Foundation of hearts.

[Marooned In Oz]

Has anyone tried getting in touch with FOH by email recently?  I have serious issues with mine and my dad's accounts and they're normally quite quick at getting back to you however have been waiting over a week with no response.

I know they've had an influx of pledges recently but I was hoping to have this resolved soon so my dad can get his name on the wall at tynecastle.   If anyone here can help from FOH, please send me a PM.  

Thanks!

[Mars plastic]

I’ve not, mate. Sorry.

[cookieboy]

@iainmac

[1971fozzy]

I got a reply in about 7 days 

[iainmac]

6 hours ago, cookieboy said:

@iainmac

 

Not me anymore I'm afraid.

[Renoir]

I have 1387 points and don't even have a discount card. Contacted them via email and Facebook messenger and their responses was poor at best.  If this was a limited company then I'd expect better,  thankfully its not for rewards I donate. Poorly run is the best I could say about it.

[hmfc_steve]

3 hours ago, Renoir said:

I have 1387 points and don't even have a discount card. Contacted them via email and Facebook messenger and their responses was poor at best.  If this was a limited company then I'd expect better,  thankfully its not for rewards I donate. Poorly run is the best I could say about it.

Discount card ?

[mrcrisps]

17 minutes ago, hmfc_steve said:

Discount card ?

List of rewards

[Guest]

I asked on here about the discount card recently. It was suggested that it's no longer in operation

[davemclaren]

35 minutes ago, Jonkel Hoon said:

I asked on here about the discount card recently. It was suggested that it's no longer in operation

Sure I got one about four years ago  and used it to get a discounted stay in the Dalmahoy. Been in my bedside drawer ever since   

[Dusty]

How many points do you need to have your name on the wall inside Tynecastle or is it for all pledgers?

[151]

8 hours ago, Renoir said:

I have 1387 points and don't even have a discount card. Contacted them via email and Facebook messenger and their responses was poor at best.  If this was a limited company then I'd expect better,  thankfully its not for rewards I donate. Poorly run is the best I could say about it.

 

Same i'm sure ive got over 2000 maroon points (£20 since it started) and haven't even had the plot ceremony yet. I don't do it for rewards though but was buzzing when the shirt first came out. 

 

 

[chrisyboy7]

FOH nave to employ full time workers to run this and maybe things will improve....

 

[Marooned In Oz]

Its probably because of the influx of pledgers in recent weeks and people trying to get their name on the wall at tynecastle.  Still, I would expect them to answer queries in a more timely manner and maybe they need to employ staff to deal with admin issues.  I recently changed my pledge and it wiped all my maroon points (i had in excess of 1800) and my dads new account isn't showing any of his pledges either and I would be keen to get his sorted to he gets his name on the wall.  Frustrating.

Edited September 19, 2021 by Marooned In Oz

[highlandjambo3]

On the stadium tour, can you view the wall?

[portobellojambo1]

I attended a meeting on Thursday night, with one of the FoH representatives present and it was good to listen to what was being said. I honestly hadn't taken into account that the people on the board are all doing this voluntarily, unpaid, while all have full time jobs but still find time to fit in hours of personal time before and after starting their day jobs just doing work for the FoH contributors.

 

Much of their work involves the monthly contributions and the fact not all of these are made via Go Cardless, but they receive a lot of payments via Paypal, and the two payment methods at the moment are having to be cross checked before being entered and they then have to cross check further spreadsheets to make sure the correct amounts are allocated to each contributor's totals. Someone mentioned rewards above and my understanding is this is something that is being reviewed at the moment. While the FoH are aware that there may be some things outstanding at the moment they are working as hard as they can to get things back up to date.

 

For those on the thread who are contributors and also have skills in terms of creating/programming spreadsheets the FoH would love to hear from such people to see if there is something relatively simple that would help reduce the amount of time they have to spend on doing manual calculations, giving them more time to spend on things that some contributors may find a bit more important.

