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Thread: Supporters Trust Public Forum - 7pm 2nd July, Newcastle Town Hall

  1. #1
    Senior Member Blackmac79's Avatar
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    Supporters Trust Public Forum - 7pm 2nd July, Newcastle Town Hall

    As title suggests.

    The supporters trust is still working towards being a reality. This public forum is the next peice of the puzzle.

    It will be held at Newcastle Town Hall, which has a capacity of over 800, at 7pm on the 2nd July.

    We will have a host of guest speakers there, working on some fairly exciting ones which I am hoping will come off. Including some old KB United players.

    I am relying alot on word of mouth so please head to twitter (@newytrust & #powerwiththefans) and Facebook (Newcastle Jets Supporters Trust) to spread the word. Invite people to the event, share the posts on your page. Etc.

    We are trying to form something that would be different to anything else this far in the australian sporting landscape and changing the face of football in the hunter forever hopefully.

    Much appreciated. Any questions I will answer if asked here, twitter or Facebook, or by email (powerwiththefans@gmail.com)


    If you think you can help out anyway please contact me. And please come along to the forum and listen to what we are about.

    I will post the any articles about the trust here as well, however I am still waiting on one that was meant to be up in tuesday morning.

    Cheers

  2. #2
    Banned
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    what supporters....

    sd will ruin this.............ffs

  3. #3
    boz_monaut
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    Hamma01 and Superdylan will be car pooling to this together.

  4. #4
    Occasional Podcaster furns's Avatar
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    Good to see your sticking to your guns with this mate. I'll do my best to get up there for this, any of the F3MDR lads who need a lift let me know.

  5. #5
    solidarity mother****ers

    viva la revolucion

  6. #6
    Senior Member Blackmac79's Avatar
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    What I really need is people to show up on the night. There will be an article in tomorrows Newcastle herald. This is good due to the higher circulation numbers on Saturdays.

    Should have the speakers locked in by Monday. Announce Tuesday. One in particular would be a real draw card should it come off.

    This forum will be an excellent display of the support that the trust has. Please as I always say, let people know. If you have Facebook link and share our posts and invite people to the event.

    Cheers

  7. #7
    Senior Member Blackmac79's Avatar
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    Robbie Middleby seemed supportive when I spoke to him, will have further conversations with Northern, HSG and Jets, and expect a representative of each to attend the event to give their support behind the initiative

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  9. #9
    in awe of baz GazFish35's Avatar
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    Have stickied the thread for the time being.

  10. #10
    Senior Member BodyNovo's Avatar
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    i'd love to make this, but my scheduling of holidays is absolutely terrible.

    good luck with it toby. I hope it is a successful beginning for something great for newcastle football.

    i will share and retweet your event.

  11. #11
    Senior Member Blackmac79's Avatar
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    Herald Article.

    Mills trusts in loyal Jets fans
    BY JAMES GARDINER
    26 Jun, 2012 04:00 AM
    DEVOTED Jets fan Toby Mills felt like someone had punched him in the stomach when news broke that Nathan Tinkler had relinquished the club’s A-League licence in April.

    Mills was working at a nursing home in Beecroft in north-west Sydney when he saw a television report outline the developments.

    ‘‘I felt sick,’’ the 21-year-old recalled.

    ‘‘It was as though someone had punched me in the guts.

    ‘‘We were re-signing players one day and the next day he was handing the licence back.’’

    Desperate for his club to survive, Mills put into action a plan for a supporters’ trust he had been working on for 18months.

    Three weeks later Tinkler, after receiving a number of concessions from Football Federation Australia, reaffirmed his commitment to fund the Jets for the remaining eight years of the term of his licence.

    Despite Tinkler’s about face, Mills has forged ahead with his plans and will hold a public forum about the supporter’s trust at Newcastle Town Hall next Monday at 7pm.

    ‘‘The room seats 800 and hopefully we can fill it up with people interested in forming a supporters’ trust,’’ Mills said.

    ‘‘I’m hoping to lock in some key speakers from the likes of Northern NSW Football, local councillors and people interested in football.

