Cost of living effects on CCYFC

Aim

CCYFC are funding to continue to overcome the impact that Covid19 has had on our club and has been exacerbated by the cost of living crisis.

Who are we?

CCYFC is a friendly village community youth football club, situated in West Herts, close to Hemel Hempstead, Watford and Kings Langley. 

We offer youth football opportunities for boys and girls of all ages, including mini soccer (from 4 years old), all the way through to U16's.

As an FA Chartered Development Status football team, Corinthians strives to provide a safe and fun environment where children can get involved in football and start a life long love of the beautiful game.

Why are we Fundraising?

Unfortunately the impact of Covid19 has proved costly to the club. In the 2021 to 2022 season the club made a £6154 loss in comparison to a £5654 profit taken in the previous year, so a £11,808 "swing" year on year. Two more seasons with such a deficit would mean that we would no longer be able to have a youth section. 

What steps did we take?

A significant overhaul approach was applied to the club with a brand new senior management team. Since the change in leadership their has been significant improvements in our financial situation and the running of the club. The end of season awards event in 2022 and the help of a crowd funding project raised over £8,000 to improve our financial issues and keep costs down for members and for our volunteers. CCYFC also led on a joint football, tennis and Cricket Camp in the Summer of 2022 with the local Chipperfield Tennis, Cricket and Football clubs with over 50 children taking part across the x3 days and raised over £400 of profit for each of the clubs. 

Reduced overheads from previous year

Overheads for facility hire were reduced significantly but due to the success of recruiting a leadership team and new Managers and coaches engaging in the club, DBS Checks, First Aid and Safeguarding costs as well as FA Coaching qualifications increased from £504 a year to £2109. 

What did we do to try and help our members?

As a committee it was agreed to keep Subs the same for the 2022 / 23 season at £185 for the first child, £165 for the 2nd and £150 for the 3rd as it was for the 2021 to 2022 season. The whole Club committee (nearing 30 people) have worked hard to raised funds through sponsorship, crowd funding and the end of season Awards. 

Why wasn't this enough?

Unfortunately despite an amazing amount of effort, we expect to make a loss of just under £2,000 unfortunately the cost of living crisis has affected a number of our members. The Junior section subsidised a number of families - to the amount of £2950 from our subs income year on year as on average x2 families per team - this was a significant increase year on year and we were told it was because of the impact of the cost if living.

The impact of the cost of living. 

Utility costs have gone up considerably and even though we have tried to be more frugal and reduce our overheads, there has been a 21% incremental costs. 

Following consultations with our x2 Welfare officers, we are aware that a number of our families are going to be needing support again for the coming season and given the works required on the Queen St pitch which has gone rapidly downhill over the last 2 years from good to basic in the clubs FA Pitch power report, we really need to generate some significant income to improve the finances at CCYFC to ensure the future of the youth section of the club (and indeed the whole club as the impact of losing the Junior teams would impact heavily on the senior teams)

How much do we need to raise?

So given the impact of Covid-19 and also the cost of living crisis, we are looking to raise £10,000 to help overcome the current financial barriers we face and create sustainability for the future. Currently we can't fix a ride on mower at the club as it will cost around £2,000 to repair and we are conscious that are reserve funds would be decreased even further. The impact means that the playing surface at the club cannot be looked after as well, which in turn will mean that we have to hire more astroturf facilities if the club pitch is not of the standard it needs to be.

How can you help?

We believe that this crowd funder initiative is the perfect way in which those from inside and outside of the club can show their support by donating to the project. We have had a substantial number of supporters so far and it is really, really appreciated and will make a massive difference to those in the local community who want their children to be able to play and access sport and physical activities such as football that will in turn help and improve their mental well-being.  

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.

1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!

2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!

4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!

This project successfully funded on 11th August 2023