This is intended to give you a quick tour of the Trust, why its here, what it is, how it works, who runs it, and, most importantly, what's in it for you.

It's not intended to cover every aspect. For those of you who are interested in the finer detail you can access the Constitution in Acrobat PDF format by CLICKING HERE or simply mail your question or comment to the Webmaster on enquiries@ycst.org.uk

If you've not already joined the Trust, please download a membership form by CLICKING HERE

The people who started the Trust in York borrowed the basic idea from others.

The first club to form a trust in this way was Northampton Town when they had a crisis in 1991/2. But this remained an isolated and little known example until April 2001. We are the 45th Trust to launch in the UK

The Football Task Force (amongst other things) gave birth to an organisation called Supporters' Direct.

The people at Supporters-Direct www.supporters-direct.org set out to spread the idea and provide help to supporter groups. Our Trust was set up with their direct help.

A small group dedicated local fans started the process on the 7th January 2002, when following a overwhelming mandate at a public meeting a working party was formed to launch the Trust.

We launched the Trust on the 1st February 2002 at the Barbican, only 26 days from the public meeting - a record that all involved should be proud of; it showed what is achievable when a group of committed people put their mind to things.

It was an evening to remember for all those who attended and the entertainment provided by the ex-players in particular Jack Pinder and one of our oldest Supporters - Arthur Robinson will live on forever.

One by-product of Supporters-Direct is that we have been able to swap ideas with other Clubs and it is unlikely that our Trust would have achieved this success so quickly without their help and support.

For more information on the weeks prior to the formation of the Trust please CLICK HERE

The Trust is formally called "The York City Supporters Society Limited".
It is registered with the Registry of Friendly Societies. You will know it as York City Supporters' Trust - it's more common name.

For those of you that are interested, it is Registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts 1965 -1978. Registration number 29345R.

It has a set of 121 Rules (the "Constitution" or "Model Rules" drawn up for us by Cobbetts, solicitors of Manchester) and these give strict guidance to the way it is run. The Registry has approved these Rules and the Registry must also approve any changes. And they will not allow any changes that weaken the principles of the Trust.

To download the Rules in PDF format please CLICK HERE

The most important of these are:

• It exists for the benefit of its members (you!)
• It must be inclusive so that anyone who cares about the club can join
• Any money it receives can only be used toward achieving its aims
• It is democratic - one member gets one vote no matter how much money they give

There can be no changes to these principles unless the members as a whole vote for it (in practice this means they will not change).

The Trust has not been set up to replace existing supporters clubs and organisations. But to be an 'umbrella' group where there all such bodies can work together with individual supporters to bring the club closer to the community.

Sub - committees / working parties

There is always far more work to be done than 12-15 people could ever hope to achieve. So there are a number of sub-committees or working parties formed to get on with the main activities of the Trust.

The constitution requires a Board Member to Chair each sub-committee to maintain a link to the centre.

But each sub-committee relies wholly on the help of members to get the job done.

The sub-committees formed to date are

• Business
• Community/Fundraising/Marketing
• Membership
• P.R
• Logistics

To find out more about these and how you can help please contact the relevant elected member

This is a great way to get involved in the work of the Trust and make a real contribution to its success.

The Trust exists for the benefit of its members - you!

The aims of the Trust are all about the well being of the club, bringing it closer to the community of York and District and helping the development of young footballers in the area.

By supporting the Trust you support these ideals.

Any money you contribute will help the Trust achieve its aims and all monies will only ever be used for the betterment of York City Football Club

The cost of running the Trust will be kept to a minimum and will be met from a proportion of the membership fees.

Your voice can now be heard.