The primary aims of the Trust are to:

1. Bring a larger proportion of Aberdeen FC into the ownership of the community and
2. To raise funds to help the Club.

In conjunction with increased ownership will come a growth in supporter involvement in the Club which will bring much needed momentum in the form of enthusiasm and ideas for the strengthening of the Club's position in Scottish and European football.

The intention is that the Trust will be both supportive of the Club and defensive of the Community interest in the Club in the event of possible threats to the integrity of the Club from external or internal sources.

• Involvement of as many stakeholders in AFC as possible.
• A means of significantly helping AFC via fund raising.
• A means of allowing any supporter to take a tangible stake in AFC.
• A means of giving members a significant say in the affairs of AFC.
• To raise the stake held in AFC by small shareholders.
• The democratisation of AFC to the mutual benefit of all Patrons and the Club.
• A means of investing directly in AFC in return for specially issued shares.
• A partnership of individual and corporate stakeholders.
• Closer involvement of the community in the Club.
• A stronger and more successful Club.

The trust is now and industrial and Provident Society - Aberdeen Football Club Supporters Society Limited - known as AFC Trust.

The Trust has been opened to a wider membership of shareholders and non-shareholders alike with each member having a single vote in the affairs of the Trust. The management committee will have an obligation to look after the interests of the members. A Board of Patrons ("the great and the good") has been set up to ensure that the management committee adheres to the principals of the Trust.

Shareholding members will assign their voting rights to the Trust but retain their ownership and all other rights.

Any non-shareholding supporter can join the Trust and their membership fee will be used to obtain that supporter a nominal ownership in the club for as long as they remain a member of the Trust. The Trust will also raise funds by other means and use such funds to bring shares into community ownership. A possible mechanism for doing this will be to buy blocks of shares straight from the Club, thus ensuring that funds go direct to Aberdeen FC activities although it is likely that shares will also be purchased on the Stock Market. The minimum stake in the Club that the Trust will seek is 10%, as this figure will give the Trust certain powers that are not available to lesser shareholdings.

With their members' agreement, the AFCSA created an Aberdeen FC Trust in March 2001.

The Trust is designed to allow supporters to have a greater involvement in their Club and it will also allow for money to be raised to help the Club. It is envisaged that the Trust will be an enormously supportive vehicle for the Club and its supporters.