Bohemians CC Covid Fundraiser

Bohemians Cricket Club is a local sports club based in Filton, Bristol. The club is open to all and run entirely by volunteers. Our aim is to encourage greater participation in cricket - both physically and socially - across every part of our local community.  

In particular, this year we had invested money in re-establishing our youth section through All Stars cricket while continuing to offer league & friendly cricket to players of all ages & abillities

To maintain cricket we will shortly need to replace ageing equipment and due to Covid 19 our income is dramatically reduced in 2020

We engage people from all parts of our community

Ever year we advertise on Facebook for new members looking to grow the club and had an excellent uptake this year with high attendance at nets before Covid 19 struck. We try & encourage new players by offering free nets and playing shirts to widen participation in the game & our membership fees are significantly lower than other clubs in the area and we have reduced these further this season

We are also an active hub for the local community and our facilities are used by a adult & junior football clubs as welo as hosting many community social and fundraising events, wedding receptions, funerals and other big family gatherings.

During the pandemic we have continued to engage with our current & older members through many activities (listed below) to keep the club together and look after people’s mental health

• 100k Exercise Club (That was reached so now 300k individual targets)
• Weekly online quiz for players, families & friends of the clubs (11 was in & still going strong)
• Weekly Online Poker
• Virtual first w/e of the Season (People posting video’s of what they would normally be doing & video simulation game moments - Connecting Ex players from India, New Zealand & Burnley
• This has carried on with Virtual simulation of the games weekly with commentary & stats
• Twice weekly Net session since allowed
• inviting Ex players / supporters who have been alone to meet at outside at the ground, socially distanced for a chat while we have nets to keep them engaged
• offering use of Nets / Bowling machine to other cricket clubs who don’t have access to there own facilities 

The club stands to lose financially due to Covid

The club prides itself on being financially self-sufficient, but the ongoing Covid situation is having a big impact on our income. 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 none of these activities happening, our income levels are negligible.  We are also reluctant to pass this on to members as forcing them to pay more will decrease participation as well as some of these having their own financial struggles due to the pandemic

Any money raised through this crowdfunding page will therefore help us cover our annual running costs which primarily include ground (£1.5k) and machinery maintenance (0.5k) throughout the year. Any surplus funds will be re-invested in our cricket facilities where we have invested in bowling machine which allows us to net & continue participation in current times as well as offering this out to other clubs to aid the cricket community as a whole

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 £2,000 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. But we would also like to encourage people to consider donating in one of the following ways.  

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

•  Senior Players - £30
• Social members - £10
• ‘Family’ option for Senior Men/Women players, including partner and all children under 16 - £50

Bar token donations - for every extra £50 you give above this member donation, we will issue you with a £50 bar token which can be redeemed at the club once we're open again. 

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

So we thank you in advance for your support - it will really help us to put some stability back into the club finances so that we can continue the great work we've been doing.