South East based Pony club under threat of closure - fundraising ideas needed

R2R

R2R

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Taken from http://www.pcuk.org/Branch-Websites/midsurrey/Mid-Surrey-Branch/Fundraising-Appeal-20107782.html

"Next year, Mid Surrey Branch of the Pony Club should be celebrating its 80th Anniversary. However, our future is now uncertain due to the impending sale of the field we currently occupy in Hurst Road, Ebbisham Lane, Walton on the Hill.


The kids on my yard all attend this pony club and it must have taught THOUSANDS of kids to ride since it opened in 1931. It is now very much under threat. The PC field is a fantastic area - indeed the kids are there today with their ponies, at a two hour rally which cost no more than £5 (if only adult instruction was that cheap)

I was wondering if you wonderful people on HHO could think of any fundraising ideas to raise the £480,000 it will cost to save Mid Surrey Pony Club? There is a fundraising meeting tomorrow night so it would be fantastic to take some ideas along.

Meanwhile, become Mid Surrey's friend on Twitter @ midsypc or on facebook - search Mid Surrey Pony Club.

Thank you
 
Is that the cost to buy the field? If you can't think of ways to raise the money can the club not continue, but with no base? Or would an equestrian centre not be willing to let you be based there? I know that would be far from ideal, but it may be better than the club folding.
 
Sophiesmum said:
Is that the cost to buy the field? If you can't think of ways to raise the money can the club not continue, but with no base? Or would an equestrian centre not be willing to let you be based there? I know that would be far from ideal, but it may be better than the club folding.
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Hi Sophiesmum. Yes it is the cost to buy the field. The field is a massive space which can cater for lots of kids at one time. They have a massive barn, a cross country course etc, hard standing, parking, and have really worked hard to build it up.

It is becasue of the field that the kids can go to camp etc at affordable prices.
 
That's a shame, I remember competing at Walton on the Hill in my Pony Club days and it was a fantastic setup. They used to have the scariest show jumps in the area!

How about an auction of promises, or sponsored events.

Write to old members and ask for donations. When we raised money to build our Guide meeting hall at home we eventually worked out that out remaing target was only £25 for each current member. Wrote to everyone and told them, and it was amazing how many people sent a cheque (anything to stop the incesant fundraising). Might be worth doing the maths i.e. If you have 500 members then you 'only' need to raise £1000 each. If you included 'ex-members and you have say 5000 its only £100 each.

Its a big sum to raise in a short time though. Have they thought of applying for lottery funding? Its harder to get these days, unless you have some handy 'disabled kids' around (synical, but unfortunately that's how it works), but always worth applying for. Also local organisations like the round table, lions or the masons will sometimes match any funding which you do to a certain level, but you noramlly need to know someone who is a member to apply.
 
Shazzababs said:
That's a shame, I remember competing at Walton on the Hill in my Pony Club days and it was a fantastic setup. They used to have the scariest show jumps in the area!

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How old are you? I grew up in that field however was a member of another PC in the area. It has such fantastic memories...especially of the blinking showjumps - they are stiil v/ scary, kid at my yard fell of three times at PC rally last week, and once this week :)!!!!!!
 
Well one idea would be to approach PCHQ and ask them to dip into their £6 million in reserves to help out, but then again they made our local branch restart without funding (other than £100 from the local council) after the previous committee was [ahem] disbanded and branch activities suspended:mad:

Other than that I would say that not all clubs have a permanent base, and while it is a shame to lose facilities that have been built up over time, there are plenty of places that a branch could use in that neck of the woods. Yes, it might mean charging kids £10 per rally rather than £5, but if they are going to have to put money into buying the field, that might be a cheaper option anyway. And there is nothing wrong with variety and going to different places rather than the same one all the time.

Some venues (like me) are sympathetic towards the PC (although I now find myself more sympathetic to the Irish branches than the UK/NI ones:() and will provide a venue FOC or at a very reduced rate.

Sorry to be negative, but I think trying to find £480,000 to buy this field is unrealistic.
 
R2R said:
How old are you?
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I'm in my 'mid ;)' 30's. so would have been there in the second half of the 80's (I was in the Romney Marsh PC). Those show jumps are going well then!

Was thinking that William Fox-Pitt and Pippa Funnel were also in PC Area 11\13 competitions around that time (although neither was Mid Surrey), and would also have competed there. Can't think why we never won anything :D!They might give an autographed item for you to raffle, or competition prize if they were asked.
 
I cant believe that field will ever sell at £480,000.It simply isnt worth it.£200,000 absolute tops(and that really is pushing it).
 
I knew that Ebbisham was being sold to a new owner - tbh the £480K sounds rather like the owners feel they have the PC over a barrel. Happy to be corrected but perhaps it would be worth while challenging that value. Appreciate Walton on the Hill is a very smart area but even so! And if the PC doesn't stump up the funds - who would pay that sort of money?
 
Firstly if not already so you need to get the club registered as a charity with the charity commision. That way for every donation you get from tax payers you will get an additional sum back from the Inland Revenue.

You need to establish the real value of the field by approaching a local land surveyor and then work out how much money you need to raise.

One idea would be to get people to buy square feet of the field. Say £100 for a square foot and then find loads of different people to buy a square foot.
 
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