Email update received today

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Allan Quatermain
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Email update received today

Post by Allan Quatermain » Tue Mar 21, 2017 7:15 pm

For those who may not check their emails as often as I do:

Dear DFCSG Community Shareholder
 
This is a long overdue update on your investment. Now Darlington Football Club are playing back in Darlington we hope to increase the frequency of this update to at least twice a year.
 
Your investment helped your club return home
As promised, your money was handed over to the Football club to go towards bringing Blackwell Meadows up to National League Ground Grading Category B, and the work was successfully completed in time to play our first game back in Darlington on Boxing Day. 
 
These improvements included;
the installation of the Terracing and Cover for the New Tin Shed, 
294 covered seats in the new South stand, 
2 turnstile blocks, one at each end of the ground, 
two toilet blocks, one at at each end of the ground, 
a new pitch perimeter fence and ground boundary fence
extensive areas of paving.
 
Also as promised, DGCSG have already started to set aside money that will be needed to start repaying your capital, with interest, after the 5 year minimum investment period.
 
Thanks to your investment, the foundations are now in place for us to build a football club that is financially stable and playing football at the highest sustainable level. And, even more importantly, to safeguard the future of Darlington Football Club for future generations of Quakers’ supporters.
 
However, there is still a long journey and a lot of work to do before we achieve these objectives. 
 
Constant progress for long term results
For those of you who have managed to get to a game at Blackwell Meadows, you will appreciate the improvements that have been made, and also that there is still much more to be done to improve the Match Day experience for ourselves and visiting fans. Also, we want to bring Blackwell Meadows up to National League Ground Grading Category A which is the ground standard required if we are promoted to National League level.
 
To that end the boards of DFC and DFCSG are working together and will shortly publish a Strategy and rolling 5 Year Plan for this next phase of Darlington Football Club’s development. 
 
This will show how the DFC and DFCSG boards envision how the club infrastructure and level of competition can evolve over the next 5 years subject to the level of investment we are able to achieve.
 
Ambition. On and off the pitch
To back up this plan we will also shortly be launching our second Community Share Offer to pay for the required improvements to Blackwell Meadows. 
 
Unlike the first offer which had a single target, this second offer will be more ambitious and have at least 3 milestone targets each linked to a specific set of ground improvements aimed at qualifying DFC to play at National League level and also to improve the Match Day Experience. 
 
We are also going to roll out a new initiative that will allow DFCSG members to donate an additional voluntary subscription each month. Initially every penny of this will go directly to Martin’s playing budget. Over time we hope to provide additional options that will enable our members to shape the future of the club by choosing to invest this additional subscription in such things as youth development, infrastructure improvement, community engagement etc.
 
We are planning to  launch both of these initiatives at a fans forum on 21st April 2017.
 
So once again thanks for you generous investment and we hope we can rely on your continued support as we progress on this exciting and challenging journey.
 
Thank You
The DFCSG Board
Alun's promise to the fans: “I’ll make sure I’ll bring players in that are value for money and I want players that want to play for Darlington Football Club, want to progress and move up the league and show the fans that passion.”

al_quaker
Posts: 5942
Joined: Sat Jul 11, 2009 2:51 pm
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Re: Email update received today

Post by al_quaker » Tue Mar 21, 2017 7:23 pm

Great to hear about the fans forum.

Also very much looking forwards to seeing the strategy and 5 year plan. Can't quite work out from the email - are these to be published at the fans forum alongside the fund raising initiatives? Or at a different time? Either way, sounds like there's been plenty of exciting stuff going on in the background :thumbup:

super_les_mcjannet
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Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2012 8:41 pm
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Re: Email update received today

Post by super_les_mcjannet » Tue Mar 21, 2017 7:45 pm

Yep just checked and got the same email, although I got it twice for some reason :D

Fans forum is a must, would like to know where we stand at the end of this season financially and then where we move from there.

Glad to hear we are looking along the share line rather than 500 Club as it puts off any repayments 5 years if like last time. However it's still a challenge that the club will need to make provisions to put money aside each year but the most logical way of doing it under the current circumstances.
DFCSG wrote:Ambition. On and off the pitch
To back up this plan we will also shortly be launching our second Community Share Offer to pay for the required improvements to Blackwell Meadows.

princes town
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Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2011 2:14 pm
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Re: Email update received today

Post by princes town » Tue Mar 21, 2017 8:41 pm

Allan Quatermain wrote: 
Thanks to your investment, the foundations are now in place for us to build a football club that is financially stable and playing football at the highest sustainable level. And, even more importantly, to safeguard the future of Darlington Football Club for future generations of Quakers’ supporters.
 
A hugely important statement that defines what a community club is all about. A very positive circular by the excellent supporters club board.

m62exile
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Joined: Sun Jul 12, 2009 2:11 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Email update received today

Post by m62exile » Tue Mar 21, 2017 9:08 pm

super_les_mcjannet wrote:Yep just checked and got the same email, although I got it twice for some reason :D
You must have my copy too!

Darlo_Pete
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Re: Email update received today

Post by Darlo_Pete » Tue Mar 21, 2017 9:23 pm

Wonder if it was possible for the fans radio to do a live broadcast from the fans forum, as it would be great for those that can't attend or who live far away to listen to what is being said?

spen666
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Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 9:12 pm
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Re: Email update received today

Post by spen666 » Tue Mar 21, 2017 10:51 pm

Darlo_Pete wrote:Wonder if it was possible for the fans radio to do a live broadcast from the fans forum, as it would be great for those that can't attend or who live far away to listen to what is being said?
Could it not be live streamed on Facebook.

Leyton Orient Fans Trust (LOFT) broadcast their last fans meeting to deal with crisis at Orient re Winding up petition.

It was broadcast via a Facebook page. I think it was LOFTs FB page.

It seemed to work very well and sound and picture quality were very good

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