InquisitiveScouter

@SiouxRanger, yes, it's the timing that ties your hands here. We use a policy of all fundraising monies come out of the account first to pay for things. Any parent--provided monies still in the account can be paid out back to the family. Again, no one is going to come looking. It's an integrity issue for me. Not quite, @Spatulate, see above. If it is the parents' money, then it is the parents' money...

Great question! Scouts can belong to as many units as they wish. It is called "multiple membership", and they only have to pay one fee to National/Council. But, as you have discovered, one unit must be "primary." This is the unit that must pay the membership fee, insurance, council service fee, etc, and must also be the primary for advancement reporting to eliminate confusion and redundant submissions. Now, to your money question... The money does not technically belong to the Scout. It is being held on behalf of the Scout by the Chartering Organization. There are several IRS rules governing this. In a nutshell, two specifically apply: 1. Any funds raised for the purposes of Scouting must only be used for Scouting. That is, your unit may not use the fundraised monies to buy things for Scouts that are not directly related to Scouting. You can pay for Summer Camp, uniforms, camping fees, etc, buy you may not buy personal boots, backpacks, a birthday cake, etc... 2. Since the CO technically owns all fundraised monies, make sure they are OK with the transfer. I know we talking minor amounts, but you do need to keep them in the loop. I cannot imagine them saying 'No", but they could. Other issues... A. never write a check or give fundraised money directly to the Scout. Although the IRS doesn't really care about you and your unit account, the principle is that when you give the Scout money directly for their efforts at fundraising, it counts as income. B. never use monies fundraised by the Scout to pay for things for the Scout's parents; membership fees, camping fees, etc. Parents can participate in fundraisers and establish a Scout account, and now you can track that in Scoutbook. If the monies were raised under your old CO, then just clear it with them. Write a check to the new Troop, put the Scout's name in the Memo line, and Bob's your uncle...

???

Well, you will find them here. Much quicker, and more informed than from your local council, too, I'd bet 😛

Great thoughts! I should forward those to our local council. I, too, am a But, rather than helping me to fix things, our council SE asked me for money, without a thought or recognition for how valuable my time is. And when I said no, and did not support FoS, he removed me (and others) from our District and Council positions. There is more to the story, of course, but, I tell you, my behavior throughout the events, has been courteous and professional towards them, without reciprocity. I even asked him on the phone what it would take to restore the relationship. His reply, "Support FoS." Again, I refused. So, I pour my efforts into supporting our unit and other units. Because we have no DE, no functioning Commissioner Corps, and a camp in shambles.... I literally spend 30-40 hours per week volunteering for Scouting. Please spare me the off-handed indictment, brother.

This is a sad truth. Best of luck on your golfing endeavors! Watch out for the gophers! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g79mLV9b30c&ab_channel=Michael

These are the people worth holding on to!!! SMH SMH x 2 They could, but there is an ENORMOUS disconnect between the local professional side of the house and the volunteer side of the house. A connection from National to local volunteers is non-existent, but that is, I believe, as it should be. I know we volunteers are valued at the grass roots hometown level (the youth and parents we serve). And I know that we are not valued by my current local council. The ONLY impact you are going to have, on a large scale, with ANY youth, is THROUGH THE ADULT VOLUNTEERS.

@Spatulate, welcome!

We could start by enforcing the laws we have on the books...across the board, or get rid of them! Then, reinvigorate our system of mental health hospitals. https://www.nri-inc.org/our-work/nri-reports/tracking-the-history-of-state-psychiatric-hospital-closures/ Then, we need velocity in justice. Justice delayed is justice denied. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_delayed_is_justice_denied# I, for one, have lost a great deal of faith in our justice system. I have lost faith in our Congress. Are your Representative and Senators really "representative"?? Are they working to make our country better? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_members_of_the_United_States_Congress_by_wealth I have lost faith in our Executive Branch... selective enforcement of laws erodes public trust. If we, the people, cannot trust the basic institutions we have put in place to secure our rights, then... "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute DespotismOligarchy, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." https://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/is-america-an-oligarchy Before this happens, expect unrest and violence to increase. Now add economic hardship as gasoline on the fire... I spent 26 years under an Oath to defend the Constitution. Wanna know why veteran suicide is at astronomical rates? Many feel their service and sacrifice is wasted, seeing at how we act as a nation. https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/docs/data-sheets/2021/2021-National-Veteran-Suicide-Prevention-Annual-Report-FINAL-9-8-21.pdf Think about that this Memorial Day.

