A group of Hibernian fans, mainly members of the International Hibernian Supporters Club, have announced a new initiative that they believe will have far-reaching effects on how supporters may be involved in the running of clubs in Scotland. The ERIN Community Trust is to be formed with the sole objective of investing cash raised from individual fans, or businesses, for the benefit of Hibernian – and in so doing provide football fans with a real say in the future of their club.

The group will ask Hibs fans to invest at least �5 a month in the Trust, and at the end of each year five elected Trustees will recommend how funds raised may be invested. The Trust will initially seek to purchase shares in the club from owner Sir Tom Farmer, with a long-term view of attaining no more that 25% of the value of the club.

One of the interim honorary Trustees, who will preside over the launch of the initiative in its first year, will be former Hibernian defender Craig Paterson, son of Jock Paterson, a Hibs legend from the ‘Famous Five’ days. Craig is delighted to be involved with the Trust: "This is a wonderful opportunity for the fans of Hibernian to have direct input to the club. A real chance to make a direct and telling contribution to the future of Hibernian. I am very pleased to be involved with the venture and believe it will be a success because at the end of the day the only people with the real raw motivation to make any club great is the support."

Convenor of the Trust’s first management committee is Stuart Crowther, secretary of the International Hibernian Supporters Club. He said: "The progress made by Hibernian in recent months has been immense, and all Hibs fans must recognise the effort it took to restore Hibernian to the Premier League.

"Hibs fans around the world have expressed a desire to do all they can to help the club continue its climb back to the very top of Scottish football. The ERIN Community Trust is one idea that has come from this. I anticipate many of the 4,000 world-wide Hibs fans who visit our Internet site every week to contribute to the Trust, and together with support from the many thousands of loyal home-based Hibs fans, we believe we can make a very real difference."

On the ultimate aims of the Trust, Mr Crowther continued: "In common with all Hibernian supporters, we wish to see Hibernian back competing with, not only the best in Scotland, but in Europe. We believe that the opportunity is now here for all Hibs fans to do something positive for the club - and themselves.

"It is time that football supporters took a more hands-on approach in the manner that their club is run. Hibernian have always been very much a community club, we are calling upon that very community to look to the future with vision. We offer nothing more than a solemn undertaking to invest in Hibernian, and in so doing provide every member of the community with a real stake in their football club."

Hibernian has themselves welcomed the fans’ initiative. Hibs Chairman Malcolm McPherson said: "The Board is appreciative of this innovative and supportive proposal from a significant group of supporters. Whilst in its embryonic stages, and with regulatory hurdles to overcome, this has the potential to be of real benefit to the Club and demonstrates, yet again, the commitment of our supporters to seek to help the Club in a constructive way."

Spokesperson for the group is Jillian Binnie, who added: "At this stage we are seeking declarations of interest from people who feel they want to be part of this scheme and the vision it has for the club. They can do this either through completing the form on the Trust’s Internet web site Erin Trust.