Simple online fundraising platform for Millwall fans

Millwall FC has partnered with Fantastic Fanatics, a unique online sports fundraising platform to help raise money for the club during the coronavirus pandemic.

Fantastic Fanatics, the brainchild of Danny Cowie and Barry Munro, is a simple fundraising system which allows fans to raise money for their local or national clubs without it costing them any money. The Scotland-based team has partnered with football, rugby, netball, cricket, swimming and hockey clubs and community groups across the UK, helping teams develop a new income stream during lockdown.

Millwall FC is the latest to join the platform, alongside Durham Cricket and national sports governing bodies including Scottish Hockey and Netball Northern Ireland.

The clubs or governing bodies receive funds whenever their affiliated club members, participants, coaches and supporters shop, eat out and book hotels. With no cost to clubs, organisations or supporters, the platform simply generates funds when members are spending money with affiliated retailers.

Supporters register with Fantastic Fanatics and choose their club as a beneficiary. They can then securely register their everyday debit or credit card, and purchases they make online will raise money for their club.

Retailers taking part include a large number of major online stores including Boots, B&Q, Currys PC World, JD Sports, John Lewis, Clarks, and Sky. In the near future in-store purchases will also be supported, further increasing the flexibility of contributing to the development of the club and the work the trust does in the community.

Millwall FC is the latest club to sign up to Fantastic Fanatics. Millwall commercial director, Stuart Lock said:

“We are delighted to partner with Fantastic Fanatics. We have a large, passionate and motivated support base here at Millwall, and this partnership could raise significant funds for the club, and help deliver income for youth development, the trust and other community projects.

“We appreciate how difficult things are for football and its supporters currently, with health concerns and the financial uncertainty that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought, therefore the fact this method of generating funds for the club does not cost the supporters anything and will allow the community trust to benefit from purchases they are making anyway, make the proposition very appealing”.

Fantastic Fanatics operations director, Barry Munro said:

“We are delighted to have so many great clubs onboard and we are pleased to play a part in helping raise funds to support the clubs and community trusts.

“Fantastic Fanatics was set up with the intention of taking the platform across the UK, and we had great success in north-east Scotland before branching out across the country. The reaction from clubs outwith Scotland has been excellent as well – not just for football but also netball and cricket.

“During lockdown, clubs large and small have lost huge amounts of revenue, and this is a simple and easy way to drive funds to the clubs, to help them make sure they will still be here when sport can get going again.

“The technology behind Fantastic Fanatics makes things so simple for the supporter, as they can choose the association or club they want to support, make a purchase at one of their favourite online retailers and generate a commission, all with a few clicks of the mouse. Our in store offering means registered retailers will automatically send a percentage of the bill to the sports club – there is no extra card or app required. It’s business as usual at the point of sale for the consumer and the retailer.

“Ultimately, Fantastic Fanatics enables sports clubs and organisations to worry less about the finances and get on with what they do best – delivering the benefits of sport to their participants, fans and members. Large-scale sport may be off the agenda for the time being, but enthusiasm has not waned, and Fantastic Fanatics is here to make sure our great sports will be even stronger when we can all get back on the field.”

Supporters can sign up for a free account at https://­fantas­tic­fa­natics.­com/ and there is a helpful “how it works” page https://­fantas­tic­fa­natics.­com/­how-it-works/ along with an extensive FAQ and support page https://­fantas­tic­fa­natics.­com/­support/