Fund Raisers and Grant Proposals

[ASM915]

A fast history. Our Scout House is in one of our community parks. The park sits in a flood plain between a river and a canal towpath. The building is a WWII Memorial built by the Rotary in the 1950's and designated for Scouting use only. We get flooded 3-5 times a year when the floodgates up north are opened after heavy rains. The city just bought 33 acres for a future park in the next couple of years and will then turn the old park over to the county. The structure (made out of cinder block) has some foundation and wall crackes and someday will float away. We hose it out and clean it after each flood.

 

Tonight a friend (the Webelos II leader) stopped by for a minute. Talking with him on the phone later, he felt that the structure may be a major detractor when it came to our recruitment. The scouts like being in the park. He felt it might help if we looked for a new place, which has been discussed recently.

 

I'm thinking of approaching the park board to see if there is any possibility of the troop building a new Scout House (Green structure with solar panels tied to a dual-meter system for electricity, the power credits going to the city and park board to reduce thier monthly bill,ours usage is so low the city doesn't charge us; and heating either with the electrical system or with a wood pellet stove system.) at the future park site locating it next to a 1-2 acre wooded area with a deluvial pond. Parking only 10-20 yards away at the seniors center. The troop can be the land stewards for the wood and the pond. The local Pack could also use the new building possibly.

 

Fundraising: Approach our SO, the VFW, and the Rotary (since they erected the original building) about assisting with funding. The friend felt there if there was an article in the local paper, there were several older residents in the community that would donated to the cause, some of them with sizable contributions. I know my insurance company will match dollar for dollar up to $3500 since the troop is registered as a NPO. Two policies in the family ($7000 possible dollars). I know that the troop has to keep any fundraising to under $50,000 or we have to file at tax time.

 

Does anyone have experience and guidance with fundraising for this type of troop project?

 

Have any troops worked with matching grant proposals?

 

How have you gone about selling the committee on simular projects and fundraising?

 

Any ideas and suggestions will be apreciated.

Thanks in advance.

(This message has been edited by ASM915)

[ScoutNut]

I would be very careful about building on city owned land. Your current building is a grandfathered relic from the 50's. The political climate is a lot different now.

 

The question would be the ownership of the building. Would it be owned by the Troop, your Charter Org (why isn't your CO providing a meeting place?), or the city. What about the land it sits on? Who would be responsible for taxes & utilities?

 

Personally, if I was on the park board, I would have a problem with donating a chunk of city park land, that I was developing for use by all of the citizens in the community, to one small private group for their exclusive use.

 

A better solution might be for the city to create a public nature center with a large meeting room that the city would allow to be used for meetings by all community groups, including yours.

 

 

[Eamonn]

While I share some of the concerns that ScoutNut

has voiced.

You say you (who?) Are a NPO.

Is the unit a 501(3)©?

How much money is it going to cost?

Does the plan include monies to be held in endowment for future costs?

 

Raising large amounts of money and asking for funds from the community and from foundations will depend on several key factors.

Will the community see the project as being worth while? Who will use it? How many members?

What will it be used for and how often?

Sadly many foundations want nothing to do with BSA units because of the "Politics"

Applying for funding from Foundations and even the local United Way can (and does!!) entail a heck of a lot of paper work. (The last grant I applied for needed 15 copies of everything -One for each board member -Each packet was 15 pages)

 

Beware!! The local Council might take a very dim view of a unit trying to raise such a large amount, they might see it as harming their efforts. How you go about it? Who you are? Will make a big difference.

 

Sadly I have to admit that I wouldn't be keen on donating a lot of money for such a project.

Not that I don't like you!! But I seen the Scout Building that was built for my old troop back in the UK "Lost" When the Scout Group ceased to exist and the District also ceased to exist. The building was built by the members who returned from WW II. Finished and opened in the mid 1960's. It sits on some of the most expensive land in London. It's worth several million dollars. I'm a trustee of the building. With no Scout unit using it. The Scout Association will take ownership. Of course they don't want it or need it so it will be sold (We don't have a CO) and the money used for Scouting in the UK. Which isn't all bad, but wasn't what the people who raised the money and built it had in mind. It was a memorial to one of the Scouts who died in a POW camp.

Sorry!!

Eamonn.