 

[jambo-in-furness]

I have fired off emails to FOH rewards as they are way behind with the calculations of my maroon points.  I’m not particularly interested in the reward itself,  but I do take pleasure in seeing how much I’ve donated.  It used to give me a lift each month seeing my points go up,  now I’m busy calculating how many months donations they seem to have missed.  It is depressing and even worse when they don’t reply to emails asking them to at least investigate.

 

Please someone from FOH,  if your reading this,  address unanswered rewards emails.

[Walrus]

How does it work with the plot ceremony? I'm way past the points mark and haven't ever heard anything? Is it something you need to be proactive about? 

[pablo]

I've got over 4800 points and haven't had any reward since the plot service. I'm not bothered or anything, otherwise I suppose I would have contacted them. But if my situation is commonplace, they must have some backlog.  

 

It's not about the pin badge rewards though, is it?

[Lone Striker]

2 hours ago, portobellojambo1 said:

 

 

For those on the thread who are contributors and also have skills in terms of creating/programming spreadsheets the FoH would love to hear from such people to see if there is something relatively simple that would help reduce the amount of time they have to spend on doing manual calculations, giving them more time to spend on things that some contributors may find a bit more important.

 

Any idea why manual calculations are required in this day & age ?      Presumably they're getting spreadsheet  transaction  info from  several places (bank, Go Cardless, Paypal) and having to reconcile to their bank balance and update reward points etc.    If so, an intermediate level  knowledge of Excel should allow most of the work to be automated, imo      Big spreadsheets though !!

 

[portobellojambo1]

1 minute ago, Lone Striker said:

Any idea why manual calculations are required in this day & age ?      Presumably they're getting spreadsheet  transaction  info from  several places (bank, Go Cardless, Paypal) and having to reconcile to their bank balance and update reward points etc.    If so, an intermediate level  knowledge of Excel should allow most of the work to be automated, imo      Big spreadsheets though !!

 

 

My understanding mirrors your thoughts, i.e. a lot of  info. from various sources requiring manual reconciliation and further checks. As you say it may be something someone familiar with spreadsheets could help them out with as manually it is a shitload of work. I think they are hoping someone with experience of Excel can help them out to go more automatic than manual.

[Lone Striker]

16 minutes ago, portobellojambo1 said:

 

My understanding mirrors your thoughts, i.e. a lot of  info. from various sources requiring manual reconciliation and further checks. As you say it may be something someone familiar with spreadsheets could help them out with as manually it is a shitload of work. I think they are hoping someone with experience of Excel can help them out to go more automatic than manual.

Since they are now the major shareholder in a £15m business, I don't think many members would begrudge them spending a few thousand pounds on engaging an Excel consultant to design and deliver what they want.   Surely Ann still has some contacts in the IT world who'd be able & willing to help ?

[RobNox]

Slightly off topic from the OP, but still FOH related, so no point starting another thread.  I received the members update email today from FOH, and it says we have received more than 500 new or increased pledges since the official handover of shares to FOH.

 

I'm blown away by that, as I was always expecting that some pledgers might view it as job done once the handover took place and we'd achieved what we set out to do.  I was expecting a drop-off in pledges, not massive, but maybe 10%, or 20% at worst, which would still see a 7 figure sum coming into the club every season.  Instead, we're seeing an uplift.

[Kiwidoug]

21 minutes ago, RobNox said:

Slightly off topic from the OP, but still FOH related, so no point starting another thread.  I received the members update email today from FOH, and it says we have received more than 500 new or increased pledges since the official handover of shares to FOH.

 

I'm blown away by that, as I was always expecting that some pledgers might view it as job done once the handover took place and we'd achieved what we set out to do.  I was expecting a drop-off in pledges, not massive, but maybe 10%, or 20% at worst, which would still see a 7 figure sum coming into the club every season.  Instead, we're seeing an uplift.

You really shouldn't post that.  It offends people in the west, people in lochend and pretty much the entire football media.

