Clitheroe Rugby Club- Kicking On in '21

Aim

To reduce the impact of serious income reduction seen since Mar '20 & to allow us to reinvest in rugby & continue to support our community

INTRODUCTION

With this important Crowdfunder effort, we are requesting support from our club members, loyal supporters, local businesses and our local community as a whole, to help us move on from the impact of the pandemic. They do so purchasing the great variety of rewards available on this page, thus enabling us to "kick on in '21". 

"Kicking in in '21" means that we get back on track, not only in allowing us to continue to function as a rugby club in the best state possible by completing essential and improvement work, but also in enabling the subsequent effect of us helping us help those in our local community, whether it's the many players of all ages who are involved with the club or those in the wider community we help through our charitable efforts.

OUR PROJECT & HOW MONEY WILL BE SPENT INVESTING IN THE RETURN OF RUGBY

]There are some essential activities that need to be carried out as we return to rugby. There are also a number of improvement projects that we aspire to do dependent on available funds. This Crowdfunder campaign is critical to allowing us to complete all the Essentials and as many as possible of the Improvement Projects listed below.

Essentials

• Keeping the Clubhouse maintained, welcoming and safe from a Health & Safety and inclusivity perspective, including making CRUFC COVID-secure by purchasing and installing sanitising stations, attendance data management etc – enabling safeguarding of all visitors and players
• Keeping our pitches maintained and secure
• Providing players of all ages adequate and safe equipment and kit, including the purchase of additional balls, bibs and equipment for the increased numbers in our minis and junior section
• Purchase of playing kit and equipment for our soon-to-be Colts team
• Advertising to continue the increase in our mini/juniors section allowing the future continuation of our Club in the community.
• Upgrading the kitchen facility by purchase of additional equipment and basica remodelling to allow for improved supply of food on senior and junior match days and for those hiring the facility
• Changing over to LED lighting throughout the building, enabling a substantially reduced carbon footprint and improving the changing rooms from the poorly-lit areas they are currently.
• Replenish written off bar stock due to bar closure
• Repainting of the clubhouse interior a to make it more welcoming for members and community users.

Improvement Projects

• Addition of an outdoor bar area for use on match days
• Upgrading our pitch floodlighting to IRB standards of 100 Lux
• Creation of an additional bar area within the clubhouse that can be used separately from the function area

Thank you in advance for any assistance you give us.

OUR ORGANISATION

We are a lively and growing sporting organisation in the heart of the Ribble Valley, serving the residents of Clitheroe and its surrounding villages with the provision of rugby for all ages and abilities. 

As well as providing the sport of rugby, which itself acts as superb platform for individual and team development as well as enabling a social hub of massive importance during these changing times, the club itself is a critical focus point for the community it serves, being used for a multitude of regular and special events throughout a year.

Formed in 1977, we have 2 established senior teams and junior sides catering for those aged 6 to 16. Furthermore, as well as being proud to align itself to the RFU values of Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline and Sportsmanship, the club consistently gives back to the community in which it operates whether that's simply allowing people to be active playing competitive sport in the right way but also to support a number of charities over the years. This last season and the season coming 21/22, we are supporting the two brilliant charities of Lancashire Mind and the Foundation for Ribble Valley Families.

IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON OUR CLUB & THE COMMUNITY IT SERVES

Along with rugby clubs across the land, Clitheroe Rugby Club had to cease all rugby in March '20. Roll on into 2021 and 3 lockdowns later, in between which we only had restricted opening of the club at weekends, the only thing we've been able to do relatively regularly is to have training for both seniors and juniors to keep some semblance of rugby continuing. The revenue we would rely on to function normally, coming from our regular competitive senior rugby league programme together with the hiring of our clubhouse for various activities, has been significantly impacted. 

Furthermore, no competitive rugby will be played until right at the end of this season at the very earliest and most likely into next season starting September 2021. Furthermore, with current COVID restrictions in place for some weeks or longer, there are very few signs that our revenue levels will rise to allow us to cover our costs, despite us making multiple changes to reduce our cost base to as low as possible.

This massive reduction in income seriously jeopardises the ability for the club to operate and all planned maintenance and improvement activities relating to grounds and buildings have been cut back.

It's worth noting that our club is run by an army of volunteers with only those on the clubhouse bar team being paid. These many volunteers deliver over a thousand hours of volunteer time each year, maintaining the facilities, delivering community and social events, running the bar and kitchen, coaching, safeguarding and child protection, managing fixtures and training schedules, memberships, the club’s finances, governance and grant applications to name but a few.

SUMMARY

Whilst the generosity of volunteers keeps the club running, maintenance and development costs money. As a club we always strive to be financially sound, however, the club income will continue to be adversely affected, with potentially significant impact on our development plans and cashflow projections, at least until rugby eventually returns, hopefully from September 2021. With revenue from match-days, clubhouse hire to individuals and organisations in the local community and social functions still zero, we have to look to alternative ways of plugging the revenue gap and this Crowdfunder campaign forms a crucial part of delivering doing so. Thank you to all those who can assist us in doing so by purchasing the fantastic range of rewards we've pulled together from both within the club and in partnership with local businesses who've kindly donated their goods and services.

This project successfully funded on 30th April 2021