Barrow A.F.C Manager, Ian Evatt, turned campaigner today, to encourage fans to up their investment in the table- topping side, through the Bluebirds Trust.
Agreeing to star in the supporters' trust's video, which can be viewed on https://www.bluebirdstrust.co.uk/ Evatt encourages fans to get on board with the 'Play Your Part' campaign, where supporters can add share contributions, to maintain growing investment in the high flying Bluebirds.
Evatt urges fans to play their part to "create the perfect storm" and praised the way Barrow itself had "come together as a team and a town". Warming to his theme, he describes Barrow A.F.C as 'more than a football club; it is identity, it is pride, it is a sense of purpose."
In the drive to raise a further £65,000 to invest and maintain the supporters share, Bluebirds Trust Chairman Steve Herbert states on their website, "with owning a percentage of our football club comes responsibility and as a support we need to decide and indicate how much we want to play our part financially."
As well as the video, the website contains information on the benefits contributors can expect, such as access to meetings with the manager, match day discounts and offers exclusive to contributors. Bluebirds Trust and Barrow AFC director Levi Gill also addresses a series of questions directly for supporters.
Asking fans to support the initiative, Herbert concludes that "our belief, as The Bluebirds Trust, is we should embrace this challenge together. For a better ground, with better facilities and a united fan base with a real say. For a fantastic team and manager within touching distance of greatness. If not now, when?"
www.bluebirdstrust.co.uk LINK
PLAY YOUR PART CAMPAIGN
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Bluebirds Trust
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PLAY YOUR PART CAMPAIGN
Our main sponsor is: Looking for a sponsor
Our website is http://www.bluebirdstrust.co.uk/
Like us on Facebook at:http://www.facebook.com/bluebirdstrust
Follow us on Twitter at:https://twitter.com/bluebirdsST
Our website is http://www.bluebirdstrust.co.uk/
Like us on Facebook at:http://www.facebook.com/bluebirdstrust
Follow us on Twitter at:https://twitter.com/bluebirdsST
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Bluebirds Trust
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Re: PLAY YOUR PART CAMPAIGN
What exactly is happening?
Barrow AFC Chairman Paul Hornby has offered the Bluebirds Trust the opportunity to purchase new shares in the club in order to retain our 10% stake, originally purchased earlier in 2019.
But we already own 10% of the club don’t we?
We do, yes. The Bluebirds Trust, with financial support from across the whole fan base, purchased 10% of Barrow AFC for £50,000. But the other owners have continued to invest, as they made clear that they would when they purchased the club. Additional work needed to make the stadium safe and compliant with regulations, along with ongoing losses associated with funding our incredible first team, have meant that the club has operated at a loss this year.
How much has the club lost?
The operating loss for this financial year is forecast to be £850,000. This is a bigger loss than originally expected due to the circumstances explained above, but the owners were always clear that a loss would be incurred, especially with the investment we made in refurbishing the Cross Bar, redeveloping the ground and making a strong commitment to keep and then support our manager, Ian Evatt.
Why does this loss mean new shares?
The owners had a choice. They could either convert their ongoing investment into debt or equity. Nobody wanted to put debt onto the club, so the only choice was equity. This means that at the end of the financial year, all the money that each owner has invested in the club is used to purchase shares. That way the club stays debt-free and the owners are able to continue investing to deliver our shared vision for the future.
So if the operating loss this year is £850,000 and the Bluebirds Trust own 10% of the club, does that mean that we need to invest another £85,000 to keep our 10% stake?
Essentially, yes. That’s the bad news. But the good news is that we’re not starting from zero. Far from it! While the other owners have been investing throughout the year, so have we. Remember the 1901 Club? We all helped to raise over £17,000 for Barrow AFC through the 1901 Club this summer, and this figure is being counted toward our total along with a number of smaller amounts of money that the Trust has invested since becoming owners.
How much do we actually need to raise then?
Factoring in everything that we’ve already invested, we need to raise another £65,000 in order to retain our 10% stake and give the other owners the backing that they desperately need and that their efforts to date deserve.