?? Would you elaborate, please?

This is where the BSA is missing out. There is a corps of military veterans out there who would love to serve as Scout leaders. BSA should be actively recruiting them. Totally understand that Scouting is not military training! That message must always come through loud and clear. But, every skill I ever learned in Scouting made me a better leader, officer, pilot, or whatever job I happened to be doing at the time. IMHO, these should also be the primary leaders in the corporate structure of BSA. Remember where BP got his ideas for the program. And I heard a great quote the other day from another Scouter... "If it wasn't for the Siege of Mafeking, I'd have a lot of extra time on my hands." 😜 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Mafeking

Yeah, your number three option seems the best... Separate male and female patrols until they reach a certain age and rank (my gut says 14 and First Class, kind of like the requirement for Scouts to join and continue working on advancement.) Then combine into Venturing Patrol (name isn't important, but could be kept for legacy...)

Adult volunteers who know what they are doing, and have a passion for the specific program. Think about who would be the majority of adult volunteers for these programs... What type of person or background comes to mind??

Or British Bulldog!!

They are on to you!!👀

No. No, there isn't. 😛 A poorly run Troop is the worst advertisement for Scouting. It undermines everything we are about. And yes, there are lots of them.

At $691B in endowments total across US, that's a heck of a lot of moolah. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=73#:~:text=At the end of fiscal,the total was %24675 billion. And at $41B endowment, Harvard is richer than about 66 countries in the world... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_wealth

I ask parents: "How many times have you cut yourself?" "How many times have you gotten splinters?" "How many times have you gotten stung by a wasp?" "How many times have you gotten a sunburn?" "How many times have you gotten into an argument?" "How many times have you had to deal with someone who is acting like a jerk?" etc, etc, etc, They begin to get the right idea that they cannot (and should not) protect or shield their kid from all of life's risks. "Well, it's going to happen here, and probably a little more. But, we watch them closely until they can learn to take care of themselves and work well in a group. We teach them how to avoid injuries and treat them. And, we provide a leadership and learning laboratory [camping] where the relationship consequences aren't that serious now, so they'll learn to work through issues with their peers for the future. Sometimes, it takes time to get to that point." And if they cannot learn to behave themselves, they will not be welcome here. We have dismissed Scouts from the Troop in the past for inability to control their behavior.

I knew it! It's that pesky Beaver Patrol! I used to be an Eagle, and a good ol' Eagle, too! (But, as an honorary Beaver, I did some dodging of inflated rubber spherical objects!)

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!!!

I find people often use the passive voice to hide... I always then ask the direct question, "Who told you?" If they can't give me name or point of contact, I ignore them. If they give me a name, I call the source (eliminate the middleman) and get the story straight. Nine times out of ten, what person A said and what person B heard are two entirely different things.

So, the BSA has two or three different threads for STEM, all undergirded by the highlighting of STEM related topics throughout the Handbooks, Awards, and Advancements... https://bsastemnova.org/#:~:text=Officially the NOVA program was,of BSA from its creation. 1. Cub Scouts, Scouts, Venturers, Sea Scouts: a series of STEM based awards called the NOVA and Supernova Awards https://www.scouting.org/stem-nova-awards/awards/about-nova/ 2. A program with separate units called STEM Scouts https://stemscouts.scouting.org/ https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2015/05/11/understanding-the-difference-between-stem-in-scouting-and-stem-scouts/ 3. And the not-so-strong push for Explorer Units to be STEM career-based https://www.exploring.org/activity-library-category/us-department-of-education-career-clusters/stem/ I am a NOVA and Supernova counselor...have been since inception (10 years ago??) I have had one Cub Scout come to me to earn the award. I did push it on our Webelos AOL den when my son was there... after the den had finished AOL program in late Nov, they had "nothing to do" (LOL) so I went through the program with the den. Scouts are interested, but have little to no bandwidth for ANOTHER PROGRAM 😜 P.S. Supercool bling!!! https://www.scoutshop.org/nsearch/?q=Nova

But his feet surely show it! They are Longfellows!