Dues

[mbscoutmom]

Scoutnut, we made about $800 on popcorn last year with about 30 boys, and averaged about that for the last several years. Most of the ones who participated in fund raisers crossed over last year, so I expect to make less than that this year. I wish I knew how you sell so much popcorn. Personally, we've been able to sell only about $200-300 worth in our family, neighborhood, and dad's work. Maybe you could spin-off a thread with tips on selling popcorn.

[Cubmaster Jerry]

mbscoutmom, I apologize if this sounds a bit derogatory. This is not my intention whatsoever. I am certain that there isn't one Pack financial plan that is the same and the method you describe may work perfect for you. I am sure there are nuances to your plan that I am not aware (and that's ok) but hashing out a few of your numbers (still in that mode from my planning mtg), I came up with this:

 

- you are collecting $3 per month (I assume for only 9 months) for registration and Boys Life. Registration is only $20.80 a yr for these. Thus you are already collecting $6 per boy per year too much.

 

- you are not expecting to collect much with Popcorn. But you suggest putting (can I estimate?) $400 this yr toward dues. I don't quite understand that. Haven't the parents already paid for their dues? In my experience (and I certainly may be the exception) $24 per year per boy for Den dues should be plenty, if not too much. I know that you can't/don't want to depend on fund raisers to provide the bulk of the funding for the year, but if you tell the parents that a portion of the fund raiser profit will go toward dues, will you give them refunds?

 

By the way, we don't do well with popcorn either. Which is why we don't sell it. We have found a couple of other fundraisers that our community embraces better than popcorn.

 

Jerry

[mbscoutmom]

Jerry, I'm sorry if I didn't explain it clearly. To get the $3 per month figure, I divided the whole cost of re-chartering by the number of registered boys. The total includes the cost of registering the leaders as well as the boys, plus the quality unit patch. Also, Boy's Life has gone up to $12.00 per year. Still, the amount is approximate. The actual cost of re-chartering may be a little lower or higher than what we collect. Also, we'll be collecting that amount for Webelos II even though they'll be crossing over before we recharter. However, we'll only collect $21 for them ($3 x 7 months), and that's just about what their Arrow of Light ceremony costs.

 

Here's what I mean about applying profit from popcorn sales towards dues. Once all the money is in, we'll figure out how much each boy earned for the pack and apply some of that towards his dues, probably starting with January. If, for example, his popcorn sales earn $60, and the committee decides that half of that can go towards his dues, he'll have paid his dues for January-March. We probably won't give a refund of dues already paid.

[Cubmaster Jerry]

Here is another idea for Fund Raiser profit. We do something similar to what you suggest. However, instead of designating it specifically for dues, we put half of all profit the boy makes into an account specifically for him. This money can be used for anything scout related - dues, uniform, camping supplies, summer camps, patches - whatever. The Den Leaders make the parent aware of how much is in the account on a regular basis. When the parent makes a "qualified" purchase, they turn the receipt in and get reimbursed.

 

Boys who do well with fund raisers typically have $100 - 150 in their accounts and they effectively never have to pay for anything at all - ever. And all boys who participate have someting. This encourages participation in the fund raisers.

 

Also, I would not get in the habit of giving reimbursements for anything. Next thing you know you will have parents itimizing what exactly was spent on their boy and wanting to pay dues accordingly.

 

Good idea to include cost of leader recharter in that figure. Leaders, by no means, should pay for recharter or training, if financially possible.

[mbscoutmom]

Jerry, the account sounds like a great idea. Can you explain more about how they work?

[Cubmaster Jerry]

Sure. Let's say that you are selling something and the full amount of the Pack's profit is $5 per item. $2.50 of that goes to the Pack and each scout gets the other half of that profit for his account. Therefore, if a scout sells 10 items, they then have $25 in their account. Of course, you can adjust the percentage the boy gets if you need to. We use 50% because the Pack's 50% is enough for us to pay for our program. This money can only be used by them. Their account stays with them throughout their Cub Scout career and any money at year end rolls over to the next. They cannot transfer it to the troop or cash out when they leave/graduate from the Pack. But, what they can do is spend it all on scout related items before they leave/graduate. Any money left in the boys accounts after they leave gets put in the Pack account.

 

Now, to get it out, we use a form for such requests. If a parent buys something that is scout related - uniform, patches, tent, sleeping bag, etc, they fill the form out, attach the receipt, and give it to their den leader. Their den leader then turns it in to the treasurer at the next committee meeting and a check is cut. We stress that they will not be reimbursed until after next committee meeting. However, we still have parents that say "But I really need that money now for ______". We make exceptions, we just don't advertise that we do.

 

Also, make sure the parents are aware what it means by "scout related". You don't want them going out and buying a Coleman Propane stove or something like that. It may be for camping but it isn't for the Scout.

 

If the parent wants to use some money in their boy's account for a Pack related expense such as dues, camp fee, or activity fee, they still fill the form out and turn it in to their den leader.

 

I feel it is important to have the form because it forces the parent to realize how much money is being taken out. They also sign it. It prevents a situation where we might have a parent questioning why money was taken out.

 

This is a little more work on the part of the Treasurer but, like I said, some boys never have to pay for anything if they do well with fund raisers.

 

Hope that helps.