Anyone ever sell FL Citrus Fruit?

[CPAMom]

As we march into popcorn selling season, I wonder if anyone has ever sold oranges & grapefruit in the spring?

 

If so, how did it go?

 

I would love to have us sell this instead of popcorn, but my understanding is that it is against Council policy.

[ScoutNut]

What, exactly, is against your council's policy?

 

All of the BSA National policies are listed on the back of the "Unit Money-Earning Application" -

 

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

 

How do the money-earning polices of your council differ?

 

 

 

[Nike]

It's like a Funky Winkerbean flashback. When I was a kid, in the 70's, the high school band always sold Indian River grapefruit with delivery right around Dec 1st. Everyone bought the grapefruit.

 

I don't know why it would be against policy to sell fruit, unless there is a state ag policy you might be violating regarding the spread of pests or bacteria. I had a friend buy oranges in Jacksonville, FL to take home to St. Mary's, GA, an hour away at most. She got stopped by ag officials and the fruit was confiscated. No clue why.

 

Edited to add: Maybe it's WHEN you want to do it that has Council's knickers in a knot.

(This message has been edited by Nike)

[CPAMom]

My understanding is that Council does not want units to do other fundraisers during popcorn season. Then not in November because that is when they have a United Way campaign.

 

I don't think they would have any problem with selling fruit at any other time of year.

 

 

[Scoutfish]

The only problem council has is if you interfear with THEIR money.

 

We hold 2 BBQ chicken fundraisers a year. One in the spring, one in the fall.

 

Council will not ask us not to do this, but they aren't too happy about it.

 

Why? Well, our last one made just a few bucks shy of $5,000.00 in clear profit. Profit to us.

 

But when you sell popcorn, it's 33% (n or close) to the council, 33% to the pack, and 33% to Trails End.

 

Now, if you decided to give 33% of your profit to the council, I'll bet you that they won't have any issues at all.

 

[ScoutNut]

Many not-for-profits are restricted by the United Way from holding fundraisers during the UW campaign dates. If the United Way blackout dates are not honored the NFP runs the risk of having their UW funding cut, or eliminated. There are few (if any) NFP's that are rich enough that they can afford to thumb their noses at the UW. Many BSA councils have already had their UW funding cut, and can not afford to loose much more.

 

If you want to sell fruit during the popcorn sale, fill out a Unit-Money Earning Application, and see what your council says.

 

If it is a no go, then do your sale at another time. You can always do popcorn now to get some unit operating funds.

[ScoutNut]

Just a reminder - in order to be able to wear the BSA uniform during your fruit sale, you must get permission from your council's SE to do so.

 

[packsaddle]

The HS band does it around here. Love the product and the price isn't bad either. Can't say the same for popcorn. I say go for it. We do our fundraisers with the boys' little sisters. Wait until rainy football weekends and then dress them in rags and dirt-smudged faces and stand them along the roads leading to the game begging. Man, we rake it in. Here's a photo of one of them.

http://judysdolls.com/zen/index.php?main_page=popup_image&pID=554

 

[NJCubScouter]

Scoutfish hit the nail on the head. Councils love the popcorn sale because they get a cut of the sales. So, CPAMom, in your council someone at the council may have said something to someone that was intended to encourage the popcorn sale and discourage other kinds of fundraisers, and by the time the statement went through the "telephone game" of five other people before it got to you, it was a ban on other kinds of fundraising. There is no such ban, or even a limitation on times of the year for product sales. Many units do other types of sales, in fact if you look at any issue of Scouting magazine (an official BSA publication) you will see page after page of ads for Scout units to do other types of sales. In fact, let's look at the latest issue, on the back cover we have "Take Your Troop's Profits to New Heights Selling Holiday Greenery", inside front cover we have another company selling a holiday evergreen fundraiser... and we're not even past the cover! Moving on to the actual pages we have chili seasoning and barbecue sauce... Vermont greenery (of course at other times of the year there would not be so many wreath etc. ads)... Krusteaz pancakes (though that is a little different because they are trying to sell you the makings of a pancake breakfast for fundraising, as opposed to selling pancakes door to door... now that would be interesting...oh, there's one for Trail's End, see they have to advertise too... Interstate Batteries ("Now a Preferred Vendor of BSA", it says)... in the middle is a 4-page glossy spread for DirecTV, this seems to be a fundraising sales pitch as well, although I haven't studied it to see what it is really all about... yet another company selling wreaths... Dr. Du-More's Quality Toothbrushes and Flossers ("60% Profit on Every Sale!)... Dutch Mill Bulbs... oh I love this one, another wreath company with the tag line "It's beginning to look a lot like... Profits!", doesn't that just warm your heart?... another full-pager for Trail's End Popcorn... the hundredth wreath ad... flower bulbs ("The Healthy, Low-Cost, Earth-Friendly Fundraiser!", as if the exclamation point puts more money in your pocket)... there's still about 10 pages to go but the ads are getting smaller now so I'm going to stop... oh wait I missed the inside BACK cover, "Nuts for Scouting", yet another "Preferred Vendor of the National Boy Scouts of America."

