How Foundation of Hearts aim to tap into 40,000 fanbase

Alex Mackie helped establish Foundation of Hearts.

Never has the Foundation of Hearts been more vital to the club it serves than now. Monthly income of £125,000 without matches is a godsend to the Hearts owner Ann Budge during the coronavirus shutdown, not to mention the envy of many other chairmen.

FoH subscription has rocketed amid lockdown as more than 1,000 extra fans step up to pledge money to help the Tynecastle Park cause. Those behind the Foundation are urging everyone capable to give what they can, the intention being to push membership numbers up from 8,000 to 10,000.

Hearts’ unique revenue stream does not remove the challenge of raising funds without football, but it helps mitigate the task as Budge contemplates enforced relegation to the Championship.

FoH has generated a staggering £10million in total for the club since it began collecting monthly direct debits from supporters in 2013.

One of its founding members, the Edinburgh businessman Alex Mackie, believes there is more untapped potential within the Gorgie fanbase.

"When we set up the Foundation, it was with the intention that it should basically be the membership door of the club,” he told the Evening News. “We knew there were upwards of 40,000 Hearts fans registered on different silos of data.

“You have databases of season ticket holders, shareholders, plus the 8,000 in the Foundation, the supporters' federation has a couple of thousand, and so on.

"If there are upwards of 40,000 Hearts fans kicking around, and where they can afford to do so, get on the Foundation's website and pledge £10 a month.

“It would significantly ramp up Hearts' non-playing income at a time when they really need it. I doubt if any club will be playing in front of crowds before the turn of the year.

"In the meantime these funds can ensure we still have a club, and a club able to hang on to some decent players.

“If we do end up playing in the Championship, then there is some money in the coffers to get going again. Cashflow will be vital no matter what division we are in.

"Right now, cashflow at Tynecastle is absolutely dependent on the Foundation money. That is the non-playing income.

"Hearts are in a unique position during this pandemic. They have a vehicle pumping in significant amounts of money which is not linked to matches or ticketing. What other club in Scotland has this?

“Regardless of the league reconstruction issue, we would like everyone who calls themselves a Hearts fan to get involved if they possibly can.”

As a former chairman of the Foundation, Mackie remains closely involved with the organisation and many of its supporters.

He said he can understand why some Hearts fans might hesitate to pledge more money to the club after seeing millions spent in recent years – only to leave their team bottom of the Premiership.

"I can see that point of view. We agreed with the club that FoH money would not be earmarked for specific things, it would go into the club coffers. That's in the corporate governance. It would then be up to the Hearts board how they would use it,” he explained.

"I do see the frustrations of fans but there are other mechanisms for scrutiny. There is the club's AGM, the Foundation's AGM and the chance to exchange with the people running the Foundation.

“I think they are very well aware of this situation and I think Ann is very well aware of it as well. There are going to be lessons to be learned and I think we are on the way towards those lessons being learned.

“I couldn't make the last AGM at Christmas but the feedback I got was that Ann realises there were mistakes made. I'm not sure of [former manager and director of football] Craig Levein's influence in it all but there certainly needs to be questions asked of the recruitment.

“I think the fans are right to expect lessons to be learned from everything that has happened in the last year or so.

"The fans will, understandably, be reluctant to pass on their money especially at a time like this. But the opportunity to scrutinise is there for them.

“They will be able to voice their feelings and I'm sure the club and the board will be happy to take them into account.”

Hearts’ relegation to Scotland’s second tier was confirmed last week when the Scottish Professional Football League brought this season’s Premiership to a premature end.

Each team had at least eight matches outstanding but clubs agreed playing those fixtures amid the global health pandemic was unrealistic. That leaves Hearts and Budge unhappy at their demotion.

“Ann already knows there are things to be sorted out in the club,” said Mackie. “Being relegated prematurely was harsh, particularly since we looked like we might have finally been on the ascendancy under Daniel Stendel.

“We needed the chance to see if we could beat relegation in the proper manner but we weren't given that chance.”

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