Rootes Archive Centre Friends of the Archive Centre.

How can You Help?

In order to keep the Archive Centre up and running we need your help. You can probably guess what that means!

There are a number of ways of getting involved. This might be "volunteering" to make visits to do cataloguing, offering technical help in digitising, repairing or re-producing drawings, or simply bringing your Club members to events at the Centre. A number of people are now engaged in working parties to take on these tasks. Please contact Gordon Jarvis for more information on what you can do.

Of course the big issue is always cash. Long term sustainability of the Archive Centre and preservation of the priceless historical data and artefacts is not cheap. We are preparing bids for funds from the Lottery and other sources, but we also need as many subscribers as possible to support the Centre through the Friends Scheme and in other ways as illustrated below.

Friends Scheme

The Rootes Archive Centre Trust is a registered charity dedicated to the preservation and study of material of historical significance connected with the Rootes Group and associated or successor companies. The Trust has made an excellent start thanks to a small band of dedicated volunteers. But we need your help! We want to make ourselves more widely known, especially to members of the Rootes car clubs, and involve more of you in the Trust's plans for the future. If you've thought about helping us but haven't known how, or what you could do, then this is your opportunity.

We have set up a FaceBook site for Friends to share information, see: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rootes-Archive-Centre-Trust/428976040588735.

For as little as £15 a year a subscription to the Friends of the Rootes Archive Centre entitles you to:

• Advance notification of and free admission to all special events held at the Centre. (As well as special open days, we hope in due course to have occasional themed events, talks and exhibitions).
• A free copy of New Devonshire House News *, the Rootes Archive Centre Trust's Newsletter, which includes:
• latest news of what's happening at The Archive Centre,
• details of new acquisitions and donations,
• informative short articles about the Rootes Group heritage the Trust is dedicated to preserving, drawing on research based on material at the Archive Centre.
• Bulletins with other information

* During a re-vamp in 2009 we changed the name to "Devonshire House".

To mitigate postage costs, will will send electronic copies of Devonshire House News to overseas members unless a printed copy is requested.

Subscription is renewable currently on an annual basis from the time of first joining.

The more people who give an annual subscription like this, the more secure our future will be. If you're a UK tax payer, then, as a charity, we can also claim Gift Aid tax relief on your payments - if this doesn't apply please delete that sentence on the form.

If you wish to use PayPal please send payment to matthewollman@rootesarchivecentre.org.uk.

Application Form

Please print a copy of the form from here and send it with your subscription (cheques payable to: The Rootes Archive Centre Trust) to "RACT Friends Membership":

Donations and Sponsorship

The Rootes Archive Centre is a registered charity in the UK. Have you thought of making a donation or some form of sponsorship for general or specific activities? We can get Gift Aid tax relief on such donations and you can also declare them in tax returns. We would like to discuss this with you as there are many opportunities to be involved.

Building for the Future!

On 14th November 2015 at the NEC Classic Car Show, the Rootes Archive Centre Trust (RACT) officially launched an ambitious but exciting building fund program to raise the capital required to purchase a permanent home.

The RACT is based in Banbury, Oxfordshire and has been preserving and protecting the original material from the Rootes/Chrysler Engineering Department for the last 12 years. The archive includes hundreds of thousands of detailed manufacturing drawings from the 1930s through to the early 1980s as well as marketing, sales and servicing literature and photographs. The material is complemented with artefacts such as the Rootes boardroom table and chairs from Devonshire House, a large 3D model of the Linwood Plant and various dealership signage items and continues to grow as further items are collected and saved for current and future generations of Rootes enthusiasts. Access by interested parties is encouraged and club committees hold regular meetings at the centre. The RACT also recently created a Facebook page and so is now reaching more classic vehicle devotees than ever before.

The RACT currently rents a shared user building. This is its second premises, after a move from its previous unit in a business park was necessary to reduce rocketing rent rises. However, ever increasing rental costs and the risks associated with short term contracts puts it in a continuously precarious position. The Trustees have always had to keep a keen eye on the long term viability of the RACT and think that the time is right to consider alternatives - including the possibility of purchasing a permanent home through an innovative donation program.

This is history in the making! Would you like to be part of this special project? The RACT is initially seeking pledges of £500 donations from individuals and organisations. This could be as a one-off payment, in five annual instalments or even as a standing order of £1.93 per week for five years. If enough people come together to support this inspiring venture, then our unique Rootes archive could enter the next chapter in its fascinating journey!

In addition to financial pledges, volunteers with relevant expertise are vital. Please do step forward if you can assist in any of the following areas: Marketing; Property Law; or VAT. You would be joining a dedicated sub-committee of forward thinking individuals responsible for driving the project.

The first donation to the fund, from the RACT's long term supporter Stewart Miller and Peter James Insurance, was today presented to the Chairman of the Trustees, Gordon Jarvis, by Sir Stirling Moss at the Classic Motor Show. Gordon is delighted to launch this fund and accept this first donation which starts the journey to securing modern fit-for-purpose premises for the archive. Now with the support from individual and corporate members of the Rootes car fraternity we can really make history and secure a permanent home for the fascinating archive material associated with our vehicles.

Matthew Ollman from the RACT can be contacted at matthewollman@rootesarchivecentre.org.uk with any enquires or to pledge financial support or time to the program.

To download the Building Fund Pledge Form click here.

Other Ways to Help

We are registered with e-Bay for charity. The benefits are two fold: (i) anything we list (that sells) we don't have to pay any listing or final value fees, saving us 10-15% of the sale price; (ii) other people can elect to donate a proportion of their sale price to us (they then save an equivalent proportion of their fees). So, if you use eBay you can search for the charity on the eBay for charities page.

The Giving Machine. -- you shop, we benefit! It's so easy to generate free cash donations for us just by shopping on-line via TheGivingMachine at 1000's of participating retailers. Every time you make a purchase a donation is made on your behalf and it doesn't cost you a penny. So if it's booking a holiday, your weekly grocery shop, renewing the car insurance or simply a little treat for yourself, don't forget to shop via The Giving Machine. Join up before your Christmas shopping and raise valuable donations for us every time you shop on-line.

You can also sign up to the Utility Warehouse Discount Club and get your utilities supplied at a competitive price, helping us at the same time.

Finally - Your Will

Have you considered making a donation in your Will? As a registered charity we are able to receive such donations and help you to prolong an interest which may have been dear to you throughout your life.

Yes I know its something people don't like to think about, but many large charitable organisations have found this to be crucial both for individual tax purposes and sustainability. If you would like to consider this further, we are happy to discuss it with you at any time.

If you have already made a Will and now wish to add the Rootes Archive Centre Trust as a beneficiary, you can complete a simple Codicil Form. A Codicil is a supplement that alters or adds to an existing Will. Please keep your Codicil with your Will in a safe place. You don't need this form if you haven't yet made your Will. Download Codicil Form here.

Web site developed and maintained by R.J. Allan "Hand Knitted Software" 2005-18

Comments on and contributions to the Web site should be send to Bob Allan (e-mail).

Page last modified: Sunday, 12-Sep-2021 14:31:42 CEST