Scottish Premiership side Heart of Midlothian is "enjoying one of the most exciting periods in its 143-year history," according to Graham Spiers of the LONDON TIMES. No "little thanks" for that goes to the Foundation of Hearts, a 10,000-strong group of supporters whose fundraising efforts "remain astonishing." Among them, they pledge £125,000 ($167,500) per month, which is passed by the FoH to Hearts. These are fans, "many already having paid for season tickets, simply stumping up to aid the club's running costs." FoH will soon hand over £3M ($4M) as a donation toward the cost of the new main stand at Tynecastle. After that, a further £2.5M ($3.4M) will be raised and passed to club Owner Ann Budge in exchange for her 75.1% shareholding in Hearts. By '20, after seven years of monthly giving, the FoH will have raised nearly £10M ($13.4M) in funds for its club. FoH Chair Stuart Wallace said, "The average that around 8,000 fans are putting in is about £15 ($20.10) a month. There is actually a population of about 10,000 Hearts fans in total who are putting money in. You've got a load of people putting in £10 a month. £20 ($26.79) a month is another consistent pledge. ... I went to see a colleague in England who is with one of the English lower-league clubs, and he said they collect something like £60,000 ($80,400) from fans. I said, 'Is that per month?' He said 'No, no, that's each year.' I said, 'Well, we are collecting £125,000 a month at Hearts.' He was absolutely astonished" (LONDON TIMES, 12/27).
