Bristol City Supporters' Trust

Bristol City Supporters Trust would:

* Represent the fans in dialogue with the Club

* Raise significant funds to help bring success to the Club

* Help the Club position itself as a hub of the community

* Encourage through its activities increased support for the Club

* Position the fans as stakeholders in the Club

The first £1 of your membership fee buys you a nominal share in the Trust and the other benefits listed below. Part of your contribution will cover the Trust's expenses including printing costs, hall hire, stationery etc and any surplus will go to the general fund.

Both in the start-up phase and going forward, Bristol City Supporters Trust will work closely with the Supporters Club and the Football Club. Members of the Supporters Club are already involved in Supporters Trust meetings, while BCFC Chairman Steve Lansdown has been supportive and encouraging in discussions to date.

Purchasing shares is not the same as making a donation. By purchasing shares, the Trust and its members own a part of the Club. The more shares the Trust purchases or acquires by proxy (see below), the greater will be its influence. The Trust made its first acquisition of shares in the Club in September 2006, when it purchased £5,000-worth of new shares. The Trust raises money to purchase shares through membership fees and fundraising activities. The decisions to purchase shares and—if given the opportunity, where to allocate the funds in the Club—are voted on by the board of the Trust on behalf of its members.

The Trust aims to ensure that all funds raised are used appropriately to benefit the best interests of the Club and its supporters. Funds from the first share purchase went toward improvements to the Club’s training facilities, an area which City Manager Gary Johnson had identified as needing improving. Shares are held in the name of Bristol City Supporters Trust, which is an Industrial and Provident Society authorised by the Financial Services Authority. This means that it is a company that is able to hold shares of a business, that it must hold them in a democratic and correct way, and that the government's financial regulator makes sure everything is above board.

There are over 50 Clubs in England, Scotland and Wales where supporters have a shareholding that makes them significant. A few Trusts have majority or outright ownership. Not all Trusts have a representative on their Club’s board, but it is becoming increasingly common for Club boards to have a fans’ representative of some sort. At the beginning of the 2006/7 season, Club Chairman Steve Lansdown invited a representative of the Trust to attend, in a non-voting capacity, the Club’s monthly board meetings. (A representative of the Supporters Club was also invited to attend.) The Trust board elects one board member to represent the views of supporters at these meetings.

The influence any Trust representative is likely to wield at a Club may well depend on the size of the membership he or she represents and the quality of information at his or her disposal. No doubt it will be important that the representative is seen to be a constructive player in the life of the Club, and not someone who is simply there to object. Bristol City Supporters Trust will ensure that its own representative on the Club board is a good communicator with an excellent knowledge of fans' views. The Trust has conducted an in-depth survey of its membership, and board members keep a close eye on the range of media sources, including fan websites, as well as talking with supporters in person. The Trust cannot speak for all fans, because fans disagree on many things, but it can speak on behalf of its membership. Trust members and non-members alike are also able to express their opinions in person, or through a Trust representative, in regular open meetings and forums with the Club Chairman organised by the Trust.

The most spectacular successes and growth at Supporters Trusts are usually at a Club in crisis, where people fear their Club could become extinct. That acts as a rallying call, and people make sacrifices that they might normally not make. At a Club such as Bristol City that is not presently in crisis, Trusts still have an important role to play, raising funds, organising social events, working to improve the supporter experience, representing fans' views, providing services that have been discarded by the club and improving links between communities. The opportunities are endless.

The Trust is also there to help in the event of any dramatic change in circumstances. In the case of a takeover, for instance, the Trust would be there to remind the new owners that the fans love and care for the Club and that their interests need to be protected and their voice listened to. Should things go very badly wrong, as they did for Bristol City in 1982, the Trust would serve as a vehicle to help save the Club from extinction.

It takes time and a great deal of hard work to establish a Supporters Trust. We have completed this work, so the infrastructure is in place in the event of any calamity.

Ordering your replica shirt from this banner link will earn BCST a small commission

BCST - Bristol City Supporters' Trust