We are delighted to announce that the recent appeal for funds to purchase a boat for the Temple VIII crew is now officially closed, after successfully raising £4,300 from individual member donations, including several particularly generous donations.
With the addition of the £5000 Taurus have already donated from club general funds, and another £2500 pledged from the Taurus Sponsorship account (more on this account below), it means Taurus has raised a total of £11,800 - just £200 short of our £12,000 target. This is excellent news for which we would like to thank all members - because even if you have not directly donated on this occasion, the majority of your membership subs over recent years have gone towards the club donation of £5000.
The success of our appeal and of several fundraising efforts by the students themselves has in fact unlocked more money from Brookes itself, which has, in conjunction with the sale of an older Empacher, now allowed Richard and Henry to order another Empacher VIII - this time brand new (in addition to the ex-Olympic Empacher already delivered, racing and winning).
As a committee, we are happy to support the diversion of some of the donated funds to allow the purchase of this new VIII and hope all Taurus members will be proud to be behind it also.
It really is looking like a very strong year for Brookes, with excellent results at the University Champs at Nottingham, Gent and Duisberg regattas . The first VIII will be using the new Empacher in the Temple and the second VIII, who came a close second place at Gent, will be in the ex-Olympic Empacher also in the Temple.
Henley is now only 5 weeks away and I look forward to a successful campaign vocally supported from the enclosures as ever!
The current appeal is now closed, however if you still wish to donate then that would be gratefully received but could I now perhaps ask all members to consider setting up a separate standing order directly to our dedicated fundraising account - the Sponsorship Account for future Brookes donations. This is an account we use specifically for fundraising - all funds are ring-fenced and kept separate from general club funds. 100% of donations go to support Brookes. We have never publicised or promoted this account but even with a handful of subscribers making modest donations of £20 - £50 annually we have made several donations over the years, including the £2,500 mentioned above.
Any level of donation is welcome - but we would suggest an annual donation of between £20 - £50 to keep it affordable.
To set up a standing order please follow this link to the fundraising page and follow instructions there - http://www.taurusboatclub.org.uk/fundraising/
Richard Sprately has asked me to pass on his words also:
"Please could you send my warmest thanks to every single donor for the significant help they have given towards the Temple crew this year achieving their goal. I will do all I can to ensure that these athletes are provided with every means to achieve their goals and these donations have been a key part of this."
Finally - on behalf of the Taurus committee, thank you to all those that have donated either through membership subscriptions, sponsorship account donations, individual donations or all three. We don't ask for your money lightly and will always ensure that it is properly looked after and used for the best results from Brookes rowing.
See you at Henley!