32 replies to this topic

[guest from down under]

I have just spent some time going over the clubs squadbuilder fund and also making enquiries about the clubs drema fundraising scheme and the figures are both horrific and demoralising .
Our squadbuilder consists of 27 contributors , i will repeat that number 27. This means that by comparison we have only a fraction of the contributors that the Bulldogs have and even less than the Hunslet club .
Our lottery the Drema is down to 150 members despite the discount benefits that membership has allied to the cash prize and this compares to Hunslet having over 900 in their lottery draw .

I accept that times are hard and money is tight but the above figures are pathetic considering that we have 460 season ticket holders and i cannot believe that money is tighter in Dewsbury than it is in Hunslet or Batley .How much hardship can it inflict to contribute say a tenner a month to squadbuilder or to risk a couple of quid a week on the cash draw.
We dont have a sugar daddy and the club has to finance itself which means that each and every supporter has a stake in the current and future operation of the club . i know that a very grim picture of the situation is being seen by the directors as there appears to be a very limited public contribution being made by the people of Dewsbury to the finances of the club .

I intend putting together a committee of supporters to oversee the squadbuilder and the drema with a view to increasing the profile and the contributions to both thereby helping with the finances of the club .
I would like to invite interest from on here from anybody who would like to become involved and i do not see age as a barrier .

[Wakefield Ram]

I have been a DREMA member since the start, a Squadbuilder member since the start and am currently sponsoring a player.

Rather than wait to form a committee I would suggest the following

Get the Media team working on raising the profile of both schemes.

Email the forms out to everyone on the club's email list.

Hand out Drema form and/or Squadbuilder form at admission of next home match, put a piece in the programme

Have forms available in the bar after, offer a prize draw of a shirt if x number of people return their forms on the day.

Ask Mark to promote it in his after match speech saying how important it is to the club.

Occasionally say thank you to the supporters who are members and remind them of the benefits.

Ask Batley and Hunslet what they do.

[Piggy's mate]

A word to the wise, don't slag off the people you expect to help GFDU

I am sure with the right people the Rams fans could organise anything to match their local rivals

[guest from down under]

wakefield , all good points and noted . piggy , thanks for the input but i do not see that highlighting apathy in general as " slagging" individuals, but i do feel there is an element of complacency and an attitude of it will be alright because someone else will do it so why should i .

[Wakefield Ram]

GFDU see my PM and hate to agree with Piggys mate (first and last time I promise) but yes don't criticise your customers. Put a positive spin on it, say what could be achieved.

[Nick07]

^{I dont think it would be right to disclose defintiive numbers, but I can say BISSA (Batley) has at least three times the number of members GFDU has noted. Which in theory is surprising as your hardcore support as much as I dont like to say it, is probably slightly larger than ours.
The key I think is communiation and advertising. The BISSA committee has a website, Facebook page, Twitter log on and also writes out to members at certain points of the year . We also host annual events like a Dinner, Race Night and Open Days at the club, along with having a visible presence in the form of a separate stall at every home game and at club functions, something which has certainly helped to raise awareness amongst fans.
Our committee (10 voted members) also meet monthly to discuss ongong issues and to plan fundraising events and money making iniatives, and has developed a very close working relationship with the Club Chairmen, Directors, Players and Operations Manager. So much so that BISSA were included on both last year's and this year's playing kit.
I'm not sure what the current set up at DREMA is, but BISSA (and i'm not just saying that because i'm on the committee) has played a big part in player recruitment over the last few years, as acknowledged by the club, which has in turn contributed to a marked improvement in on field performances over the last 3/4 years.
I know the Rams (well from my understanding) make decent money from the Bar and Car Boots you have, but a fully functioning and effective Squadbuilder can surely only help things further for the team and club.}

Edited by Nick07, 13 February 2013 - 02:11 PM.

[grumpyoldram]

I have just spent some time going over the clubs squadbuilder fund and also making enquiries about the clubs drema fundraising scheme and the figures are both horrific and demoralising .
Our squadbuilder consists of 27 contributors , i will repeat that number 27. This means that by comparison we have only a fraction of the contributors that the Bulldogs have and even less than the Hunslet club .
Our lottery the Drema is down to 150 members despite the discount benefits that membership has allied to the cash prize and this compares to Hunslet having over 900 in their lottery draw .

I accept that times are hard and money is tight but the above figures are pathetic considering that we have 460 season ticket holders and i cannot believe that money is tighter in Dewsbury than it is in Hunslet or Batley .How much hardship can it inflict to contribute say a tenner a month to squadbuilder or to risk a couple of quid a week on the cash draw.
We dont have a sugar daddy and the club has to finance itself which means that each and every supporter has a stake in the current and future operation of the club . i know that a very grim picture of the situation is being seen by the directors as there appears to be a very limited public contribution being made by the people of Dewsbury to the finances of the club .

I intend putting together a committee of supporters to oversee the squadbuilder and the drema with a view to increasing the profile and the contributions to both thereby helping with the finances of the club .
I would like to invite interest from on here from anybody who would like to become involved and i do not see age as a barrier .

GFD - I.ve posted this before without any response. I already contribute to drema and squadbuilder ( like WR - from the outset). I contribute what I know I can comfortably afford (and what I can sneak past the wife), but sometimes I have a bit left over at the end of the month. It doesn't happen every month and the amount varies, but I could probably manage to donate more. However, there appears to be no facility for ad-hock donations without the hassle of going to the bank. I'm sure there are those who would not or could not comit to squadbuilder on a monthly basis, but who might be prepared to stick the odd fiver in the fund when they could afford. Maybe some kind of sealed box to facilitate such donations could be left in the bar, whether they be for squadbuilder or the terrace fund (still haven't given to that). Just a thought, but it's amazing how generous folk can become after a few beers and a good result.
Alternatively you could sell the teamsheets at a quid a time, then I might get one for a change.

