We start our annual Trust week by looking at just what exactly is the Dale Trust?
The Dale Trust was set up back in 2004 with the intention of strengthening the links between the Supporters and the Football Club, whilst providing an opportunity to fundraise for the Club and support the wider community where appropriate.
The Trust is owned by an ever increasing number of members and retains over 12,000 shares within the Football Club making it one of the leading shareholders. It is run on a day to day basis by a small committee of volunteers that will meet monthly. Elections are held to be part of that Committee but members can also be co-opted onto the Board if opportunities are available. The membership passed five hundred members last season for the first time in ten years and only the second time in our history.
Principally, the Trust is an organisation set up for the benefit of Rochdale AFC, its supporters and the community, and the work that we do is designed to help achieve that objective. A lot of work took place strengthening the relationship between the Trust and the Club last season which has seen an unprecedented level of dialogue between the two, leading to the club being only one of a handful to have a MOU in place between the Club and the Trust. This has allowed the Trust to convey the feelings of the supporters to the club and to ask many questions to the club with the responses published on our website.
Communication is at the core of everything that the Trust does, and we endeavour to be as open as possible with our members. We keep members in the loop by emailing out a monthly newsletter, by ensuring the website is up to date with relevant information and by making members of the Trust available to supporters in the Dale Bar before Saturday home games. We have work to do on the Social Media side of things by improving our profile on Facebook and Twitter.
That communication is a two way thing – we encourage members to email their thoughts and concerns to info@daletrust.co.uk, and we will also gauge opinion on a number of issues over the course of the season. We will be increasing the number of surveys that we undertake throughout the next season.
Since our inception, we have donated many thousands of pounds to the club, contributing towards Floodlights, Training equipment, Pitch Covers, Speakers, and have contributed towards projects such as the decoration of the Carlsberg Lounge. Our most recent donation has been a contribution towards a new 5-a-side complex at the back of the Pearl Street stand that work should start on in the next few weeks.
We see our work as being beyond the football and playing a part within the community. We have worked with local charities and are proud to have raised many thousands of pounds for worthy causes including Factor 50, Cystic Fibrosis, Dale Community Trust, Springhill Hospice, Moorland’s Children Home, Edgar’s Gift, Bloodwise, the Rochdale Foodbank and Clic Sargant.
Membership of the Trust is just £10 for the 2019-20 season. Join hundreds of other Dale supporters by becoming a member either online or by visiting the Trust desk before any Saturday home game.