DCFC Keyworth Stadium Fundraiser
Who are you?
Hey everyone, my name is James Davidson, and I am a member of NGS (The Nothern Guard Supporters ), a Detroit City Football Club supporters group. I have been attending games since year 1 of the team (although I am still missing that 2012 scarf). I love the team and all it stands for. I have sung myself horse chanting and singing for City.
I am a married dad of a 5 year old girl, and a 6 month old boy. Here is my familiy before my son was born, fall of 2014:
Here is a pic of my son right after being born.... 
As you can see, we take City pretty seriously in my household. Another pic of my son on matchday:
What are you Fundraising For?
The club has outgrown in current grounds, Cass Techincal Stadium, and is looking to move to a larger faciltiy, seating 6k. Keyworth Stadium has been indentified as that new home, but a lot of work is needed to bring it up to standards.
Keyworth Kickoff Video
The club is giving supporters the chance to LOAN the club money which will be used to pay for the renovations. This progam is though a law that Michigan passed allowing early stage investing by regualr citizens. The key here is that the investor MUST be a Michigan resident.
Let me make this clear, if you are a Michigan resident, please participate directly in the program, there is no need to contribute to my campaign unless you cannot reach the $250 threshold. If you have less than $250 to donate, please use my campaign. Here is the link to get started.
In my interactions on Reddit, Facebook, etc. I have come to see that City has a wide range of support across the country, and even across the world. At the same time I do not have the funds available to support this effort to the level I wish to. This campaign is designed to meet both of those goals.
How Will it Work?:
This is critically important. All of the money that is raised through this effort, even if I do not reach my goal, will be invested in the Keyworth Campaign for City.
Once I recieve the funds, I will participate in the program. The way it works is that you loan the club money, and they repay you over time, allocating a certain percentage of gross revenue to pay back investors. The current plan is to repay principal and interest in about 6 years.
But James, After You get Repaid, What are you Going to do with the Funds?:
Great question, and one I wrestled with myself. Would I manage returning funds to others? Would I keep part of it for the trouble/taxes? Then I came up with what I think is the best solution... I will donate it.
I will contribute all funds that come back to me through the program (including interest) to the Detroit Police Athletic Laugue.
DCFC has partnered with PAL in the past, and it is a great organization that helps get inner-city youth involved in sports. This way the money will litereally get used twice, once to fund the Keyworth Renovation, and then again for Detroit PAL.
So What Do I Get as a Donor?:
1. The satisfaction that you helped a grass roots club build it's grounds, and they did it with support from the common man, not large investors.
2. For anyone who contributes $10 or more, I will send a autographed pic of myself at Keyworth for the opening game against FC United of Manchester . I am hoping maybe I can get the teams to be in the pic.
3. As a donor at the $10k level, I get some percs with the club. One that I can share is getting a plaque with my name on it on the stadium. If I succesfully raise $10k, I will have that say "GoFundMe Donors" instead of "James Davidson"
4. I also recieve 2 season tickets right at midfield for the duration of the loan. I will never use these tickets, as my home is always and forever in the terraces with NGS. So if anyone who contributes to my campaign is ever in town and wants to catch a game, I will give them two great tickets, and buy thier first round of beer at the match-day bar.
How Can I Trust You?:
As with most Go Fund Me campaigns there is no legal way to make sure I do what I say I am going to do. If it makes any difference I am an Eagle Scout, and have served as an elder in my Church, and generally am an honest person who just loves DCFC. My twitter handle is @JDavidson1 and my Reddit handle is @JDintheD, so I am kind of throwing myself out there as well, you can see my posting history as it related to City. I am also a known quanitity in the Northern Guard.
I plan on keeping everyone updated, and post my donations to Detroit PAL as I recieve funds back from the club.
Please ask any questions and I will do my best to answer them
City Til' I Die!
James
