The Q2 THST Board Meeting took place on Tuesday 16 June. Below are the minutes from this session.
Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust
Board Meeting
Tuesday 16 June 2015
7.00pm – 9.00pm
Nabarro LLP London, 125 London Wall, London EC2Y 5AL
Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust
Board Meeting
Tuesday 16 June 2015
7.00pm – 9.00pm
Nabarro LLP London, 125 London Wall, London EC2Y 5AL
Present:
Katrina Law, Co-chair
Martin Cloake, Co-chair
Suraj Sharma, Secretary
Adam Bailey, Treasurer
Paul Head
Keith Sharp
Kevin Fitzgerald
Apologies:
Adam Nathan
Adam Manson
_____________________________________________________________________________________
MINUTES
1. Financial summary
- AB opened up the meeting with an update on the financial health of the Trust. Currently in profit by £2074 year to date which, compared to a loss of £1574 in 2013 and £597 in 2014, is very positive indeed. On course to finish the financial year (31 August) in profit
- Vast majority of money comes in through membership fees, which we need to maintain and improve on next year
- Rough expenditure of £2500 per year for running costs
- The issue of Life Members was discussed. This is a legacy from the previous Trust Board who offered life membership for a relatively low amount of money many years ago. There are c 500 Life Members on our database paying nothing. Approaching for donations was thought to be worth exploring at some stage in the future
- AB will present the end of year figures at the next board meeting in September
2. Membership
- SS reported the latest membership numbers which totalled 10,191 fans across Life, Paid, Associate and Supporter Club memberships
- It was felt THST should be able to attract more Associate members relatively easily. This is a free strand of membership and requires an online form to be completed only
- Was also agreed we need to try and upsell full membership to Associate members
- All Associate members will receive the newsletter this month with an invitation to upgrade to a full membership of THST
- There was a discussion around the Supporters Club offering rolled out for the first time last summer and whether the current proposition was sufficient to warrant the £25 joining fee. SS explained that, during his calls with overseas fan groups, feedback was that the desire to feel connected and the community aspect was sufficient – completing surveys, voting in polls, receiving newsletters and other THST comms etc. It was felt overseas fans wouldn’t sign up as individual full members but they would as part of a collective. It was agreed to continue offering this strand of membership to Supporters Clubs for 2015/16 whilst being open to ways of strengthening this over the coming months
- SS, MC and KL agreed to revisit the mailing sent to Official Supporters Clubs last summer, encouraging group membership, with a view to issuing again this summer
- THST has been approached by an overseas fan group wanting to join the Trust. Up until this point, only Official Supporters Clubs had been signed up as group members of THST. A discussion was had around our policy on accepting group memberships and it was agreed that the only pre requisite to accepting group memberships would be a minimum membership number of 25. It was felt THST should be welcoming to all fans who wanted to join, regardless of ‘official’ status
- Regarding the THST database, SS explained how the current Weebly system worked and updated the Board on progress with developing a fully automated system for renewals and new sign ups
- This was progressing well and SS anticipated a demonstration of the automated system this Thursday (18 June) after which point the rest of the Board would be updated before going live at the end of the month
- SS to arrange a time for w/c 22 June to demo the new system to the wider board
- Member emails are currently sent out via Campaign Monitor, with a cost per email address. SS is confident this can be moved to an email service provider via the Weebly platform sending 5000 emails for $10 per month, which would be a cost saving for THST
- SS to agree a time w/c 22 June to train KL and MC up on the new email system
- SS also to confirm dates for sub-committee meeting on member acquisition and retention
3. End of Season Survey
- KL invited final comments on the End of Season Survey, which has now been built online
- KL to edit survey by 19 June and look to distribute to our database on closed email in the first instance before opening up to the wider fan base after a period of 10-14 days
- Results to be analysed and shared before the start of the season on 8 August
- It was acknowledged that open links were not ideal but, with the resources at our disposal, there was little option in order to secure sufficient completes to give a robust data sample
- Also agreed to prompt THST membership at the end of the survey
- SS to investigate embedding the survey link on the THST website to improve traffic
4. Safe Standing update