 

I think you get the idea. No fruit, unless I missed it in the tiny ads in the back. But the point is, the BSA (National at least) seems to fine with units selling stuff besides popcorn. They certainly are getting enough advertising dollars from companies pushing this stuff on local Scouters.(This message has been edited by njcubscouter)

[CPAMom]

Well, Council tells me that the blackout dates required by United Way are July 1 - Nov. 30. (Seems like a long time.) So, we could only do fruit in the spring. I'm just not convinced that anyone will buy anything after Christmas.

 

[Basementdweller]

Just fill out the fundraiser application and turn it in.

 

 

So with the popcorn falling in those United way dates how do we sell popcorn??????

 

Our Council will not approve an application for fundraiser unless you sell popcorn.

 

then again, we have units run fish frys and spagetti dinners and do not sell popcorn. They do not bother to file the "required" fundraising paper work. Just sayin

[NJCubScouter]

Well, Council tells me that the blackout dates required by United Way are July 1 - Nov. 30. (Seems like a long time.)

 

It is a VERY long time. If our council had a rule like that, our troop would not be able to do its biggest fundraiser, which is a wreath sale. We STOP taking orders around mid-November, so we can get the wreaths delivered shortly after Thanksgiving. If we could not START taking orders until December 1, you really miss the window for a "holidays" related sale. (Of course, our council would not have a rule like that because our area's United Way cut off the Boy Scouts a long time ago, for reasons best discussed in the Issues and Politics forum.)

 

And if EVERY council had that rule, covering the same time period, what would happen to all those "holiday greenery" fundraising ads in Scouting magazine? There would be a lot less "green" coming into the Scouting magazine advertising department.

[Lisabob]

I don't know where your council is getting those "blackout dates" from. Maybe the UW has asked your COUNCIL not to do additional fund raisers during that time. That doesn't mean it necessarily applies to individual units, which are not council-owned, anyway. They're CO-owned (so to speak).

 

I'm with others on this. Turn in the application. Push back, if you get a little grief from your council. But first, be sure your CO is on board with what you want to do and why you want to do it. Prep your CO for council's objection and how the CO should respond. Then, ask your CO to draft a letter to the SE indicating that they are disappointed with council's reluctance to allow them, the CO, to ensure proper funding for troop activities, yada yada yada. You get the picture? Have the CO in the loop, well prepared, and on your side.

 

Now about the fruit - we sold it back when I was in band in high school. It came in just before thanksgiving (I think) and we'd all spend a Saturday morning sorting the fruit into boxes in a big warehouse. That was actually sort of fun. Great fund raiser, product people actually enjoyed. I don't know what the profit margin was, but we all sold enough to fully fund annual band trips all over the country. Only downside was that those darn boxes were heavy! After a few years we had a waiting list of customers who would call US, if we didn't knock on their doors.

 

 

 

 

[CPAMom]

Lisabob,

 

Well, well, well - The Council fundraising efforts go on and on this time of year. A Sporting Clays fundraiser in September and an ongoing online auction right now on their website. So, the rule does not seem to apply to Council, only to units.

 

Good suggestion to fill out an application and turn it in. I am awaiting the information from a company in FL so I can see what we will be up against pricewise. I've been checking around, and no one else in the community is selling fruit. I know a homeschool baseball team that is doing well with it and has developed a solid customer base over the past 3 years.

[boomerscout]

our local FFAs (Future Farmers...) sell citrus and do quite well. But, they may sell it closer to Xmas -- not sure. You could sell bags of mulch in the Spring; price to include home delivery. For a separate fee your troop/pack could come to the patron's house & spread it.

Any gardeners in your troop/pack? You could plant - from seed - tomatoes, peppers, whatever to sell as Spring bedding plants. (Dept of Ag license not that hard to obtain). Your gardeners could offer Spring garden rototilling while the rest of the group pulls weeds.

 

Proprly designed dog housed sell well. Would be a good troop/pack project to make & sell these

 

You might check if the United Way even still gives to your council or district. Many have stopped, I believe