DFC Board very quiet on the Fundraising

[Darlogramps]

Darlocramps,as I have said before about you, No more to be said.

Says it all. An illiterate reply which makes no sense whatsoever.

There are people who I don't like on here, but at least they add value. You don't even do that.

[mikkyx]

Darlocramps

What kind of cramps, exactly?

Also, you didn't answer his question.

[Yarblockos]

Judging by the facebook post today, the board have realised the need to publicise the push to increase funding before the deadline. It's also pretty clear from the post that sponsorship for the stand and extra funding from commercial sources has not materialised. I'm beginning to think Johnson has gone quiet because all leads are now dead.

[Allan Quatermain]

Judging by the facebook post today, the board have realised the need to publicise the push to increase funding before the deadline. It's also pretty clear from the post that sponsorship for the stand and extra funding from commercial sources has not materialised. I'm beginning to think Johnson has gone quiet because all leads are now dead.

So, what are we looking for? About 250 people to contribute £100 each to reach the next target if I remember correctly. I'm on my work laptop and the DFCSG fundraising site doesn't pass our security so if I have my facts wrong feel free to correct me.

If my thinking is correct, we're only looking for about 10% of our fan base to put that amount in each, surely we can achieve that.

I'm in, just 249 to go...

[Yarblockos]

Judging by the facebook post today, the board have realised the need to publicise the push to increase funding before the deadline. It's also pretty clear from the post that sponsorship for the stand and extra funding from commercial sources has not materialised. I'm beginning to think Johnson has gone quiet because all leads are now dead.

So, what are we looking for? About 250 people to contribute £100 each to reach the next target if I remember correctly. I'm on my work laptop and the DFCSG fundraising site doesn't pass our security so if I have my facts wrong feel free to correct me.

If my thinking is correct, we're only looking for about 10% of our fan base to put that amount in each, surely we can achieve that.

I'm in, just 249 to go...

Almost correct. We've raised £22,600, plus there is £520 in the ground development fund, so we need approximately £27,000.

[Spyman]

Judging by the facebook post today, the board have realised the need to publicise the push to increase funding before the deadline. It's also pretty clear from the post that sponsorship for the stand and extra funding from commercial sources has not materialised. I'm beginning to think Johnson has gone quiet because all leads are now dead.

Yarblockos, have you put yourself up for the board or a volunteer role, stop keyboard posturing ,and do something positive for your club.

[Yarblockos]

Yarblockos, have you put yourself up for the board or a volunteer role, stop keyboard posturing ,and do something positive for your club.

You have no idea do what I do for the club.

But its a great point you make, and people who dare to criticise should be silenced. From now on I'm going to do the same as you, telling people to shut up if they don't volunteer. Its exactly what the club need. Hopefully, nobody will dare say anything negative and soon everything will be fine.

[al_quaker]

Judging by the facebook post today, the board have realised the need to publicise the push to increase funding before the deadline. It's also pretty clear from the post that sponsorship for the stand and extra funding from commercial sources has not materialised. I'm beginning to think Johnson has gone quiet because all leads are now dead.

So, what are we looking for? About 250 people to contribute £100 each to reach the next target if I remember correctly. I'm on my work laptop and the DFCSG fundraising site doesn't pass our security so if I have my facts wrong feel free to correct me.

If my thinking is correct, we're only looking for about 10% of our fan base to put that amount in each, surely we can achieve that.

I'm in, just 249 to go...

Problem is, only 126 people (probably less in reality as some will have donated to multiple pitches) have been able to contribute to the stand funds so far. It's been a brilliant effort to raise as much over the summer as we have, but it looks like the well is almost completely dry. Be interesting to see what plan B is - I assume we'll find out soon enough.

On the plus side, good to see the club twitter account being a bit more active in pushing the next home match and the fundraising. Same again tomorrow please chaps.

[Allan Quatermain]

Judging by the facebook post today, the board have realised the need to publicise the push to increase funding before the deadline. It's also pretty clear from the post that sponsorship for the stand and extra funding from commercial sources has not materialised. I'm beginning to think Johnson has gone quiet because all leads are now dead.

