News

WELCOME TO FOUNDATION OF HEARTS DAY

Welcome to this year’s Foundation Day, a day to celebrate being the largest fan-owned club in the UK. As ever, this day has two specific purposes: first to say a huge thank you to those supporters who have contributed to the Foundation – and therefore to the club; and secondly, to reinforce the message that signing up to the Foundation makes a huge difference to what Heart of Midlothian, our club, can achieve both on and off the pitch. We recently brought this message together under a campaign with the headline, Sign for Hearts. We’ve been going out to non-FoH members, to members who for different reasons are no longer pledging, and to those fans who don’t live near Gorgie and can’t make it to many match days. What we are saying to them is very simple. We all know that, in today’s football world, money talks, so the more funds we put into the club, the more we can attract and retain top players. With that, we can enjoy the European trips, Cup runs, and success in the league. Off the pitch, we can support the Academy and its development of our young players. We can continue to see our stadium enhanced so that it generates additional funds for our club and is home to the evocative Museum and Memorial Garden. We can drive forward community-led initiatives such as the Innovation Centre and the Maroon Mile. And we can take pride in the work of our charity, Big Hearts. Pledging what you can afford gives us the edge over our rivals. You can make the difference for Hearts. This year, as you know, we celebrate Hearts’ 150th anniversary. Without the supporters, this milestone would not have been reached. Our club would not exist. So today, we celebrate the past but more importantly we look ahead and put plans in place to help to ensure long-term success for Hearts. It’s not every football fan that can say they own their club. But thanks to the amazing supporters of our club, every Heart of Midlothian fan can, if they choose, do just that. And with your help, this is what the Foundation of Hearts is aiming to achieve. So my request to you is this. Be an owner. Make the difference. Sign for Hearts. Thank you and enjoy the day. Gerry Mallon Chair, Foundation of Hearts

NEW TRIBUTE KIT LAUNCHED TO HONOUR OWNERS

Once again, we are delighted to announce the launch of a new tribute kit which will honour the owners of Heart of Midlothian. As with the hugely popular jersey produced in 2016, the new strip will carry the names of all current pledgers to the Foundation. Gerry Mallon, Foundation of Hearts chair, said: “This new jersey is another fitting way to pay tribute to the wonderful supporters who have signed up and whose contributions – incredibly, more than £17 million now - to the Foundation help us to make a real difference for the club: on the pitch, for recruitment, for the Academy, for our wonderful charity, for the stadium, for superb initiatives such as the Innovation Centre and the Maroon Mile. The list goes on. “The jersey will be available through the club store and everyone who is signed up to be an FoH pledger by 3 September will have their name on the shirt. As they say, you have to be in it to be on it, so if you want to make sure that your name is woven into the fabric of Gorgie, now is your chance. Sign for Hearts.” Here’s a short FAQ to answer some of the queries we’ve had about the shirt. I used to be a member but recently stopped my pledge. Will my name be on the kit? Unfortunately not, the kit will show current members (those have signed up to pledge by 3 September 2024) only. Can under 16s sign up to have their name on the kit? Yes, this can be funded by their parent or guardian. However, they will need their own email address and Foundation of Hearts account which can be set up on our website www.foundationofhearts.org What is the minimum monthly pledge to become a member? £10 is the minimum monthly pledge. Can a member change/swap their name on the kit? Yes, please email info@foundationofhearts.org stating the current name and the name change. I don't have a monthly direct debit set up but have donated one-off payments in the past. Will my name be on the kit? Please email info@foundationofhearts.org to discuss.

