The Trust committee held their May meeting on Thursday evening to discuss a number of matters of relevance to members, supporters and the club as a whole.
Next year will be the 10th anniversary of the Trust, and this is something we are looking at celebrating. Among the activities planned will be an Anniversary Dinner held next April. We are investigating the interest in starting a Former Players’ Association and using this Anniversary Dinner to launch it.
Membership for 2013-4 was high on the agenda. Supporters who buy season tickets before the early bird deadline are reminded that in the back of the season ticket there is a voucher which will entitle you to £5 off your Trust membership for next season, and as such we urge as many supporters as possible to get their season ticket early to take advantage of this offer. The Trust will be mailing out renewal letters to members in mid June.
Membership for this year has now closed, with a final total of 486 members. This figure was two short of last year’s figure. We see the membership as being the very lifeblood of the Trust, and we have set ourselves the target of attracting 750 members for the next season which would be a record for the Trust.
The Friends of the Trust has attracted nine recent additions, and we have targeted a further eighty that could form partnerships with the Trust for the benefit of the Trust members. The intention is that we offer partnership with local organisations that in return offer discounts to our members. Details of these are listed with each update on our website at www.DaleTrust.com.
On the subject of fundraising, it was decided that we need to publicise http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/daletrust/ more with supporters. 95 Dale fans have signed up to this raising nearly £900 by using this website to purchase items such as shopping, and holidays online. Many discounts and offers are available as well through this site. The more supporters we can get to use this, the more funds can be raised.
Following the purchase of the Pitch Covers earlier this year, we have a surplus of funds. We have previously stated that it will be the Trust members who decide how the rest of these funds are spent with a members vote taking place later this year. Following suggestions from supporters, one suggestion has been a video screen similar to the one we saw at Fleetwood and the feasibility of this being investigated with a meeting taking place next week at Spotland. Other ideas would be welcomed from members, so please contact the trust at mailbox@daletrust.com.
It was proposed that the Trust look to work with the local Foodbank with a “Fans Bring Cans” initiative for next season.
Recent Trust events were discussed and a total of £892.80 is set to be donated to Cystic Fibrosis as a result of recent Trust activity. Future events were discussed, with a desire to ensure a Trust event is held every month next season. The usual sort of events are being proposed, with in addition a 5-a-side tournament, the Trust anniversary dinner and Consultation evenings where members will be invited to bring concerns, ideas and suggestions to the Trust. Further planning will take place following the release of the fixture list in June.
Our next meeting will be held in the first week of June. Please email any comments to mailbox@daletrust.com