Corporate director John Tempest updates us on club affairs.

Since the Ashton game we have had a very busy week with everything off the field. Negotiations are processing extremely well with DRCFC and an announcement about all things Blackwell Meadows is imminent. This will lead to a fundraising appeal that after speaking with a range of fans I believe will appeal to all individual fans and businesses large and small.

The DFCSG are also in talks with a key sponsor that could potentially take the club to the next level and I believe will be warmly welcomed by all fans and will prove our intent in taking the club forward. We are also looking anticipating that in the next two weeks we will announce another appointment to the 1883 Board. We have also formed a commercial team that is going to form a strategy and look at various initiatives and ideas. I am very much in favour of teamwork which is in line with the ethic that already exists for various other activities in the club.

Had the return to Darlington at Blackwell Meadows not been delayed the requirement for funding would be nil. Any potential impact on the playing and coaching budget would be nil too, as the budget was agreed in advance in 2015, because it assumed we would be playing back in Darlington by late autumn 2015 at the latest.

Hence there will be two separate elements to the Club’s fundraising initiatives. Firstly, there is a need to support the Club’s short term cash flow due to the postponements in November, December and January, and also replace the lost revenue the Club has faced annually since playing at Bishop Auckland, for the reasons stated above and at the AGM in November 2015.

Secondly, there is a need to replenish the monies taken out of the escrow account, in order to fulfil the resubmission criteria to the Football Foundation for the Football Stadia Improvement Funding (FSIF) grant funding requirements for the return to Darlington at Blackwell Meadows. A resubmission of the grant application is expected to be made on March 30^th and therefore this element of the fundraising is equally urgent.

In summary a huge amount is going on and therefore we welcome your continued support not only for the team on the pitch but for the fundraising schemes and other activities off it as well.