Around a month ago, I received an email from Lee Klicran, a director of Darlington FCSG, who raise money for their team buy players.

He wrote: “You're probably not aware, but Darlington FC Supporters Group (the DFC fan-ownership vehicle) has been running a phenomenally successful 'Boost the Budget' scheme for the past four seasons. Despite the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic, donations towards the 2020/21 playing budget have just passed £100,000.

“Given that Darlington is a predominantly working-class town and DFC's average gate is <1,500, it really is staggering that the fans donate so much money season after season.”

Here’s the recent Darlington story, according to Wikipedia. Click here for the full history on the website.

However, they are funding their squad a different way. Here’s my Q&A with Lee.


How do you raise the money?

It’s a very straightforward scheme. Fans pledge a donation via our online fundraising platform and have the option to pay upfront or spread their payment over a Direct Debit.

We do offer rewards based on the amount donated (see tables), but the uptake is often quite patchy. I think what the fans really get out of it is the knowledge that they’re doing something which directly assists the manager and influences the Club’s on-field performance. It just makes you feel that bit closer to the action.

Has the fundraising method helped grow interest in the fan-ownership side of the club?

Giving fans the opportunity to do something which directly affects the club's on-field performance provides tangible evidence that they are in control, and the run-away success of the scheme definitely seems to have bolstered pride in what we, as a collective, do for our Club.

We haven’t managed to translate that into new DFCSG Members (i.e. fan-owners) yet, but that’s largely a failure in the way we’ve been marketing (or rather failing to market) fan-ownership. Looking at the way that other clubs, particularly Lewes, market fan-ownership has helped us to identify the weaknesses in what we do, and we’ll be undertaking a bit of a rebrand to address those weaknesses in the coming months. I’m hopeful that Boost the Budget has laid the ground for those changes to be successful.

Is the money ring-fenced for players?

The DFC Board sets a baseline playing budget based on the financial forecast for the forthcoming season. Whatever we raise through Boost the Budget, minus a bit of cushion to cover bank charges and unfulfilled pledges, is then added to that budget when the scheme closes. So yes, pledges go straight into the playing budget.

However, the other variables in that equation are obviously revenue and costs. There’s no wealthy benefactor to plug any shortfall, so if the Club was to suffer a significant loss of revenue or incur unexpected costs, there’s always a chance that the playing budget may have to be reduced in order to balance the books.

When you’ve seen your Club come within a hair’s breadth of disappearing, you can’t fail to understand that necessity. I think the general expectation is just that the finances are managed responsibly, and that the Board does what it can to avoid that scenario.

What happens if the players that are brought in don’t work out?

We’ve definitely had players fall into that category in the years since we started the scheme! We’ve also gone through periods where the fans have been deeply unhappy with overall performance levels.

In the early days, there was always a slight concern that these scenarios might result in significant numbers of fans cancelling their Direct Debits mid-season, which would be disastrous for the Club’s finances. This has thankfully never happened, which I think is testament to the fans’ understanding of the business and the levels of personal responsibility they feel towards their Club.

What does seem inevitable is that we’d raise a lot less money for the following season if the fans lost faith in the manager’s ability to spend it well. We smashed our target this year and that’s definitely related to how the fans feel about Alun Armstrong.

Realistically, what is the aim of the fund-raising scheme? As you go higher is it likely the scheme will not be able to buy as much talent?

The vast majority of the Club’s income comes from our core support in one way or another, and we’re conscious that there’s a finite amount of wealth to draw upon. It’s not going to be enough to make us competitive at Step 1 and beyond.

We’re going to have to grow attendances and solve our structural problems in order to be sustainable at a higher level. The Club needs to earn more of its revenue.

What are the dos and don’ts of successful fan ownership?

We’re always learning. Here’s a few off the top of my head.

Do:

• Clearly define roles and operating structures. Make sure that the fans understand them.

• Make sure that people in key positions are on board with the fan-ownership model and accountable to the fan-owners / their representatives.

• Proactively seek out skilled volunteers.

• Budget responsibly – it’s the fans’ money.

• Communicate openly.

• Be open to constructive criticism.

• Be vocal about your achievements as a fan-owned club.

Don’t:

• Do the opposite of anything above.

• Stop making the case for fan-ownership.

• Stop thinking about how you can attract new fans and fan-owners.

• Stop thinking about how you can increase engagement.

• Assume that social media noise represents the majority view.

How do the two boards work together?

In theory, the DFCSG Board sets strategic objectives on behalf of the majority shareholders (the fan-owners), and the DFC Board undertakes to run the Club in a way which satisfies those objectives. The DFCSG Chair sits on the DFC Board to ensure that the fan-owners’ interests are represented.

Things have never been as clear-cut as that up until now, partly because of the chaotic way in which fan-ownership came about, and partly because most DFCSG Directors also have operational roles within the Club. I think it’s caused some confusion regarding how the club operates under fan-ownership, which we’re looking to address at the moment.

There’s nothing to stop somebody filling multiple roles but the roles and operating structures need to be clearly defined, and we need to make this information available to the fans. It’ll improve accountability and help people to understand the influence they can exert by becoming a fan-owner.

Has falling so far down helped Darlington FC come together?

Going through that sort of turmoil definitely brings people closer together and has probably made the good times all the more enjoyable in recent years. We’ve had moments where the sense of togetherness has been quite overwhelming – Whitby away in 2016 and Walsall away in the FA Cup this season stand out for me. It’s also had a big effect on the mentality of the fans and the Club. If I had to choose a defining characteristic, I’d probably go with tenacity.

The Club’s relationship with the town is also on the up now. I think it’s fair to say that DFC’s reputation was at a low ebb when the fans took over, but we’ve been steadily building that backup, particularly through community work. For example, the club has been running DFC Buddies during the pandemic, which involves Club officials phoning vulnerable supporters to provide emotional support while they self-isolate. The Club has now joined forces with the charity Darlington Support to extend the scheme and provide additional support services. The DFC Foundation also launched last year, so we’re looking forward to seeing the positive effects of that in the coming months and years as things get back to normal.

Are you in good shape to survive (or even thrive compared to others) post-Covid-19?

We’re in a reasonable position at the moment. The Board are keeping a tight reign on outgoings, and the fans have done some fantastic fundraising in addition to Boost the Budget to shore up the finances. Alun’s managed to keep the nucleus of the squad together following a successful season, so there’s plenty to build on there.

That said, the longer we go without football, the more challenging things will become, so we won’t be getting complacent. Hopefully, it won’t be too long before things start getting back to normal.

Leaving aside COVID, what is the plan for the next three to five years for the club?

The clear short-term priority is to resolve the issue of where we’re going to play our football in the medium to long-term. We’re in a groundshare with Darlington Rugby Club at the moment, which has been useful in bringing us back to Darlington after a few seasons at Bishop Auckland, but presents its own challenges. We need to make sure that the Club is playing at a suitable ground, which provides us with long-term security and the potential to grow as a club.

In the meantime, we’ll be aiming to:

• Make sure that we’re able to compete at Step 1 if we gain promotion.

• Improve the Club’s operating structures.

• Expand our work in the community.

• Increase levels of engagement, which will hopefully result in higher attendances and more fans signing up to become a fan-owner.