Fundraising Plans & Options at Poulton 

2024  Projects & Updates

Investment in Englands (Approx £18k for labour and materials) - 2024

We are using a professional groundsman for the square at Englands for the second time in 2024 following approval at the AGM. This continues a significatn cost burden to the accounts. Materials such as fertiliser, seed & loam are on top of this. 

Bar & Pavilion Renovation (Cost Approx £10k) - 2024

We are able to apply to the County Grant Fund run by the GCF & ECB, for funding to cover the cost of new bar furniture and a refresh of common areas. The club also needs a new refrigeration unit in the kitchen and refresh of appliances in there.  

Englands Roller (Cost £13.32k) - 2024

Following agreement at the AGM, the club has ordered a new roller for Englands. This is a purpose built new unit which should have a lifespan of 30 years and is powered by far a far simpler engine than our prior rollers. It is being financed by an interest free loan and will be delivered at the start of the season by the Poweroll Company in Cornwall. The earlier we can repay the loan, the faster we clear our laibilities. 

Englands Mowers (Cost approx £13k) - 2024

The club has decided to also purchase a robotic mower to look after our outfield. The units reduce pressure on volunteers having to mow when both free time and weather permit. They are cheaper to run and have far lower servicing costs versus traditional fuel mowers while also cutting the grass to a better standard.

Planned Events

We will update this page as soon as we have details but we are currently planning 

• A 2024 Golf Day
• Several Quiz Nights and Fundraisers
• Our Beer Festival which is currently scheduled to this summer (2024)

Why Do We Need To Fundraise - Doesn't Membership cover it? 

Basic operating costs for the the club are approximately  £35,000 per year so with a membership of 200 players, this means a per head cost of £175 no matter the age of the player.

We have never charged £175 to be a member of our club. Our Senior Mens membership is £100 with a £5 match fee per game while hard ball membership in 2023 was £60 for juniors & Senior Women and Soft Ball membership for Under 7s & 9s was £40. Our goal as a charity is to provide cricket at a club with fantastic facilities but at a rate that is manageable for members with the price of playing as low as possible for families, reducing cost as far as possible as a barrier for the sport.

2024 also brings significant Capital expenditure requirements in terms of the purchase of a new roller £13.3k (we have selected a Poweroll 12) and also a robot mower option £13k (we are currently looking at Husqvarna & Kress products) so siginificant capital projects which will place even greater strain on our financial position

So how can we plug the gap?

Not charging high amounts for membership and playing fees mean that we have always relied on other avenues of income to bridge the gap via a combination of Donations, Sponsorship, Events, Grants & Fundraising. These have delivered over time our new pavilion, new nets, sightscreens & covers. All funds "made" by the club through operations go towards re-investment. 

The goal of this page is to have a one-stop shop for all the methods that can be used to fundraise for the club. Some of these just mean nominating us as your selected charity for programmes at no additional cost to yourself while you go about your usual shopping routines to yield what might seem small individual amounts but when totalled up across the membership result in serious contributions. 

With the new lease on the way thanks to our supportive landlords, the cricket club will now benefit from all bar sales but has greater financial responsibility to maintain Englands and the Pavilion. This means that every, pint, bottle, glass, snack and burger is a mini fundraiser for the club and this needs to be factored in when considering the prices. 

We know that we can't place an expectation on every member to make up the difference above in donations instead however the Club Committee hopes that where possible, club members and parents of members can get involved in fundraising efforts and do what they can to help generate income.  

Neither the tractor nor the gang mowers it tows have much more life in them. The warning signs were clear in 2023. We are looking into two products currently - Husqvarna & Kress and the Kress option. Click on the mower picture and you can find more details of the Kress mower. It costs just under 13k all in which is far cheaper than a fairway mower for example and  both easier and cheaper to maintain. It has the added bonus of being quieter than mowers for our neighbours. The downside is we won't have amazing stripes and if it breaks down, we are back to the tractor and gangs. 

All Winter we had hoped to take advantage of the 2024 round of County Grants which offered amongst others, a £10k grant for sustainability products. These ECB grant conditions have changed in 2024 to be 25% of the value of machinery. This means that will £3k from club funds and a potential £3.25k from the ECB, we need to raise £6,749 via crowdfunding/grants. 

Current Fundraising Position = £3k of £13k - CDC & ECB Grant Applications underway. 

We have started a crowdfunding page on Spacehive, through which we have also applied for a local grant from the District council, of course having donations on the page helps with this grants process. The page is going to be live on Spacehive and open for crowdfunding by February 16th. You can get to it by clicking on the Spacehive logo. Please donate whatever you can on this page. If you prefer to do this direct to the Club, there is no problem, we will pledge funds to the Crowdfund ourselves as donations come in. Please just message Will Bathurst to let him know a donation is for the mower. 

Donations to the Cricket Club make up the majority of our income. We are are a registered charity and as a result there are tax efficiencies for both businesses and individuals who make donations to us. Gift aid of 25% where applicable is claimed directly by us and makes a huge difference to club income. Where businesses make donations, we do not claim the gift aid and can provide a receipt for accounting purposes. To Discuss making a donation, please click here to contact the treasurer. 

Where individuals make a donation, we only claim gift aid when consent has recently been given (A gift aid consent form can be filled out underneath the logo to the right). We track donations closely ever year and so if any individuals would like a record of what they have donated to the club in either donations or membership of the charity for tax returns, then please contact the Treasurer. 

Quick buttons for donations are below. If you would rather make a bank transfer, the treasurer can facilitate this as well. 

This scheme contributed nearly £700 to club funds in 2023 & 2024 with just 12 members of the club signing up to it. 

Whenever you buy anything online from over 7,300 brands which include ones like eBay, John Lewis, Argos, ASOS, Booking.com, BT, Currys, SKY, Apple, Sainsbury's & Marks & Spencer, these brands will donate to the charity of your choice, on top of your purchase and at no cost to you, subject to that purchase being started via the easyfundraising app or website.  

To opt into this scheme you need to CLICK HERE and join the scheme for Free. Then, every time you shop, start the process in easyfundraising find the brand you are looking for and then click on it to start shopping. Alternatively apps are brilliant for tablets and phones and do this for you. After you check out, the brand will make a direct contribution to us at no additional cost to you as a % of your spend. There is also an app which can handle that process for you. It is a little extra work to remember to use it when purchasing online but the combined impact from our club members doing so is clear. 

In the 2023 Season we started a monthly club lottery. This costs £10 to enter and from the proceeds of the entries per month, 50% will go to club funds with the other 50% going to cash prizes. 

To put this in context, if all 100 initial squares were sold for the 2023 season, then the club will raise £6k in net proceeds with the other £6k going in cash prizes.

We have a dedicated page for this which can be found by clicking on the logo to the right or the one at the top of the page. On the page you will go to on this website, theres a form to fill out and select you payment method.