Bonus Ball Scheme

Did you know that Crewe and Nantwich Constituency Labour Party runs its own fund-raising scheme?

Trade unions have been the main source of income for the Labour Party for many years and no doubt that will continue. However, trade union membership is not as widespread as it was in the past, plus every Tory Government introduces new ways to make that more difficult (whilst ignoring the companies who pay to their Party without even asking their shareholders).

So, it’s vital that we broaden the base of our income. And one way that has worked very well in Crewe and Nantwich has been the “Bonus Ball” fund-raising scheme.

How it works

You fill in a form authorising your bank to make a Standing Order payment of £5 per month to the CLP’s account, on a date that you choose. Then you pass the form to the organiser, who takes it to the bank to make sure they accept it. You are then advised of the number that has been allocated to you, between 1 and 59.

Each monthly winner will be the person whose number corresponds with the bonus ball drawn on the National Lotto draw which takes place on the last Saturday of each month.

The organiser will notify winners and they will receive a prize of £100, generally paid by cheque. Should the winner’s standing order payment not have been received for that month the prize will be rolled over, unless the scheme has less than 20 members. If a winner does not respond to a written notification of their win within 2 months, then their prize is declared void.

What impact has it made?

As an example – we started it in the summer of 2009. At that time we could only afford to rent offices for the campaign about 3 months before the 2010 election was called.  This was in Chantry Court – good modern rooms but a little bit tucked away and not visible to many people.

Fast forward to 2015, when the BonusBall scheme had been gathering funds for 5 years. We were able to take up office space on the corner of Gresty Road and Nantwich Road – probably the busiest corner in the whole constituency – and rented it for nearly 18 months. It made a dramatic impact on people’s awareness of our campaign and our candidate.

How to join

Simply contact Peter Kent the organiser via peterakent51@gmail.com or phone 01270-569938.

You can have more than one entry if you wish. Plus it’s open to everyone, whether they are Party members or not, or even if they live outside the constituency. We have several participants who have moved away but continue to support our local efforts in this way.