This document summarises the discussion at the Trust board’s away day in July 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Our longevity is proof that we are committed to our principles. We\u2019ve stuck to our guns, challenging the board, asking the tough questions, and holding others to account. We\u2019re trusted and respected for this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Democratic principles and processes are at the heart of what we do, and we have advocated for these outside the Trust, i.e. in the Raith Forum and in the FC boardroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ve given supporters a much more prominent role in the running of the club, and provide mechanisms for representing supporters\u2019 views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have a reputation for working hard, and following through on our promises \u2013 we\u2019ve done what we said we\u2019d do. But we have been flexible in adapting our approach and priorities in changing circumstances \u2013 this keeps us relevant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The core of our membership has stayed with us despite our relative inactivity \u2013 we haven\u2019t had a big campaign to get behind, but are seen to be having a positive impact in support of club initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have proved that we can run events professionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s not enough momentum \u2013 we don\u2019t hold meetings regularly, don\u2019t communicate regularly enough, we\u2019re not working to a plan \/ objective \/ target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have a strong brand (\u201cworking together for a stronger Raith Rovers\u201d) but still can\u2019t articulate what we\u2019re about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We haven\u2019t been able to engage John Sim effectively on his legacy \/ exit strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We haven\u2019t used our connections (via SDS and ATAC) to the supporter movement elsewhere in Scotland and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We talk about succession planning, board recruitment, role rotation, etc but haven\u2019t done anything about it \u2013 we lack diversity (of age \/ gender \/ opinion) in our board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Passive approach to member retention and recruitment (down c. 30% in 5 years, no new members in 2018\/19)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNothing really, as if we are honest we\u2019re not doing that much!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Communicate a BIG VISION \u2013 Make it clear what we are, what we have done as a trust, and what we do now and aspire to do in the future. Produce an infographic to make this really clear to people:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take a more active approach to communications:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Focus on social first, and governance second \u2013 invite members to a social event where we also sign off on the accounts, rather than just holding an AGM (which they won\u2019t turn up to)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Generate a critical mass which will give us more relevance \/ credibility \u2013 recruitment drive to get our membership back up to RtR campaign levels (400-500 members). Get young supporters signed up, and listen to their priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Get people on the board to give us new focus and energy. Get a female on the board, and a young person, and someone who will challenge our thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Financial survival:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Develop simple mechanisms to REALLY give the fans a voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Improve the appearance of the Trust area in the South Stand, promote both the Trust brand and the Roary Club. This doesn\u2019t have to be expensive or a big project \u2013 get the paint brushes out on a couple of evenings, and get more signs made (like the Roary Club sign, and the posters we used to use).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Continue to increase the number of young supporters:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Work with the club to develop a post-Sim model:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Support the club financially \u2013 through share purchase, loans, or funding \u201cnon-core\u201d activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grow our own finances \u2013 through membership growth, fundraising events, legacy giving, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tuesday 6th<\/sup> August, then monthly<\/p>\n\n\n\n Andy Mill at August meeting? John Sim in October? Guests from other Trusts?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This document summarises the discussion at the Trust board’s away day in July 2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":3060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-minutes-board-meetings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raithtrust.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raithtrust.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raithtrust.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raithtrust.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raithtrust.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2536"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.raithtrust.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2536\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3059,"href":"https:\/\/www.raithtrust.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2536\/revisions\/3059"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raithtrust.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raithtrust.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raithtrust.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raithtrust.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}