Maroon Mile Project Launched

Heart of Midlothian Football Club is happy to announce ambitious plans for a one-mile-long trail to celebrate the history of the club and the associated local area. The Foundation of Hearts and HMFC are delighted to announce that they have been successful in securing significant funding of £207,339.00 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for their planned Maroon Mile project. The announcement comes as Hearts Heritage Department unveils plans for continued celebrations of the Club’s Sesquicentennial. Hearts is celebrating its 150-year anniversary in 2024; a history and a future which was assured by the Foundation of Hearts, one of the most significant supporter-led movements in football. Heart of Midlothian has enjoyed iconic status in Gorgie and neighbouring Dalry since the late 19th century with a rich history that is interwoven with that of the local community. The Maroon Mile project will highlight, capture and share the history of this diversely rich and vibrant working-class area and explore and mark the role the Club has played in the lives of multiple generations. It will promote and reflect the enduring community pride which characterises the area, instilling a greater sense of belonging and celebration of place. Voices of the Mile will be captured in a wide-reaching, multi-generational oral history project which will record the intangible history of the area including songs, chats, stories and soundscapes. As well as uncovering previously untold stories from Hearts’ history, there will be a deeper dive into the history of Scottish Women’s football, pre and post ban, where Tynecastle Park has played a significant role. Hearts' history is strongly ingrained in the area's built environment, most notably in the War Memorial at Haymarket which is dedicated to the citizens of Edinburgh and to the Battalions who served. This roll of honour includes those Hearts’ players who enlisted for McCrae’s Battalion. The monument is a deeply cherished part of the capital's history. Sadly, due to major changes to roads infrastructure that have been introduced, its dignity has been eroded. A critical part of this project will be to begin to restore that dignity and to use the Monument as the starting point of the Maroon Mile. Hearts Heritage will create a mile-long heritage trail that focuses on the social, economic and sporting history of Gorgie and Dalry. Starting at the Monument, the trail will end at the Hearts’ Museum, where new multimedia equipment will be deployed to share a rich array of assets highlighting the history and heritage of the Club and the area since 1874. The trail will be created jointly with local community groups with physical signage and interpretation as well as an audio walking tour. New Heritage assets will be created by local pupils who receive free digital skills development in the Club’s pioneering Innovation Centre. The creation and sharing of project outputs will be accessible and inclusive and will reflect the interests of the community. Hearts Heritage will use part of the funding to create two new Heritage posts to manage and curate activities and outputs. The project will enhance points on the Mile and form part of a wider initiative designed to maintain the trail in the future. Traditional Skills Day workshops will offer pupils at local schools the opportunity to have a practical taster of disciplines such as stone carving and signwriting. The Maroon Mile project will be delivered over an 18-month period from March 2024 to October 2025. The Foundation of Hearts and Hearts wish to express their thanks to National Lottery Players and The National Lottery Heritage Fund for their support in delivering such a meaningful project that will touch the lives of all generations of citizens and supporters. Chair of the Foundation of Hearts, Gerry Mallon commented:“Heart of Midlothian is a club born out of this community 150 years ago, deeply rooted in Gorgie / Dalry and saved from oblivion by its supporters. We’re incredibly proud of the role the club and the community have played in supporting each other for a century and a half - and the Maroon Mile is a fantastic and appropriate celebration of that enduring relationship.” Chairman of Hearts, Ann Budge commented:“We are immensely grateful to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for their generous support of our Maroon Mile initiative. It is fitting that funding has come through collaboration between the Foundation of Hearts without whom, Heart of Midlothian could never have reached the milestone of 150 years and our own Heritage Department. Their joint vision and the passion of all those involved will create a memorable and enduring legacy for the communities of Gorgie and Dalry and for generations of Hearts supporters now and in the future.” Caroline Clark, The National Lottery Heritage Fund Director for Scotland, said: “We are delighted that thanks to National Lottery players the Heritage Fund is supporting the Maroon Mile project. In addition to the heritage walk from Haymarket to the stadium it will create new opportunities to involve supporters and the wider local community in exploring, recording and sharing the heritage of Heart of Midlothian Football Club.”

