Photo: caleyjags.com
Join Us
Joining the Supporters Trust means you are part of an organisation which seeks to improve the relationship between the Club and Supporters. The more supporters who join the Trust, the greater the influence of supporters will become.
Read on below about the trust and joining or just click here to join
Membership is just £5 per year to cover expenses and a nominal £1 for children under 16.
You can join by clicking here:
What is the Supporters Trust?
The ICT Supporters Trust’s purpose is defined as ‘the vehicle through which a healthy, balanced and constructive relationship between the Club and its supporters and the communities it serves is encouraged and developed.’ It has a number of objects, the first of which is ‘being the democratic and representative voice of the supporters of the Club and the communities which it serves’. In addition, the Supporters Trust is the custodian of slightly more than a 10% voting right in the Club.
It is run by a Board of Directors elected by the members. Approximately one third of the elected Directors stand down each year at the AGM but are eligible for re-election. Directors are therefore elected by members and are accountable to them. The Trust is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority as a Community Benefit Society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014.
How will joining benefit me?
The Trust does not exist to benefit its members, it exists to benefit the Club and the Communities it serves. But working constructively with the Club will benefit members indirectly by allowing the views of the fan base to be heard on aspects affecting supporters and in helping the Club to be more successful.
How does Membership help the Club?
Membership of the Supporters Trust can help the Club in a number of ways. For instance:-
1. The larger the membership of the Trust is, the more credibility the Trust Board has in claiming to represent fans in its dealings with the Club. This helps to ensure that concerns and views of fans are taken on board by the Club.
2. The larger the membership, the easier it will be to get a more accurate sense of what the fans genuinely want and feel. A large membership will allow us to put questionnaires out to the membership and get a meaningful response back.
3. The admin costs of the Trust will be broadly the same regardless of the size of the membership. A larger membership will allow the Trust to have a greater surplus of funds which can be put towards specific aspects of the Club’s business or associated community projects. For instance, in the past the Supporters Trust has donated a couple of road bikes as suggested by the physio team to support player rehab, sponsored the kit for the ball boys and donated first aid kits and training jackets to support the Inverness Street League.
4. A larger membership makes social events more viable, thereby further increasing the potential of providing targeted support to the Club. More members means more people to share the workload and increased opportunity for members to socialise and get to know more of their fellow supporters.
5. In the event that the Trust ever needs to use its 10% voting stake in the Club, it will be essential for the good of the Club that the Trust officers casting the vote on behalf of the Club’s supporters can be seen as properly representing the opinions and concerns of as many of the supporters as possible.
Why should I join now?
The unprecedented circumstances caused by the Coronavirus pandemic mean that the Club faces a very uncertain future. Now, more than ever, we need the supporters of the Club to come together and work constructively with the Club to ensure the long term viability and success of the Club. The Supporters Trust has not been very active in recent years, but the current Board is determined to be much more proactive and has significantly improved communications with our members. The Trust has demonstrated what it can do by taking over the responsibility of getting Ian Broadfoot’s wonderful book, ‘Milestones and Memories’ to print and generating a handsome profit for the club in the process. But we would like to do so much more.
As stated above, the Trust should be seen as the ‘democratic and representative voice of the supporters of the Club, but we can only fulfil that role if membership is at a level where the Club can be assured that we genuinely represent the wider fan base. At the start of 2021 membership was below 100 and the Club quite reasonably felt that the Trust was not properly representative. It is therefore vital that we very significantly increase our membership across all sectors of the Club’s fan base in order that the fans’ voices can be heard.
For several years, the Trust Board has been operating with fewer Board Members than allowed for in the Rules. This impacts on what can be achieved and risks the continued functioning of the Trust. If the Trust were to fold, supporters would lose the 10% voting stake entrusted in the Trust on behalf of supporters. Whilst any member is helpful to the Trust and the Club, we urgently need more people to join who would be prepared to commit a bit of time and expertise to serve on the Board. We could achieve so much more for the fans and the club by doubling the number of Directors.
Is Membership only for regular fans?
No! The largest part of the Club’s income is gate receipts and so we are keen to encourage more people to come to games as often as possible. We need to work with the Club to make the match day experience as welcoming as possible in order to bring more people in. Part of this will be to better understand why so many people only attend so few games. It is vital, therefore that we can represent the views of the occasional match goer every bit as much as the regulars. But even if you are not in a position to attend games at all, your opinions are still important and your membership fee will help in supporting the club either directly or indirectly.
How much is Membership?
Membership is currently just £5 for adults and a nominal £1 for under 16s. The first £1 of the first payment buys a share in the Trust which is returned to the Trust when membership lapses. Please note there is no joint or family membership, but it would be really helpful to the Trust and the Club if as many members of the household as possible who support the Caley Jags could join.
How do I join?
You can join by clicking here:
What happens next?
Once you have joined, you can expect to receive occasional newsletters and emails from us. Please remember, the Supporters Trust is not a member benefit organisation. It is not about what the Trust can do for you, it is about what you can do for the Club through the Trust.
If you have decided to join, then we are really grateful to you for that. But whether or not you wish to join, please tell your ICT supporting friends, family and colleagues about the Trust. Remember, the larger the membership, the better we will be able to work with and support our Club at this difficult time.
Thank you very much for your support.