York City Supporters Trust launches new website

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Statement from York City Supporters Trust . . .

TRUST LAUNCH NEW WEBSITE


City’s Trust has launched its new website at www.ycst.org.uk

Please take a little time to check out the new site and forward this link to other people.

The site has a radical new look and some new features. In particular, fans will be able to keep up to date with Trust and Club business via the regular articles.

The Trust’s original Save City Campaign website was launched in January 2002 and has proved to be a great success since that time. Over 20,000 unique users have visited www.ycst.org.uk , around 1,500 supporters have registered to receive the Trust's’ regular e-mail newsletters and, through the site, over £50,000 was raised towards the Trust’s Rescue Package.

The Trust’s website has been an integral part of the Communications Strategy that has helped provide the foundation for the Trust’s immense achievements since its formation. The Trust’s news, key messages and campaigns have been propagated through a series of outlets, including:

- Regular press release to the (very supportive) York Evening Press;

- Other local media (press, radio, television);

- A variety of national media;

- The Club’s Match Programme (a Programme that is now massively improved and is one of the main outlets for Club News);

- Supporter meetings (the AGM in December will be the 5th major open meeting by the Trust in less than 2 years);

- Letters and Newsletters to Trust members (relatively limited use of this mechanism, because of the costs involved);

- Email Newsletters, to all those who have registered via www.ycst.org.uk (which continues to be available);

- Use of Red&Blue.net, Minstermen.net and Arthur; and

- One-on-one (Trust Board members are around on matchdays and at other City events).


This has all been carried out by a few volunteers, balanced against their other commitments for the Trust (and in life!). Always against a backdrop that certain parties would look to seize opportunities to attack and discredit the Trust if they could. A Communications Strategy that has, at times, fallen short of some peoples’ (reasonable or otherwise) expectations. Hopefully, you will find the updated information on the website of interest, and the news posting system we now have in place enables the Team to post articles much more easily than in the past.

Much of the content of the website and Trust News continues to be provided by Paul Rawnsley. City fan Joe Haining has recently volunteered and is now also helping to deliver news about the Trust and the Club to supporters. York City is about much more than 90 minutes of football on a Saturday afternoon. Largely speaking, the Trust website will seek to be about everything York City (other than the 90 minutes of on-the-pitch stuff!). Please can anyone who would like to contribute information, articles or assistance contact either Paul (paul.rawnsley@ycst.org.uk) or Joe (jobi1@ycst.org.uk ) or . The Club’s own official website is in development.

The Trust’s webmaster is Mike Brown. Mike created the original Trust website and the various features it contains. That includes the donations facility, that really proved its worth on that weekend in February when City fans needed to raise £60,000 to prolong the life of the Club until the Trust’s Rescue Package could be completed. That weekend, over £20,000 flooded into the Trust from football supporters around the Country and the World to help Save City. The rest is history, as they say. As well Director of York City Football Club Limited, responsible for Marketing and IT.


Please continue to provide positive support to the Trust and the Club – and check out www.ycst.org.uk on a regular basis.

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