FOUNDATION LAUNCHES NEW TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM

With the Foundation setting ambitious new targets as it moves into a new phase of its development, a priority has been to dismantle any barriers which may prevent fans from becoming owners. To that end, there has been a focus on what is one of the most significant elements in how we work with our members and other Hearts fans, namely the upgrading of our website and our overall digital presence – and the culmination of that extensive project is the launch today of our new website and broader technology platform..“With improved technology,” said Foundation chairman Gerry Mallon, “we can communicate more effectively with the Hearts fan base and we can ensure that the pledging experience is simpler for members to update and manage.“More than that, we can reach a wider community, obtain better feedback from Foundation members, put in place details of new initiatives, and target our messaging to specific sections of the fan base. Many supporters will have seen that the club has moved all of its digital platforms in recent months and our work on the technology update brings us in line with this move. This includes a new mobile version of the website content so owners can manage pledges and get access to information from the Foundation on the go - something that was not available previously.“Through the new technology, we can also create integration with other systems, for example, linking season ticket holders to their club accounts. We are now able to link social networks and feeds back to the pledging platforms so that owners have a single place to find out about new activities and provide more direct feedback.”New authentication techniques connected to email and/or mobile numbers will mean improved security levels on the site, while the Foundation has also moved its cash collection platform to provide broader reach and flexibility. International pledgers are now able to pledge in local currency and no longer require a UK bank account - and pledgers will be able to use the same purchasing profile with that used for the club. “This project is a massive step forward for the Foundation and all members, creating increased inclusion, bringing more inspiration to and engagement with owners, and improving the reliability, security, and capabilities as we look to reach out and seek feedback,” said Gerry Mallon. “I am very grateful to my board colleague Andrew Brown, who has led on this initiative, and everyone associated with the project for their outstanding work.”

NEW TARGETS ANNOUNCED AT FOUNDATION’S AGM

The Foundation’s 2023 AGM saw chairman Gerry Mallon reporting on a number of key developments as the board’s new strategy begins to take shape. Among these is the vision for every Hearts fan to aspire to be an owner of the club and the setting of some key targets, including increasing the active pledger base to 15,000 pledgers and increasing the annual monetary contribution to the club to £2 million. To provide the foundations for us to achieve these targets, a number of initiatives have been put in place. “First,” said Gerry Mallon, “we will be launching new and much upgraded technology, including a new website, in the new year which will enable us to drive forward communications with owners in a greatly enhanced way. “Secondly, we have established a series of key target groups such as lapsed pledgers, young fans, overseas fans, and supporters who have never joined the Foundation, and over the course of the coming months, we will be in touch with them to ask them to help to drive our club forward by signing up to the Foundation. “In all of this, the board will be working closely with our marketing group, whose expertise has been greatly strengthened over the past months and which stands ready to support these initiatives.” Meanwhile, membership numbers have remained consistent with that of 12 months ago, with – at October 2023 – a total of 8,556 active members. Total donations passed the phenomenal milestone of £15m in March of 2023, with £1.627 million passed to the club during the course of the financial year to June 2023. In November, another massive milestone was reached when the £16m figure was reached and exceeded. Also at the AGM, Paul Cheshire was returned to the board unopposed for the specialist financial position, while, after an election, Gary Cowen was elected to the specialist legal post. Gerry Mallon paid tribute to Donald Cumming, who reached the maximum three terms of nine years on the board and so stepped down. “For many years,” said Gerry, “Donald has gone above and beyond the call of duty in his unstinting work in the service of Heart of Midlothian. He has been the quiet and diligent brain behind the Foundation, and his contributions in legal and governance matters for both the Foundation and the club have provided the structural bedrock for how we conduct our affairs.”

2023 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

2023 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The annual general meeting of the Foundation will be held in the Gorgie Suite, Tynecastle Park at 6.00pm on Thursday 14 December 2023. Member registration will be available from 5.15pm. Here is a link to the documents on our website relating to the meeting: AGM 2023 – Foundation of Hearts. Among the documents are the formal notice of the meeting, the financial accounts for the year to 30 June 2023, details of the two candidates standing for election, and a form of proxy for use at the AGM. A secure online voting facility for members to vote electronically in the ballot has been set up. This will close at 5.00pm on Tuesday 12 December and we will announce the result of the ballot at the AGM on 14 December.

