Mandatrory fundraising

[raising eagles]

I would like to know how anyone feels about a Unit telling its members that participation in a Troop fundraiser is mandatory,that a sales quota must be reached or the parents will be billed for the remainder of the dollar quota not reached and that each family must also pay $10.00 to help cover costs of supplies for the fundraiser.

 

[SemperParatus]

If the Troop Committee made these decisions after considering all of its options and its specific circumstances, then I would say it is perfectly valid.

[CA_Scouter]

I see both sides of the situation here.. one, you don't want somebody dictating what you must do, and two, the troop needs funds to run the program.

 

But Scouting costs money. Plain and simple. And all participants should contribute equally, or as close to equal as they can.

 

We used to get 'hit up' by the school district with all their fundraisers, constantly having the kids beg their uncles, aunts, grandparents, etc for money, finally one day, my wife and I simply wrote the school a check for $100 and thereafter declined to participate in the fundraising. ( We repeated that every year while the munchkins were in grade school ). There's another approach for you to consider.

 

 

 

 

[raising eagles]

CA_Scouter thank you for your reply. You hit the nail on the head as to what bothers me....someone dictating what I or anyone else must do especially in a volunteer run program. I try to instill in youth the desire to contribute or give back to organizations that they benefit from and making participation mandatory seems to defeat that.

It might interest you to know that this Troop of 36 years has no money problems....they had over $8000.00 before the annual fundraiser & now have well over $18,000.00.

They are well supplied with a Scouthouse,trailers,canoes,stoves,tents etc.

They are currently sending bills to the parents of the Scouts that did not make their quota.

[Trevorum]

I don't like this approach at all. While Semper is correct in that it is a function of the troop committee, around here I would expect that a lot of families would vote with their feet and find another troop. Or just drop scouting altogether.

 

Setting personal goals for a fundraiser is one thing. Setting quotas is another.

[SemperParatus]

"I would expect that a lot of families would vote with their feet and find another troop. Or just drop scouting altogether."

 

I would hope that, instead, a lot of families would participate on the troop committee and work to enact changes in those areas that are of the most concern, including developing fundraising programs that create positive, rather than negative, feelings. Of course, other than extreme optimists, hope and expectations rarely coincide. (Sorry for the rant - spoken from a newly minted Committee Chair - I miss 'my boys' already).

 

To some extent, I wonder if we are only talking a bad choice of semantics on the part of troop leadership.

 

Alternative 1 - Troop needs to raise $100 per boy. Establishes a fundraiser, calling it mandatory. To the extent you do not reach the $100 'quota' you must make up the difference with a check or cash. Somebody may fundraise $5 and write a check for $95. If someone does not participate in the mandatory fundraiser, is there any penalty other than paying the difference in cash?

 

Alternative 2 - Troop needs to raise $100 per boy. Sets dues at $100 and each boy has the choice of raising this money through fundraising and/or direct checks/cash. A boy fundraises $5 and the family pays the rest with a check. Same result (albeit a more palatable spin because there is no perceived mandatory coercion).

 

Assuming the only penalty for nonparticipation is payment of the shortfall, other than semantics, is there really that much of a difference?

 

 

[OldGreyEagle]

At what point does a non profit organization start to become in danger of losing not for profit status? If you have 18 thou in the bank, why do they need more?

 

I do agree that everyone should participate in fund raising, but I also think the funds raised by a "generation" of boys needs to be spent on those boys. Building a nest eggs serves what purpose?

[SemperParatus]

Harvard University (a non-profit) has a $25 billion endowment fund.

 

(This message has been edited by SemperParatus)

[Eamonn]

I think our good friend SemperParatus knows more about the status of non profit organizations than I ever will.

$18,000.00.Does seem like a lot of money for a Scout Troop, but paying to insure and maintain all the things they have isn't cheap and maybe the money is earmarked for the next big thing that they aim to buy?

I have used and like what SemperParatus is calling:

Alternative 2 - Troop needs to raise $100 per boy. Sets dues at $100 and each boy has the choice of raising this money through Fundraising and/or direct checks/cash. A boy fundraisers $5 and the family pays the rest with a check. Same result (albeit a more palatable spin because there is no perceived mandatory coercion).

This is of course after the committee has met and come up with a budget. While the committee can make exceptions for special needs or families with more than one Scout in the program. I think this is the only fair way of doing things.

While I know that I hate to have to spend any of my hard earned cash. (OJ tells me I'm mean, I prefer the word frugal!) I and most other parents that I know are willing to pay for a quality program.

We don't have many people that we can sell stuff to. All my kin are across the pond. Both of Her That Must Be Obeyed parents were only children and she has one brother who is a twit.

We are not allowed to sell stuff at work anymore, thanks to people not paying for the candy bars left in the break room, and it seems that everyone where Her Who Must Be Obeyed works has boys that are Scouts!!