[Saint Jambo]

On 19/09/2021 at 10:54, Dusty said:

How many points do you need to have your name on the wall inside Tynecastle or is it for all pledgers?

 

From a members update today it looks like anyone who currently pledges or pledges by 30th September will be included. Not sure about lapsed pledgers. Hopeully at the very least they;ve included anyone who qualifies for associate membership of FOH (those who had donated a certain amount at any time since FOH was established).

 

Quote

Legends Tribute and Open Day

Many of you will have seen that the club has created a great tribute to everyone who has pledged, with a wall in the Tynecastle tunnel bearing every pledger name from day one of this extraordinary journey. The good news is that the tribute is going to be re-done to include all the new members and if anyone pledges by midnight on 30 September, his or her name will be included.

The unveiling of this tribute will take place at another big event for all of us, namely an Open Day at Tynecastle, which will take place on Sunday 31 October. More details of this day will follow but please try to save the date – we would love to see as many members as possible along on the day. As well as the tunnel tribute wall, the updating of the Foundation section of the museum will be in place and the outstanding video, narrated by Craig Gordon, which told the story of the Foundation and the fans’ efforts to save the club will be shown on the big screen there.

 

[RobNox]

On 19/09/2021 at 22:17, Lone Striker said:

Since they are now the major shareholder in a £15m business, I don't think many members would begrudge them spending a few thousand pounds on engaging an Excel consultant to design and deliver what they want.   Surely Ann still has some contacts in the IT world who'd be able & willing to help ?

I'm retired, dealt with spreadsheets for years with a major bank, where we basically managed the internal investment portfolio of c £3bn using excel.  We'd have data feeds from various sources and tie it all together to give the full picture.  How much of the total budget has been approved, how much of the approved budget has been spent, are we over or under spending against approved budget etc.  This is a FTSE top 100 company, more likely top 30, and they still relied on excel to manage their internal investment portfolio, that is the money they spent on internal investment in the business.

 

If FOH need a bit of help on pulling stuff together, and excel is the tool they are using, or could be using, I'd be more than happy to offer my services.

[Saint Jambo]

And the full members update for any non-members or members who don't get the email.

 

Nothing super exciting. I clicked through to the governance page to see what the line about "how we have dealt with a loan to the club which Bidco transferred to us as part of the handover arrangements" was about. The loan seems to relate to the first £2.4m that FOH members donated that went to working capital. There was never any intention for this to be repaid and it has now been written off by FOH (assuming I've understood correctly).

 

Quote

Foundation of Hearts – Members Update

Dear Member

The last couple of weeks have been momentous and I want to update you on some of the key issues that have come out of the handover period.

To begin, I would like to thank everyone who made Heart and Soul Day such a great success. It was an absolute honour and privilege to sign - on behalf of all members - the certificate with Ann Budge on the day and I do hope that you had a chance to reflect on how far we have all come and how everyone who has pledged over the years has turned a dream into reality. We are now, as you will be aware, the biggest fan-owned club in the UK, and the positive message which that has delivered from Gorgie to the sporting world has been immense.

I was very glad that the work of the Save Our Hearts group and the other supporters groups and individuals who came together under the FoH banner was acknowledged in the coverage of Heart and Soul Day. The journey began with them and we are all very much in their debt.

I also want to thank the many new pledgers and those who have increased their pledge on the back of this milestone. The uptake has been staggering - at last count more than 500 new and increased pledges since 30 August - and you are all very, very welcome as co-owners of Heart of Midlothian.
 

Legends Tribute and Open Day

Many of you will have seen that the club has created a great tribute to everyone who has pledged, with a wall in the Tynecastle tunnel bearing every pledger name from day one of this extraordinary journey. The good news is that the tribute is going to be re-done to include all the new members and if anyone pledges by midnight on 30 September, his or her name will be included.

