Barnards Green CC Covid recovery fundraising

Aim

To raise £20k to cover the shortfall in income caused by Covid, and ensure we can continue the great work we've been doing in the community.

Barnards Green Cricket Club is a community cricket club in Malvern, providing cricket and social opportunities to the local community and players from a wide area. We offer cricket for all, from the very youngest right up to the highest level in the Birmingham & District League, and everything in between!

The club is open to all and run by volunteers. Our aim is to encourage greater participation in cricket - both playing  and socially - across every part of our local community. 

In particular, we are very proud of the development of our junior programme. Through the hard work and dedication of our volunteers, we have a well established junior section with over 120 junior members. We are proud that over the years many of our juniors have gone on to have a life long involvement in the game, be it playing at representative or senior club level, or supporting others as volunteers.

We have a wide catchment area  and now have nearly 600 members in total. We field 17 teams - with 12 mixed and girls junior teams. We also run the ECB All Stars and Dynamos programmes for 5-11 year olds.

Our club is founded on a welcoming, supportive and inclusive environment which is open to all age groups, playing standards and social groups.

As part of our commitment, we seek to minimise the financial barriers so that we attract people from a wide cross section of society, including a significant proportion from less well off areas. 

We are an important social hub for the local community and our facilities are used by a wide range of other voluntary and social groups including a thriving skittles league, crib, quizzes as well as being a venue for family parties and gatherings.

Providing a lifeline during Covid

Coming out of lockdown the club was a lifeline for many members of all ages, with training, matches and the club itself providing a focus after the isolation of lockdown. 

BGCC provided a Covid secure environment, and importantly a safe place for some of our older members who were able to enjoy watching sport and socialising at a safe distance in the open air.

"Without cricket at the club this summer lots of us would have really, really struggled so it’s great so many people help the club and give us a nice place to play."

"Being able to play cricket has been massive during Covid!"

"The club was the first place I went outside of my own house"

"During lockdown I felt very isolated and nervous around people but everyone at Barnards Green was there to support and encourage me just when I needed it the most."

Please watch our video of the season here BGCC 2020  

Covid could leave a £20k hole in our finances

The club prides itself on being financially self-sufficient, but the ongoing Covid situation is having a huge impact on our income and we stand to lose up to £20,000 compared to a normal year.

We generate almost all our revenue through matches, the bar and social/fundraising events during the summer months. This income enables us to cover our costs for the whole year, but with these activities being severely curtailed, our income has dropped dramatically. 

The volunteer committee has done a brilliant job in reducing costs and applying for grants, but we are forecasting that the club could lose up to £20,000 this year without some significant fundraising, and who knows how long the pandemic will continue.

What will we use the money for?

Any money raised through this crowdfunding page will therefore help us cover our annual ‘fixed’ running costs which primarily include maintenance of our two grounds and pavilions, and the associated machinery. We have some major costs coming up over the Winter as our aged roller and mower at Newland are both out of action and need major refurb or replacement, and our North End Lane pitch covers need new tarpaulins to keep the rain off.

Over the years we have prioritised investment in playing and training facilities and equipment and any surplus funds will be invested in our cricket programme so we can maintain and build on the fantastic work we’ve been doing. 

How can you help us?

As a volunteer-run club, we need to generate donations from members, friends and the wider community to help us cover the £20,000 shortfall.

You can obviously donate whatever you choose and we would welcome support from any families or businesses in the community who value what we do.

Your donation can also be made against one of the following rewards 

Membership donations – we would ask people to consider donating the cost of their membership for 2021

• Senior Players - £100 
• Junior Players - £50
• Social members - £20
• Club sponsor donation - £250

Straight donations - you can just use the box on the top right of the donation page to give whatever you choose.

As time goes on, we may introduce more opportunities to get involved and donate too, so watch this space! 

In addition to what you give Sport England will match fund 67% of our donations - which will make a massive difference to club!! However, if it's an all or nothing scheme so we need to raise £12k ourselves! 

Fortunately, there's a great community spirit at the Green and I'm sure you'll see this is one of those moments when we really need to pull together. 

So we thank you in advance for your support - it will really help us to safeguard the club finances so that we can continue to maintain our great club.

Finally, a practical point ....

If you do donate in one of the above ways, please could you put a note in the comments box to clarify what/who your donation covers. 

And if you're pledging a family donation, please pay for each member of your family separately, and use a different email address if you can - thank you.

This project successfully funded on 4th January 2021