    ‘‘We may not have a stake in the club but it is important that the fans have a unified voice.

    ‘‘Currently Nathan Tinkler has eight years to run on the licence and he might keep it for another 10 after that.

    ‘‘But there is no guarantees. It is about putting things in place so that in eight years time or 10 years time or even next year, if he decides to pull the pin, there is something there.

    ‘‘If Tinkler does stay there and we don’t take a direct stake in the club, the trust is there to support it.

    ‘‘Just like there is a union for workers, this would be a union for supporters. We would speak with one voice and make sure we are heard.’’

    Mills has been supporting the Jets since their inception and came up with the idea for a trust when former owner Con Constantine ran into financial difficulties.

    ‘‘When Con’s issues came up I started the process of researching and writing things down, highlighting different examples of ownership models,’’ Mills said.

    ‘‘I think the idea of fans owning the club or having involvement is such an important thing.’’

    Mills has put together a 16-page draft for a supporters’ trust which is inspired by lower-tier English clubs Exeter City and Brentford, where fans buy a share in the club.

    ‘‘I have looked at a lot of supporters’ trusts and supporter ownership structures and have basically taken bits and pieces which I think would really suit Newcastle,’’ he said.

    ‘‘Those plans will be outlined at the forum.

    ‘‘We will probably ask for a show of hands to see if their is support for it and there will be pledge forms available at the end.

    ‘‘Hopefully we will get a few volunteers to form a working committee which will work towards registering the trust as an organisation.’’

    http://www.theherald.com.au/news/loc...px?storypage=0

  12. #12
    Senior Member Blackmac79's Avatar
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    On 442 I was asked some questions about the trust, thought I would post them here for those interested. (answers in red)

    Operation of the Trust

    > Is its aim to hold funds in case of an event in the future the requires urgent funding to keep the club going? I guess I am asking, what is the primary (and any other) objectives of the trust?

    The primary objective of the trust is to continue the growth and prosperity of football in Newcastle and the Hunter, realising that the Newcastle Jets are Newcastle's football flagship and therefore are key to the continued growth of football in the region. There are 7 listed objectives all of which are related along this line. However there is also the objective which is to "encourage the club to take proper account of the interests of its supporters and the community it serves in its decisions". As to the application of funds there are three areas where this comes into play: To maintain prudent reserves is one of them, pretty much as you say incase of urgent save the club need. The other two relate to the objectives of the Trust.

    > Does it have the support of the Newcastle Jets/HSG? Actually what is HSGs official line on this? It leaves them in an interesting position. My initial thought would be they should dismiss it because anything other than that could indicate they are not confident they will continue to hold the licence for a long time to come. However, if they do totally dismiss it then it creates a pressure point with fans, especially ifthe trust is simply a backstop in case of such an event occuring. What reason could they have to have an issue with a safety net being put in place by the fans? How Robbie and the Jets respond may be a totally different matter to how Tinkler see's it. If the Trust gets going and starts raising some funds, will there be an angry response from Tinkler?

    The Jets and HSG recognise the significance of supporters and their imporatance to the club. To date there has been respect from them for what we are trying to achieve, discussions continue towards their support of the Trust, hopefully come public forum day they will be willing to announce their support.

    > Will there be any connection between the trust and the club, or are they totally seperate entities? For example, will the club assist in raising funds or even act as trustee?

    It is essential that the club and Trust remain as separate entities, this will prevent the improper use of funds, also means that should the current (or any) ownership structure pull out they would not be able to lay claim to funds set aside to rescue the club from any such situation. Also there are issues that arise in football clubs that shouldn't be played out in the light of day for all supporters to see (player negotiations etc.)

    > Will there be an end date for the trust, for example in 30 years if the club is very stable and there is no real need for a back stop, and hopefully the trust has some good resources, will it cease collecting funds? How would distribution work at this time, would it go back to the contributors (very difficult to do)? To the club? Spent on supporter events (ie buses for away trips, banners, membership discounts/merchandise etc)?