So, what are we looking for? About 250 people to contribute £100 each to reach the next target if I remember correctly. I'm on my work laptop and the DFCSG fundraising site doesn't pass our security so if I have my facts wrong feel free to correct me.

If my thinking is correct, we're only looking for about 10% of our fan base to put that amount in each, surely we can achieve that.

I'm in, just 249 to go...

Problem is, only 126 people (probably less in reality as some will have donated to multiple pitches) have been able to contribute to the stand funds so far. It's been a brilliant effort to raise as much over the summer as we have, but it looks like the well is almost completely dry. Be interesting to see what plan B is - I assume we'll find out soon enough.

On the plus side, good to see the club twitter account being a bit more active in pushing the next home match and the fundraising. Same again tomorrow please chaps.

Wow, really only 126?

Mmm...

So, if the fans/owners of the club aren't willing and/or able to continue the investment needed to take us forward, it looks like we will need to look at a period of stability until further funds become available.

As Quakerz and other have pointed out, there will be more money available once the 5 year season tickets have all run out but will the fanbase be willing to sit at this level until that stage. Having had a 5-year period of success or near success up to now though, how many are still going to be around after a couple of years stagnating without the excitement of play-offs and promotions.

I must admit to being a bit disappointed myself about the lack of corporate sponsorship that we're received since returning to town. Maybe I read too much into the optimism surrounding our return but I had this vision of a queue of local businesses waiting for us to return to town to take turns throwing suitcases full of tenners at us.

[Yarblockos]

I must admit to being a bit disappointed myself about the lack of corporate sponsorship that we're received since returning to town. Maybe I read too much into the optimism surrounding our return but I had this vision of a queue of local businesses waiting for us to return to town to take turns throwing suitcases full of tenners at us.

Yes, that is disappointing. I wonder if this is something that takes years to build up. Looking at the grounds we visit, its noticeable that they all seem to have their pitch side fencing filled with advertising hoardings on all sides of the pitch. Chorley, York, North Ferriby, wherever we go every space is filled with an advert. Our ground is still very, very bare. I wonder if businesses just get into the habit of sponsoring or advertising at a club. They've had a board at the ground for years so they just keep it. We are essentially starting from scratch and businesses don't want to commit to a new expenditure.

[al_quaker]

Wow, really only 126?

Mmm...

So, if the fans/owners of the club aren't willing and/or able to continue the investment needed to take us forward, it looks like we will need to look at a period of stability until further funds become available.

As Quakerz and other have pointed out, there will be more money available once the 5 year season tickets have all run out but will the fanbase be willing to sit at this level until that stage. Having had a 5-year period of success or near success up to now though, how many are still going to be around after a couple of years stagnating without the excitement of play-offs and promotions.

I must admit to being a bit disappointed myself about the lack of corporate sponsorship that we're received since returning to town. Maybe I read too much into the optimism surrounding our return but I had this vision of a queue of local businesses waiting for us to return to town to take turns throwing suitcases full of tenners at us.

The 126 comes from adding up the people who have contributed to stand pitch 1, stand pitch 2, and the newish ground development fund. It doesn't include the people who contributed to the pitch pitch and the budget. It also doesn't include the many people who contribute to the bucket collections, or fund raise in other ways. I've no idea how many people contribute to more than 1 pitch, but i'd imagine there's reasonable cross over. We've done magnificently to raise as much as we have, and everyone who's ever given anything to the club deserves huge credit, but it seems the fans as a whole have had enough. Which is probably fair enough at this point, but leads onto the obvious conclusion that we may well have to stabilise for a while and improve things in a more organic way.

I too am disappointed at the sponsorship at BM. You visit other grounds at this level and they're rammed full of sponsor boards. BM, in comparison, is pretty barren. Are we too expensive? Are we still tarnished by our past? Are we even in charge of sponsorship or is it our landlords? I know we have volunteers doing this type of thing who are time limited, but I'd guess other clubs do too.