VOLUNTEERS WANTED FOR NEXT GENERATION PLEDGE DEVELOPMENT

VOLUNTEERS WANTED FOR NEXT GENERATION PLEDGE DEVELOPMENT #NextGenPledge – Your Foundation Needs You Following a successful workshop with some of our younger Hearts fans in November 2022 to help shape the future success of the Foundation of Hearts, we need your help again – but on a bigger scale this time. We are looking to establish a pool of volunteers made up of both existing adult pledgers and/or their children to assist us in building a Next Generation Pledge to ensure that all Hearts fans from birth to age 22 feel actively included. Mascot opportunity For those children whose names are put forward as volunteers and are at Primary School, you will be entered into a prize draw which will be drawn on Saturday 11 February 2023, providing you confirm on your email (entry requirements below). The lucky winners of the draw will accompany the Hearts team onto the pitch at the forthcoming Motherwell v Hearts game. Motherwell FC are hosting the Well Society Day to celebrate the success of fan ownership. We have a very close affiliation with Motherwell, with both clubs being fan owned, and this is a fantastic gesture by them for the Foundation. Further match details and entry requirements are below. Volunteer Categories required We are looking for a range of age groups, so if you are an adult pledger who has children aged between 0-15yrs old and would like to take part, please email louise@foundationofhearts.org with #NextGenPledge and your Child(ren) Age(s) in the Subject Header and let us know by 11.00pm on Friday 10 February 2023 if you would be interested in being a volunteer. If you are an adult pledger and you are in the age group 16-22 or have children in this age category and they would like to take part, please email louise@foundationofhearts.org with #NextGenPledge (Adult Category 16-22) in the Subject Header. Please also confirm the name and age of the child in the body of the email when you respond and let us know by 11.00pm on Friday 10 February 2023. Mascot Prize Draw details The match is scheduled for 12.00 noon on Sunday 19 February 2023 at Fir Park. The children will receive one child and one adult match ticket for the game and must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. You would need to be able to make your own way to Fir Park, Motherwell. If you wish to enter a Primary School-aged child into the draw, please end your email with PRIZE DRAW – YES. If this is not on the email then no entry will be made into the draw. We will contact the winners by email shortly after the draw is made. Please only enter if you can attend the game. Further information on the match day will be provided once the draw is made.

