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Champion & Supporter Outreach Kit — Stage 1

For whoever is making a one-to-one approach to a high-capacity supporter (default: Billie / a steering member). This kit is complete. Read it before the conversation. It mirrors the discipline of the kitchen-table kit — just for a different room.

Status: DRAFT — for steering review. Not for public release. The feasibility-fund (money) ask is gated: do not use that part until steering has signed off the fund mechanics in major-supporters-strategy.md §4.

1. Brief for the person making the approach (one page)

What this is A warm, honest, one-to-one conversation with someone who has the standing, networks, expertise, or means to help the project find out whether it’s feasible. Not a pitch. Not a fundraising call. An invitation to help with a question that matters to Cygnet.

Your role You’re inviting, not selling. You hold the project’s credibility in the room — so the most important thing you carry is honesty. If you don’t know something, say so. Under-claim, never over-claim.

What Stage 1 means (say this early) We’re gauging interest. No money is being raised from the public. No structure is decided. No purchase is agreed. We’re asking whether this is worth exploring — and the next step, proper feasibility work, needs credibility, expertise, and some funding to happen.

The golden rule Lead with the non-financial asks (champion, connect, contribute expertise). Only raise the feasibility-fund gift where it genuinely fits — and only if that tier has been signed off. The money is the bottom rung of the ladder, never the opening line.

What to bring

• This kit (read, not read aloud)
• The leave-behind one-pager (§6) — printed or as a PDF
• The URL: bottom.pub
• The recap template (§7) — fill it in within 48 hours

2. The ask menu — what you’re actually offering them

Offer the ladder. Let them choose the rung. Most people start low and climb as trust builds.

You never need all four. One good champion or one warm introduction is a successful conversation.

3. The 1:1 conversation guide

Adapt, don’t recite. The three messages below are the same spine as message_house.md, ordered the same way: emotion → honesty → precedent.

Open with why it matters (Message 1).

“The Commercial Hotel has been part of Cygnet’s life for generations. It’s on the Tasmanian Heritage Register. A group of us are asking a simple question: is it worth exploring whether the community could own and bring it back?”

Be honest about the stage (Message 2).

“This is genuinely Stage 1. We’re not raising money from the public, we haven’t agreed a price, and nothing is decided. If the community isn’t behind it, we stop. We’re asking, not announcing.”

Answer doubt with precedent (Message 3 — only if they’re sceptical).

“It’s been done. Communities in Sea Lake and Loxton bought and now run their own pubs. No guarantee it works here — but it’s not a fantasy.”

Then make the invitation (the ask menu, §2). Pause. Listen more than you talk. The point of the meeting is to learn what they would be willing to do — not to extract a yes.

Close.

“There’s no pressure and no deadline today. Could I send you a one-pager, and would it be alright to keep you posted as this develops?“

4. Talking points for the hard questions

“Are you asking me for money?”

Not today, and not for the pub itself. If anything, the only money question at Stage 1 is whether someone might help fund the professional studies we need to find out if this is even feasible — and that’s a donation toward the homework, not an investment. The headline ask is really your support, your networks, or your expertise.

“What do I get out of it?”

Honestly — nothing financial, and we’d never pretend otherwise. No shares, no return, no stake. What you’d get is the satisfaction of helping a community keep something that matters, and we’d acknowledge your support if (and only if) you wanted us to.

“Is the pub for sale? What’s the price?”

We don’t have a confirmed sale or an agreed price, so I won’t quote one. That’s exactly the kind of thing the feasibility work has to establish properly.

“Will members make money / get a dividend?”

The legal structure isn’t decided, and whether any surplus could ever be distributed is an open legal question. So no — I can’t and won’t promise a return to anyone.

“Is this definitely going to happen?”

No. It’s a question, not a commitment. It might not proceed, and if the honest answer turns out to be no, we’ll say so.

“Could the co-op run the bar / hold the licence?”

That’s one of the open questions — Tasmanian liquor licensing for a co-operative structure needs proper legal advice. We’re not assuming it.

“Can I get my name on it / a founding stake?”

We can absolutely acknowledge supporters with their consent. But there’s no equity, no founding-investor tier, and nothing that buys influence over a future community-owned co-op. One member, one vote is the whole point.

5. What not to say (hard stops)

• Don’t say “invest”, “return”, “dividend”, “shares”, “stake”, “get in early”, or “founding investor.”
• Don’t say the pub is definitely for sale or quote a price.
• Don’t say the project will definitely happen.
• Don’t say a gift is tax-deductible (not confirmed — don’t imply charitable/DGR status).
• Don’t imply a gift buys influence over the future co-op.
• If you don’t know — say you don’t know. It’s the right answer and it protects the project.

6. Leave-behind one-pager (printable)

The Bottom Pub — a community question worth exploring

The Commercial Hotel, Cygnet (Tasmanian Heritage Register, Place ID 3472) has been part of this town’s life for generations. A group of locals is asking one question: is it worth exploring whether the community could own and bring it back?

We are at Stage 1. We’re gauging interest. No money is being raised from the public, no price is agreed, no structure is decided, and nothing is guaranteed. If the community isn’t behind it, we stop.

Why people like you matter. To answer the question honestly, we need to do proper feasibility work — an independent valuation, a building and heritage assessment, a financial model, and legal advice. That takes credibility, expertise, and some funding. There are people whose support could make that possible.

Ways you could help:

• Champion — lend your name to the idea that this is worth exploring.
• Connect — introduce us to people who should know about this.
• Contribute expertise — legal, valuation, heritage, finance, or hospitality, in-kind.
• Support the feasibility work — a philanthropic gift toward the cost of finding out. (Not an investment. No return. It funds the homework.)

What you would not get: no shares, no dividend, no return, no stake, no influence over a future co-operative. This is community ownership — one member, one vote.

Learn more or get in touch: bottom.pub · cygnet@bottom.pub

(Steering to confirm the contact address and add the project mark before printing.)

7. Follow-up and recap template

Complete within 48 hours and log centrally so the project never double-approaches or contradicts itself.

Supporter conversation — recap

Date: ___________ Who made the approach: ___________ Prospect: ___________________________ Warm introduction via (if any): ___________________________

Which tier(s) did they respond to? ☐ Patron / Champion ☐ Connector ☐ Pro-bono expert ☐ Feasibility-fund donor ☐ Not for them (yet)

What did they actually offer or commit to? (be precise — names of introductions, scope of pro-bono help, etc.)

Did they ask for anything, or set any conditions? (flag immediately if any condition touches governance, equity, or the licence)

Conflict-of-interest check — any commercial interest in the outcome (vendor / operator / paid adviser)? ☐ None apparent ☐ Flag for governance (detail): ___________________________

Consent to be acknowledged publicly? ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Not discussed

Next step + owner + date:

Anything the steering group should know?

Return to: Billie / steering. Related: major-supporters-strategy.md, major-supporters-prospect-list.md.