The Well Society

[Busta Nut]

It was touched upon in a previous post but a Standing order may also be a decent idea.

 

Clients would need a sort code and an account number as well as a reference number (membership no.??).

 

with a standing order though, you are in charge of it so it could be edited by the payee (amount, date etc) and would have to be stopped by the payee. so it could effectively run forever if it is not cancelled.

[WellSoc]

For the benefit of Ianc - here's a link to join by direct debit online, only works from UK-based bank accounts but only takes a minute

 

http://www.thewellsociety.co.uk/join-the-society/

[Ianc]

Great ta be filling in pay day Friday.

[Brazilian]

So a fantastic gesture from the Foundation of Hearts thanks to work by Tam Cowan helping them fundraise, they have donated two payments to the 'Well society

 

http://www.thewellsociety.co.uk/2015/03/27/thanks-to-foundation-of-hearts/

[weeyin]

I saw that. Have to give them credit - Hearts have done everything exactly right since they went into administration. Glad to see they are coming straight back up. Just hope we are around to reignite the rivalry next season.

[SteelmaninOZ]

I saw that. Have to give them credit - Hearts have done everything exactly right since they went into administration. Glad to see they are coming straight back up. Just hope we are around to reignite the rivalry next season.

Fair play to Hearts.

[Goggles & Flippers]

Fair play to Hearts.

 

Erm .... Fair play to Sid for asking them to do it and waving his fee for their events, otherwise I doubt we'd have the cash out of goodwill.

[superward]

Fair play to both Cowan and Hearts. Neither had to do it.

[rinkydink]

Any word on when the revised membership structure will be unveiled?

[Lobey_Dosser]

Any word on when the revised membership structure will be unveiled?

No updates on this? I thought the takeover would have been followed with some momentum.

[weeyin]

Hoepfully it will include the ability to sign up with a non-UK bank account. Still haven't upgraded because of this.

[David]

Seriously, the whole thing seems to be a bit of a joke from what I've seen. They rarely respond to emails, and for them to be coming away with this "internet connection not being strong enough" stuff in 2015 is absolutely ridiculous. If the WIFI connection isn't up to scratch get on the horn to whichever company provides the club with broadband and get another connection installed!

 

I have no idea what the admin guy has to "look into" when it comes to PayPal either. It's all pretty straight forward really, you just create an account and add a link to the site to your website page. It takes literally 15 minutes. Something like this would do the job - http://www.foundationofhearts.org/paypal-payment-option/

 

Honestly, all they have to do is check out the way Hearts are going about things and copy what they're doing - http://www.foundationofhearts.org/

[Goggles & Flippers]

 

 

REVISED MEMBERSHIP STRUCTURE AND PAYMENT BY DIRECT DEBIT

As part of a consultation exercise, I am writing to let you know that in the near future the society board proposes to launch a revised membership structure, a copy of which is set out below for your consideration and approval.

Main Features of the revised Structure

It is proposed that the revised membership structure will retain many of the current features including, for example, the benefits-based principle as well as the various iconic levels – steel, claret, amber and 1886.

We propose to introduce a new ‘Associate’ level of membership to allow as many young people, students and fans to join and enjoy not only the benefits but the comradeship of being a member of the society and its close links with the club.

The biggest change and idea will involve recognition of your on-going contributions. For example, when members pledge specific amounts or regular monthly payments and reach certain tiers or levels of financial contributions or higher membership levels they will receive further benefits.

To reduce costs and bureaucracy, and for simplicity and efficiency, we propose to introduce a pledge-based system of continuous monthly payments. By so doing, the society will not be asking for annual renewals to obtain further benefits. Of course, single payment of membership fees and one-off donations will still be welcome.

As a consequence of replacing the renewal fees, however, rather than continually receiving benefits in return for their renewal fee members will receive them only when they reach a particular tier or level.

In the meantime, however, those members who have paid their renewal fees for the current year will, of course, receive all the benefits on offer under the current structure, as will those new members who have paid their membership fees in full.

Why Benefits?

Not so long ago at an AGM, the society carried out a straw poll asking members if they would be prepared to forego their benefits in order to ensure that renewal payments increased the society’s cash reserves rather than be used as payment to the club for their benefits, amounting to over £40,000 during 2013/14.

Well over 90% of those who responded to the poll indicated that they would be prepared to forego their benefits and to use renewal payments to increase the society’s cash reserves.

