Popcorn Disbursement

[eagle90]

We had some boys in our troop sell popcorn for the first time this year and are having a sometimes heated discussion on how to disburse the 1/3 that the troop retains. Some of the suggestions are: that the funds go into the troop's general treasury; give a percentage to the scouts in camp credits to be used for summer or weekend camps (1/3; 1/2; 2/3, all);

give a percentage to the scout to be used exclusively for High Adventure trips; etc.

 

How have your units handled this situation? Quick responses would be appreciated as we have a meeting coming up very soon!

 

As usual, thanks in advane for the help.

[scoutldr]

We keep a percentage for the troop and for the rest we put each scout's "proceeds" into his "account" for his use (summer camp, camporee fees, etc). In actuality, the money stays in the troop account, but we track it on paper. If the scout leaves the troop, the money goes back to the troop treasury. If we need to have a fund raiser to build up the treasury, we do that separately.

 

I was recently told about a related, but separate problem...a very large Pack decided several years ago to "opt out" of the popcorn campaign because instead of cutting checks to the units, the proceeds were in the form of a "Scout Shop Credit" in the unit account. And it took 6 months to get that. Meanwhile the Pack is suffering to buy the monthly awards. So now they do their own fundraising and control their own funds (and make considerably more money). Any similar problems in other areas?

[KoreaScouter]

Hindsight being 20/20, those details are best resolved when the troop leadership decides to sell popcorn, well before it arrives.

 

You can use any of those methods. Our troop's popcorn profit is going into the troop account, because that's what we decided five months ago. We don't charge dues, so that's one of the major ways each Scout contributes to the troop finances.

 

On the HA angle, I assume all your Scouts who sold popcorn are Venture-age?

 

We don't use a November fund raiser as a summer camp offset, primarily becuase as a military troop, we don't know which of our Scouts will still be here for summer camp. We do know by Spring, though, and do some apportioned fund raisers then.

 

If you didn't promote popcorn sales as an apportioned fund raiser, and some families therefore opted out, and now you declare it an apportioned fund raiser, you can really raise the hackles of those families. I'm not saying you should be overly concerned, just be aware that dynamic will likely be out there.

 

KS

[eagle90]

KS -

 

You hit the nail right on the head! The Popcorn chairman is now trying to change the rules after the game is over. WHen it was broached to sell Popcorn, nothing was mentioned about the Troop's portion be appropriated to the individual scouts. The scouts were to earn scholarships and prizes as their reward. Now, they want to change things, and some people are upset, because had they known they could have earned credits toward campouts, they would have sold popcorn too. You can imagine the fallout we are

trying to dodge! HELP!!!

 

[Sparkie]

I would like to re-open this discussion since Popcorn is right around the corner for my area (i am on the coun. popcorn com. AND Pack and Troop Kernal).

 

At the troop level, it is mandatory the boys sell around $190 to support the troop (this and wreaths are our only fundraiser). The boys currently receive 10% of the units profit in their troop account. From what i have heard (and also seen on these boards) is that this seems awfully low. Most troops seem to give 50% and up.

 

So my question is, how much of your units profits does the individual scout receive?

 

Sparkie

 

P.S. as mentioned previously, i would like to have rules in place BEFORE the sale starts .

[Fat Old Guy]

Our troop gives 50% of its share to the Scout that does the selling. There are a few boys who pay for due and summer camp as well as some equipment with their popcorn funds.

 

Of course we have the parents who whine, "I don't like to take that stuff into work" but oddly, the boys who do the big selling do it door to door.

 

[nldscout]

Sparkie said" At the troop level, it is mandatory the boys sell around $190 to support the troop "

 

How can you make it mandatory? and what happens if you don't reach that figure? do you get kicked out?

 

We do an annual dues ($50.00) and use popcorn to supplement budget and split profit 50-50 with boys.

 

we do this so everyone pays equally

[acco40]

Individual sales (door to door) go into the Scouts own "scout account" to be used to finance scouting activity and material only. The monies remain with the troop. Store sales go to the troop. Yes, some always manage to "be busy" on the weekends that we sell but that also teaches the Scouts a valuable life lesson. There are shirkers in society. Deal with it. Life ain't fair.

[Mike F]

We also pay dues ($5/month). Normal fundraisers (popcorn, Christmas wreaths, candles, etc.) - profits split 50/50 between Troop and Scout's account.

 

This summer, we added some extra fundraisers explicitly for high-adventure trip where 100% of profits went to Scout's account. (Garage sale and car wash were winners. Cotton candy at ball park was not.)

