I am the new Scoutmaster of a long established Troop of about 35 scouts. Our CO is a church.
Recently the outgoing Treasurer (who is a member of the church and who's husband is the COR) mentioned to the new Treasurer that the Troop makes a yearly $300 donation to the church and said that needed to continue. The Pack that is chartered by this same church, also makes a $300 donation every year.
My question to you is, does your Troop make any sort of financial donation to your Charter Organization?
I have read on this forum that a number of CO's make a yearly donation to the Troop or help them with the purchase of gear, trailers, etc. That does not happen with our CO. They basically give us a place to meet and let us take some ice to fill the coolers for campouts. We have helped them advertise their food pantry and have helped them once or twice a year with their project to feed members of the community (help serve food, clean up, etc.). Other than that we really don't have much to do with each other.
While the Troop has the $300, something about being told by a member of the church to give it to the CO rubs me the wrong way. While I certainly appreciate the CO giving us a place to meet, I have had the feeling for some time that the scouts are tolerated rather than appreciated by the CO and that if we all quit and the Troop disbanded the CO wouldn't be upset.
The flip side of that is that I imagine we burn up $300 of the churches heating, air conditioning, water, and electricity in a year so maybe giving them $300 (or not) isn't the hill to die on.
What do you think?
Squidly87
