Some of the questions below are ones which we have been asked by our customers and those interested in our venture.
What is On the Stall City?
It is a shop run by NCFC fans on a voluntary basis, selling previously loved items and also new surplus stock purchased from NCFC.
Are you part of Norwich City Football Club (NCFC)?
We are all NCFC fans, but our shop is independent of the club and remains our own fan-led enterprise. The club have been supportive in selling us their surplus stock, and supportive of the project generally. We approached the club in the early stages of OTSC, to make sure they were happy with us setting up this enterprise and to ensure there were no commercial, legal or other impediments to this project! As such we could not have set up this venture without their support.
Are you the club shop?
(*laughs*) No… We are not THE club shop! There are official NCFC club shops at Carrow Road and in Jarrolds department store. (Obvious to most we know, but we do get asked this question on a daily basis!).
What is a Community Interest Company?
This is similar to a Limited Company, and we are listed at Companies House. However, unlike a normal Limited company, who would distribute its profits to its shareholders, all our profits go to our nominated charity, the Community Sports Foundation (CSF). All of the assets owned by OTSC are “locked” to the CSF, so if we were to close the shop and end the venture, all the assets would also revert/pass to the CSF. The owners of On the Stall City would not take any profits or have a claim on any of OTSC’s assets (OTSC’s lease, its stock, or any items owned by OTSC).
Why are you not a charity?
We gave this great consideration when we set OTSC up, but as all of our fund-raising goes to another charity (the CSF), it would be difficult to demonstrate that we had the “charitable objects” needed to set up a charity. We are happy to donate all our profits to the CSF in any case rather than use the funds in our own right.
Do you get financial support?
None at all. We pay the going rate for our rent, rates, utilities and so on, just as any business would. We purchase surplus stock from NCFC at a low price per item, but we have to pay all our bills before we are in a position to make profits which we can donate to the CSF. One thing we do not have is a bill for salaries. If we were to take any pay, there would be no funds to donate. Our business model is based on us being volunteers, with no salaries or expenses to pay.