Questionable Fund Raiser

[ScoutNut]

Following the guidelines of the BSA is not a "bunch of bunk." The whole purpose is to protect the image/reputation of the BSA & to follow the standards of Scouting.

From the BSA Unit Money-Earning Application :

"Is it reasonably certain that people who need work or business will not lose it as a result of your units plan?"

We are not talking about big chain grocery & clothing stores here.

"Your unit should neither sell nor offer services that will damage someones livelihood."

A BSA unit selling popcorn will not cause the local grocery store clerk to be fired. However, if a person or business usually pays a gardener or small lawn service (the kind who drive around in 1 rickety old pickup with their tools in the back) to do their landscape work and because they are now paying a BS Troop to do that same work the gardener or small lawn service just lost a job. Or 2 or 3 jobs or more if this unit is doing this all over town.That will definitely affect their livelihood!

"If possible, check with the people who may be affected."

After all, since they are losing their jobs, they are the ones who are really donating their money to the unit. No, it's not bunk.

[Bob58]

From the great northeast... do Scouts cleaning windshields deprive creative panhandlers of money earning opportunities?

 

Several years ago a local troop donned their "official" unit ball caps, scout related tee shirts and troop aprons (originally purchased for pancake breakfasts!) to squeegee the windshield of every car parked in the church parking lot on Sunday morning. (For safety Scouts were not allowed to approach vehicles until after the service had begun.) The fundraiser was announced the week before & on the actual day.

 

Leaders reported that it had been pretty successful, it wasn't my unit so I can't really speak to that, but I don't see real value here -- it sounds more like an "invitation to donate." I discounted it during a Roundtable & suggested that a genuine Car Wash would be better. I took the stand that the winshield washing would make a great freebie to increase visibility with the Charter Organization & surrounding community.

 

Eamonn, "Bob was a shilling or 12 pennies.Which became 5 pence when we changed to decimal currency, now about 9 cents."

 

What do I tell my Uncle -- or was someone mistaken when they informed me that... "Bob's your uncle!"

 

I'd have to check the exchange rate but my uncle Bob was always more that a "bob" - he was a real gem. Sorry, of course my Uncle was a "Bob!"

 

Bob(This message has been edited by Bob58)

[Cubmaster Jerry]

The idea that a fund raiser should provide "real value" for the boy should be a deciding factor in deciding if it is appropriate. Unfortunately, most fund raisers that we do (count me as guilty), including selling popcorn, do not. Where is the real value in tacking up a sales sheet in the break room at the parent's work or hocking them to family and friends in hopes of reaching sales goals? I would contend that, when done this way, the scout probably doesn't have any idea of the amount of money being raised or even that a fund raiser is taking place.

 

I am all for doing general labor at a local resident's property, pancake breakfasts, car washes, winshield washes, "bob-a-job's", etc that get the boys involved and obtaining real value. Going door to door with a popcorn sheet does not count. I recall doing projects such as this when I was a Cub Scout. From my point of view at that age, I probably didn't even realize that money was being brought in to the Pack but I certainly was better off for it in the end. Probably moreso because I didn't realize that money was involved.

 

Provide a function such as this and the boy will be richer in the end.

 

Jerry

[ScoutNut]

The "real value" is not to the scout doing the selling. It is to the person doing the purchasing.

 

BSA is concerned that the purchaser gets something of actual value for their money. They do not want someone subsidizing Scouting or a Scout by paying for a token product or service that has no real value of its own (such as the windshield squeegeeing above).

 

As for the Scout getting value out of a money-earning project, that depends on how it is run. Boys can learn a lot if we teach them & let them do the work, instead of doing it for them.

 

Going door to door with a popcorn sheet is a good example. The boys must know their sale & their product & be able to answer any questions that come up. They learn how to approach people they do not know & talk to them. They learn to keep good records. They learn what to say to encourage people, who do not know them, to buy something from them. They learn perseverence, as they go to 15 houses to make 1 sale. They learn how to count & handle money.

 

They can learn all of the above and more at a Show & Sell Site Sale. They learn merchandising & marketing. How to display the product to catch people's attention. They learn how to create the best type of sign that will bring people to their sale. They learn how, & when, to approach people. They learn public speaking. They learn what variables affect a day's sale for good or bad.

 

Of course, they will not learn all of this in one year. They also will not even realize what it is they are learning. It is a progressive thing.

 

If you have the boys doing most of the work then the parents "putting up a sales sheet in the break room" is just icing on an already great cake!