Blairgowrie and District Next Steps

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2017 - 2018 Subscription Year

Subscription Review

The Community Market generates at least £600 per year of income, and is a useful adjunct to grant funding applications showing that we also do fund-raising beyond basic subscriptions.  The market nearly doubles our fixed income, which goes towards various running costs, but mainly to the fixed running of the minibus, and growing an emergency reserve to pay for the increasing amount of maintenance and a replacement vehicle fund.

The market is run by and reliant on volunteers, without whom it would be necessary to employ a workforce.  If this were to happen then there would be not be a fund-raising opportunity for either us or SCYD.  This amount of funding support pays the equivalent of the majority of our vehicle insurance for example, and without this we would need to raise subscriptions to £45 per year per person to break even.

The volunteers (as is the norm in any community based organisation) are usually the same few.  Some are prepared to travel from as far as Glen Isla for example to help, but most come from the small pool of community activists in Blair and Rattray.  At the market they all put in a few hours effort on six days per year.  This physical effort acts as a good exercise workout, but there are jobs to suit any abilities, everyone can do something useful.  There are of course difficulties with any Saturday.  Work in the morning is easier (when fresher) and then having to come back in the afternoon does limit what else people can do in the day, but that is when help is most appreciated after a tiring day.

I am conscious that it is always the same few who contribute and to make it fairer I am considering changing the subscription base - those who help out at the market get a ‘free’ walk the following month.  This obviously reduces the total income so therefore the subscriptions would need to go up to £35 per year.  Those helping at the market would then recoup most of that if they helped each time (but their efforts of course generate the donation from Strathmore and the Glens).  Being at the market is also a good marketing (sic) and advertising opportunity.

We need in addition to the SCYD and Community Council volunteers at least 4 helpers per market, both morning and afternoon.  The proposed rate of £35 is based on 6 volunteers per month.  While it is feasible for 4 paid workers to do what all these volunteers do it comes at a greater cost to the market, and they will be working much harder then the volunteers.  With sufficient support it takes us between 60 and 90 minutes to erect and another 60 to 90 minutes to pack away all the equipment.  Paid workers cannot be sourced at the last minute to make up numbers so therefore they have to work to contract, if this becomes the case then it is an opportunity lost to us as we would have to be a more permanent arrangement.

 

 

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