How long do we have to raise the money?
We have until the end of the Barrow AFC financial year, which is May 31st 2020.
What happens if we don’t reach the target?
Well in terms of the Bluebirds Trust, on May 31st we’ll hand over whatever money we’ve raised so far. If that’s less than the £85,000 target then our ownership will reduce from 10% to wherever we ‘level off’ against the other owners’ spend. What it would mean for the club is that there is less investment going in from the collective ownership because we (one of the owners) haven’t been able to keep up. This could impact the club’s plans for the rest of this season and into the summer.
Will we have to do this every year?
Nobody wants Barrow AFC to lose money every year, but the fact remains that at National League level we simply aren’t and cannot be profitable. Do we expect to lose money again next year? Yes. Will that mean the Bluebirds Trust once again needing to find 10% of an operating loss to retain our stake? Yes it will. But the owners are learning all the time about running a football club, and we’ve also cleared a huge hurdle with redevelopment of the West Terrace. Nobody expects the figure to be as high in future years as it has been this time. This was in many respects a ‘one off’ in order to bring our club up to a level that we could be proud of. Next year our Trust Representative on the board is committed to getting an accurate view as early in the year as possible as to what we have to raise, because the last thing that we want is to launch an annual ‘cash appeal’ every Christmas. It simply isn’t sustainable to do it this way – certainly not for such large sums of money.
Why has the Bluebirds Trust supported this second round of fundraising?
We haven’t taken this decision lightly, but ultimately we feel that we have to offer the community this unique chance to Play Our Part. We work closely with the club, particularly through our Trust representative on the board, and we see how hard everyone is working to make this a success. Everybody can see and feel the positive changes, from the ground itself to the atmosphere and particularly in our league position. After 47 years we have a huge chance to achieve our dream of being back in the Football League. It’s a unique opportunity and one which we hope that the community and the fan base will come on board with. We understand that the other owners are just fans like us, and we can’t expect four people to finance our club alone. This is OUR club now, and we have to play our own part in realising this shared dream.
How will the Trust raise the money?
The Trust has committed to invest every penny above a £10,000 reserve from now on in Barrow AFC. We need that reserve to ensure that we can keep running buses to games, especially if we have a playoff or FA Trophy final to get to. This step change in how the Trust operates means that every raffle ticket, every bag of Haribo and every football card that we sell is now going toward that £65,000 total and toward the club we all want to see continue to grow and thrive. But we know that, alone, this isn’t enough. The only way that we can succeed is by the collective support and generosity of our fan base and wider community once again getting behind us and playing their part.
Do individuals contributors get any recognition or benefits this time?
Absolutely. Just like last time, anyone generously donating £10 or more will receive a new commemorative certificate noting their contribution amount. We’ve also collaborated with the club again to offer another tiered contribution system where giving various sums could get you perks, discounts, unique items and invitations to exclusive club events. See our website or ask in the Trust shop for more details on these tiers and the pricing.
Okay I’m sold. How can I contribute?
Contributions to shares can be made in the Trust shop, the club shop or online on the Trust website. If you buy in-store, you’ll be able to take your certificate away the same day. You’ll also see buckets appear around the ground and bar, and we’d be very grateful for any loose change that you’re able to give – lthough we can’t recognise this generosity with a certificate, it will be no less crucial to us achieving our fundraising goal. If you want to do more, we have lots of options. First of all, have you joined the Trust? If not, ask for a form at the next home game or sign up online on our website. The Trust will also be organising various fundraising events in the coming months. Please support these where you can. Hopefully they’re a fun way for the support to get together socially while raising some money at the same time. And of course please keep giving us your support in all the usual ways, whether you take part in our match-day raffle, football cards, travel on the buses or visit the Trust shop for refreshments. Everything helps!
Anything else I need to know?
Not really. We’d just like to say once again how seriously we take our obligation to you, our fellow fans. We wouldn’t be asking for money that we felt we couldn’t raise, nor that we felt would be wasted by the club’s owners. What we can all see is Ian Evatt’s perfect storm breaking before our eyes, and aside from any talk of ‘duty’ or ‘responsibility’ as ‘owners’ we all WANT to Play Our Part and make this happen. We want this community to have a Football League team again. Each and every one of us now needs to prove that commitment and come together for another challenge. This town and club have a proud history of being at our best when facing adversity. Now is the time to show it again.
