Droitwich
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Stuart Yorke Brooks took time to give was an important part of the Club re-
us an insight into the club’s fundraising, engaging with our membership and
“Following significant improvements to getting them to commit to improving the
our Club accounting practices, for the Club facilities we all use every week. The
first time in many years the Committee
had real time information about our
cash position and clear data about what
events and activities made or cost the
Club money.
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Armed with this information,
ffic
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over a period of eighteen months
we initially identified a number
of small projects that could
increase our income and
deliver a better experience
for our members. We
started with a review
of all utility and supply
contracts as well as the
Clubs legal rights, benefits
and obligations. In a very
short space of time these
simple
steps
delivered
significant costs savings and
increased the Club’s recurring
non-primary income streams.
We then applied for a NatWest
Rugby Force grant to remove a raised
deck area from our main clubhouse
function room which had historically
limited our ability to generate room hire
and function income. Having established
what skills each of our members had and
with liberal amounts of arm bending, we removal of this deck has significantly
were able to pull the necessary resources increased our income stream from
together surprisingly quickly.
external events and improved our
The project was delivered on time member’s experience of the facility.
and budget and got everyone working
With the help of Jem Teal of wychavon
together towards a shared goal which district council, we have also improved
the Club’s signage with the introduction
of Brown & White Tourism signage on
the highway. This signage was applied
for in the joint names of a number of
adjoining users who shared our vision to
create a multi-sports, Marina and canal
leisure hub for the local Community
and wider region. The key elements to
delivering the above projects were a
clear understanding of the problems
facing and opportunities available
to the club, re-establishing a
Club culture where it is normal
for members to do more than
simply turn up and play (if
you are to stand any chance
of accessing the depth of
experience and skills within
your Membership) as well as
an element of perseverance
when thing don’t go your
way.
Our current projects include
improvements to pitch drainage
and the installation of new LED
floodlights on our training pitch
for which we have obtained some
funding already and are working
towards raising the outstanding balance.
In the longer term, we are working with
Wychavon Local Authority with a view
to delivering a truly multi-sport club
and our development plan includes;- the
installation of an Astro pitch, an indoor
training and storage facility, an extension
to the car park as well as additional
floodlighting.
T
Coaches: Blair Hunter, Pete Knight,
Jackson Willison & Andy Maginnis
Gill Yip Chairman of M&J told us, “We
have achieved affiliations with England
Rugby and Old Mutual Wealth by
taking the pledge to commit to a range
of high quality standards giving children
the op