Message from the Committee

TO ALL CLUB MEMBERS.
We would firstly like to wish you all well and we hope that you’re managing to stay safe and stress free during these very trying times.
We are writing to you, as a valued Club member, to give you an update of where the Club stands at the moment. Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, and like many other businesses, the Club is now starting to feel the pinch financially. Since the beginning of the first lockdown in March last year, the combined length of closures so far is around six months, and this current closure looks set to last for at least another two months on top of this. And when we did reopen last year, it was in some kind of limited capacity, meaning that we were only breaking even financially at best. Due to the space restrictions imposed by the Government, we were unable to hold any Club or private functions which are a lucrative source of extra income for the Club. Even whilst closed, we still have some outgoings. We still have to maintain the Clubs surrounds, particularly the Cricket pitch and bowling green in readiness for the opening of their respective seasons at some point. We still have to pay electricity (£700 per month), water rates (£400 per month), insurance (£2,500 per year), 50% of our bin rental costs (£1,000 per year) amongst others.
We have looked at the various options open to us, and we are basically left with two choices. The first is applying for a Government Bounce Back Loan, which we’d prefer not to do, but we will consider this if the second option below doesn’t raise the funds that we’re hoping for to see us through until we reopen. The second and preferred option is to ask our members for the money we need, and this can be done in a variety of ways, but we have decided on the following:
We are asking all members to make a donation to the Club either equal to, or greater than the cost of renewing their membership (costs listed below). From this donation, we will renew your membership and any excess will be added on to your Club card for you to use when we finally reopen. This time next year, when we are hopefully in a better financial position, we will look at reducing the cost of membership renewals to reflect the closures of the past year.
We would like to remind our members that we are a “Not For Profit” organisation which means that every penny of our surplus in better times is put back into the Club to make it a better and more enjoyable place for all when they visit. We aren’t owned by a large national company like Punch Taverns who can pay their outlets outgoings whilst they are closed, we are self-financing. None of the Committee are paid for their time, effort and commitment that they put in, but even so, the current situation is proving quite stressful as we all care passionately about the Club and want to see it thriving for many years to come, but these are unprecedented and very trying times.
If you are in a position to help the Club, you can do so in one of the following ways:
1. Make a donation through Paypal giving your name(s) and membership card no. as your reference.
2. Leave a cheque for your chosen amount made payable to “Barnton Cricket Club” in an envelope with your name(s) and membership card no. on in the Clubs post box next to the door at the Function Room entrance to the Club.
3. By cash in a sealed envelope marked with your name and membership card no. and brought to the Club between 12.00 – 2.00pm each week day and handed to the Club Chairman.
4. Make a BACS payment leaving your name and membership card no. as a reference to the Club’s account. The Sort Code is 090128 and the ACC No is 87675060.
Membership Costs:
65 and over single - £10. Dual - £20.
18 – 64 single - £17. Dual - £32.
We very much hope that you can help the Club out of it’s current financial predicament and we desperately hope to be seeing you all again soon enjoying yourselves at the Club.
Stay safe and well,
BCC Committee