- PH confirmed that the Rail Seating demonstration has been arranged for Thursday 16 July in the car park outside Lilywhite House with Jon Darch of the Safe Standing Roadshow and the Stadium Project Team at THFC
- PH to extend the invitation to Bob McIver of Haringey Council – KL/MC to provide contact details
- PH to check numbers for the demonstration and to confirm back with KS and KL, who’d expressed an interest in attending
- PH suggested writing to John Whittingdale on behalf of THST and raising the issue of Safe Standing. This was approved by the Board. PH to draft and circulate
5. THST Communications
- KS raised the subject of THST’s surveys, which he felt were on the whole very good and valid
- There was a concern, however, that surveying our members ahead of Board to Board Meetings put too much expectation and pressure on the outcomes of those meetings
- KS suggested regular polling of our members and the wider fan base rather than inviting comments ahead of those particular 3 meetings a year
- KL felt the opportunity to write into the Trust and know that your question would be put in front of Daniel Levy was something she considered valuable and was keen to retain
- There was a realisation that, at some stage, there may well be too many questions to reasonably collate but it was agreed to continue inviting questions from members ahead of the Board to Board meetings with THFC for the forseeable future
- The option of polling our members with a mid Season Survey as well as the End of Season Survey was left open and will be revisited at the next Board meeting in September
- Regarding the monthly THST Newsletter, KS had compiled the May edition, inviting content from MC, KL, SS, KF, PH around the work they’d undertaken over the last month
- It was agreed compiling the newsletter was a good way of getting up to speed with the work others are undertaking on the Board and for that reason, it should be rotated amongst the 4 new Board Members
- KS will continue to compile the June and July editions before passing onto KF for the Aug, Sept and October issues
- AM and AN will then work on the Dec – May 2016 editions
6. New stadium/ ground share
- Following the THST ground share survey, discussions on the ground share and the new stadium continue with THFC
- KL confirmed a meeting around the Paxton Road closure on 24 June which was a follow on from the recent Police Safety Forum. KL, KF, MC and consultant Bernie Kingsley, would attend that session at Lilywhite House with Jonathan Waite - Head of Supporter Services, Jon Babbs - Stadium Director, Andrew Downes - Stadium Project Manager and Adam Davison - Head of Community in attendance from the Club
- The wider THST Board and members would be updated as soon as possible
7. Board to Board meetings with THFC
- KS raised the subject of THST representation at Board to Board meetings and proposed it started from a position that all 9 Board members would attend, under the assumption not all 9 would be free on any given evening
- KL expressed concern at how taking all 9 board members into these meetings is perceived
- KL and PH felt numbers should be mirrored, ideally, with no more than one extra from THST’s side
- Attendance should also be decided on the subject matter and agenda items – who is leading that work stream, who has a contribution to make
- There was a consideration for new Board members, however. This was a learning opportunity and observing how these sessions are conducted is of value
- It was agreed to judge each meeting on its own merit for now – rather than adopt a blanket policy here
8. THST’s remit re: on field performance
- KS requested clarification on the Trusts position regarding commenting on on-field matters
- MC explained that we ask questions in our Surveys about competition priorities and how fans think Spurs have played etc. which gives us a good gauge of the mood but we stop short of commenting as it’s so subjective. Not every fan, for example, would consider 5th a good finish. We will reflect surveyed fans' views rather than adopting a viewpoint 'from the THST Board'
- THST isn’t a news and views account – we operate primarily around football governance and supporters rights and within the boundaries suggested by Supporters Direct when considering any on-field matters
- This position was understood and agreed to continue as policy
9. AOB
New River opening
Legends match
- KF updated the Board on the opening of the New River leisure complex on 26 July including a THFC Ladies match and a Legends game
- As many THST Board members as possible were encouraged to attend considering the work undertaken promoting this
Credit Union
- MC explained that, sadly, having taken legal advice, we are not able to continue with the Credit Union offering. This was a shame as a significant amount of work had gone into exploring this possibility but a line now needed to be drawn under this.
Other
- SS to contact Donna Cullen to revisit our request for a link to the THST website from the THFC official site, originally raised in March.
