We're still collecting donations
On the 18th April 2024 we'd raised £22,997 with 167 supporters in 56 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.
+ est. £3290.50
SMCC is a community focused, diverse, inclusive cricket and social club that desperately needs needs new facilities for its 500+ members.
On the 18th April 2024 we'd raised £22,997 with 167 supporters in 56 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.
Every extra penny we raise goes towards construction costs, and is another penny we don't have to raise through grants or other events
SMCC is a community focused cricket and social club in the Dulwich and Forest Hill area of South London that brings together people from many different local neighbourhoods and all different walks of life. The ethos of the club is to provide cricket for everyone, from the highest possible standards to the most leisurely, so whatever a member's background, and however high or low their level of skill, as long as they love cricket they will feel at home at Streatham and Marlborough.
SMCC is run and managed by a skilled team of volunteers with the aim of keeping people physically and socially active. We have well in excess of 500 members which makes us more than four times larger than the average club in England, and we are a social hub for more than 1,000 people. In 2023 alone, we delivered 482 matches and 49,000 hours of organised cricket across the club.
SMCC is a great club which is dedicated to providing cricket and social activities to its members all year round. However, we are a great club with an ailing home.
SMCC has well over 200 years of history. The club is thriving and continues to grow, but unfortunately, our facilities are failing. The pavilion, the hub of every cricket club, was built in 1955 by members. The building is still in use, but little has changed, and for many years the building has been deteriorating. In 2010, a project commenced to raise funds to build a new pavilion to serve the club, its members and the local community. Plans were put in place to construct a new building, however, due to legal and planning issues, spiralling costs caused by supply issues and then Covid-19, and the continuous burden of trying to maintain the existing pavilion, a new plan is now required. Repairing the existing pavilion is not a viable option given the cost implications highlighted by a building inspection report in August 2023. Our only option is to knock the building down and start again, which requires significant funding.
We have already started the process of applying for planning on the new pavilion to realise a four-phase dream that will deliver a building that is fit for purpose, safe and able to deliver more cricket for everyone. The building, designed by Andy Matthews Studio, will be substantially smaller and more affordable than the original design but it will give us a pavilion that we can rely on to be safe for the next 50 years. Changing and showering facilities for both male and female players and accessibility for disabled players and spectators are key parts of the design, and with reduced running costs and increased income from hirings, we will be able to make cricket more accessible to everyone and invest more back into the club in areas such as bursaries, other grounds we use such as local parks and disability cricket.
SMCC prides itself on being diverse, inclusive and very sociable. Almost 30% of our members are female, making us one of the most gender balanced clubs in the country. We expect to start a 3rd women's team by 2025 and double our number of girls squads and matches by 2028. Our junior section is equally diverse with 75% of members coming from state schools, and we play twice as many junior matches per player than the average club in Surrey.
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 we reach £5,000 of our target, we become eligible for a grant that could be worth another £10,000 of matched funding to the pavilion project.
2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us. Your friends and family will want to help, and the wider our network the more we can raise!
3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will be running a raffle and an auction this year that will all be contributing towards the pavilion fund, so will be needing some prizes!
4. Fundraise for us. If you are running a marathon, or doing a triathlon, or maybe a Tough Mudder, please consider using it as an opportunity to raise money for the pavilion fund. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!
(CGI courtesy of Tandem Studios; designed by Andy Matthews Studio; planning by CMA Planning)
Want to raise funds for this cause? It's simple to get started.
Start fundraisingThis project offered rewards