Frequently Asked Questions

• What does MERC mean?

• MERC stands for Multi Ethnic Running Club, our vision is to bring communities together.

• Are you a charity?

• No, we are a community interest company, also known as a CIC, we are a not-for-profit organisation that can raise funds by donations, sponsors, investors, retail and merchandise etc. We have more flexibility and are able to engage in both charitable, community and social projects. Our funds cannot be used to pay dividends to shareholders and the owner/founder cannot take profit out. You can check out the government website for an official description of what a CIC is at: https://www.gov.uk/set-up-a-social-enterprise

• What happens to to money you make?

• We are looking to engage in a number of services to raise funds, offering merchandise, obtaining grants, sponsors, donations and membership fees. The funds raised are used first and foremostly for charitable and community purposes, with surplus used to expand the club so that we can raise more funds and improve the club for our members.

• How are funds allocated?

• We separate funds based on how they have been raised and for what purpose, we believe that this matches the ethos of our members who may wise to raise funds for causes that they want to target. Therefore, funds raised by means of a 'fundraiser' are specified to that target, such as the HARP24 race in which funds raised go to HARP covering the cost of participating in their race and the rest to whatever HARP decides. Funds raised by membership fees and 'donations' are broadly applied to whatever project or charity the board allocate and surplus funds are re-invested into the company to allow for expansion and cover costs of running an organisation.

• Why is alot of the site marked as coming soon?

• As a start-up CIC which has newly formed in September 2024, there are alot of features and content we are planning to add to the site. We have alot of plans for the future and look to our members to help us grow so that we can provide a service to our community.

• Can anyone signup to be a member?

• Yes, aslong as you are 18 or over you can signup.

• How do the groups actually work?

• There is a main running group, which every member is a part of, you will hear the updates from the founder who acts as captain for his area and organises the official runs. However captains for other areas have free will to branch off on their own running schedules and locations, members will likely expect be part of one or two groups but the sky is the limit. We wanted to create a space with freedom so that casual runners can simply pick up and run whilst the more experienced runners can train in groups. With our founder being involved in ultra marathons, our members can learn from him and acheive their own goals.

• Can children join our runs?

• We do not offer child memberships currently. We allow our members to have their children or younger friends/family to run with them, therefore children must be accompanied by an adult member who is acting as a parent or guardian. Members who take children on a run with them agree to act as parent or guardian and are held responsible for their wellbeing. See our policies for more information.

• Can I choose which group I want to run in?

• Yes, if you already know of groups you want to join go ahead, there is free reign with members and captains so you can join multiple running groups and organise casual runs between yourselves. We will usually allocate people to groups based on any specific requirements or within their local area but the beautiful aspect of our set-up is the group flexibility.

• How much is it to signup?

• We offer a yearly membership of £20.00 starting on the date that you completed the registration. We also offer promotions and a group discount so be on the lookout for deals at our store.

• What do I get for signing up?

• All new members get a club shirt bearing our logo, you get access to our group communications so you can be introduced to our members and your captain, you are given the space and tools to meet your goals and you are rewarded based on participating and raising funds. We are working towards affiliations for our club and members so that they will get benefits such as educational material, qualifications, discounts, vouchers etc so please keep upto date with our latest offerings on our affiliations page and keep an eye on our news page. To see the shirt or other merchandise check out our store page.

• Do captains get paid?

• No, captains, just like members, are not paid. None of the board members recieve a salary and cannot recieve dividends or get paid by shares as covered by our constitution. There are no plans to offer wages and we are aiming to maintain a club consisting of volunteers.

• Why should I donate to MERC and not straight with the charity?

• We track contributions made by our members, including how much they have raised, we reward contributions with points that members can use at our store. We also offer occassional promotions for our fundraisers, matching the contributions of our members. There are also projects that may not be covered by an existing charity, meaning we have flexibility to tackle issues that matter in our community very quickly.

• How much of the money actually goes to charity?

• We are not-for-profit organisation and our members, captains, board members etc work as volunteers. Our strongest critique of several known charities is that, despite being a charity, they are a for-profit organisation that pays members salaries, meaning that funds going to the cause is actually being diluted by a large amount. With MERC, funds raised specifically by a fundraiser all go towards that chosen charity or project, for example if we are raising funds for a school, all fundraiser money obtained goes to that school, minus a small % transaction fee by the cardholder companies as with any charity or business. As an example, if you as a member fundraise £10.00 or if you sponsor a member £10.00 to run a race for HARP (Southend charity tackling homelessness) then 5p of the funds covers transaction fees with the rest going to HARP. This is just an example of a basic transaction and due to future changes in transaction rates this is not always the case but a ballpark estimate of what you can expect when you raise funds for a cause. There are running costs to organising the club but we did not want to dilute funds raised specifically for a purpose by our members so we have decided that funds raised by donations, sponsors, grants or membership fees will cover these costs with surplus used to grow to the club. AS a CIC we operate in a similar fashion to any other limited company, however our strategy for what we use the funds for are largely for the interest of the community, for charitable purposes or for social projects. We don't have an exact breakdown of what the allocation of funds will look like yet as we are a start-up but when we do have an idea of estimated funds/grants etc then we can give a more detailed answer.