Fylde RFC's call to members in £50,000 appeal

Fylde Rugby Club is appealing to its members to help raise £50,000 to ease the club’s financial hardship during the coronavirus crisis.
Fylde RFC hope members will help the club through this difficult periodFylde RFC hope members will help the club through this difficult period
Fylde RFC hope members will help the club through this difficult period
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Fylde were forced to postpone a series of money-spinning events to celebrate this milestone campaign, including an eagerly-awaited fixture against the Barbarians next month.

Although Fylde are hopeful of staging these events in future, they face a loss of revenue estimated at £200,000 and are asking each member to make a donation of £100 if possible.

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The appeal has been placed on the gofundme.com website with a statement by club chairman Dave Young.

He told The Gazette: “We are a members’ club. It’s their club and we are looking to them to help us do everything we possibly can to mitigate the impact of this pandemic.

“The £200,000 in lost revenue we refer to would not be profit because we are not a profit-making club. We are here for our members, who value the club, and hopefully we can come back strongly because we do contribute a lot to the community.”

The appeal page, set up by former player David Wiseman, can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/fylde-rfc-centenary-appealYoung’s accompanying statement reads: “Fylde RFC is a club at the heart of the community and was in the midst of its centenary celebrations, which were to culminate in multiple high-profile events when the coronavirus outbreak struck.

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“The club is now effectively mothballed and our business income has stopped but we still have regular outgoings and managing cashflow is critical.

“None of us know how or when we will return to normal or what next season will look like.

“However, we are determined to come back in as strong a position as possible and we continue to consider all possible ways to mitigate the impacts of the current crisis.

“The officers of the club are working every day to steer the club through this difficult period and we are grateful for the support of a number of fellow members who are volunteering their professional expertise.

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“We are applying for all applicable financial support from the Government, the RFU and Sport England.

“While this will help us it will not alleviate the full impact of almost four months of lost revenue, estimated to be around £200,000.

“We therefore need your help to plug this gap and provide the necessary working capital to maintain the Woodlands and to allow us to plan for the resumption of all our sporting and social activities, which will be so vital to us all in our recovery from the current situation.

“It is important that we all pull together to help the club and after careful consideration we have decided to set up a Centenary Appeal Fund.

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“We are asking all our adult members to consider making a one-off donation of £100 to the fund (£1 for each year of the club’s history) or whatever you can afford, in order to keep us going during this unprecedented situation.

“Of course, if anybody can afford to donate more that will be gratefully received and hugely appreciated. Our target for the Centenary Appeal is £50,000.

“We appreciate that these are difficult times for everyone and sport may not be at the top of our current priorities, but we ask that you consider your club and the value and benefit of sustaining it for the future.”

n Non-league football clubs Squires Gate and AFC Blackpool have both launched appeals for urgently-needed funds on the justgiving.com website in recent days.