[Allan Quatermain]

Just to be clear and don't get me wrong, I wasn't criticising anybody for not donating. It has been a magnificent effort over the last 6 years or so but each of us have other financial priorities that mean we all have a limit to how many times or much we can give.

Maybe we've reached that stage for a lot of people and if so, we need to manage expectations or look for another ownership model if we're not able to avail ourselves of corporate money from around the time.

[Robbie Painter]

I must admit to being a bit disappointed myself about the lack of corporate sponsorship that we're received since returning to town. Maybe I read too much into the optimism surrounding our return but I had this vision of a queue of local businesses waiting for us to return to town to take turns throwing suitcases full of tenners at us.

Yes, that is disappointing. I wonder if this is something that takes years to build up. Looking at the grounds we visit, its noticeable that they all seem to have their pitch side fencing filled with advertising hoardings on all sides of the pitch. Chorley, York, North Ferriby, wherever we go every space is filled with an advert. Our ground is still very, very bare. I wonder if businesses just get into the habit of sponsoring or advertising at a club. They've had a board at the ground for years so they just keep it. We are essentially starting from scratch and businesses don't want to commit to a new expenditure.

Scarborough sold out all their ad boards, South Shields have even sold out of the pitchside boards on the side facing away from the pitch.

We don't have a commercial person (or team) pursuing these opportunities and therefore are missing out on an important revenue stream.

[al_quaker]

I must admit to being a bit disappointed myself about the lack of corporate sponsorship that we're received since returning to town. Maybe I read too much into the optimism surrounding our return but I had this vision of a queue of local businesses waiting for us to return to town to take turns throwing suitcases full of tenners at us.

Yes, that is disappointing. I wonder if this is something that takes years to build up. Looking at the grounds we visit, its noticeable that they all seem to have their pitch side fencing filled with advertising hoardings on all sides of the pitch. Chorley, York, North Ferriby, wherever we go every space is filled with an advert. Our ground is still very, very bare. I wonder if businesses just get into the habit of sponsoring or advertising at a club. They've had a board at the ground for years so they just keep it. We are essentially starting from scratch and businesses don't want to commit to a new expenditure.

Scarborough sold out all their ad boards, South Shields have even sold out of the pitchside boards on the side facing away from the pitch.

We don't have a commercial person (or team) pursuing these opportunities and therefore are missing out on an important revenue stream.

I noticed that from South Shields - very impressive that. A quick look at the Spennymoor highlights show we've sold the ones at the top of the 2 stands, and then maybe 75% of the space from the Tinshed goal around to the seated stand, and then that's about it. Which really isn't great. A quick look at the commercial brochure shows its £500 a year for pitchside advertising. No idea if that's expensive, but filling the pitchside advertising at that price would make a pretty big difference to our finances. The Scarborough example suggests that it's not necessarily a case of time needed to get business back on board.

[Quakerz]

Judging by the facebook post today, the board have realised the need to publicise the push to increase funding before the deadline. It's also pretty clear from the post that sponsorship for the stand and extra funding from commercial sources has not materialised. I'm beginning to think Johnson has gone quiet because all leads are now dead.

So, what are we looking for? About 250 people to contribute £100 each to reach the next target if I remember correctly. I'm on my work laptop and the DFCSG fundraising site doesn't pass our security so if I have my facts wrong feel free to correct me.

If my thinking is correct, we're only looking for about 10% of our fan base to put that amount in each, surely we can achieve that.

I'm in, just 249 to go...

Problem is, only 126 people (probably less in reality as some will have donated to multiple pitches) have been able to contribute to the stand funds so far. It's been a brilliant effort to raise as much over the summer as we have, but it looks like the well is almost completely dry. Be interesting to see what plan B is - I assume we'll find out soon enough.

On the plus side, good to see the club twitter account being a bit more active in pushing the next home match and the fundraising. Same again tomorrow please chaps.

Wow, really only 126?

Mmm...

So, if the fans/owners of the club aren't willing and/or able to continue the investment needed to take us forward, it looks like we will need to look at a period of stability until further funds become available.

