First and foremost, I would like to thank the outgoing Jags Foundation Board for their dedication throughout this process. They have provided the foundations on which we will now seek to build a vibrant and successful fan-ownership vehicle. In addition to the time commitment of all involved, I would like to recognise and thank in particular the generous financial donations made by Gavin Taylor and Caroline Mackie.
The new Board was formally appointed at a meeting on Thursday, following the results of the Foundation’s first set of elections. We were heartened to see a strong turnout from our 500 or so members. Thank you for the trust that you have put in us to get this process moving again. Our task is now to grow that membership and to demonstrate that we are ready to become the majority shareholder of Partick Thistle and to ensure the Club’s long-term stability and success.
At our first meeting on Sunday, we agreed a basic structure for our work. The Board agreed to appoint me (Sandy Fyfe) as Chair, Graeme Cowie as Secretary and Andrew Holloway as Treasurer.
We have also decided to subdivide our work into two key strands.
The first of these is the Negotiations strand, which I will lead. I will be supported by Heather Iona Holloway, Andrew Holloway and Gary Tanner. This sub-group will focus on our attempts to re-engage with Three Black Cats and the Club on the matter of delivering fan ownership. Following their most recent statement, we have already made contact with representatives from Three Black Cats. We hope to be able to discuss substantive proposals with them very soon. I’d like to thank 3BC for re-engaging with us, and we look forward to pressing “reset” and moving forward together.
The second part of our work is the Engagement strand, which will be led by Stuart Callison. Supported by Allan McGraw, Stuart Goldie, Ian Mackinnon and Graeme Cowie, Stuart’s team will focus on growing the organisation’s membership, profile and revenue streams. This will include an events programme over the summer (including a General Meeting to update our rulebook), a revamping of our membership structure, a visible TJF presence on match days and renewed efforts to communicate with fans, both online and offline, more effectively.
The Foundation raised just over £20k in subscriptions, before the “payment pause” was introduced in April. The Foundation has already provided financial support to the Club since its creation, through sponsorship, and we want to build on that support. During the election, we promised to listen to our members about how their subs should be used going forward. Please get in touch with the Foundation at contact@thejagsfoundation.co.uk to have your say. Your views on this will feed into our broader strategy, both for the money already raised and for revenue we hope to raise in the future. We will outline more detailed plans on this in the coming weeks.
Our Board is united about the way ahead, and we now have a mandate from our membership. We are clear, fundamentally, about two things:
- Fan ownership is the only viable long-term option for Partick Thistle
- The Jags Foundation is the only viable and credible vehicle to deliver on fan ownership.
If you are a member, thank you for your ongoing support to date. If you have not yet joined, or have recently cancelled your regular subscription, we hope you will consider joining (or rejoining) the Foundation. You can do this on our website.
If you have any questions about your membership, please contact membership@thejagsfoundation.co.uk.
Thank you for your support.
Sandy Fyfe
Chair of The Jags Foundation