The unveiling of this tribute will take place at another big event for all of us, namely an Open Day at Tynecastle, which will take place on Sunday 31 October. More details of this day will follow but please try to save the date – we would love to see as many members as possible along on the day. As well as the tunnel tribute wall, the updating of the Foundation section of the museum will be in place and the outstanding video, narrated by Craig Gordon, which told the story of the Foundation and the fans’ efforts to save the club will be shown on the big screen there.

On that video, we’re very grateful to the many people who helped to pull this together, in particular the communications team at the club. Thank you, too, to the interviewees and to the many people who have been involved with the Foundation over our history for helping to form the ‘guard of honour’ for the two youngsters, representing the future generations. The kids were great, as were Craig Gordon, Ian Black (and his tin of maroon paint), Jim Jefferies and Billy Brown. We hope you liked the production, which you can still see on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?. Special mention and thanks, too, to Martin Wykes who composed and produced the tune for the follow-up video about Heart and Soul Day itself.

Garry Halliday  

Many of you will also have seen the news that Garry Halliday, one of the original founding members of the Foundation and a man who has been a driving force and an absolute inspiration to all of us, has decided not to put himself up for re-election at this year’s AGM in December. There is no way, however, that the Foundation can lose Garry’s outstanding skills, experience and communications expertise, so we are currently discussing with him how exactly we best structure a continuing partnership with him. The good news is that Garry is equally keen to stay involved so again, we will be letting you know the outcome of this very soon.

Governance and Administration

The milestone in our and the club’s history that was Heart and Soul Day was not reached without a number of significant development on governance and administration issues. Given the importance of the projects and initiatives that have taken place to date and to ensure that future developments in this area of our work are given proper transparency, we have created an expanded section in our website which you can find here.

Among the material in this section you can find our constitution, financial reports, and arrangements for meetings of members. Following the handover, we have put additional documents in the section which provide information on:

• the ‘working together’ arrangements put in place by the Foundation and the club as part of the governance framework;
• the new category of affiliate membership which came into existence on handover; and
• how we have dealt with a loan to the club which Bidco transferred to us as part of the handover arrangements.

We will continue to keep you up to date with issues which arise in our new position as majority shareholders of the club and as mentioned above, we’ll be back with more on the Open Day and on Garry’s new role. In the meantime, please enjoy your status as a co-owner of Heart of Midlothian Football Club. That is a historic and incredible achievement, and we thank you very sincerely for your role in getting there.

With very best wishes

Stuart Wallace
Chairman, Foundation of Hearts

 

 

[RobNox]

5 minutes ago, Kiwidoug said:

You really shouldn't post that.  It offends people in the west, people in lochend and pretty much the entire football media.

Particularly the Lochend cockenders Doug, who assumed that after a bad result or two in a derby, we'd all be cancelling our pledges.  They judge us Jambos by their own very low standards.  Still, if they keep their own scheme going they might own their club before their great great grandchildren die.

[RobNox]

5 minutes ago, Saint Jambo said:

And the full members update for any non-members or members who don't get the email.

 

Nothing super exciting. I clicked through to the governance page to see what the line about "how we have dealt with a loan to the club which Bidco transferred to us as part of the handover arrangements" was about. The loan seems to relate to the first £2.4m that FOH members donated that went to working capital. There was never any intention for this to be repaid and it has now been written off by FOH (assuming I've understood correctly).

 

 

You have indeed Saint.  Hearts owed Bidco £2.4m after Ann put up the funds to buy the shares, FOH have repaid Bidco, but technically, the debt transfers to FOH.  So Hearts owed Bidco £2.4m, they now own FOH £2.4m, as we repaid the Bidco loan, but it was always the case that FOH would write off the loan.  Otherwise, Hearts would owe FOH £2.4m, and any funds they repaid to FOH would go back into Hearts.

[Kiwidoug]

2 hours ago, RobNox said:

Particularly the Lochend cockenders Doug, who assumed that after a bad result or two in a derby, we'd all be cancelling our pledges.  They judge us Jambos by their own very low standards.  Still, if they keep their own scheme going they might own their club before their great great grandchildren die.

