Rebranding: Introducing Notts County Foundation
The charitable arm of Notts County FC, Notts County Football in the Community, has become Notts County Foundation.
The rebrand was announced by the Foundation’s Ambassador Vicky McClure on social media and CEO, Ian Boyd, who said: “As Notts County FC’s charity, we are extremely proud of the community work we’ve been carrying out in the local area since 1989. […] Over the past 12 months we have initiated an extensive consultation exercise with beneficiaries and stakeholders. […] The consultation also allowed us to hear that people were not fully aware of the breadth of work that we undertake within our community, nor its full impact. This encouraged us to reflect on our ‘brand’ and the message it sends; to consider raising our independent charitable profile and to draw further attention to the excellent work taking place across the city and the county of which the wider public is often unaware.”
The redefined mission is to use the power of sports and Notts County Football Club to engage and empower local communities and the individuals they serve. As an independent, regional sports development charity supporting the people of Nottinghamshire, the outcomes are supposed to S.H.I.N.E – have a positive impact on Sport, Health, Inclusion, NCS and Educational outcomes. The Foundation also operates and manages the Portland Leisure Centre located within the heart of the Meadows which offeres swim, gym, classes, lessons, employability, venue hire and children’s parties.
The Foundation will focus on what they can do, as opposed to what they cannot do. Adopting a place-based approach will allow them to focus on some of the challenges the covid pandemic has brought to light. Themes such as Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, challenging Health Inequalities, deepening their placed-based approach, as they empower and co-create with communities, will all be key to the delivery going forward. Core values guide the day-to-day work and the way in which they interact with others.
The newly refreshed values and definitions are as follows:
• We inspire: acting as role models, aiming to bring the best out of people
• We are innovative: thinking outside the box, creatively making things happen
• We are community driven: cohesion throughout our networks: participants, staff, funders, local partners
• We show integrity: committed to doing what we said we would do
• We are ambitious: striving to grow and achieve
The Foundation will also be establishing a winter appeal which will focus on a local issue and aim to raise income and profile around tackling or challenging that issue. This year, Notts County Foundation will focus on lonely or isolated meadows residents through the inaugural ‘Nott lonely this winter’ campaign. The Foundation works with and uses the profile of some locally well know S.H.I.N.E ambassadors to help promote projects and their impact. These ambassadors are
- Sports Development: Ladies NCFC captain (TBC)
- Health: Tony Lormor: physical health (former professional footballer) and Neville Brown: mental health (former British Middleweight Champion)
- Inclusion: Etienne Stott (former Olympic Kayaker)
- NCS: Jo Jackson (former Olympic swimmer)
- Education: Grant Turner (former Olympic swimmer)
- Portland: Vicky McClure (actor)
For more information, download the brochure Notts County Foundation: A Shining Future.
