AGM 2023

LDN RIDERS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 

Date: Wednesday 27th September 2023

Time: 18:00 

340 Kennington Road, London SE11 4LD

Held before the annual club awards evening

AGENDA

(Minutes prepared by Brent Mallows)

Liam Connell opened the meeting welcoming everyone and handing over to Julian Gregory, Chairman. 

Committee Attendance: As per attendance:

Other Club Members present: 

Rob Thompson, Daniel Soriano , Andi Strain, Ben Owen, Phil Lee, Arno Cronje, Dariel Petrov, Deep Narang, Ian Bennion-Leahy, Piers Scott-Taylor, Richard Maylor, Colin Hyde, JC Antinao Diaz, James Tringham, Fergal Joyce, Lochlainn Mahon, Andrew Hudson, Ryan Gow, Luís Schmitt & JC Diaz 

Welcome and apologies (JG)

Intro highlights (JG) 

  • Welcome to AGM and thank you to Leigh Day, our sponsor

  • We've enhanced safety by facilitating the training of eight Ride Captains through Levels 1 and 2 British Cycling Leadership programmes.

  • We've taken steps to improve the diversity of our member base by organising rides tailored specifically for female, trans, and non-binary cyclists.

  • And we've also successfully raised awareness of our club and charity partner, Not A Phase, through initiatives like our Pride Month film 'Shifting Gears' and participation in London Pride.

  • Pride Month campaign raised thousands for Not A Phase misfits program 

But it doesn't stop there; LDN RIDERS has gone from strength to strength this year:

  • Beyond cycling, our club has created opportunities to forge lifelong friendships. 

  • Whether we’re organising workouts with fellow LGBTQ+ sports clubs, hosting social events, or planning cycling adventures abroad, none of which have been possible without:

Standout moments shared include. 

  • Our incredible Volunteer Committee

  • Our dedicated Ride Captains

  • Our members who cycled from London to Paris and around Greater London

  • Lawrence, for orchestrating two unforgettable cycling trips to Mallorca

  • And, of course, our extraordinary community

  • I am immensely proud of the club's achievements over the past two year

  • Together, we've nurtured a strong and supportive community, and I'm excited about the possibilities that lie ahead in the coming months.

  • Our membership has shown consistent growth, with 22 new members joining in August alone. The club now boasts over 400 members and thousands more followers on social media.

  • Our dedicated Ride Captains have been the driving force behind more than 280 organised rides since January, already surpassing last year's total by 100 rides.

  • Members have also participated in more frequent rides, covered greater distances, and challenged themselves outside of their comfort zones.

  • Roles and responsibilities of club committee shared (refer to list on Page 1

  • 2023 highlights

  • New committee member intros

  • Announced departure of David C

Planning for 2024 (LC)

Business plan presented (LC) 

  • How we plan for next year

  • Survey feedback incorporated into business plan 

  • Strategy, new members, diversity 

  • Club finances presented

  • Efforts on partnerships to grow the member benefits 

  • Business plan to be shared with members on our website 

  • Club Objectives

    Roles and responsibilities shared (LC) 

  • Objectives to shared with members for their review and feedback 

  • Membership survey developed with member input

  • Agreement of amendments to documents, policies and procedures as required.

  • Club Constitution

    Procedures / foundation of club operations to be added to website (LC)

  • Process of constitution outlined 

  • We value feedback from members

Presented membership survey insights (BS) & (LS)

  • Importance of surveys 

  • Lessons learned

  • Active members action plan 

  • Results in actions of why members joined the club

  • Word of mouth most highlighted 

  • Past 12 months of Progress

  • Membership growth from 246 to 405

  • 2022 rides # 182

  • 2024 rides # 282 (so far)

  • Active members 

  • 2022 average 5 per ride

  • 2034 average 10 per ride 

  • 56% of members have moved up 1 or 2 tiers

  • Events cadence to be reviewed 

  • Ride options to be improved - intro to more blue/green rides

  • Process improvements for onboarding managed by Lucas

  • Create more dialogue with members who are not riding 

  • D&I committee to partner with other LGBT sporting clubs 

  • Insights from survey to implemented 

Member projections & value - LC

  • Insights to be communicated 

  • Input from members has been very useful 

  • Membership projections data

Current members 405 (LC)

  • Summer rate of signup ~4 new members a week

  • Most new members convert from taster sessions 

  • By Feb 2024 projected to have between 445 and 487 members

  • However, analysis we have completed based on % ride attendance

  • Could see a renewal drop of up to 30%.

  • We are aiming, by summer 2024, to have up to 550 members 

Increased membership fee to £35 - LC

  • Extra financing required to compensate for projected renewal drop

  • Proposal of £10 increase to members 

  • Growth of club membership

  • Proposal fee slide presented to members 

  • Flexible investing in new opportunities to support and sustain club growth

  • Promos/Pride videos/platforms and subscriptions increase

  • Club in a good place and happy with Leigh Day support 

Vote for increased membership cost (LC)

  • Count of 45 supporting membership increase of £10 (DC) 

Club financial plan and projections presented (LC)

AOB & Q&A 

How many members can spond support (Ian Bennion Leahy) 

- Spond can support up to 3000 members (SM)

Any indication of membership drop (James Tringham)

- Ben and Lucas to present insight data (LC)

What determined the level of £10 increase (James Tringham) 

- Projections considered into increase, first aid & ride caption training

- Overhead costs for events factored in

- Committee put in allot effort to forecast projections using our club data

With our growth strategy, how do we keep spirit of the club (Ben Owen)

- 30% of members attend 70% of rides (LC)

- Projected 29% of club to not renew 

- Continue to recruit ride captains to keep more members

- Focus on more green and blue rides

Can we explore using club current accounts for event deposits (Rob Thompson)

- We are defining the process for deposits using club funds (LC)

- JG/LC to sign off on this once the process is outlined (LC)

How we recruit and allocate roles in the committee (Lochlainn Mahon)

  • Each year of the AGM run votes on new committee members (JG)

  • Vote in and vote out members (LC)

Closing remarks

Liam Connell closed the AGM with thanks to everyone's input and involvement.