    The term "trust" is not used in the usual legal sense in this case. Think of it more as a co-operative. It is an non-profit organisation, therefore there is no financial benefit to the members of the trust. ever. Should the membership decide that the trust is no longer needed and cease to exist, the funds saved would be used on projects that fullfil the objectives of the trust, or to another non-profit organisation that has similar objectives to the trust, or dispersed among the grassroots (e.g. building all weather pitches)

    > Has there been any work/discussion performed with FFA on this? At the end of the day, even if remarkably enough was raised to bankroll the club for one season and Tinkler did pull the pin, would the FFA allow the licence to be transferred to the Trust anyway? I would suggest not.

    The FFA themselves have not responded to attempts to contact and meet with them in regard to the trust (I was warned not to be surprised by this). However I agree at this stage it seems unlikely that control would be passed over to a trust, however a trust could form of a consortium as an approved model by the FFA

    > Has there been any work/discussion with Andrew Poole? He seems to quite vocal in support of community ownership models and could well have good insight (sorry, exremely good business insight).

    Andrew Poole could form some part of for example the above mentioned consortium, however no official contact has been made with him.

    Finances of the Trust

    > What will be the primary methods of raising funds? Ie on-line donations, game day raffles, game day collection buckets, donation add on option to club memberships?

    Yearly membership fees would be the highest form of income for the trust, followed closely by bank interest. The trust is there to work with the community and in doing so is wary of taking money out of the pockets of local football clubs by stepping on toes when it comes to fundraising. Things like lucky door prizes at trust meetings and AGM's would be one exception

    > Under what specific circumstances can the trustee distribute funds from the trust? Ie for what purposes? To whom? Will there need to be a vote before it can be released? If so, who gets to vote, are votes weighted by an individuals contribution, is it only a 50% majority or higher needed etc.

    There isn't a trustee as such, as mentioned above the Trust isn't a traditional trust. There would be a board, who would be 60% voted by the membership, with the other 40% co-opted onto the board for containing specific skills the board requires for the operation of the trust. The Board however can look at the funds and decide, say 90% is going to the savings for a rainy day, and the other 10% will go to grassroots programs, which through association with Northern NSW Football, who would put forward programs requiring funds, which would then be decided by the membership, by a 50% vote or a 75% of vote if it usage outside the objectives of the trust.

    > Who will be trustee? How will this be elected etc?

    Trust Board members would be elected at the annual AGM through ballot papers. The maximum consecutive terms a person can spend on the board is 2 (1 year each term), this helps to prevent self interest.

    > Will there be investment restrictions on the trustee? For example, I would say that funds held can only be invested in Cash & Cash Equiv Assets, and not invested in riskier investments such as shares.

    All investments require a vote by majority of 75% or more of the membership

    > Is there a general fundraising aims you think would need to be reached to make a difference in the event of another issue around the licence?

    In my mind we have 8 years to come up with a large trust membership base and gather the funds to run the club for 1 full year ($5-7million). Fundraising I have touched on above

  13. #13
    Senior Member Blackmac79's Avatar
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    So tomorrow people are playing and watching football. Would be great if some of you that play in the local leagues could get out there and let people know about the event. Hijack a PA system. Have a wander talk to people about it. Convince the nice mum at the canteen to tell every person she sells to about the public forum.

    If you go to state league games, Hijack their PA system.

    If your headed to the airport, Hijack probably isn't the right word to use in this location, borrow their PA system.


    It is only 3 sleeps away! get excited.

    #Powerwiththefans and join the discussion.

  14. #14
    Senior Member Blackmac79's Avatar
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    Public Forum tomorrow.

    Who is coming?

  15. #15
    Senior Member WolfMan's Avatar
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    I am

  16. #16
    Senior Member Grunta's Avatar
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    I'm coming and bringing a mate.

  17. #17
    I'll be heading up

  18. #18
    Senior Member Blackmac79's Avatar
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    night will now be a success. Maybe I should have opened the bar? Just for todd's sake.

  19. #19
    there is still time, make the call!!!

  20. #20
    Senior Member Blackmac79's Avatar
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    The difference is the change from a free venue to a need to pay for it. Sorry mate.

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