😂😂😂😂😂❤❤❤❤❤

[Lone Striker]

13 hours ago, RobNox said:

I'm retired, dealt with spreadsheets for years with a major bank, where we basically managed the internal investment portfolio of c £3bn using excel.  We'd have data feeds from various sources and tie it all together to give the full picture.  How much of the total budget has been approved, how much of the approved budget has been spent, are we over or under spending against approved budget etc.  This is a FTSE top 100 company, more likely top 30, and they still relied on excel to manage their internal investment portfolio, that is the money they spent on internal investment in the business.

 

If FOH need a bit of help on pulling stuff together, and excel is the tool they are using, or could be using, I'd be more than happy to offer my services.

👍  Very good of you to post that, Rob.   Instant PHM status right there !! 😃

 

   I'm sure Stuart Wallace would be delighted to hear from you.   Hopefully a meeting with whoever currently does the admin workload would give you an indication of what's involved and if there are "quick wins" you can identify which would improve things.    

[ULSTER JAMES]

I had my plot ceremony on Sunday which was a very special and enjoyable day.  The invite e mail went to my junk folder whereas the update e mails go to my inbox so just a wee pointer to always keep an eye on the junk folder for anyone who is waiting on these types of things.  That was the third plot ceremony since the covid restrictions have relaxed as far as i know.

[Marooned In Oz]

Im still waiting on a response.   I've sent them another email but not holding my breath.  I've also messaged them several times on twitter and Facebook but nothing.   I totally get its all volunteers and I fully appreciate how much of peoples personal lives are taken up by this but I am a wee bit disappointed given the amount of money I've ploughed into it to not have any acknowledgement of my email or messages.    I think that they need to look at employing an admin staff member to handle this as its clear they don't have the time to manage enquiries in a timely manner.

[iainmac]

16 hours ago, Marooned In Oz said:

Im still waiting on a response.   I've sent them another email but not holding my breath.  I've also messaged them several times on twitter and Facebook but nothing.   I totally get its all volunteers and I fully appreciate how much of peoples personal lives are taken up by this but I am a wee bit disappointed given the amount of money I've ploughed into it to not have any acknowledgement of my email or messages.    I think that they need to look at employing an admin staff member to handle this as its clear they don't have the time to manage enquiries in a timely manner.

 

I'm no longer involved but if you'd like to PM your name & issue to me, I'll see if I can get this addressed for you. 

[Dusty]

On 21/09/2021 at 23:13, Saint Jambo said:

 

From a members update today it looks like anyone who currently pledges or pledges by 30th September will be included. Not sure about lapsed pledgers. Hopeully at the very least they;ve included anyone who qualifies for associate membership of FOH (those who had donated a certain amount at any time since FOH was established).

 

 

Thanks - I did see that e-mail.  I've been a pledger for a wee while, but not since the beginning so I wasn't sure.

[Marooned In Oz]

Finally got a response and they said they will sort it for me after my latest email.  I don't mean to be negative because I do really appreciate the work they do.  Just is frustrating when you cant get an answer to a query! 

[john thomas]

On 21/09/2021 at 23:17, Saint Jambo said:

And the full members update for any non-members or members who don't get the email.

 

Nothing super exciting. I clicked through to the governance page to see what the line about "how we have dealt with a loan to the club which Bidco transferred to us as part of the handover arrangements" was about. The loan seems to relate to the first £2.4m that FOH members donated that went to working capital. There was never any intention for this to be repaid and it has now been written off by FOH (assuming I've understood correctly).

 

 

Don't get emails at all from FoH . Not really bothered , just idly curious why I don't

[Tams bird]

I got my 1956 but only if you went to Gorgie Suite you could pick it up.  Just noticed on to 98 club now.

Edited September 24, 2021 by Tams bird

[Beave1874]

10 minutes ago, Tams bird said:

I got my 1956 but only if you went to Gorgie Suite you could pick it up.  Just noticed on to 98 club now.

