fund raiser "grand" prizes

[JeffD]

i had an interesting conversation about this where one pack had a playstation for their top seller - another was using bikes - and others had boom-box radios.

 

one person there said he was against having prizes for the top seller(s) that were above and beyond the trails-end prizes.

 

intrigued, i asked his reasoning for not having a top seller prize... to which he replied "cub scouts stresses to DO Your Best - one kid''s best may be to sell $200 in popcorn, another may be $2000. if the parents of the $2000 scout did all of the selling - and the $200 scout did it on his own, which one did his best?"

 

made me wonder if a separate grand prize for top seller is the right thing to do. i am sure many packs do it where the top seller might get another prize - but am interested if this might make you think about how its being done.

[evmori]

I like the no prize idea. Cubs are encouraged to do their best and ones best might not be the same as another. Awarding expected behavior is never a good thing.

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[John-in-KC]

OTOH from Ed,

 

SALES is about business, profit, and rewards. Top salespeople get all manner of bragging rights in the grown-up world.

 

Whether you decide prize or no prize depends in part on what the kids are being offered as a consequence of their sales: BSA popcorn has a pretty good premium catalog. Some Christmas wreath companies only offer money to the unit.

 

You may want to ask your Chartered Partner for input as well. Make sure you''re not violating any policies they have in force.

 

I think this decision belongs to the Pack Committee, with input from the CM and the DLs.(This message has been edited by John-in-KC)

[insanescouter]

I agree that it needs to be a descion of the pack committee.

 

I will add that my person belief is that it is a bad idea - a Cub Scout should not be treated like a professional sales person. They should not be give the stress and pressure of wanting to sell their heart out for that "toy". They are kids and should have fun and do their best. If you want to do awards find a way to determine what a Scouts best is, and not some stupid predefined goal (meaning a made up goal like Johnny''s goal - 50 boxes - not real life goals). It needs to be determined based on the individual, their personality, etc.

 

Ok that was my wacky 2 cents at almost 3am. Hope I wasn''t to out there

 

Scott Robertson

http://insanescouter.org

[jens3sons]

JeffD,

 

My pack is the one that gives away the boom box. Let me clarify please. First off, the boom box costs the pack approximately $25-$30 dollars...a little different than the cost of a play station or a bike. Second, the boom box is NOT awarded to the top seller, it is raffled off. For every $25.00 the scout sells, he gets 1 raffle ticket. It is stated to the boys that the more they sell, (obviously) the more chances they have to win. In my experience with all of this, it has never been awarded to the absolute top seller in the pack, but usually to the kid who has sold btw. $200-$500 dollars of popcorn. This was all designed as an incentive for the boys to get out there and sell during a time when parents are overwhelmed as it is with the start of school, and all the fund raisers (PTA, marching band, football, cheer leading etc.) that takes place at this time of year. It also gives the boys a little hope that maybe they can win it this year, because even the leaders have a really good idea as to who will be the top sellers for the year, as we know which parents have the best opportunity to sell to co-workers etc., so we know which 3 boys will be considered the "top sellers" for the year. This gives every boy a chance to DO THEIR BEST and even the top sellers like to get out there and sell door to door, or make the phone calls to family members. The boys who are the 3 top sellers for the year are verbally recognized in front of the entire pack and that is it. A few times we have let the top seller draw the winning ticket from that hat, but like I said, never has that boy won the boom box. I hope this clarifies things.

 

jens3sons

[Lisabob]

When we joined our pack, they were in the habit of giving out prizes to top sellers and sometimes these got rather expensive. We later stopped that tradition and personally, I was a lot more comfortable when doing those fund raisers without the extra prizes. I say this even though my child was the pack''s top popcorn seller to the tune of several thousand dollars of product for three years in a row, and he did it by going door to door (not me selling it). Here are my personal objections to the big prizes that some packs give:

 

1) Those prizes were being paid for with the profit from our fund raiser. They came from the pack, but in reality they were being subsidized by all the boys who sold popcorn. It''s one thing to ask the boys to help "make the pack go" but it is another to ask them (implicitly) to support giving a single pack member (or handful of kids) a playstation or whatever big prize.

