Surely to the raise the acquired target you'd think with those sort of funds available the Trust would lead by example?...I understand the Trust has overheads, but as you say they are kept to a minimum, would the quiz nights not full fill the monetary requirements for such overheads?? I don't mean to come across as facetious but am genuinely bemused.

Marc.

I can remember Trust election time , and Since62 spoke well on here.

Keith , if I may call you that , was full of ideas and knew the Trust could be improved. May I ask if you are progressing Keith ? You were never going to change things overnight , so please don't take this as a criticism. Are your ideas being taken onboard ? Are you happy with the set-up you've put yourself into ? I sincerely hope you are , because you and Tony seemed the only ones to realise a new direction was needed.

I have not renewed , but who knows how I will feel in the future if I see an organisation I want to be part of ,

Good luck Keith


Gareth Bluebird

Thanks for the comments Gareth.

Without exception , every single member of the Trust board seeks to do what he or she thinks is best for the membership. We may disagree on various issues , but never lose sight of that fact and will abide by the majority decison taken by the board - no egos to satisfy.

Some of my ideas are taken on board , and some not. Its the same for ideas put forward by any other member. So there is no chance of any one single board member with a dominant personality having a chance of "railroading" through something.There are some very bright and hardworking people on the board (as was the case with previous board members) each bringing their own skillset. To say that myself and Tony (who unfortunately didn`t get enough votes to be elected) were or indeed are the only ones looking for a change in direction for the Trust is untrue and very unfair on others who are or have been board members. In fact , I am happy with the general way it operates - fairly and democratically - but all of us realise that (with the benefit of hindsight) we could always improve things. When we feel we can`t its the time to stop.

As the Trust matures (it has only been two years from starting from scratch so it is a very young Trust compared to others around the country) , I would expect initiatives to become more visible to both members and non-members alike.

All board members have to resign every two years and can apply to be relected .I have to resign this year and , if I decide to stand again , whether I get elected is entirely up to the votes of the members when they vote in the next couple of months. Board members never get to see who has voted for who as it is a secret ballot overseen by independent people so it is all above board and clearly seen to be so.In the first elections , the vote was overseen by Leighton Andrews A.M. and last year by the Newport County Trust. The first time candidates get to know who has been voted in is when the result is announced (it is then disclosed on the Trust website and notified to all members) showing how many votes each candidate , whether successful or not,received.So its all very open and democratic and no chance of their being "jobs for the boys".

Any member of the Trust can stand for election to the board each year. They just have to have an understanding of the legal rules and constitution under which it is set up and agree to abide by them. Every candidate then has to set out a brief paper on why they want to be elected and what they want to bring to the Trust and that is sent out to every member with the voting papers.I hope that a number of candidates put themselves forward for election again this time around.

Keith

Keith,

I'm slightly confused, I've had a look through the accounts and was wondering why would the Trust who had £20,000 at their disposal before the statue appeal, only contribute £1,000. Surely to the raise the acquired target you'd think with those sort of funds available the Trust would lead by example?...I understand the Trust has overheads, but as you say they are kept to a minimum, would the quiz nights not full fill the monetary requirements for such overheads?? I don't mean to come across as facetious but am genuinely bemused.

Marc.

A better question might be why doesn't the club pay for the whole thing??? It would be worth 70 grand in the PR value alone.

Keith,

I'm slightly confused, I've had a look through the accounts and was wondering why would the Trust who had £20,000 at their disposal before the statue appeal, only contribute £1,000. Surely to the raise the acquired target you'd think with those sort of funds available the Trust would lead by example?...I understand the Trust has overheads, but as you say they are kept to a minimum, would the quiz nights not full fill the monetary requirements for such overheads?? I don't mean to come across as facetious but am genuinely bemused.

Marc.

A better question might be why doesn't the club pay for the whole thing??? It would be worth 70 grand in the PR value alone.

Good point but I'm trying to ascertain the reason why I would want to join the Trust not the Board of Directors.

Keith,

I'm slightly confused, I've had a look through the accounts and was wondering why would the Trust who had £20,000 at their disposal before the statue appeal, only contribute £1,000. Surely to the raise the acquired target you'd think with those sort of funds available the Trust would lead by example?...I understand the Trust has overheads, but as you say they are kept to a minimum, would the quiz nights not full fill the monetary requirements for such overheads?? I don't mean to come across as facetious but am genuinely bemused.

Marc.

A better question might be why doesn't the club pay for the whole thing??? It would be worth 70 grand in the PR value alone.

Good point but I'm trying to ascertain the reason why I would want to join the Trust not the Board of Directors.

Not to speak for since62, but my guess would be the Trust is either (a) too unwieldy to effectively decide what to spend its cash on, or (b) they want to keep as much dough as they can in case another rights issue comes up (and it probably will if/when the Malaysians up their holding).

If it's (b) you can understand it.

Keith,

I'm slightly confused, I've had a look through the accounts and was wondering why would the Trust who had £20,000 at their disposal before the statue appeal, only contribute £1,000. Surely to the raise the acquired target you'd think with those sort of funds available the Trust would lead by example?...I understand the Trust has overheads, but as you say they are kept to a minimum, would the quiz nights not full fill the monetary requirements for such overheads?? I don't mean to come across as facetious but am genuinely bemused.