Where can I find out more?
Our online and social media links are provided below, as well as the Trust’s email address. Keep in touch through all of these, but don’t be afraid to come and see us in the Trust shop or stop us in the ground. As we progress, the Trust will be giving regular updates on how we’re doing at raising our target.
Barrow AFC Chairman Paul Hornby has offered the Bluebirds Trust the opportunity to purchase new shares in the club in order to retain our 10% stake, originally purchased earlier in 2019.
But we already own 10% of the club don’t we?
We do, yes. The Bluebirds Trust, with financial support from across the whole fan base, purchased 10% of Barrow AFC for £50,000. But the other owners have continued to invest, as they made clear that they would when they purchased the club. Additional work needed to make the stadium safe and compliant with regulations, along with ongoing losses associated with funding our incredible first team, have meant that the club has operated at a loss this year.
How much has the club lost?
The operating loss for this financial year is forecast to be £850,000. This is a bigger loss than originally expected due to the circumstances explained above, but the owners were always clear that a loss would be incurred, especially with the investment we made in refurbishing the Cross Bar, redeveloping the ground and making a strong commitment to keep and then support our manager, Ian Evatt.
Why does this loss mean new shares?
The owners had a choice. They could either convert their ongoing investment into debt or equity. Nobody wanted to put debt onto the club, so the only choice was equity. This means that at the end of the financial year, all the money that each owner has invested in the club is used to purchase shares. That way the club stays debt-free and the owners are able to continue investing to deliver our shared vision for the future.
So if the operating loss this year is £850,000 and the Bluebirds Trust own 10% of the club, does that mean that we need to invest another £85,000 to keep our 10% stake?
Essentially, yes. That’s the bad news. But the good news is that we’re not starting from zero. Far from it! While the other owners have been investing throughout the year, so have we. Remember the 1901 Club? We all helped to raise over £17,000 for Barrow AFC through the 1901 Club this summer, and this figure is being counted toward our total along with a number of smaller amounts of money that the Trust has invested since becoming owners.
How much do we actually need to raise then?
Factoring in everything that we’ve already invested, we need to raise another £65,000 in order to retain our 10% stake and give the other owners the backing that they desperately need and that their efforts to date deserve.
How long do we have to raise the money?
We have until the end of the Barrow AFC financial year, which is May 31st 2020.
What happens if we don’t reach the target?
Well in terms of the Bluebirds Trust, on May 31st we’ll hand over whatever money we’ve raised so far. If that’s less than the £85,000 target then our ownership will reduce from 10% to wherever we ‘level off’ against the other owners’ spend. What it would mean for the club is that there is less investment going in from the collective ownership because we (one of the owners) haven’t been able to keep up. This could impact the club’s plans for the rest of this season and into the summer.
Will we have to do this every year?
Nobody wants Barrow AFC to lose money every year, but the fact remains that at National League level we simply aren’t and cannot be profitable. Do we expect to lose money again next year? Yes. Will that mean the Bluebirds Trust once again needing to find 10% of an operating loss to retain our stake? Yes it will. But the owners are learning all the time about running a football club, and we’ve also cleared a huge hurdle with redevelopment of the West Terrace. Nobody expects the figure to be as high in future years as it has been this time. This was in many respects a ‘one off’ in order to bring our club up to a level that we could be proud of. Next year our Trust Representative on the board is committed to getting an accurate view as early in the year as possible as to what we have to raise, because the last thing that we want is to launch an annual ‘cash appeal’ every Christmas. It simply isn’t sustainable to do it this way – certainly not for such large sums of money.
Why has the Bluebirds Trust supported this second round of fundraising?
