AS WE LOOK to grow our revenue, one of the key opportunities will be our ‘Gifting’ program.
Our recent Debt Demolition campaigns, which have managed to wipe off our $5 million debt has demonstrated that this is a club with many passionate supporters, who are prepared to ‘dig deep’ as long as they can see some tangible benefit.
Our previous attempts in this area have been effective, but there has been no over arching strategy.
Moving forward - and with the recent appointment of David Neitz - we will be looking at a range of initiatives that will allow our supporters to express their support in a range of different ways, which are important to them and the club.
Our ‘Community’ programs will be one of the three key pillars of our Gifting program and will include an opportunity to support a range of programs designed to:
a) Deliver meaningful programs to the communities we serve, including Casey and the City of Melbourne
Our recent Debt Demolition campaigns, which have managed to wipe off our $5 million debt has demonstrated that this is a club with many passionate supporters, who are prepared to ‘dig deep’ as long as they can see some tangible benefit.
Our previous attempts in this area have been effective, but there has been no over arching strategy.
Moving forward - and with the recent appointment of David Neitz - we will be looking at a range of initiatives that will allow our supporters to express their support in a range of different ways, which are important to them and the club.
Our ‘Community’ programs will be one of the three key pillars of our Gifting program and will include an opportunity to support a range of programs designed to:
a) Deliver meaningful programs to the communities we serve, including Casey and the City of Melbourne
b) Provide an opportunity for our players to give something back
c) Generate positive goodwill towards the football club that can over time translate into greater supporter numbers
The second pillar will be our social responsibility programs.
Our recent visit to Yuendumu and Darwin this year enabled us to launch our involvement with this wonderful initiative to eliminate (an infectious eye disease) in remote indigenous communities within five years.
This type of involvement also greatly benefits our players in better understanding the issues facing remote communities, such as the ones that Liam Jurrah and Aussie Wonaeamirri come from.
We are also working closely with the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Found, Reach and to identify and develop programs aimed at our:
1. Homeless
The second pillar will be our social responsibility programs.
Our recent visit to Yuendumu and Darwin this year enabled us to launch our involvement with this wonderful initiative to eliminate (an infectious eye disease) in remote indigenous communities within five years.
This type of involvement also greatly benefits our players in better understanding the issues facing remote communities, such as the ones that Liam Jurrah and Aussie Wonaeamirri come from.
We are also working closely with the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Found, Reach and to identify and develop programs aimed at our:
1. Homeless
2. Youth
Thirdly, but by no means least, we are developing a list of key needs in the area of sports science that will assist our football department.
Our new facilities at AAMI Park and Casey Fields have brought the footy department up to the current AFL benchmark however, the so called ‘superpowers’ are also experimenting with all sorts of sports science ideas and initiatives to gain an edge.
Collingwood is a good example, where they use high altitude training to improve their players’ endurance.
In the pre-season, Collingwood send its playing group to high altitude training in Arizona and during the season this is topped up with short sessions in its hyperbaric chamber.
As you can appreciate such trips and equipment do not cheaply, but if it can give our players a competitive edge then it’s something we have to pursue aggressively and with your support hopefully sooner rather than later.
The other important aspect of this exercise is to provide our supporters with a range of financial options that best suit their needs.
We currently have the Red & Blue Foundation, which was used to excellent effect in the fit-out of AAMI Park as well as the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Fund.
Both of these foundations provide tax effective ways in which our supporters can donate to the club.
Beyond that we are currently investigating a range of other options, including the establishment of a MFC Corpus, which would allow donations to go into a ‘pool’ from which the club could draw interest for key projects.
The appeal of such a scheme would mean a lasting legacy for the club. We aim to launch all of this as a lead into the 2011 season.
It’s an exciting time on all fronts for the footy club right now and the Gifting strategy is no exception.
It could well provide the competitive edge behind our very next premiership and along the way improve the quality of life for many of our less privileged communities.
John Poulakakis,
Chief Commercial Officer
Thirdly, but by no means least, we are developing a list of key needs in the area of sports science that will assist our football department.
Our new facilities at AAMI Park and Casey Fields have brought the footy department up to the current AFL benchmark however, the so called ‘superpowers’ are also experimenting with all sorts of sports science ideas and initiatives to gain an edge.
Collingwood is a good example, where they use high altitude training to improve their players’ endurance.
In the pre-season, Collingwood send its playing group to high altitude training in Arizona and during the season this is topped up with short sessions in its hyperbaric chamber.
As you can appreciate such trips and equipment do not cheaply, but if it can give our players a competitive edge then it’s something we have to pursue aggressively and with your support hopefully sooner rather than later.
The other important aspect of this exercise is to provide our supporters with a range of financial options that best suit their needs.
We currently have the Red & Blue Foundation, which was used to excellent effect in the fit-out of AAMI Park as well as the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Fund.
Both of these foundations provide tax effective ways in which our supporters can donate to the club.
Beyond that we are currently investigating a range of other options, including the establishment of a MFC Corpus, which would allow donations to go into a ‘pool’ from which the club could draw interest for key projects.
The appeal of such a scheme would mean a lasting legacy for the club. We aim to launch all of this as a lead into the 2011 season.
It’s an exciting time on all fronts for the footy club right now and the Gifting strategy is no exception.
It could well provide the competitive edge behind our very next premiership and along the way improve the quality of life for many of our less privileged communities.
John Poulakakis,
Chief Commercial Officer
