CAN YOU HELP US DECIDE ON OUR SPENDING PRIORITIES???
Posted by john bell on 10 March 2014
CAN YOU HELP US DECIDE ON OUR SPENDING PRIORITIES???
and then help us with our fund raising efforts to achieve them?
If you missed the Annual General Meeting on the 29th February, you missed a lively session on what projects we should be targeting over the next 2 - 3 years and how we might go about funding them. The meeting decided that it would be a good idea to open the discussion out to everyone with an interest in the club, and ask for feedback before making a final decision on our priorities at the April Committee meeting - which anyone is welcome to attend (date and time to be advertised here!!)
An ‘ideas to ponder ’paper was circulated at the AGM to get people thinking. It’s been edited and redrafted to reflect comments at the meeting, and includes projects those present agreed we should at least look at in detail before any big decisions are made on what to target first, and when.
SEE WHAT YOU THINK ....
As a club, we have made great progress on and off the field in recent years. The key projects we have been able to tackle with fund raising and generous grant aid includes the new covers, the new nets, a water supply to the square, a new roller and grass cutting machinery, - all critical to developing the quality of the set up.
We want to continue this progress.
Our Treasurer David Lowe advised the AGM on the club’s financial situation. We have between £3500 and £4000 in hand, of which the Committee suggest as good practice £1000 is retained to meet contingencies over the course of the 2014 season (e.g. repairs to nets and machinery). We hope to ‘break even’ over the course of the season for staging games, insurance, teas, etc. through payment of subscriptions, tea money and one event such as the race night..... so we nominally have £3000 + any other moneys raised in events to put towards projects if we want to commit to them.
That sounds healthy, but if you look at the things we have on our shopping list, you’ll realise how much we will have to prioritise our spending, and plan a fund raising programme to realise our ambitions.
Here’s the list of projects for you to ponder-
from our Development Plan...
INCREASING NUMBERS OF GIRLS PLAYING CRICKET
No significant cost implications
INCREASING NUMBERS OF YOUNGSTERS BEING COACHED
No significant cost implications
and
ADDITIONAL COVER(S) FOR BOWLERS RUN UPS
These will be compulsory if the 1st XI gain promotion to the Premier Division.
We can ‘make do’ with using some of the old sheets previously put on the match strips, but longer term is a fourth ‘wheel- on’ cover a better option?
COST OF USING EXISTING SHEETS - Nil
ESTIMATED COST OF ADDITIONAL MATCHING MOBILE COVER - £1000
SUGGESTED PRIORITY - Additional cover prior to start of 2015 season
ADDITIONAL MOBILE SIGHT SCREEN
We have to address NWCL requirements for mobile sightscreens - particularly if the 1st XI are promoted to the Premier League. We can ‘make do’ with the existing mobile screen for the 2014 season, but will need a second mobile screen at the Clapper Lane end for 2015.
The screens we attach to the Bowling Green fence area a pain to put in place but provide an acceptable solution at that end. Are we happy to carry on with these?
ESTIMATED COST OF ADDITIONAL MOBILE SCREEN - £1500
SUGGESTED PRIORITY - Prior to start of 2015 season
REPLACEMENT OF THE ARTIFICIAL MATCH STRIP
We do not consider this is an urgent priority as the condition of the strip is reasonable and should see us through 1 or 2 more seasons. We should however be planning ahead with expenditure and are suggesting we aim to replace between the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
ESTIMATED COST - £3000
SUGGESTED PRIORITY - PRIOR TO START OF 2016 SEASON
WORKS TO IMPROVE THE OUTFIELD
Do you think we should be investing in works involving levelling, overseeding, weed eradication, etc., to improve the standard of the outfield? Ian Weaver will be providing the Committee with a breakdown of what might realistically be achievable for spending £500, £1000, etc for work during the season, and for more significant work at the end of the season..... with the agreement of the Trust of course.
What do you think.... should we view this as a priority and go for it - maybe more than £1000 if it can be justified??? Or make do with what we have??
ESTIMATED COST - Anything between £500 and £2000, or more if that’s what we want to do
SUGGESTED PRIORITY at end of 2014 and 2015 seasons
Do you think there are any other projects / items we should be adding to the list, and do you agree with the priorities suggested for the ones above?? Feed back to John Bell or Ian Weaver if you have any views on all this....please!!!
AND WHAT ABOUT FUND RAISING?????
We have been lucky to receive grant aid to fund some of the larger projects in the last few years. Unfortunately, funding sources are now getting more limited and we can not rely on external help in relation to the many of the things we have under consideration. So we have to be realistic and face the fact that few of the projects will actually happen unless we are able to undertake some serious fundraising in the next couple of years.
And that’s where we have to ask you all to think how you might be able to contribute to the club’s ambitions, in a meaningful way.
The Committee have a programme of fund raising events which you can support, as and when they happen. We will publicise the events on the website.
Have you got any ideas for events we can add to the programme?
Are you willing to sponsor or part sponsor any of the projects?
Are you willing to put your name down to organise an event or take over responsibility for realising a project??
Please, if you are able to get involved in this exciting phase of development of the club, let the Committee know as soon as possible. The more we can spread the load, the more energy those who are involved already have to drive things forwards. And, more importantly - we can get things done!!!
Don’t be shy.....