We haven’t taken this decision lightly, but ultimately we feel that we have to offer the community this unique chance to Play Our Part. We work closely with the club, particularly through our Trust representative on the board, and we see how hard everyone is working to make this a success. Everybody can see and feel the positive changes, from the ground itself to the atmosphere and particularly in our league position. After 47 years we have a huge chance to achieve our dream of being back in the Football League. It’s a unique opportunity and one which we hope that the community and the fan base will come on board with. We understand that the other owners are just fans like us, and we can’t expect four people to finance our club alone. This is OUR club now, and we have to play our own part in realising this shared dream.
How will the Trust raise the money?
The Trust has committed to invest every penny above a £10,000 reserve from now on in Barrow AFC. We need that reserve to ensure that we can keep running buses to games, especially if we have a playoff or FA Trophy final to get to. This step change in how the Trust operates means that every raffle ticket, every bag of Haribo and every football card that we sell is now going toward that £65,000 total and toward the club we all want to see continue to grow and thrive. But we know that, alone, this isn’t enough. The only way that we can succeed is by the collective support and generosity of our fan base and wider community once again getting behind us and playing their part.
Do individuals contributors get any recognition or benefits this time?
Absolutely. Just like last time, anyone generously donating £10 or more will receive a new commemorative certificate noting their contribution amount. We’ve also collaborated with the club again to offer another tiered contribution system where giving various sums could get you perks, discounts, unique items and invitations to exclusive club events. See our website or ask in the Trust shop for more details on these tiers and the pricing.
Okay I’m sold. How can I contribute?
Contributions to shares can be made in the Trust shop, the club shop or online on the Trust website. If you buy in-store, you’ll be able to take your certificate away the same day. You’ll also see buckets appear around the ground and bar, and we’d be very grateful for any loose change that you’re able to give – lthough we can’t recognise this generosity with a certificate, it will be no less crucial to us achieving our fundraising goal. If you want to do more, we have lots of options. First of all, have you joined the Trust? If not, ask for a form at the next home game or sign up online on our website. The Trust will also be organising various fundraising events in the coming months. Please support these where you can. Hopefully they’re a fun way for the support to get together socially while raising some money at the same time. And of course please keep giving us your support in all the usual ways, whether you take part in our match-day raffle, football cards, travel on the buses or visit the Trust shop for refreshments. Everything helps!
Anything else I need to know?
Not really. We’d just like to say once again how seriously we take our obligation to you, our fellow fans. We wouldn’t be asking for money that we felt we couldn’t raise, nor that we felt would be wasted by the club’s owners. What we can all see is Ian Evatt’s perfect storm breaking before our eyes, and aside from any talk of ‘duty’ or ‘responsibility’ as ‘owners’ we all WANT to Play Our Part and make this happen. We want this community to have a Football League team again. Each and every one of us now needs to prove that commitment and come together for another challenge. This town and club have a proud history of being at our best when facing adversity. Now is the time to show it again.
Where can I find out more?
Our online and social media links are provided below, as well as the Trust’s email address. Keep in touch through all of these, but don’t be afraid to come and see us in the Trust shop or stop us in the ground. As we progress, the Trust will be giving regular updates on how we’re doing at raising our target.
Our main sponsor is: Looking for a sponsor
Our website is http://www.bluebirdstrust.co.uk/
Like us on Facebook at:http://www.facebook.com/bluebirdstrust
Follow us on Twitter at:https://twitter.com/bluebirdsST
Our website is http://www.bluebirdstrust.co.uk/
Like us on Facebook at:http://www.facebook.com/bluebirdstrust
Follow us on Twitter at:https://twitter.com/bluebirdsST
-
DaveBarter
- Bronze Member
- Posts: 753
- Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2009 9:14 am
- Location: B-i-F
- Contact:
Re: PLAY YOUR PART CAMPAIGN
We can all do are pate to make this happen Every little helps to get to where we want to be
Noto Brexit 
Re: PLAY YOUR PART CAMPAIGN
Never been more proud to be a Bluebird than right now. Together we can do this!
