Happy Birthday to us!The Dons Trust celebrates its 18th anniversary today, and we want to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has been involved along the way; whether as a DT member or as a volunteer or serving on the DTB – and everything in between. We caught up with DT founding Chair, Lou Carton-Kelly, who recalled how it all started 18 years ago: ‘When we created the Dons Trust we set out to be fan-owned directly because of what had gone..
Minute-taker required
The Dons Trust is looking for a volunteer to share in minute-taking duties for board meetings and for general meetings with members. In all, there are around 15–18 such meetings per year, and the board wishes to expand the team of minute-takers so as to share the workload and ensure that minutes are prepared and finalised on a timely basis.
As a minute-taker, you will be responsible for:
Drafting formal minutes of board / general meetings; Assisting with finalisation of..
Who governs English football?
Problems at EFL clubs in the past year have brought the governance of the game into question. Dons Trust Board member Tim Hillyer reports on an initiative by the Football Supporters’ Association to tighten things up.
The early months of this season saw the demise of Bury FC, along with points deductions for both Bolton Wanderers and Macclesfield Town. These clubs’ offenses included not paying debts, lack of realistic financial projections, no security of tenure of their stadium, not fulfilling..
Announcement about Dons Trust AGM
Dons Trust members are reminded that the 2019 AGM is due to be held at 7.30 pm on 29 January, in the back bar of The Cherry Red Records Stadium.
As the annual audits of AFCW PLC and The Dons Trust have not yet (at the time of writing) been completed, the Dons Trust Board is making this announcement about the conduct of the AGM on Wednesday.
Resolution 1 (Approval of Dons Trust accounts). As the accounts of AFCW PLC..
Let’s Kick It Out!
Jane Lonsdale, member of the Dons Trust Board and Chair of the Trust’s Diversity and Inclusion Working Group, introduces Saturday’s Kick It Out Day of Action.
All clubs nominate a fixture each season as their Kick It Out Day of Action. In previous seasons, you may have noticed players wearing Kick It Out T-shirts in the warm-up. Saturday’s fixture against Peterborough was our nominated game, and we decided to do more than we normally do.
Kick It Out is at..
Plough Lane Bond is now live!
We are delighted to be able to announce that the Dons Trust has launched The Plough Lane Bond.
This can make a massive difference to the current funding shortfall of £11m and help ensure that the stadium is built on time while maintaining the club’s fan-owned status.
Fans can elect to lend money over a 5,10 or 20 year period with a variable rate of interest from 0% to 4 %, paid annually*.
The more the Bond raises, the..
Summary of January’s Dons Trust Board Meeting
The Dons Trust Board (DTB) held its monthly meeting on Wednesday 15 January. This article summarises the main points discussed including the Plough Lane Bond, electing the Dons Trust Chair and Vice-Chair for 2020 and the upcoming AGM.
Present from the DTB were Mark Davis, Tim Hillyer, Anna Kingsley, Hannah Kitcher, Edward Leek, Jane Lonsdale, Luke Mackenzie, Graham Stacey and Anne Williams.
In attendance from the football club were Joe Palmer (Chief Executive) and Tom Rawcliffe (Financial Controller).
Attending from..
Board revolution
Dons Trust Board chair Mark Davis explains the annual cycle of board activity.
After another Dons Trust Board election, the DTB has revolved again. This time last year we welcomed four newly elected members – Anna Kingsley, Hannah Kitcher, Luke Mackenzie and Rob Crane – and after this year’s election we have two brand-new members, Anne Williams and Graham Stacey, plus the returning Tim Hillyer, back after a year’s absence. If the DTB were a football team, that would be..
Jane Lonsdale, Dons Trust Board member, receives an MBE
Dons Trust Board member Jane Lonsdale has received an MBE as part of the New Year’s Honours.
The MBE is awarded for her contribution to public service and volunteering. Jane has worked in the public sector, at HM Treasury, for over 30 years and has volunteered at various charities, in the third sector, theatre and sport since she first started volunteering as a Girl Guide in the early 1980s.
Jane says:
“It is really lovely to be recognised in this..
Dons Trust AGM
Please note that the date of the Trust’s AGM will be 29 January 2020, and not 8 January as had previously been mentioned.
The meeting agenda and associated papers can be found here.
The date of the AFCW PLC AGM will be announced in due course.
The Dons Trust Board would also like to take this opportunity to wish all Dons Trust members and AFC Wimbledon fans a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.