Fundraiser/parking cars

[sheilab]

I am looking for some good fundraisers that do bring in a pretty good amount of money for the scouts and do not involve selling. I have heard before of scouts not necessarily parking cars but directing the cars where to park making $3000. Has anyone done this before and who did you contact to get this kinds of fundraiser? Our troop would like to do Floria Seabase so they need a few good funraisers.

[packsaddle]

We've done it and so have other troops around here. We had an advantage of being sponsored by a church that is very close to the stadium - with ample private parking. Fanatics will pay almost anything to avoid a decent walk. So we separate them from as much money as possible..with church permission, of course, one of those mysterious ways I suppose.

We also sell food and drinks (the cost is staggering inside the stadium), and post little sisters in ragged clothing on the street in the rain to solicit donations. They don't do half bad either.

 

Edited to add: OK, ok, I just made up that part about little sisters. It seemed to flow nicely with the rest...(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

[shortridge]

Try local festivals and big events in addition to sports stuff. There's a big local Native American festial in my neck of the woods that draws tons of people, who all park in a big open field. In the past, the local Scout troop has been in charge of parking, just directing folks and stacking up cars.

[SSScout]

I have mentioned this in a previous post. A local Troop has the trash consession at our county fair. For the whole week, they work helping with the recycling efforts and trash collecting AND traffic direction. The fair officials pay them the going rate, evidently. Obviously, they do not consider this a "service project". Not a huge Troop, but they make their whole years budget there, so I am told. The only thing they are not allowed to do is drive the pickup vehicles.

[sheilab]

Thank you. In AZ we also have MLB, Festivals, State Fair etc. Did you guys know someone at these places to get started or did you just pick up the phone and call the place? Any words of wisdom that worked to get the job or who you contacted.

[The Blancmange]

When I was younger and went to ball games at old Comiskey Park with my dad, people were always offering to watch our car during the game for $5. Maybe you could try that. ;-)

[Troop22]

A Troop down the road directs parking the week of the county fair and does well from what I am told. We are looking for our "BIG" fundraisers so we are not selling all year long. With a lot of convincing we finally got the committee to let the Troop set up a concession stand at a festival in the next town. The event brings 250,000 people to the area and other Troops sell chairs for the parade and 1 runs a concession. So we are running a concession on the other ensd of town.

This year we also are selling bagged mulch. We take orders and payment, then we deliver the mulch to the customers house. So far we are doing OK. Selling is not a strong point for our Troop but for those that are willing do pretty well.

[Eagle732]

We use to do parking at the local fair but they serve alcohol. Parking cars with just a few people drinking don't mix so we stopped doing it for safety reasons.

[sheilab]

Troop22 - Why would you have to convince the Committee if the scouts are trying to raise money for camp trips etc. that they decided to go on? Why would the Committee not support the scouts decision unless it is a safety issue?

[boomerscout]

"This year we also are selling bagged mulch. We take orders and payment, then we deliver the mulch to the customers house. So far we are doing OK."

 

Consider enclosing a flyer with each delivery: that for so much per bag, the **** Patrol will come to the customer's home and spread the mulch for them.

Do a good job with the mulch spreading, and the boys can probably line up some steady lawnmownig & weeding work to last the summer.

Properly done, this may meet some of the requirements for both the Salesmanship and the American Business merit badges

 

[boomerscout]

"Why would you have to convince the Committee if the scouts are trying to raise money for camp trips etc. that they decided to go on? Why would the Committee not support the scouts decision unless it is a safety issue?"

 

Probably because most groups do not like to be startled by new ideas, especially if they then have to act on them

[Troop22]

boomerscout,

We did think about the idea of spreading it but the committee shot it down. Some said no because they were afraid a Scout might get hurt (Safety issue in their eyes), other said we would be doing too much fundraising. I was even warned by the COR to keep it short and "Don't make a business out of it."

 

The Troop has alway been small so they have always done small fundraisers and what that did not cover our CO picked up. With the poor economy our CO is not able to do that so we have to rely on ourselves.

 

I keep reminding the committee that a Scout "EARNS THEIR WAY". We need to provide opportunities for the Scout to "EARN" by providing productive and worthwhile fundraisers. With 13 Scouts and 7-10 crossing over next month $200 funrdraisers do not cut it split between 20 Scouts. The idea is to do 2 large fundraiser, the mulch sell and the concession stand(2 day event).

The mulch sell is productive if worked. My Scout (son) earned enough to pay for Summer Camp this summer and next. Some Scouts sold none.

 

sheilab,

It is just certain members of the committee that do not like change.

 

 

[dScouter15]

My troop has done a "sink a scout" dunk tank fundraiser for the past several years, and it tends to be very successful. It doesn't bring in a huge amount of money (our best year was around $1000), but its pretty easy to do and the scouts have a lot of fun with it. Its amazing how much money teenagers will spend to see their friends get soaked in the dunk tank. If you do choose to explore this possibility, here's a few tidbits my troop has picked up on:

 

* Venue is everything. Dunk tank rental can be expensive, and when we first did the fundraiser it was at a church fair for our CO that only ran a few hours long, and we just didn't have enough time to make a lot of money. Lately we've been able to run it at a town fair that goes from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening, so we get almost 36 hours of fund raising time. Fortunately we have a big enough troop that we have plenty of volunteers to fill all this time.

 

* Location Location Location. You obviously want a spot right in the middle of the action, but also remember to be near a water source (and give yourself enough time beforehand to fill the tank. It can take a few hours with a garden hose). Also keep in mind that you will need some kind of changing facilities close by so the scouts can change our of their wet clothes and into dry clothes. Our scouts also report they prefer being set up on a grassy area instead of asphalt or black top - a little easier on the feet. We've been able to setup in a school playground area, and use the school's locker rooms for changing.

 

* The weather can be a factor. If its cold and rainy, the scouts might not be too enthusiatic about plunging into a tank of cold water. Or, if its too cold, it might not be safe to do it at all. Bad weather will also keep attendance at your venue down. Not much that can be done about that, but its something to keep in mind.

Hope this gives you some ideas.

[Nike]

If your troop gets known around the neighborhood for selling and spreading mulch in the spring and the fall, that's not too much fundraising. If a few boys manage to score a routine mowing job, all the better. The odds of anyone getting more than a splinter or a strained muscle are pretty paltry.