The Iron Trust

The challenge

The Iron Trust is the democratic, not-for-profit supporters' trust for Scunthorpe United, founded in 2012 on a simple principle: one member, one vote, for life. More than 1,200 supporters hold lifetime membership.

Behind that, the trust ran on paper. The register lived in a spreadsheet, membership cards went out by post, and people joined with cash, cheque, standing order or at Trust Corner on matchdays. Members had no way to see or update their own details, and every vote happened in a room, which left out anyone who couldn't make the meeting. The old WordPress site held years of news and the trust's rules, policies and minutes, all of which had to come across intact.

What we built

We built a new site around what members actually do: find out what the trust is up to, join, and have their say. News, events (with calendar downloads), the board, partners and a documents library of rules, policies and meeting minutes sit alongside a clear route to join for life from £10, paying by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe.

Members sign in to My Membership with a one-time link sent to their email, so there is no password to forget. From there they can keep their details up to date and carry a digital membership card in Apple Wallet, with a QR code volunteers can scan to check a membership is valid.

Voting was the part that had to be right. Polls and elections open and close at times the board sets, and each eligible adult or family membership gets exactly one vote, matching the Society's rules. The ballot is genuinely secret: the record of who has voted is kept apart from the record of how people voted, and ballots carry random IDs with no timestamps, so a vote can't be traced back to a member. Even when board admins view the site as a member to help someone, voting is switched off.

Behind the scenes the board has its own admin: a news editor with an approval step, events, member records, contact messages, polls, and newsletters with audience targeting and one-click unsubscribe. Every old WordPress news link and PDF link redirects to its new home, so nothing members had bookmarked broke.

• Online joining with card, Apple Pay and Google Pay
• Passwordless member sign-in by emailed link
• Digital membership card in Apple Wallet, with QR check-in
• Secret-ballot online polls and elections — one membership, one vote
• News, events with calendar downloads, board and partners pages
• Documents library for rules, policies and minutes
• Board admin: news approval, events, members, polls and newsletters
• Redirects from every old WordPress post and PDF
• Live fixtures and league table

The outcome

The Iron Trust now has a website that works the way a democratic trust should. Supporters can join, manage their membership and carry their card on their phone, and every member can vote whether or not they can get to a meeting, with a ballot that stays secret by design. The board has the tools to run the trust's communications without relying on paper or posted cards.