John Bell. who is a member of the DFCSG board has put a four figure sum into the Community Share Scheme. He wrote a piece for the website about why he's done so.

The Community Share is scheme is now closed, but there are other ways to invest in the club, check this link.

http://darlingtonfc.co.uk/fundraising-campaign-details

I think my Dad took me to my first Darlington match at the age of 7; I am 58 this month so > 50 years. I have always tried to get to as many matches as possible, but I haven’t lived in the Darlington area permanently since I left school and have been resident in Cheshire for about 30 years. Now I am retired so I am able to get to a few more matches than when I worked; but even when I did I would try and organise my work schedule around midweek games if it was at all possible.

Why have I invested? Well I think I need to answer that from 2 perspectives, firstly as a fan and secondly as a DFCSG board member who was closely involved with putting the Community Share Offer together.

Fan: Darlington has already been an important part of my life. I have a large circle of friends in DAFTS that I meet before and during home and away games, and for me it is not just about the football, it is more than that; it is a social event and if the club didn’t exist it there would be a big gap in my life. I know as fan-owners that we need to invest in the club so that we can grow it into a stable football business without the stress of repeated financial problems, administration etc. etc. I just want to be able to go week in, week out and enjoy the football and meeting my friends without worrying if the club will exist next week/month/year. And hey, the Community Share is a great offer, not only do I get to support the club I love but also I get a return on my investment. Why wouldn’t I invest if I can afford it. For me it is certainly a better option than leaving the money in a building society account.

DFCSG Board Member: The DFCSG are the majority shareholder in the football club, and with that comes certain responsibilities. Firstly we need to appoint the right officials to run the club on behalf of our members and fans in general (and the evidence suggests that we have an excellent team in place at the moment). Secondly we need to support the club officials by helping out with activities that they have not got the bandwidth to do themselves. Thirdly we need to provide the right level of governance to safeguard the future of the club for the benefit of our members, the fans and the community. Finally, but very importantly, just like any business owner we need to raise finance to support the development of the business. We have demonstrated that we can do this very effectively through the Community Share Issue, and as a DFCSG Board member I wanted to demonstrate my support for our own initiative.

I do not believe that you can build a stable, growth football business if all you do is repeatedly rely on the loyalty and altruism of our fans without given anything back. I believe that particular well would eventually run pretty dry. The Community Share vehicle is not only an effective vehicle for raising required finance (as has been clearly demonstrated by the current offer), but also rewards our investors by paying a dividend and allowing them to withdraw their capital in time. This means that when the next investment is needed, people are more likely to want to invest as they can be confident that they will get their money back in time, if that is what they want. I also believe that it will attract new investors who would otherwise not be inclined to invest in our club. It’s all about making the business more investible and making it easier to raise finance to invest in the growth of the club.

What does moving back to Darlington mean to me:

Fan: Look, I would probably go and watch Darlington wherever they played. But Darlington Football Club should play home games in Darlington; it’s as simple as that. We will get bigger crowds, the atmosphere will be better and I won’t waste so much time travelling to and from Bishop. More time to spend with my friends.

DFCSG Board Member: Moving back to Darlington will provide many more opportunities than we have now to develop new and improved revenue streams which can be invested back in the growth of the business. Increased matchday attendances, sponsorship and other revenue generating commercial activities. Crucially, we are a community football club, and we have a mandate to make a positive contribution to the community. To do that we need to be embedded in that community. It is certainly very difficult for us to fulfil that part of the mandate when we are playing at Bishop.

I think this is probably the most exciting time in the recent history of Darlington Football Club. Together, we the fan-owners have a real opportunity to build something we and the community can be genuinely proud of with success on and off the football field. But there is still a long way to go, and it won’t happen by magic and there will be many ups and downs on the way. It needs the support of all of our fans and the wider community. By investing in the community share issue I feel that I am making a positive contribution to this exciting journey.