INTERVIEW WITH FOUNDATION CHAIRMAN GERRY MALLON

NEWS INTERVIEW WITH FOUNDATION CHAIRMAN GERRY MALLON Gerry Mallon, chairman of the Foundation of Hearts. “YOU REALISE THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT THIS PLACE” Choosing not to follow one of the Old Firm when growing up in Belfast takes a bit of character, but that was the road that Gerry Mallon, now Foundation of Hearts chairman, took. Despite the default position for a Catholic in that city of supporting Celtic and the Republic side, Gerry chose Liverpool and Northern Ireland. It’s an interesting insight into the man. His immediate family actually had little interest in football but he discovered that his Scottish relatives were big fans. His mother’s cousin, Frank Crampsey, was Queen’s Park’s goalkeeper in the 1950s and Frank’s brother was Bob Crampsey, the distinguished author, broadcaster, journalist, football historian, and Brain of Britain. Impressive lineage. Gerry’s involvement in football governance can be traced back to 2012 when the bank he led, Danske Bank, became the sponsors of the Northern Irish league. “We were about to rebrand and the Irish FA were let down at the last minute by their sponsors. They approached us about becoming the new sponsor and that partnership fitted in perfectly with our rebrand.” Appointed as chairman of the Irish FA A couple of years later, the Irish FA were looking for an independent chairman with corporate governance experience and approached Gerry to put himself forward as a candidate. “It was a competitive process and after being interviewed, I was appointed as chairman designate and then after a year, I became chairman. “It was a brilliant experience. We were into the start of the Euros 2016 campaign, which was a real high point of Irish football. We hadn’t been to an international competition since the 1986 World Cup and we won our group to qualify. We also finished the redevelopment of our stadium, so everything was on a roll. With Pat Jennings at Nice at the 2016 Euros, when Gerry was chairman of the Irish FA. “The night we played Poland in Nice in our first group game, I found myself with Pat Jennings and Gerry Armstrong. If the 12-year-old me had been able to fast forward 34 years from the 1982 World Cup, he would have had his mind blown! It was a mindbending moment for me being with these guys that I’d idolised as a child.” Gerry served two terms as the Irish FA chairman and counts retaining the services of Michael O’Neill as manager despite the attentions of Scotland as one of his main achievements. Much as he would have liked to have continued in his role there, his career had brought him to Edinburgh, so he stepped down. First visits to Tynecastle “Myself and my son Jude had no preconceptions about who to support here. We started going to Tynecastle and it captured us. I didn’t know anything about McCrae’s Battalion, about the Foundation, about the fact that the club had nearly died. But the picture started to build up and you realise there’s something about this place. “I did have a debate with Michael O’Neill because, of course, he played for Hibs. He said that we should go to both places and see where I would feel more welcome and I don’t think he’s surprised where I’ve ended up.” His family have also enjoyed being part of the Hearts community, in particular his youngest daughter, Sarah. “Previously I couldn’t persuade her to go to a football match, but now she’s head, neck and shoulders into football and Hearts. She’s actually really into women’s football so Eva Olid’s team is her number one passion. “My wife Una and Aoife, my second youngest, both volunteer with Big Hearts now. They chose that completely separate from me and found their own way there, nothing to do with me.” About the Foundation, he describes himself as “massively pleasantly surprised” to discover that a fan ownership group could have the resources to acquire majority shareholding and that it could find a model that would allow it to not become reactive or factional. “I was incredibly impressed when I saw the stage the Foundation had got to – the Heart and Soul Day handover and the ethos of fan-owned not fan run.” A message of solidarity Gerry engaged with Stuart Wallace, then the chairman of the Foundation, following the Brora result. “I was keen that for all the negative reaction that the Foundation was getting, there should be some positivity too and a message of solidarity. I’d seen it before in Northern Ireland – we had our own Brora moment when we lost to Luxembourg but we stuck with Michael and he delivered the best results for 30 years. So having come through that, I could see that you need to stick with a long-term vision and belief in what you’re doing.” The dialogue with Stuart continued. Gerry stood successfully in the board elections, then in June 2022 he became chairman. He has interesting views on the club and the Hearts community. “Football crowds don’t have a reputation for being very diverse or welcoming but my sense is that you get a broader spectrum socially at Hearts than in most crowds that I’ve been to and certainly better gender balance than I’ve seen in in almost any football crowd. “The thing that has surprised me as well is that every football board room or group I’ve been involved in is very factional, political, and full of people that are pushing their own agenda. But I find Hearts a real contrast to that. It’s not to say that there’s not the odd self-interested person around but on the whole, I see people who are genuinely interested in helping the club. “The fact that it’s fan owned gives real strength to that. Nobody is looking to make a quick buck. No-one is going to make millions out of it as the money goes back to the club. That makes for an environment which attracts people who genuinely want to help the cause rather than help themselves. They are interested in helping the Foundation as it serves no other purpose other than to give joy and pride and help to its community.” Maximising the success of the club The Foundation, he believes, is at an interesting stage. “Our first purpose was to save the club, then to deliver fan ownership. Now we’ve got to establish that it’s about maximising the success of the club and continuing its long-term health. “The Foundation has a really strong membership base who have been tested through peaks and troughs, including demotion and Covid. It has proved really loyal and resilient. As a board we have to ensure that we are not complacent about that support and that we continue to keep relevant and keep demonstrating the importance of the pledges in terms of the success of the club. “The next stage is also about renewing our appeal to a different generation of pledgers. We have to build on the premise that being a Foundation pledger is part of the DNA of being a Hearts fan – as much as wearing the scarf, or knowing the songs, or the pub you drink in. We’ve an obligation to convey that message so that fans really appreciate the opportunity we’ve got to be the exceptional club that under fan ownership can be massively successful. That’s the challenge and the opportunity.” Asked if he’s enjoying his role, Gerry is unequivocal. “I love it. I couldn’t and wouldn’t do it if I didn’t have an absolute ball doing it. I feel incredibly lucky to have stepped onto the Foundation board and the club board when the club is in really good shape. And I’m incredibly fortunate to be part of the Hearts family when we have amazing occasions like the European run. Like Napoleon said, don’t get me good generals, get me lucky ones. I’m happy to be lucky and in the right place at the right time.” WE ARE… CLICK HERE OUR VISION CLICK HERE

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