Hi,

 

If you don't mind me asking how did you find this out as I too have passed the 1956 threshold, just curious as may try and collect next time I can be through.

 

 

[Tams bird]

2 hours ago, Beave1874 said:

Hi,

 

If you don't mind me asking how did you find this out as I too have passed the 1956 threshold, just curious as may try and collect next time I can be through.

 

 

Can't remember. It was a Sunday last Summer and the bar was open. Done thekiltwalk and ended up at Tynnie.  Nothing official. Gave your name, got certificate and a badge and out the door.

[Beave1874]

6 hours ago, Tams bird said:

Can't remember. It was a Sunday last Summer and the bar was open. Done thekiltwalk and ended up at Tynnie.  Nothing official. Gave your name, got certificate and a badge and out the door.

Thanks appreciate the response. I do recall they did do something now, was impossible for me to go at the time. No worries. I won't be hassling FOH for the 1956 club, etc... Enough on their plate. 

[Lone Striker]

22 hours ago, john thomas said:

Don't get emails at all from FoH . Not really bothered , just idly curious why I don't

Most likely because your email is wrongly spelled/recorded on their database, so their emails never reach you.   Send them an email and ask them to check/correct the address they have for you.  

[iainmac]

On 23/09/2021 at 23:39, john thomas said:

Don't get emails at all from FoH . Not really bothered , just idly curious why I don't

 

Read this - might explain why.

 

 

[Darren]

This is still an issue.

Realised I'm well past the 1956 point and haven't had a sniff of anything from FoH. No response to email (sent on Thursday) either.

[eggyg1874]

On 19/09/2021 at 20:34, jambo-in-furness said:

I have fired off emails to FOH rewards as they are way behind with the calculations of my maroon points.  I’m not particularly interested in the reward itself,  but I do take pleasure in seeing how much I’ve donated.  It used to give me a lift each month seeing my points go up,  now I’m busy calculating how many months donations they seem to have missed.  It is depressing and even worse when they don’t reply to emails asking them to at least investigate.

 

Please someone from FOH,  if your reading this,  address unanswered rewards emails.

I am in the same boat, although i haven't sent them any emails. I have been on the same points since at least February,   Is there any way to see your 'lifetime statement' to at least have an idea of where you should be?, i have increased pledge amounts on a few occasions, so not as simple as doing 1 calculation

[Darren]

You're talking donations in excess of £1,000 from even minimum pledges if you've been contributing since the start. It's shambolic.

[OTT]

Always thought it would be good to have some sort of unique referral link that nets you additional Maroon points every time you recruit a new member. 

 

FOH should always be trying to incentivise growth. Giving everyone a unique link they can pass along to friends and family is surely at the very least, not a bad idea? Plenty of organisations have this sort of thing, and I'd like to think its because it works!!

 

Realise that is nothing to do with the thread  but didn't want to start one of my own, sorry guys! I do agree though, communication has been a constant complaint levelled at the FOH. I'm sure they're doing their best, but there must be some sort of way of being more effective at managing and communicating with members more effectively. Considering over £1.4m is raised a year, would it be worth investing in a part time admin assistant to help manage this sort of stuff? 

[Nerja Jambo]

1 hour ago, eggyg1874 said:

I am in the same boat, although i haven't sent them any emails. I have been on the same points since at least February,   Is there any way to see your 'lifetime statement' to at least have an idea of where you should be?, i have increased pledge amounts on a few occasions, so not as simple as doing 1 calculation

Yet there are 7 ( seven ) Board members. What do they do?

[mrcrisps]

The internet tells me:

 

A board member is an individual on a company's board of directors which serves as an organization's governing body. Often elected by a company's shareholders, the board as a whole creates company policies and oversees the organisation's managerial positions.

[davemclaren]

26 minutes ago, Nerja Jambo said:

Yet there are 7 ( seven ) Board members. What do they do?

Probably all have full time jobs and families.