While most members do not take up the option of accessing all the benefits on offer, some do. Nevertheless, the board felt that as an acknowledgment and a thank you for members’ support some benefits should be offered to all members who want them.

What Benefits?

The board has always maintained that the biggest benefits of Well Society membership are (a) the fans will ultimately become the owners of the club and (b) the society will protect the club from financial difficulties by providing short-term working capital as and when it is needed.

In other words, the society and its members will guarantee the future of the club for all time!

The current list of benefits simply costs too much to provide: in particular, the discounts on season tickets, which some members might miss. We debated long and hard on this but concluded that the club really needs every penny it can generate from all available sources. So, in consultation with the club and with the manager and players, a revised set of benefits is being proposed.

We propose to provide fewer benefits overall. Some of the existing benefits will be maintained, a number of which will be universally available to all members. However, new ones are being proposed that not only cost relatively little but also involve participation of members in the use of the club’s assets, and with access to players and manager, which we think is what members and fans want.

Why Change?

Apart from saving on costs, the main reason for the change is the need to raise regular income, easily, simply and with minimum bureaucracy.

As you no doubt know, Les Hutchison has loaned the club a substantial amount of money that will not only help it avoid potential financial difficulties but also help the society and Motherwell fans acquire a majority shareholding in the club within five years.

The society has agreed to help the club repay Les’ loan during that period. To do so it needs to raise more than twice as much cash as it has thus far. The society plans to do that mostly by recruiting many new members – our initial target is to recruit 2,000 adult members, an increase of over 1,000.

Payment by Direct Debit

Not dissimilar to the way that fans in the Foundation of Hearts are paying Ann Budge for her shares, the society proposes to ask all its members if they can to help the club repay Les’ loan, in particular, by monthly direct debit payments online to the society.

We proposed to ask Steel members to pledge a minimum amount of £10, Claret members £25, and amber £45 per month. Of course, members can donate or pledge more if they so wish.

By building a strong membership with a substantial cash reserve, which the society will need when it takes ownership of the club, we can both help repay Les’ loan as well as providing financial support to the club periodically. The society can do that much more simply and efficiently by receiving regular donations and monthly pledges rather than annual renewal fees, which will no longer be requested.

Those members who have already paid a lump sum as a joining fee for a specific membership and renewed their membership annually will be credited with these amounts, plus any additional amounts, which will be added to their cumulative total going forward.

 

Next Steps

Once you have considered the proposals above and the attached Q&A statement, please send any comments or questions to the following email address:

Well.Society@motherwellfc.co.uk

Following approval of the revised structure, the board will send a letter to all members inviting those who have not yet done so to pledge monthly payments by direct debit online. We will also ask season ticket holders and Motherwell fans throughout the country and overseas to do the same.

Many thanks for your continuing support.

Brian McCafferty

Chairman

PS The board plans also to review the Junior Membership Structure and the benefits for International Members very soon.

[Goggles & Flippers]

Wouldn't mind seeing what the new benefits are for each level and how they differ from the old ones. I'm guessing they were read to be uploaded to the WS website in conjunction with this announcement?

 

Based on what I read, not overly happy at pledging £45 a month (as I suspect that is the highest your ordinary fan could stump up) when:

 

a) I get benefits drip-fed to me. I did suggest an alternative where a pledge to upgrade is made and sub paid in full to access them. Annual subs taken from then on.

b) My £5,000 Amber commitment could be left with £0 if the WS funds are plundered to make up Les' loan repayment terms.

 

Hopefully when the full details of the scheme are demonstrated it will address a few of these issues.

[Lobey_Dosser]

Thanks for sharing.

 

I'd rather the WS funds were ringfenced but nevertheless I'll away and set up my direct debit to a multi-billionaire...

[superward]

EDIT: Deleted. Wrong thread

[Toxteth O'Grady]

 

 

Society members Q&A with Les Hutchison

Motherwell Football Club’s new owner, Les Hutchison, would like to invite 'Well Society Members and fans along to a special Q & A session on Tuesday 19th of May, 7.30pm.

 

Taking place in the Centenary Suite, the event will be hosted by BBC Radio Scotland’s, Tam Cowan. It will give you, Society members, the chance to chat and discuss future plans for both the Club and Society.

 

The bar will be open and hot food will be available from 6.30pm.

 

Entry is free of charge, no tickets required.

[Goggles & Flippers]

New membership structure here:

 

http://motherwellfc.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Well-Society-Revised-Benefits.pdf?mc_cid=4f5685e91b&mc_eid=20e5f9c66b

 

Significant changes and reduction of benefits but no annual subs.

