Evening folks. Finally had chance to sit down and have a look at some of the comments. First of all, thanks for the support for the idea – it’s really good to know you’re in favour of something like this. I’m a bit daunted about I may be about to take on, but excited to try and do something big for the community.
A few comments on the questions here…
“So it’s basically a national level of what Ride Sheffield are already trying to do with Radtax at a local level?”
One small option of the funding stream is like RadTax, the rest is different. The level of donation has to be so small as to be negligible. But then at scale – nationally, it would build a significant pot.
“I’d suggest the name could use some work.”
Yep. I pick this up in the full article on our website “Call it the trail pot, the investment fund or whatever, with enough engagement, the name is immaterial – it’s the results that will count.”
I quite like Trail Investment Pot. Cos then you can be prompted to leave a TIP.
“The detail and practicalities need some thought”
<span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>Yes. That’s why we’re putting it out there – so people can input and shape it. I have reams of scribbles about how it would/could work.</span>
“There’s an expectation that the panel will do a lot of work for free.”
Have you met me? :) I’m passionate about this. Lots of others in the world of advocacy are too. If we want something to really work, we’ll put the time in. I know loads of people who put in loads of hours voluntarily – the hardest part of that, I’ve always found, is identifying a specific task. Volunteer hours don’t always have to be with a mattock.
“Money ‘donated’ would be so thinly spread over such a large geographic area that I would not expect to see any noticable benefits in my area”
“Would people contribute to that, rounding up your LBS purchase in Swinley, knowing the money might go to a project somewhere near Newcastle?”“staff costs will swallow a lot of the cash for the first few years”
I have a model for ‘fair’ redistribution of money raised so that this wouldn’t be a problem. In fact, the model would almost incentivise participation. It’s on a bit of scrap paper at the moment though, not in a shiny pdf. In year one I’d anticipate a lower level of funds being used to give local advocacy groups the boost they need to lift their game; web domains, tools, posters, flags, maybe insurances – that kind of thing. Small win results which then play back into the fund by helping volunteer groups to almost professionalise how they operate.
“What would be interesting would be to have a nationally standardised system for micro-donations that any local trail association could sign up to.”
The unfortunate side effect being a parochial flow of money purely localised and no unifying cause to unite the MTB community. Trail Pot lifts the altruistic element up to a mandated cause.
“I’m sceptical that your average audi driving MTB rider will actually chuck enough in the pot to make it sustainable”
Yep, a fair concern. The aim is to make it negligible in the spend mechanism. But at scale.
“In other contexts with “National” funds I’ve seen two (conflicting) gripes”
A fair point. I’d want to see the application process for funds made simple for both groups and the panel. I work in comms so have some skill in this area.
“Perhaps the funds a local group could help generate include a % to the national body.”
Yep. PDMTB would look to contribute. Agree with everything you say.
