Desert Raffle at the Court of Honor

[splt171]

Hello Scouting World,

 

I have a fundraising idea, and was wondering if anyone else had previously had done this, and if they had any ideas or hints on making it work. I was thinking that at our upcoming court of honor we could ask each scout to bring one desert dish, and then have a raffle. The ticket for the raffle would cost about one dollar, and at the end of the night we would have raffled off all of the desert plates. What do you think??

 

Thanks for your help,

 

Max Grieshaber

[acco40]

Sounds like a great idea that the BSA does not condone! They don't like raffles or any other "games of chance" as fundraising ideas.

 

Scout fundraisers must be approved before they are started. The following are general guidelines for fundraising projects:

 

1) Units cannot solicit direct monetary contributions.

2) Fund raisers cannot involve gambling (e.g. raffles) or conflict with local ordinances.

3) Avoid conflicts with goods and service provided by local businesses.

4) The service or product offered should be worth the amount paid.

5) Do not enter a fundraising contract that could bind the Chartered Organization, Council, or BSA.

6) Do not interfere with the territory of another unit.

7) Avoid holding fundraiser during times that conflict with community, council, or other fundraising drives.

 

Make sure you file the BSA Unit Money Earning application (see below for link) before beginning with any fundraiser!!

 

Gee, I feel just like BW today? Are you out there lurking? Come on in from the cold.

 

http://www.scouting.org/forms/34427.pdf

 

Now, unless your chartering organization happens to be a bakery what you could do is:

 

Have the Scouts bring in a desert. Sell the deserts for $1.00 a piece. Money raised for a product delivered (at a fair price) is kosher.

 

Now I'll admit that when our unit sells popcorn at store sales, oops, I mean show and sell, we have a jar with "donations" written on it for those who want to contribute money but do not want to buy popcorn. In the past, before we had such a jar, many individuals would volunteer, unsolicited mind you, to give a few bucks but did not want to spend $15 for a tin can of corn. We don't actively solicit for the donations but yes, we probably are in violation of BSA policy.

 

Bottle drives - here in Michigan we have a 10 cent deposit on all carbonated beverage containers (soda pop, beer, etc.). Many units, ours included, have gone door to door collecting donated cans and bottles. Is that legit? Some say no, others say a service is being performed (recycling, saving inidviduals a trip to the store for redemption, etc.) at a fair price. I do know of a Scout who used that method to raise funds for his Eagle Scout project and therefore assume it was approved by the district training chair (Eagle advisor board). Of course, except for the proverbial Trails End, fundraising should not be done in uniform.(This message has been edited by acco40)

[EagleInKY]

Raffles at pack meetings have been en vogue for generations. I haven't seen it done in troops. While against the rules, I believe it's one of those things that most people look the other way. At least as long as it is kept within the confines of your troop or pack meeting. If you went outside, such as holding a raffle at a community event, then most would frown on it.

 

Another option that may be equally as fun - and possibly more profitable - would be to have a cake auction. Each boy would want his to be the "most expensive", so mom & dad are more likely to pay a ridiculous amount for it. Again, it may be technically against the rules, but I don't think people get to worked up over it.

 

One other thing, don't put out a can for "donations", call it "tips". ;-)

[Fuzzy Bear]

It may have been done for generations and it may be fun but in the immortal word of BW, wrong.

 

FB

[Fat Old Guy]

We used a have a cake raffle in my Cub pack. Someone brought up the issue of gambling and BSA so our CC went to the DE for the Q&A. The DE said it was okay as long as it was an internal operation. In otherwords, we couldn't sell tickets on the corner.

[Eamonn]

Raffles and games of chance are a definite No No.

While I have attended functions - Mainly Blue and Gold Banquets that have ran 50/50's and have even seen the Scout Exec. Buy a ticket!! This guy gives a whole new meaning to"A Scout is thrifty."

These games of chance don't upset me. But I feel that they do send the wrong message to our youth members.

At one pack Blue and Gold they do the cake auction. One of the Dads in the pack is a very good Chef. He used to work for me. He makes a cheese cake which is to die for. Her That Must Be Obeyed, seen the cheese cake that he had made and wanted it. We won the bid $36.00 for the cheese cake. Was it worth $36.00? It was to Her That Must Be Obeyed.

I have to admit to taking very small bites. Still when we sold his cheese cake in the restaurant, we got $3.75 a slice, so it wasn't really that much over the top.

Eamonn

[scoutldr]

Desert? Does the winner get to go to Iraq?

[hops_scout]

They get their choice between Iraq and Iran. Right now, I think I'd choose Iraq.

 

 

[Grumpy]

Raffling off a cactus?

[evmori]

Once again, the stapler guy is right! Raffles of any kind are not condoned by the BSA. If a DE or SE participates then they are part of the problem.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[eisely]

Where is BW when you need him?

 

In an earlier thread this question came up and BW's response surprised me. While BSA clearly does not want scouts selling raffle tickets to the general public, BW said that having this kind of raffle within the unit is OK.

 

I am not quoting BW exactly here, but if he picks up on this, I would be interested in hearing from him.

[Fat Old Guy]

" XX said that having this kind of raffle within the unit is OK."

 

Gee, that's what our DE said. It's gratifying to hear that XX concurs with the professional.

 

(This message has been edited by a staff member.)

 

For those that can't figure it out, in this instance XX is secret shorthand for beedubyah.(This message has been edited by Fat Old Guy)

[dan]

[NWScouter]

I did a search on raffles and Bob White and in none of his posts did he say that unit could hold a raffle at a meeting among only its members. Our DEs and our council has always held that they are not allowed. I think it is very plain in the rules for fundraisers that raffles of any kind run by a unit are not allowed.

 

[FScouter]

From the back side of the Unit Money-Earning Application #34427A:

 

"... is [your plan] free from any association with gambling ...".

 

"Money-raising projects that include the sale of raffle tickets are in violation of this policy."

 

Every possible question one can think of about money-earning events is answered on the back of the application.

 

To paraphrase a wise sage:

"Boy I love this resource stuff!"

http://www.scouting.org/forms/34427.pdf