Dons Supporters Together

An Introduction to the rebranded AFC Trust

As you may be aware, the origins of AFC Trust stemmed from the former AFC Shareholders Association. We have moved on from there and are now a democratic, not-for-profit organisation coming under the umbrella organisation, Supporters Direct (SD) and our activities are monitored and regulated by The Financial Services Authority, as an Industrial and Provident Society.

We have had a successful year during which we have developed a better understanding with the AFC Board including the new directors and with the management team. The key issues for us all over the past year have continued to be the new stadium proposals and the club’s on field and off field performance. We have attempted to get feedback from all fans, had meetings with AFC board members and employees whereby a constructive working relationship has been developed, and had liaisons with Supporters Direct to try to bring Trust influence to bear during these important times for the club.

Supporters Direct is a government sponsored body and there are now around 150 football clubs in the UK with Supporters trusts or similar bodies that come under the SD umbrella. AFC Trust is committed to the SD principles of strengthening the voice of fans in the decision making process and strengthening the links between clubs and the communities they serve.

In our work with Supporters Direct, our board member, Greig Ingram, was elected to the Council for Supporters Direct Scotland as we continue to work closely with them on issues such as league reconstruction. In line with this, Greig has met with Neil Doncaster and SPL members to discuss various issues surrounding Scottish football and is helping to develop the “Fans Plan” as the fans’ view of changes needed in Scottish football.

Scottish football is reaching a time of change and Aberdeen FC is also embarking on potentially the biggest change in its 108 year history. Never before has the collective voice of the supporters needed to be so powerful. It is imperative that the supporters of Aberdeen have a strong and collective voice in the upcoming years. AFC Trust is the vehicle through which that voice can be channelled into areas where it is most effective.

In order to ensure that the collective voice of the supporters is heard, it is crucial that our Trust membership is increased, such that the larger, future united body will have a stronger voice in as many AFC related matters as possible, as the more members we have, the louder our combined voice will be heard.

The Trust’s membership has remained static and so, to address this, the Trust Board put forward three proposals at the recent AGM. The members voted in favour of these proposals and they are now being implemented.

The Trust has also sought to address the perception that to join the Trust, it is necessary to be an AFC shareholder. This has not been the case for some time but the Trust Board wish the body to be an inclusive one i.e. it is open to everyone who cares about AFC.

Therefore, whilst the organisation will retain its full name of Aberdeen Football Club Supporters’ Society Limited, the Trust’s trading name has changed and is now known as “Dons Supporters Together”. This is to help stress that our body is for every AFC supporter who has the best interest of all things AFC at heart, and wishes the club a successful future, that we are keen to help shape

Additionally, we wish to make it as simple as possible to join, and remain a member of, “Dons Supporters Together”. One way of doing this is to change the body to be subscription free and this will also help to reduce administration.

To be fair to all who have paid subscriptions in the past, existing members as at 19th November 2011 will be recognised as ‘Founder members’ of the new organization, and as we introduce schemes of benefit to members, it is the intention that the benefits to founder members will be enhanced.

As Membership will become subscription free with effect from June 2012 then, to reduce the liability for the value of Trust shares issued on our balance sheet it is proposed that the nominal value of each share issued will be reduced from £1 to 1p – which will only be payable on demand.

A further consequence of the changes is that our funding model will be different now that membership fees will not cover operating costs. Instead we will look to donations, fund raising events and sponsorship initially for running costs but also to provide additional support for the club’s youth development and community programmes.

These are exciting times for our club and its supporters. The support of our members in the past and going forward is very much appreciated.

As supporters we hold significant influence on the future growth and success of the club. Under DST we will harness the strength of our support into one powerful voice that cannot be ignored as, the more members we have; the stronger our combined voice is in AFC related matters.

Thousands of supporters speaking as individuals or small groups will never have the same power as held by the same thousands of supporters speaking in unison.

We firmly believe a large and vibrant “Dons Supporters Together” is a win/win/win situation for all Dons supporters, for the club and for our organisation.