 

2) Reason you mentioned, where one kid''s parent does all the work and yet the kid reaps the prizes, while another kid''s parent does little, the boy works hard, and isn''t recognized for it. (though, this happens anyway without the prizes and I don''t mean to say you shouldn''t be glad that the pack is reaping a profit either way)

 

3) I really dislike the gaming system type of prize and would much rather see a pack give out scout-related, or at least outdoor-related items if they insist on going this route. This is probably just me but I saw one of the major benefits of cub scouting as being that it provided a fun and healthy alternative to staring at the screen all day, and so I wouldn''t have been happy to see this behavior so explicitly reinforced by the pack.

 

4) Trail''s end already offers prizes that cost the pack nothing, and the boys are usually quite happy enough with those. At the high end, the prizes improve in quality too

 

That said, our council does an extra prize that bugs me less. They give every boy who sells $200 of popcorn an entry into a bike raffle. For every additional $200 the boy gets another ticket in the pot. There''s one bike for the whole council, minimizing the bite on profit. And I like that every boy who sells a reasonable amount has a chance at winning, not just the one whose mom/dad sells a truckload of it at work.

[JeffD]

jens3sons - though i saw how yours does it - it was at training where people mentioned prizes for their packs. and since youre in illinois, and i am about 1400 miles away from you - i doubt we were talking

 

my reasoning for the thread wasnt to chastise or praise anyone - just thought it was an interesting point of view

[awesome1_in_cc]

I guess I have a different take on this issue then most. During my time as Cubmaster & CC for a "mega" pack I not only encouraged prizes for top sellers (in each age group)but tried to find new angles to get the kids and parents motivated to sell. I hate to say it but we live in a world where most people have the mind set of "what''s in it for ME" and don''t grasp the concept we are all in this together.

 

First, every boy who sold anything recieved a free pinewood derby car wrapped in nice Christmas wrapping paper etc at our December Pack Meeting. And if you didn''t sell then you had to go down to Scout office and purchase one for three bucks.

 

Then Trophies were given to 1st. 2nd & 3rd for each age group and an additinal 1st thru 3rd. trophy was awarded to the top sellers for the pack.

 

The reality as I see it is, it takes money to run our units in a quality way and where is it going to come from? At the pack level our advancement ran $400 a month and we never ever charged parents dues or anything else. Every Scout in the Pack got the same benefits even though some of them never sold a single thing. Actually those who never sold were typically the ones earning every award know to Cub Scouting and never contributed a dime to the Pack. Is it fair for them to ride on the backs of other Scouts? These Scouts and parents by far did not "do their Best"!!!

 

Now that i''m a Scoutmaster, I have worked with my TC to put in place a program where the Scouts will get 20% of what they sell in their Scout accounts to pay for scouting related items as approved by the TC. Across the board I am trying to make my Scouts more accountable for themselves.

 

You can blast me if you want, but it is just MHO on the subject.

 

 

[eagle-pete]

awesome1_in_cc

 

I''m not one to "blast" anyone so you won''t see that from me.

 

I would like to point out some observations, however. My take on fund raising is that it should really be for a specific activity, like an outing or a fun summer activity that needs extra funds not normally available in the pack budget. Normal pack expenses should come from dues or from the Chartered Organization. I don''t like depending on fund raising just to run the program and there is something about the concept of each scout (or parent) paying their dues.

 

Also, if your unit is having trouble seeing the "all in this together" picture, I recommend getting as many of your leaders trained and to Wood Badge as you can. This should resolve a great deal of the "what''s in it for me" syndrome.

 

Eagle Pete(This message has been edited by eagle-pete)

[insanescouter]

Just a word to the wise BSA does not allow raffles as they consider it gambling and inappropriate.

 

Just my 2 cents and a kind just so that you know ...

 

Scott Robertson

http://insanescouter.org