Big fundraising push announced for 1 April
AFC Wimbledon supporters are being encouraged to once again pull together and get behind a fundraising initiative that aims to push the Dons forward as a Football League club for years to come.
Wimbledon’s home match against Barnet on 1 April has been designated as We Are Wimbledon Day with organisers having set a target of raising £100,000 by that date. Supporters of fan-owned AFC Wimbledon recently started the We Are Wimbledon Fund with the aim of raising £400,000 a year to contribute towards the playing budget.
Since launching in February, We Are Wimbledon campaigners have been rallying the cause at home games and a total of £42,500 has already been raised. The scheme, which is endorsed by The Dons Trust, owners of AFC Wimbledon, has been worked on by a group led by long-term supporter Xavier Wiggins.
Xavier says that the group are now working tirelessly to push the campaign forward – and he hopes supporters will throw their weight behind it.
“There have been fantastic fundraising efforts from so many volunteers over the years, but we want to push the club on now that we are in the Football League,” he said. “We are in the relegation zone in terms of the playing budget in League 2 and we do not want that to always be the case. Obviously, we are fans-owned and if we want to bring players in that will turn us into a more competitive football team, then that is our responsibility. There is no magic wand though and we can only do what we can afford to do. There are around a dozen of us working really hard to get this moving and hopefully it will be all worth it.”
Those involved with We Are Wimbledon have been doing their best to spread the word among the club’s fans and in the media. The campaign is gathering pace and Monday, 1 April, is a big day for the scheme.
We are aiming to push this forward more now. These are tricky times for everyone and it is hard asking people for money, but we want supporters to pull together to push the club forward. The aim is to reach £100,000 annualised revenue by the end of We Are Wimbledon Fund Day.” “The next really big initiative for us is at the Barnet game,” Xavier added. “We are going to get 10-15 people out and they will be at the ground talking to supporters about how important the fund is and how they can donate.
Representatives of We Are Wimbledon will be at tomorrow’s Morecambe game providing information and handing out direct debit forms, before the big push on 1 April.
website. We are Wimbledon Fund and the @wearewimbledonFor more information on how to contribute, check Twitter