Marc.

£6,000 of those funds were used to buy the shares in May last year that I referred to in my previous response to you.
The fixed running costs of the Trust are not great - they run to a few £000 a year , but because of our legal structure , we are obliged to have an AGM and annual board elections. The paperwork, postage etc. involved in all that is our biggest single cost , and we also had the cost at the end of our first full year of an independent formal audit.

On a prudent basis , we always wish to have enough funds in hand to cover the following year`s fixed running costs.At all times we need to retain a reserve of funds.

In addition , the statue fund was always intended to be something the fanbase and club should be involved in. The Trust set the ball rolling and (again as I posted earlier) contributes lots of time from two of its board to keep the momentum going.

Hope that helps

Keith

Keith,

I'm slightly confused, I've had a look through the accounts and was wondering why would the Trust who had £20,000 at their disposal before the statue appeal, only contribute £1,000. Surely to the raise the acquired target you'd think with those sort of funds available the Trust would lead by example?...I understand the Trust has overheads, but as you say they are kept to a minimum, would the quiz nights not full fill the monetary requirements for such overheads?? I don't mean to come across as facetious but am genuinely bemused.

Marc.

A better question might be why doesn't the club pay for the whole thing??? It would be worth 70 grand in the PR value alone.

To be fair to the club , they have made a major contribution to date to the costs and have been extremely supportive in general.

They are picking up all of the v.a.t cost , and have made major contributions from a share of ticket sales (pre-season friendly , Ricky Tomlinson night etc). They are also promoting the contributions from next season`s season ticket renewals which have recently started and have facilitated bucket collections at the stadium.

Cardiff Council have also pledged £15k towards the cost , but the Welsh Assembly have to date contributed the square root of f*ck all.

Keith

Keith,

I'm slightly confused, I've had a look through the accounts and was wondering why would the Trust who had £20,000 at their disposal before the statue appeal, only contribute £1,000. Surely to the raise the acquired target you'd think with those sort of funds available the Trust would lead by example?...I understand the Trust has overheads, but as you say they are kept to a minimum, would the quiz nights not full fill the monetary requirements for such overheads?? I don't mean to come across as facetious but am genuinely bemused.

Marc.

A better question might be why doesn't the club pay for the whole thing??? It would be worth 70 grand in the PR value alone.

To be fair to the club , they have made a major contribution to date to the costs and have been extremely supportive in general.

They are picking up all of the v.a.t cost , and have made major contributions from a share of ticket sales (pre-season friendly , Ricky Tomlinson night etc). They are also promoting the contributions from next season`s season ticket renewals which have recently started and have facilitated bucket collections at the stadium.

Cardiff Council have also pledged £15k towards the cost , but the Welsh Assembly have to date contributed the square root of f*ck all.

Keith

fair enough keith

Cheers Keith, Very Informative and well presented..Thanks.

Keith,

I'm slightly confused, I've had a look through the accounts and was wondering why would the Trust who had £20,000 at their disposal before the statue appeal, only contribute £1,000. Surely to the raise the acquired target you'd think with those sort of funds available the Trust would lead by example?...I understand the Trust has overheads, but as you say they are kept to a minimum, would the quiz nights not full fill the monetary requirements for such overheads?? I don't mean to come across as facetious but am genuinely bemused.

Marc.

Most members, of which I am one, would expect the Trust to maintain a healthy bank balance at all times and to allocate a good proportion of available funds to acquiring financial holdings in the Club. This is why I chose the highest membership level under the original membership structure.

It is important that any shares (or debt purchases) are acquired at the right time and price. Given questions over the stability of the Club and the value of its various shares, one assumes that the Trust has to carefully consider the timing and terms of any share purchases. Indeed, some would argue that secured debt (possibly convertible) would be a better way to go - assuming that may/could be an option for the Trust.

Personally, I should like to see a time when fan interests are more formally represented in the Club. If and when this occurs, it is very likely that there will only be room for ONE representative body to achieve that. There are growing external pressures for Clubs to accept this, so this dream may not be as far away as some think.

Trust membership is only £12 a year. Under16s living at the same address as an Adult member can join for free.

Better together. Join the Trust.

No disrespect to the Trust what so ever BUT I will not be renewing my membership this year and will be putting my £12 to the Young Guns fund ( altho I paid £60 to the Trust last season ) . Personally belonging or not to the Trust doesnt make any difference to me or the way I support CCFC and everything I need to know or any help I can get from this Forum

No disrespect to the Trust what so ever BUT I will not be renewing my membership this year and will be putting my £12 to the Young Guns fund ( altho I paid £60 to the Trust last season ) . Personally belonging or not to the Trust doesnt make any difference to me or the way I support CCFC and everything I need to know or any help I can get from this Forum

I don't see the Young Guns as in competition with the Trust. They're entirely different and £12 is a small sum for most. Personally, I am drawn to the Trust because it has elected reps who are accountable to the members for their work and the use of all financial contributions. Any money invested in the Club in whatever form should have strings.