[Gary Coyle]

Keith, ive made my views on your clubs squadbuilder and why it wont work before, it 100% needs to be run totally independant from the club, have no club officials involved or anyone who the supporters see as a club official/representitive (yourself)

Neither should you or anyone from the club berate or moan about the towns people and their so called apethy, Kevin Nicholas used to have an annual rant in the papers about the batley publics apethy and it did him absolutly no favours at all, thankfully Kevin tends to keep a lower media profile nowadays and concentrates on what he does best

PS, it doesnt help your cause when you have some kn0bwank berating the club and its officials on another website

Edited by Gary Coyle, 13 February 2013 - 02:32 PM.

[guest from down under]

does that lunatic still do that site then gary ?, theres something seriously wrong in the head with him . if a body of supporters wanted to take over and administer the squadbuilder i would be happy to be just a contributor

Edited by guest from down under, 13 February 2013 - 04:57 PM.

[Piggy's mate]

I agree with GC the independence from the club is a major factor of BISSA's success as is the enthusiasm and commitment of Guys like Colin and the other committee members. And if someone can persuade BSJ, Coolie and GOR to start it up they won't have time to post their drivel on our forum...

[Kelsey The Ram]

Don't Halifax take bucket collections? I'm just wondering because that wouldnt be a bad idea aswell as the squad builder and DREMA

[Gary Coyle]

does that lunatic still do that site then gary ?, theres something seriously wrong in the head with him . if a body of supporters wanted to take over and administer the squadbuilder i would be happy to be just a contributor

He does mate sad to say

When you say a "contributor" do you just mean financially contributing to the squadbuilder

[Gary Coyle]

Don't Halifax take bucket collections? I'm just wondering because that wouldnt be a bad idea aswell as the squad builder and DREMA

Bucket collections are all well and good for allowing local kids teams to gather funds etc, etc but as a means of raising funds to help out something like squadbuilder its a terrible idea, BISSA works because it gives its contributors a sense of belonging and ownership, it also provides a service to the contributors and supporters in general, it doesnt just take your money, it also gives you something back, it provides fixture sheets, fixture cards, rovides newsletters, opportunities to win prizes, opportunities to buy discounted clothing etc, etc

It provides opportunities to meet and dine with the players, attend sportsmans dinners, attend race nights, provides services where you can buy from major high street and internet retaillers at discounted prices and at the same time put money in the squadbuilders coffers for every penny they spend

You can but Bulldogs themed Xmas and Birthday cards

Like i say, its not about putting out the begging bowl

Edited by Gary Coyle, 13 February 2013 - 07:12 PM.

[guest from down under]

yes gary i mean stand back and just pay my whack each month

[funkmaster flex]

Just put 10pence on every pint sold, and make it clear its going to squadbuilder.

Put that its discretionary, I cant see many folk moaning about it and asking for it back...

[coolie]

there has gotta be hundreds of ways that cash can be raised
thru ''indirects''

''indirects'' put in simple terms first simple people ( piggys mate )
is a way of the gives his money willingly for something he recieves costs nothing

i.e bring a shirt in and have it signed by the entire team,presented by glenn to yourself for £30
that costs the club nowt..you have the shirt..costs the club nowt..they might even sell a few on the back of it.

another..

invited the 1973 squad and have them sign this seasons shirt for £50...again costs nowt to the club again photos
of the presentation.

squadbuilder raffle at half time..V.I.P day at a match 2 match tickets after match dinner with players and a signed
programme & photo ..there will be 400 people buying a ticket who already have a season ticket and already paid up front
so not gonna lose owt are the club & no cost..2 seats in stand (nowt) dinner with player (already cooked for the players ) programme..(take one out of the exec boxes always some left over after game)..signing the programme (nowt)
photo....nowt..this is the digital age.

3 idea's there without too much thinking

another raffle at carboot.. prizes free pitch..costs club a tenner to give back..free pitch next week..cos nowt

theres loads of ideas that could be explored.


always said....the club needs a ''think tank '' for this kinda stuff

Edited by coolie, 13 February 2013 - 07:58 PM.

[grumpyoldram]

I agree with GC the independence from the club is a major factor of BISSA's success as is the enthusiasm and commitment of Guys like Colin and the other committee members. And if someone can persuade BSJ, Coolie and GOR to start it up they won't have time to post their drivel on our forum...

Sounds like you've got PM T. Alas, increasing family commitments mean I might be struggling to make use of my season ticket, let alone run dissa. Sorry if you feel I'm lowering the tone of your forum though piggy - I'll try and avoid it.

[Gary Coyle]

All decent ideas coolie but you cant impliment none of it without a group of dedicated individuals with the required skills and mind set to make it work, Batley were lucky, when i formed it we had someone who had someone with some financial experience and knew an Auditor so he was a shoe in for treasurer, we had myself with photographic and desktop publishing experience who could produce the flyers/newsletters, we had Colin who runs a printing business who could print all out promo materials, we had Peter who was prepared to give up loads of time as secretary and chase up leads, do the minutes, contact new business investors, and sponsors etc, etc, all in all the first 3/4 people on board were an amazing collection of skilled like minded individuals who worked well as a whole and those who drip fed in later also added something unique to the mix.

I would say first of all you need the right people, get those right and the product will follow.

And it must be 100% independant from the club, the only club official who should have any input at all into how any of the money is used in the coach

[coolie]

The sound of tumbleweeds across the vast plain of silence.......




think keith might have a point

[Wakefield Ram]

Another constructive post Coolie, you must be so proud.