Introducing the new Robins Trust

— 4 minute read

The Robins Trust will be relaunching this weekend with a call to supporters to invest in the long-term success of their club.

Trust volunteers will be around the ground ahead of the visit of Shrewsbury Town encouraging fans to log-on to a new and easy-to-use website membership portal.

Since being established in 2005, we have invested close to £300,000 in Cheltenham Town FC, making us - the fans - the fourth largest shareholder in their club.

But we have ambitions to ramp up our investment in the club, both to help sustain the current success and to help set even stronger foundations for the future.

The more we can invest into our club – the easier it is for us to achieve those aims.

So, while Trust membership has been set at an affordable level in order to attract every fan, we have made some tweaks to help us make regular investments in our club.

Members can choose to make a monthly payment, starting from £5, with all funds, aside from admin costs, ploughed directly into the club to increase the club’s shareholding.

All members have the same voting rights as each other as a shareholder in the club, as the Trust still operates as a Friendly Society registered with the FCA under a one-member, one-vote policy.

Traditional annual memberships are still available for £10. Both memberships will be available to buy online from the new-look website www.robinstrust.org/join

Why Should I Join?

Membership of the Robins Trust enables the fans to have a significant say in how their club operates.

As a one of the four major shareholders in our club – and the only significant shareholder sitting on the current board of directors – the Trust campaigns on behalf of the average match-going fan.

Our strong relationship with the Football Supporters Association means we have played a significant role in the government’s Fan Led Review of football which could lead to significant changes in football governance.

Our aim is to be at the heart of the decision making – both at our club and in our game – in the months and years to come.

The more members we have and the more money we can invest in our club, the louder and stronger our voice is.

How Do I Join

We used the period during the pandemic to reshape and reorganise how we do things.

Our board is bigger, stronger, more diverse and as skilled as ever before and we have used that talent to devise a new and easy-to-use membership portal on our website.

That means it is easier than ever to join, either as a rolling-monthly investor or an annual Trust member.

Simply log-on to www.robinstrust.org/join

Volunteers will be around the ground ahead of Saturday’s game with Shrewsbury Town handing out business cards with QR codes and website details.

And there will be a sign-up spot in the main car-park to take cash and card payments for anyone wanting to join on the spot.

Am I still a Trust Member?

If you were a Trust member at the time of the first lockdown being called, you will still be a member now and you will be able to now update your membership.

At the time of the onset of the pandemic, the Trust board took the decision to freeze memberships due to the uncertainty of the time.

That period has been extended until the end of the year to allow for a grace period alongside the current launch.

If you have a registered e-mail address you will be able to log-in to your account, submit payment details and update your membership.

Simply log-on to www.robinstrust.org/join