- SS to schedule meeting dates up until February to ensure diary availability. Board Meetings due in early September, November and February, pre AGM.
The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Board Meeting concluded at 9.00pm
Katrina Law, Co-chair
Martin Cloake, Co-chair
Suraj Sharma, Secretary
Adam Bailey, Treasurer
Paul Head
Keith Sharp
Kevin Fitzgerald
Apologies:
Adam Nathan
Adam Manson
_____________________________________________________________________________________
MINUTES
1. Financial summary
- AB opened up the meeting with an update on the financial health of the Trust. Currently in profit by £2074 year to date which, compared to a loss of £1574 in 2013 and £597 in 2014, is very positive indeed. On course to finish the financial year (31 August) in profit
- Vast majority of money comes in through membership fees, which we need to maintain and improve on next year
- Rough expenditure of £2500 per year for running costs
- The issue of Life Members was discussed. This is a legacy from the previous Trust Board who offered life membership for a relatively low amount of money many years ago. There are c 500 Life Members on our database paying nothing. Approaching for donations was thought to be worth exploring at some stage in the future
- AB will present the end of year figures at the next board meeting in September
2. Membership
- SS reported the latest membership numbers which totalled 10,191 fans across Life, Paid, Associate and Supporter Club memberships
- It was felt THST should be able to attract more Associate members relatively easily. This is a free strand of membership and requires an online form to be completed only
- Was also agreed we need to try and upsell full membership to Associate members
- All Associate members will receive the newsletter this month with an invitation to upgrade to a full membership of THST
- There was a discussion around the Supporters Club offering rolled out for the first time last summer and whether the current proposition was sufficient to warrant the £25 joining fee. SS explained that, during his calls with overseas fan groups, feedback was that the desire to feel connected and the community aspect was sufficient – completing surveys, voting in polls, receiving newsletters and other THST comms etc. It was felt overseas fans wouldn’t sign up as individual full members but they would as part of a collective. It was agreed to continue offering this strand of membership to Supporters Clubs for 2015/16 whilst being open to ways of strengthening this over the coming months
- SS, MC and KL agreed to revisit the mailing sent to Official Supporters Clubs last summer, encouraging group membership, with a view to issuing again this summer
- THST has been approached by an overseas fan group wanting to join the Trust. Up until this point, only Official Supporters Clubs had been signed up as group members of THST. A discussion was had around our policy on accepting group memberships and it was agreed that the only pre requisite to accepting group memberships would be a minimum membership number of 25. It was felt THST should be welcoming to all fans who wanted to join, regardless of ‘official’ status
- Regarding the THST database, SS explained how the current Weebly system worked and updated the Board on progress with developing a fully automated system for renewals and new sign ups
- This was progressing well and SS anticipated a demonstration of the automated system this Thursday (18 June) after which point the rest of the Board would be updated before going live at the end of the month
- SS to arrange a time for w/c 22 June to demo the new system to the wider board
- Member emails are currently sent out via Campaign Monitor, with a cost per email address. SS is confident this can be moved to an email service provider via the Weebly platform sending 5000 emails for $10 per month, which would be a cost saving for THST
- SS to agree a time w/c 22 June to train KL and MC up on the new email system
- SS also to confirm dates for sub-committee meeting on member acquisition and retention
3. End of Season Survey
- KL invited final comments on the End of Season Survey, which has now been built online
- KL to edit survey by 19 June and look to distribute to our database on closed email in the first instance before opening up to the wider fan base after a period of 10-14 days
- Results to be analysed and shared before the start of the season on 8 August
- It was acknowledged that open links were not ideal but, with the resources at our disposal, there was little option in order to secure sufficient completes to give a robust data sample
- Also agreed to prompt THST membership at the end of the survey
- SS to investigate embedding the survey link on the THST website to improve traffic
4. Safe Standing update
- PH confirmed that the Rail Seating demonstration has been arranged for Thursday 16 July in the car park outside Lilywhite House with Jon Darch of the Safe Standing Roadshow and the Stadium Project Team at THFC
