mm...possibly.

If there were say 750 people contributing, then they would elect a team/committee of 5 to "oversee" the spend. This committee would have to agree by a 4/1 + majority on the spend.....not ideal, but £45,000 to spend over the course of a season only equates to just short of £3.5k a game, so any mistakes/failures wouldn't be the end of the world would it.
I know that the club should be doing this, but I would have no problem giving up my time to help with such a program.
If the 750 members all had an opportunity to put forward ideas, which the elected committee could then vote on, then it would get the approval of the club I don't think there would be too many foul ups.
I tell you what....how funny would it be if (and it will never even get past the dreamland of these boards) this Fans Funded Marketing Group actually made a difference.....
If we got an extra 10,000 over the season, that would be a 20% increase at no cost to the Club.......and the Marketing Team (as such that there is one) would look very silly indeed.

Ah a man with a plan, excellent, the five person committee could be called The Directorate, I am not greatly in favour of things run by committee, I am reminded of the camel that came out of a committe that was trying to design a horse! But if we have the talent, time, funds and permission this could be very inovative.

Well I disagree, I think it should be called The Taskforce.

(I don't really, I just wanted to write some rubbish)

Ladies and Gentlemen...we have our first committee member.

we'll have to vote on what it's called

You all missed my reference to The Directorate, this was the body in the French Revolution from which Napoleon emerged! IIRC

So come along people who is going to volunteer to organise this committee, provide a place for meetings, collecting committee dues and donations..................... etc .............etc. Sign up now and we can go forward

If the club would agree to this idea, I don't see why they could not handle the cash side i.e. be a post box and promote the idea. Without their co-operation this idea is dead, but with goodwill it could work. A lot people put a lot of work and time in at the Broncos on a similar voluntary effort and we could do it again. A good number would be sleeping partners and just put up the cash. I think it could be done, and will volunteer to help.

There have been about a dozen posts in response to GF`s proposal and I am already fed up with the level of bureaucracy!!

Should it ever get off the ground you can count me in for a monthly contribution.

Would have thought it would have to be set up as a stand alone company, with all the ususal baggage of Director`s, AGM`s, meeting minutes, fiancial accounts, external audits etc etc....I am sure there is someone out there who can advise on the legal aspects. But before it gets that far the strategy and aims of the group would need to be sorted, before you can `sell it` to the punters and see if there is sufficient interest and likely funds to make it work. How it might work with the club and the flow of information and co-operation needed between both groups is another story.

I am sure this is a well trodden path for others who have already tried to organise similar groups and club support in the past......would be good to hear comments from those people (along the lines of Al the Bronco`s comments)

Some interesting ideas.

What form would the marketing take?

How will you measure responses?

What do you consider a good return on investment?

If we had 750 @ £60 a year, then we would have £45,000 to play with. The elected commitee would meet as often as required to discuss proposals from those who have contributed (the 750) and select the best way to spend the money available for each game.
I would think that as an organisation, we would need to have backing from the club to be able to negotiate deals and build relationships with the local press and community, but I would imagine that with £3,500 available for each game, we would look at a voucher in the local press, some PR coverage on local radio stations, maybe a poster at Twickenham station (oh, how i'd love it for Quind to sponsor the station..flowes, clean and tidy thanks to Quins RL), leafletting at the station on Thursday/Friday nights...blah blah blah...
I would consider a 5,000 increase on the annual total (£9 A POP) a fair return on investment...but more importantly, we would attempt to get feedback from the newbies on what they liked/didn't and encourage repeat business.
This may or may not be a pipe dream, but I feel it might be worth the club considering it NOW rather than in February.......which is what will probably happen