 

We still ran into trouble because we violated the caution above - spell out the details of how credit will be allocated in advance. Issues we had:

Can adults going on the trip earn credit too?

If an additional family member washes cars, does the Scout get an additional portion for their work?

There are reasonable ways to justify answers either way -- problem came from not spelling it all out in advance, so folks made assumptions. We finally had to take it to Troop Committee for a ruling after the fact. Very poor form...

 

[Fat Old Guy]

" Store sales go to the troop. Yes, some always manage to "be busy" on the weekends that we sell but that also teaches the Scouts a valuable life lesson."

 

We apportion the proceeds from a store sale based on the total number of Scout hours and how many hours the Scout worked. This way, the guys who show up get credit and those who don't have to convince their parents to shell out more money.

[dancinfox]

We give all but .50 cents to the Scout accounts. Our council gives us .50 cents per product if we give them a check on the date due. This goes into the general fund. The rest of the profit go to the Scouts. Over the last few years we have raised our dues once from $24.00 per year to $36.00 per year.

Dancin

[Sparkie]

Thanks to everyone who has replied, i look forward to reading more of your comments!

 

nldscout, first, you do not get kicked out . Some of our scouts were not supporting the troop with this, our only fundraiser (only a few boys sell the wreathes ). Yet these same scouts/families expect the same benefits as those who do (a break in camping/activity fees for example). Our troop sells by consignment, so i decided to present the com./patrol with the idea that each boy had to sell the 17 items they receive in their initial allotment. If they do not choose to sell, they have the option of writing the troop a check for $60 (our % of what the troop would have made had they sold popcorn). The boys also have the option to do site sales, which will also count as credit. With approx. 40 boys in the troop, we have never had a problem with this policy, which has been in effect for 4 years.

 

 

[evmori]

My unit give 75% of what the Scout sold to their account & 25% to the Troop fund. They either sell or they don't. We don't have the option to pay or sell.

 

Ed Mori

Scoutmaster

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[Eagle74]

Up til now, 100% has gone into the Scout's account (paper account - all funds are in troop treasury account). Scouts may draw on the account to pay for any activity fees, registration/annual dues, summer camp, etc. The funds cannot be used for equipment, food, personal items, etc. If the boy leaves the troop, the troop pays the following year's registration from the boy's account and holds the funds through the following year - just in case he changes his mind. After the following year, the funds revert to the troop's general account to be spent as the committee sees fit - usually for troop equipment.

 

We have gone two routes regarding Scout Bucks ("Monopoly" dollars that can be used at the Scout Shop) given to the troop for meeting sales goals. Sometimes we use them partially to offset the cost of rank/merit badges and the rest as prizes to top sellers. Sometimes the troop retains all for offsetting rank/merit badge costs.

 

The committee is currently considering a split between scout's account and troop treasury - 75/25, 66/33, etc., but not to exceed more than 50% to the troop treasury. Decision hasn't been made yet, but will be coming before this popcorn season starts.

 

The nice thing about the current 100% is that the harder the Scout works at selling popcorn (or the harder mom and dad work or some combination thereof) the more he has in his account to defray his own costs. Some parents implore upon their sons that either they sell enough popcorn to pay for summer camp or they will have to earn it some other way - cutting grass, etc. A reasonable lesson in personal responsibility and working toward a goal.

 

Also, the scout controls his own destiny. More sales means less out-of-pocket costs throughout the year. If you don't like to sell, fine, but your out-of-pocket costs are higher.

 

The downside is that the troop either lives on it's dues of $42 (for the 2003 scout year)which has happened every year so far; or needs additional fundraisers to make ends meet.

[silver-shark]

It seems to me that the kids that are out working their tails off, who are in most cases the ones that need it the most, end up paying for the majority of the program when the troop gets a split of the fundraisers.

 

The kids that have parents that supplement either partially or oftentimes fully, and aren't selling as much or any because they don't need to according to mom and dad, aren't paying their fair share of the troop expenses.

 

There are troops out there, and I wish ours was one of them, that have a $100.00 per year fee and give all fundraising monies to the Scout Buck Accounts to be used for all activity fees, campout (including food) fees, and their $100.00 per year fee.

 

This way, ALL scouts are paying for the new equipment, the new troop trailer, all advancement costs, etc... The key to this, and the reason that I can't fully argue the point in our troop yet, is that we don't have an annual budget to set the yearly cost by. You have to have that first.

 

This $100.00, or whatever for your troop wouldn't have to be paid in a lump sum. It could be broken down quarterly ($25.00/qtr.), monthly ($8.33/mo.), weekly (just under $2.00/wk.) or however it worked out best.