Popcorn part of Quality District

[Skipper1701]

Popcorn sales are part of acheiving quality district. That is a fact...

 

Many units, especially the older, not so cute scouts, really do not want to sell the popcorn. Why can't there be another option. Many units have the fundraising thing down to an art. My unit can make a thousand dollars a day. It takes a hell of a lot of work to sell $3000 worth of popcorn to make the same impact to the unit.

 

We really want to support the district and the council, but we are not interested in supporting a third party popcorn manufacturer. Why can't we support scouts with other types of fundraisers and forget about the for profit businesses out there that want to make a $ off of us?

 

The Council would come out ahead if they would let us do a couple of fundraisers and give them a percentage as an opt-out for popcorn. One of my units sold $100 worth of popcorn. It is all in my closet for my family's consumption. Of this over $30 left the scouting community. This is a crime! And having to do it to get quality district and support our professional scouters' performance goals is even a bigger crime!

[Sparkie]

First, i must admit i was not aware that popcorn is part of Quality District requirement, and I'm the council popcorn chairman.

 

I am happy with any sales a unit does, even $100. Every scout has someone they can sell to, everyone has a family, everyone has one special neighbor. Two items per scout is not an unreasonable request, every little bit helps.

 

Also, it doesn't sound like a crime if $30 of $100 leaves the scouting community... 70% stayed!

 

Since i became popcorn chairman, i find it amazing how many units in my council do not support popcorn, wreaths or FOS, that in my mind is a true crime. Participation in one of those 3 events should be required to support council. JMO

 

Sparkie

 

[Eamonn]

Quality District has some goals that are set in stone by National. These are the ones that deal with membership. No one can get away from the +1.

The Finical Goals are set by the Scout Executive. He can change these if he wants.He might see that a District is really trying, but for some reason is not going to meet the goal and he can if it is his pleasure lower the goal.

I have an annual sparing ( We used to fight, but it was just too much effort!) match as to what our district goals will be.

We have a FOS goal, which is broken down into : District, Family, and Community.It has happened that we have not reached one goal and gone over in another and still made the over all FOS goal.

We have a project sales goal, and a popcorn goal. We also have Special Events which have goals but these don't count toward Quality.

Every year I start by meeting with our Finance Committee, we come up with a set of goals. We send these off to the Scout Exec. He sends them back saying that we need to do better, this can go back and forth for a while. Normally till one of the two of us gets fed up.

I feel that I know the District better than anyone else or if not anyone else at least better than the Scout Exec. I hear about plant closings and new job opportunities. I like to think that I know what is going on.

If a unit came to me and said that they didn't want to participate in the popcorn sale, but would be willing to donate a sum of money to the FOS campaign, I wouldn't have a problem lowering the popcorn goal and increasing the FOS goal. I would explain to the Scout Exec. The reason.

Of course I would need to know ahead of time how much you were going to donate.

Skipper, have a chat with your District Chairman or the District Finance Chair. They will gladly allow you to make a donation to the FOS.

Eamonn.

[acco40]

Eamonn - explain to me how a council can earn "quality council" but all of the districts who comprise the council do not earn quality district.

 

I know that district A may meet, and far exceed, their financial goals (FOS, popcorn, etc.) but may be 1 Cub Scout short on meeting the membership goals. District B may be a few dollars short with their financial goals but far exced the membership goals so all in all the council meets their goals but it sure looks weird.

[Eamonn]

acco40,

You have answered your question.

Things were a little harder last year. (2004) As the 2% growth was no longer allowed. In prior years there did seem to be a very abnormal growth in Venturing in some Councils.I am guessing that when the 2004 numbers come out we will see a big rise in Scoutreach membership.

My Community FOS Chairman, who is an Eagle Scout, but is only involved with Scouting through the work he does for our District FOS, called me yesterday asking if I had heard anything about a Council that was being investigated by the United Way for having less members than they were reporting. I have not heard anything. He asked me if I had seen the movie The Firm? I had seen the movie and read the book, but was unable to see what he was getting at? He went on to explain all about mail fraud. I'm almost sure that I remember hearing something similar a little while back happening in Texas.

I did of course tell him that our District Membership is 100% true and accurate. Our District Committee, will not on any account allow cheating, we don't have any paper units, our members are all real. There are no Donald Duck's or Cabbage Patch Kids on any of our charters.

I will admit that about 3 years back we were 3 Boy Scouts short and the year was nearly over. I did go back to the pack that I had served as Cubmaster and with the parents permission transfered 3 Webelos Scouts who were over

10 1/2 into a troop, we made sure that they got their AOL, before they moved. We had a lot of extra Cub Scouts, unfortunately the Council needed Cub Scouts and my moving 3 into Boy Scouts didn't help the Council. It did make our's a Quality District.

Eamonn

 

[Skipper1701]

Thank you for the information... I am on theDistrict Committee and have mentioned this to several including a couple of district and council professionals. They have been telling me that it is a National policy. Now I know different.

 

I will go to our Scout Executive and see if I can get us some different options to make our financial goals.

 

I believe in supporting the council in any way possible. That is why I am on a couple of council committees. I do believe we need to support the council financially. I DO BELIEVE the council and national should not force a method of fundraising down the throuts of every unit. The amount raised will suffer if the workers in the field do not believe in the product or the method...

[Eamonn]

While our Scout Exec. And I have and do have the odd head butting sessions. I am ever mindful that there is a need for money and the amount does go up every year.

I know for a fact that I wouldn't want to have to sit down every year and do the Council budget. No one -not even me wants to see the services that the Council offers cut.

It would be great if Scouting just happened in some Fairy Rockwell Like Land, but that is never going to happen. I think most Scout Execs.would be a lot more relaxed if they weren't trying to meet payroll from month to month.

Eamonn