[delboy]

Thanks for sharing.

 

I'd rather the WS funds were ringfenced but nevertheless I'll away and set up my direct debit to a multi-billionaire...

Buy joining the WS you'll be buying the club it that simple.

 

Les does own the club so he will get some money when it happens but he won't get all his money back or make a profit.

 

After attending the AGM the other day it was clear it no longer a matter of if it's going to happen but when it's going to happen.

 

The more poeple who join and set up direct debts the quicker it will happen.

 

A tenner a month is all it takes but if you can afford more so much the better.

 

The WS isn't a con or some kind of money making scheme for the owner, it about letting the fans own the club and making sure the club is run in a sustainable way.

[Kmcalpin]

In order to increase membership, the Society now needs to be much more visible on matchdays. I know its often a question of resources but you can't beat face to face contact to get a message across. Online contact is fine as far as it goes but it has to meet and talk to non members and what better time to do than on matchdays.

[Spiderpig]

In order to increase membership, the Society now needs to be much more visible on matchdays. I know its often a question of resources but you can't beat face to face contact to get a message across. Online contact is fine as far as it goes but it has to meet and talk to non members and what better time to do than on matchdays.

A good point Dave but my main concern from day 1 re the WS was that our fan base is not large enough to make it effective. When you look at Hibs and Hearts etc their fan bases are large enough to get the numbers of people signed up to generate significant revenues etc needed to run clubs effectively.

With Motherwell we are at the point where just about everybody who wants to join the WS has done so and it seems they are still struggling to meet targets. Anybody who has not joined by now probably for various reasons never will. I think a club of our size will always need a wealthy owner / backer to keep us going, the fans can play a part in running the club but let's face reality the WS are never going to generate enough revenue to be able to run the club effectively.

[Lobey_Dosser]

Buy joining the WS you'll be buying the club it that simple.

 

Les does own the club so he will get some money when it happens but he won't get all his money back or make a profit.

 

After attending the AGM the other day it was clear it no longer a matter of if it's going to happen but when it's going to happen.

 

The more poeple who join and set up direct debts the quicker it will happen.

 

A tenner a month is all it takes but if you can afford more so much the better.

 

The WS isn't a con or some kind of money making scheme for the owner, it about letting the fans own the club and making sure the club is run in a sustainable way.

I don't for a second think it's a con.

 

However, I've yet to be convinced that fan ownership for Motherwell is sustainable. I'm open to be convinced but a compelling argument is yet to be put forward.

[Kmcalpin]

 

However, I've yet to be convinced that fan ownership for Motherwell is sustainable. I'm open to be convinced but a compelling argument is yet to be put forward.

 

If thats the case then what do we do? There are two other options A) do nothing and hope for the best or B) Seek a new buyer.

 

To date there hasn't been any genuine interest shown by a private investor.

 

In my view we have to make a clear choice.

[mjw]

We need a Murray/Whyte/Romanov/Mileson type to come in with promises of warchests and winning the Champions league.

[Andy_P]

Probably wrongly but my perception is that there are a few things at play.

 

You can put them in whatever order you believe is most important but as supporters we have two commitments to meet. One being that we get 2000 adult members the other the financial target.

 

I don't get the impression that Hutchison would sell up if we happen to be £50k short or because we were sitting on 1999 adult members but I do believe he wants a clear demonstration that Motherwell supporters have bought into it.

 

If and when it all reaches fruition I think it's not going to be the contributions or membership fees that will be sustaining the club, to me that will still be as a contingency as it is now. It is the re-structuring and investment being made now that should in time help the club reach a point of sustainability.

 

How do they get there? Primarily player sales - which is why they've re-structured the scouting set up and invested more in player development etc. By increased sales and marketing - they spoke of an increase in the usage of facilities at FP for example over recent months. That will be developed further over time. By continually expanding the reach of the club through the Community Trust so they benefit more of the community who in turn may perceive the club in a more positive light than they do currently which in turn may mean they are recruited as fans or at least have an increased awareness of the club and in turn may be more willing to put business the club's way (for example hiring a suite for a birthday party).

 

Ultimately if you are sceptical it's going to require something of a leap of faith for you to invest. But every new member the Trust gets and every new tenner each month in the kitty is going to help us take a step to having control of our own future and that leap of faith is still much less of gamble than waiting to see five years down the line who might want to buy the club and what their aims are.