As Quakerz and other have pointed out, there will be more money available once the 5 year season tickets have all run out but will the fanbase be willing to sit at this level until that stage. Having had a 5-year period of success or near success up to now though, how many are still going to be around after a couple of years stagnating without the excitement of play-offs and promotions.

I must admit to being a bit disappointed myself about the lack of corporate sponsorship that we're received since returning to town. Maybe I read too much into the optimism surrounding our return but I had this vision of a queue of local businesses waiting for us to return to town to take turns throwing suitcases full of tenners at us.

To be honest, (it won't be 5 years before that 5 year ST money runs out now), if we are at this level for another 2-3 years then so be it - and I for one do not subscribe to the view that if we are not in contention for promotion every year that the club will go into this predicted death spiral and be playing to a few hundred every week.

Whilst it is blatantly obvious from crowds back at BM that we HAVE lost the latent 3-4,000 fanbase which we could count on whenever we were doing well or had a big game - we need to remember that on the other hand we retained a hardcore 1,000 average for 5 seasons out of town. This remaining hardcore is not going to go away any time soon, so realistically we should be able to compete fairly well as a part time club at this level even if we have a couple of dodgy seasons.

[Spyman]

Yarblockos, have you put yourself up for the board or a volunteer role, stop keyboard posturing ,and do something positive for your club.

You have no idea do what I do for the club.

But its a great point you make, and people who dare to criticise should be silenced. From now on I'm going to do the same as you, telling people to shut up if they don't volunteer. Its exactly what the club need. Hopefully, nobody will dare say anything negative and soon everything will be fine.

An enormous WHOOSH for you my friend.

I was quoting onewayup, who seems to think that anyone questioning decisions is not a true fan. Admittedly this is not obvious unless you've read the whole discussion.

I don't care what you do or how much you donate to the club. That's your business.

[spen666]

I too am disappointed at the sponsorship at BM. You visit other grounds at this level and they're rammed full of sponsor boards. BM, in comparison, is pretty barren. Are we too expensive?

Probably yes compared to what potential sponsors are prepared to pay in Darlington. This is different compared to what potential sponsors are prepared to pay in relation to other clubs at a similar level

Are we still tarnished by our past?

Almost certainly. Its not just one ocassion Darlington have been in financial trouble, its numerous times over the last 35 years. This unfortunately tends to grind down on people's sympathy rightly or wrongly

Are we even in charge of sponsorship or is it our landlords?

I would expect the club to be in charge of its own sponsporship, but being tenants means opportunites are limited compatred to those who have their own ground

I know we have volunteers doing this type of thing who are time limited, but I'd guess other clubs do too.

Darlington Football Club are seen as remote by some of the townsfolk, because of past financial events, past lack of success , time spent out of town at Bishop Auckland and also the fact the new ground is so far from Town Centre, parking etc

A lot of hard work is needed to turn these issues round. It is not going to happen overnight. The lack of facilities eg terracing / seats etc at BM doesn't encourage families in the numbers the club would hope for

[Vodka_Vic]

The worry is if our forecast budgeting has been done with an estimate percentage of how much sponsorship we had, and if this has fallen short then we are looking to plug financial shortfalls again. Hopefully this isn't the case.

[Darlopartisan]

We keep hearing that there is going to be further announcements about fundraising shortly, but nothing seems to be forthcoming.

I think it's vital that if the fundraising isn't going to materialise as we hoped an announcement should be made to that effect, this will hopefully galvanise those generous fans to dig deep again to carry us over the line. The uncertainty of not knowing weather outside funding is coming is I believe why the pitches have slowed.

[AndyPark]

I'm sure myself and others just can't keep digging deep.

Fair play to the ones that are able to do it time & time again, but me personally; I can't keep sticking X amount into the club anymore.

[Spyman]

I'm sure myself and others just can't keep digging deep.

Fair play to the ones that are able to do it time & time again, but me personally; I can't keep sticking X amount into the club anymore.

But can you and yourself stop referring to yourself as "myself"?

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[AndyPark]

What a pedantic fucker. Zzzz