Add to this that I'm a lazy toad. Most of the money raising events that the Troop that OJ belongs to are just not worth the time and effort. Selling pies for $6.00 and making $1.25 is a real chore. Having to be there on the day that they are delivered and then go and deliver them to the people who ordered them, costs more in time, energy and gas than he makes. I'll write the check and I'm happy to let him do what ever fund raising he wants to do for things that he wants to participate in. I pay 50% and he gets to use the money he raised as part of his 50%. He staffed the Jamboree I think the total was $250.00 I paid $125.00, he used $50.00 from his Troop account and had to come up with the rest.

Eamonn.

 

[Cubmaster Jerry]

Is this the same unit that is selling beer at the local fair? Just curious.

 

The following comments are made with the understanding that I know little about funding a Troop (I'm a Pack guy )

 

"$18,000.00.Does seem like a lot of money for a Scout Troop, but paying to insure and maintain all the things they have isn't cheap and maybe the money is earmarked for the next big thing that they aim to buy?"

 

Like What?!? A new fleet of trailers to haul their goods in? How about a new Chevy Silvarado to pull their trailer?

 

At what point does a non profit organization start to become in danger of losing not for profit status? If you have 18 thou in the bank, why do they need more?

 

My question as well. Wouldn't it be feasible to state that, after purchasing some niceties (and I don't mean a canoe for each Patrol and a Super Scout 3000 Wonder Tent for each boy) and paying expenses that fund the program (camps, awards, etc) the Unit fund should be at a minimal level at the time the next fund raiser arrives? That minimal level should be an amount that would be used to complement the next fund raiser should it fall short to which the Unit would then find it difficult to fund a basic program for the next year. "Sorry, no 5-course meals at each Court of Honor this year. Our fund raiser fell short and we had to dip into our buffer account."

 

A program doesn't exist without internal funding, whether it is from dues or fund raisers. As unfortunate as it may be, making fund raising mandatory may be a necessity to ensure a quality program. There are numerous ways to do this without pressuring the parents. In the case of your unit, forcing parents to supplement an already bloated account is out of line and borders on greed as far as I am concerned.

 

Jerry

[FScouter]

Agreeing with Jerry. The purpose of earning funds is to finance the troop program. The money-earning process starts with a written plan for the 12-month troop program. The SM and treasurer develop an expense budget so the troop knows how much money will be needed to pay for the planned program. Next, the income side of the budget is developed. Money-earning events are planned to earn the funds needed cover the expenses. By the end of the year, there should not be much left except a small reserve fund. Additional money-earning has no purpose and detracts from other troop activities.

 

The Unit Budget Plan worksheet #28-427 has a good methodology to develop both the expense budget and the income budget.

 

[SemperParatus]

It is very hard to say that $18K is too much without more information.

 

For all we know, most of the money could be set aside in scout accounts, representing large balances accumulated by folks planning an extended overseas or high adventure trip.

 

Alternatively, it could be that there are no scout accounts and this is just free and clear troop money.

 

Given that the cash balance was $8K and is now $18K after the fundraiser is an indication that money has being spent on scouts and troop needs in the past (assuming that this fundraiser has been as successful in past years). In a troop, cash balances can very greatly depending on the timing of fundraisers, expenditures and trips.

 

Also, we have no idea as to troop size. A troop with 10 scouts needs less total money to operate than a troop with 100 scouts. An active troop of 100 scouts can easily go through $10K in a year for registrations, awards, supplies, equipment, etc., not counting trip expenses.

 

 

 

 

 

[OldGreyEagle]

The troop I serve has approx 70 scouts. We don't have mandatory fund raisers and we don't have 18 thou in the bank. Then again, we don't do troop tents, scouts furnish their own, a tradition started long ago. We don't have a lot of "troop" equipment, some stoves, chuck boxes and pots/pans. I guess it pales against other troops inventory but we have limited storage space and have decidned against the trailer(s) route.

 

When the Troops focus is on money and "stuff", where do the boys fit in?

[EagleInKY]

Semper nailed it pretty well, it's all in how you present it. I like the approach of saying "This is your annual fees, but you can earn them if you want". We've talked about doing the mandatory fund raisers and have decided against it. Mainly because it hasn't been an issue for us.

 

Interesting side-note. We've done a fund raiser every year - a food booth at a local community festival. We don't make a lot of money, but it gets us exposure and the boys enjoy it. We had one boy this year say he couldn't do it, he had "other plans". Well, his other plans was to go to the festival and hang out with his friends. The other guys in the troop saw him and were more than a little ticked off. This fellow later ran for PL and didn't win, and that was one of the reasons.

[EagleInKY]

I know of a large troop (100-150 boys) that has a "mandatory" fund raiser every year. I don't think they use that term, but every member is "expectec" to help. They raise well over $10k every year. But, the troop does not charge any dues or fees. Every campout or activity is paid for out of the money raised. Now, you can argue the merits or demerits of this approach, but that's their decision, not ours. So, can a troop go through that kind of money in a year, the answer is "it depends".