- PH to extend the invitation to Bob McIver of Haringey Council – KL/MC to provide contact details
- PH to check numbers for the demonstration and to confirm back with KS and KL, who’d expressed an interest in attending
- PH suggested writing to John Whittingdale on behalf of THST and raising the issue of Safe Standing. This was approved by the Board. PH to draft and circulate
5. THST Communications
- KS raised the subject of THST’s surveys, which he felt were on the whole very good and valid
- There was a concern, however, that surveying our members ahead of Board to Board Meetings put too much expectation and pressure on the outcomes of those meetings
- KS suggested regular polling of our members and the wider fan base rather than inviting comments ahead of those particular 3 meetings a year
- KL felt the opportunity to write into the Trust and know that your question would be put in front of Daniel Levy was something she considered valuable and was keen to retain
- There was a realisation that, at some stage, there may well be too many questions to reasonably collate but it was agreed to continue inviting questions from members ahead of the Board to Board meetings with THFC for the forseeable future
- The option of polling our members with a mid Season Survey as well as the End of Season Survey was left open and will be revisited at the next Board meeting in September
- Regarding the monthly THST Newsletter, KS had compiled the May edition, inviting content from MC, KL, SS, KF, PH around the work they’d undertaken over the last month
- It was agreed compiling the newsletter was a good way of getting up to speed with the work others are undertaking on the Board and for that reason, it should be rotated amongst the 4 new Board Members
- KS will continue to compile the June and July editions before passing onto KF for the Aug, Sept and October issues
- AM and AN will then work on the Dec – May 2016 editions
6. New stadium/ ground share
- Following the THST ground share survey, discussions on the ground share and the new stadium continue with THFC
- KL confirmed a meeting around the Paxton Road closure on 24 June which was a follow on from the recent Police Safety Forum. KL, KF, MC and consultant Bernie Kingsley, would attend that session at Lilywhite House with Jonathan Waite - Head of Supporter Services, Jon Babbs - Stadium Director, Andrew Downes - Stadium Project Manager and Adam Davison - Head of Community in attendance from the Club
- The wider THST Board and members would be updated as soon as possible
7. Board to Board meetings with THFC
- KS raised the subject of THST representation at Board to Board meetings and proposed it started from a position that all 9 Board members would attend, under the assumption not all 9 would be free on any given evening
- KL expressed concern at how taking all 9 board members into these meetings is perceived
- KL and PH felt numbers should be mirrored, ideally, with no more than one extra from THST’s side
- Attendance should also be decided on the subject matter and agenda items – who is leading that work stream, who has a contribution to make
- There was a consideration for new Board members, however. This was a learning opportunity and observing how these sessions are conducted is of value
- It was agreed to judge each meeting on its own merit for now – rather than adopt a blanket policy here
8. THST’s remit re: on field performance
- KS requested clarification on the Trusts position regarding commenting on on-field matters
- MC explained that we ask questions in our Surveys about competition priorities and how fans think Spurs have played etc. which gives us a good gauge of the mood but we stop short of commenting as it’s so subjective. Not every fan, for example, would consider 5th a good finish. We will reflect surveyed fans' views rather than adopting a viewpoint 'from the THST Board'
- THST isn’t a news and views account – we operate primarily around football governance and supporters rights and within the boundaries suggested by Supporters Direct when considering any on-field matters
- This position was understood and agreed to continue as policy
9. AOB
New River opening
Legends match
- KF updated the Board on the opening of the New River leisure complex on 26 July including a THFC Ladies match and a Legends game
- As many THST Board members as possible were encouraged to attend considering the work undertaken promoting this
Credit Union
- MC explained that, sadly, having taken legal advice, we are not able to continue with the Credit Union offering. This was a shame as a significant amount of work had gone into exploring this possibility but a line now needed to be drawn under this.
Other
- SS to contact Donna Cullen to revisit our request for a link to the THST website from the THFC official site, originally raised in March.
- SS to schedule meeting dates up until February to ensure diary availability. Board Meetings due in early September, November and February, pre AGM.
The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Board Meeting concluded at 9.00pm
RSS Feed