Still searching for the Young Soul Rebels
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mYxZUJt4xc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mYxZUJt4xc
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Baxterj732
- Senior Member
- Posts: 487
- Joined: Sat Oct 12, 2019 2:29 pm
- Contact:
Re: PLAY YOUR PART CAMPAIGN
Will nip in to the trust shop on Boxing day 
Heaven is a place on earth, we prefer to call it Holker Street 
popular side since 2002!
popular side since 2002! Re: PLAY YOUR PART CAMPAIGN
How do we make direct money contributions?
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Richard Ingham
- BarrowAFC Veteran
- Posts: 5120
- Joined: Wed May 28, 2008 3:07 pm
- Location: Chorley
- Contact:
Re: PLAY YOUR PART CAMPAIGN
The means by which the cash raising is to be done is not stated anywhere as far as I can see on the club website or on Twitter. Would it not be an idea to formalise it through an issue of new "share" certificates, in a similar manner to the £50k? A direct route such as that would encourage more people to contribute.
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Bluebirds Trust
- Gold Member
- Posts: 2420
- Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2014 7:17 pm
- Location: Barrow-in-Furness
- Contact:
Re: PLAY YOUR PART CAMPAIGN
That's what we are doing, have a look on the trust website and have a read, very easy to do
http://www.bluebirdstrust.co.uk/
even better
https://www.bluebirdstrust.co.uk/play-your-part/
http://www.bluebirdstrust.co.uk/
even better
https://www.bluebirdstrust.co.uk/play-your-part/
Last edited by Bluebirds Trust on Fri Dec 20, 2019 7:14 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Our main sponsor is: Looking for a sponsor
Our website is http://www.bluebirdstrust.co.uk/
Like us on Facebook at:http://www.facebook.com/bluebirdstrust
Follow us on Twitter at:https://twitter.com/bluebirdsST
Our website is http://www.bluebirdstrust.co.uk/
Like us on Facebook at:http://www.facebook.com/bluebirdstrust
Follow us on Twitter at:https://twitter.com/bluebirdsST
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liverpoolann
- Bronze Member
- Posts: 915
- Joined: Sat Aug 08, 2015 11:13 pm
- Contact:
Re: PLAY YOUR PART CAMPAIGN
Dig deep Bluebirds same easy online format as before tho don’t remember creating account with password before.Mine also Done.
Re: PLAY YOUR PART CAMPAIGN
Excellent, thanks, I'll look at that. Maybe it needs prominence on the Club website, but no doubt that will be in hand.Bluebirds Trust wrote: ↑Fri Dec 20, 2019 7:12 pm That's what we are doing, have a look on the trust website and have a read, very easy to do
http://www.bluebirdstrust.co.uk/
even better
https://www.bluebirdstrust.co.uk/play-your-part/
-
Si_Nichols
- Veteran Member
- Posts: 663
- Joined: Wed Jun 03, 2009 8:45 pm
- Location: Lancaster
- Contact:
Re: PLAY YOUR PART CAMPAIGN
Ok so a few important questions here before I part with cash as I did last time around.
1) Is the £850k loss what we are projecting for this season and if so on what basis (I.e. what crowds/revenue) is that budgeting for?
2) What is the breakdown of this loss? If we are living beyond our means and paying too much on wages then I feel uncomfortable backing this.
I feel a little more info is required and needs to be given before asking fans to dip their hands in their pockets again. Maybe I have missed it skimming through so please feel free to point me in the right direction if I have.
1) Is the £850k loss what we are projecting for this season and if so on what basis (I.e. what crowds/revenue) is that budgeting for?
2) What is the breakdown of this loss? If we are living beyond our means and paying too much on wages then I feel uncomfortable backing this.
I feel a little more info is required and needs to be given before asking fans to dip their hands in their pockets again. Maybe I have missed it skimming through so please feel free to point me in the right direction if I have.
Re: PLAY YOUR PART CAMPAIGN
I am to believe some off the Los was debts that were left I think we have Spent 150 thousand on the ground some off it will be for the playing Side as well I think I am sure so one with Martin for a knowledge of it would be able to tell you
Noto Brexit
Re: PLAY YOUR PART CAMPAIGN
I'm sorry but how can running a club with a 850k loss per year be sustainable?
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