United Way Crisis

[mk9750]

DSteele,

 

Your decision to remain reletively silent on this issue is fine with me also (as if you needed my permission!). "Discretion is the better part of valor" is often very true.

 

Saltheart,

 

You can make my arguements for me any day. You sure know how to turn a phrase!

 

To all,

 

I am fortunate that our local UW chapter has either not been pressured, or not succumbed, to the PC folks on this issue. Although I'd rather bypass the middle man (and do for much of my contribution to Scouting), I've taken the stance that in order for the UW to continue to want to fund Scouting in this area, they have to be reminded that Scouting is important. That is why I also contribute to the BSA through the UW. I always figured that they skimmed some off the top, but I don't know how much. Always figured it was a reasonable trade off for keeping BSA in the minds of the UW.

 

Shoud the United Way in my area ever decide that they want to stop funding Scouting, I stand ready to be a real thorn in their side. I've already decided I am going to publicize the issue. I am a lowly unit volunteer, but I plan on doing what I can.

 

Mark

[Bob White]

Hi Saltheart,

 

You turn a good phrase. To answer your question regarding my status in scouting, I am and have always been a volunteer. However, I have the same commission from the national organization that Dsteele and his professional peers have, and I take it seriously (perhaps too seriously at times).

 

I will likely stay out of this string as well depending on the path it takes. I really see two topics here. The BSA membership policies which I do not care to get in a spitting contest over, and the current trend of the local United Ways to fund illnesses rather than the cures.

 

Our local council deals with 14 county United Ways and the one in my home county, despite raising more money this year than last year, has cut the BSA allocation by $15,000. We are appealing that decision and asking the UW to return us to last years level. The majority of the UW agencies our county chapter funds either styed the same as last year or went up with two notable exceptions. The Boy Scouts and the Girls Scouts were hit with large cuts to finance the agencies that got increases.

 

As part of that process, I was asked, along with some other area volunteers, to write to the UW executive committee and express our concern for their actions and remind them of the importance of the BSA program to the community.

 

I have always supported the UW financially and emotionally only because the BSA was one of the founding organizations that created UW. I am proud that our local council is a UW agency and I appreciate the funds that we get from them. BUT, that does not give them the right to dictate what our program should be. They should be funding us for who we are, not for who they want us to be.

 

Bob White

 

 

[mk9750]

Bob,

 

Is that true that BSA was an original founding organization? I had never heard that. If true, I'm definately going to tuck that somewhere for later use.

 

Mark

[Bob White]

United Way was an offspring of Community Chest. In most communities this was a function of the Chamber of Commerce, and was used by a local community to fund the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Red Cross, Boys and Girls Clubs, the YMCA, YWCA and the Salvation Army.

 

Bob White

[purcelce]

Bob White wrote "They should be funding us for who we are, not for who they want us to be."

 

Amen Bob!

 

 

[eisely]

It is my understanding the BSA was one of the founding organizations of the national United Way.

 

United Way has a generally good track record for fund raising efficiency. That is to say, the percentage of revenues devoted to fund raising is quite low compared to many, if not most, other charities. Employers have always enthusiastically backed United Way because it made it possible for them to turn away other independent charities seeking the privilege of payroll deduction. This is one of the sources of efficiency for everybody's benefit. It is too bad that the positive gains of the United Way concept are being disregarded in the interest of political agendas.

[dsteele]

Saltheart --

 

Wow! What a superb and heart-warming reply to my last post in this thread.

 

I keep a file (it's rather thin, but getting thicker) that I label simply, personal. It's got things inside that make me feel really good. Comes in handy when I have just made and had to enforce a tough decision, or when I don't feel good about something that circumstances have led me to do or not do. I'm discriminate about what I put into the file lest I accidentally put something in there that causes both good and bad feelings.

 

Your post regarding professionals in this thread (specifically me) has made a place in that file. It goes along with promotion notices, a few thank you cards (it's amazing how few professionals write them to their key volunteers and how even fewer such letters come from the other direction.)

 

Mark, thank you as well for your support. And thanks to the others who have expressed it.

 

Now, let me further agree with Saltheart and a lot of sentiment I've picked up from volunteers on this thread and others . . .

 

Saltheart is dead on about the voices of volunteers. I agree with him that a common voice of loud support by volunteers in a public manner would be a force to be reckoned with. It would. I have seen it in action when a United Way explored even the possibility of de-funding the Boy Scouts (and they asked as discretely as they knew how) but the town has a density of 38% Scouts (and it isn't in Utah -- no offense to those in Utah.) The public threatened to shut down the United Way if it happened. I was a Senior District Executive at the time and remained even more silent than I have in this thread. (Which is saying a bit . . .) The volunteers in the area, however, exercised their right to make their wishes known.

 

That's about as far as I'll go with that.

 

I also agree that good professionals see their careers as more than 24/7. The best are self-driven to see the program succeed. They want themselves to succeed as well, but neither can be achieved by a professional who only works 8 hours a day 5 days a week.

 

Just today, I asked two of the District Executives who report to me who are not getting the things done that need to be done what results they're going to accomplish between now and Monday morning. I honestly don't think it occurred to either one to tell me to stuff it because it's the weekend. If I thought that were the case, I would have terminated their employment with the Boy Scouts of America a while ago.

 

So, thanks, Saltheart and company for pointing out what few point out.

 

You ended your post to me with, "Peace." I don't feel that we ever were anything but at peace, but now, after seeing that post, I am an admirer of yours.

 

My mind is wandering slightly, but I'm remembering the first thread I read in full on these forums. It was called "Perseptions of Scouting professionals" or something very close. Under Council Relations. Some of the posts made me want to head for the hills, but I didn't because there wasn't anything in there I haven't heard before.

 

Sometimes the perception is that professional Scouters get to the office at 10:00 Am and leave at 3:00 PM. Sometimes it's true -- because he/she was out until 11:00 PM (working) at or after a Roundtable or other Scout meeting, spent the weekend at a camporee (working,) took 7 phone calls from volunteers between supper and his/her evening meeting, or waited up until 1:00 AM to get ahold of a 3rd shift worker/Scoutmaster to encourage him to get his charter in. I once manned a booth at an engine manufacturing plant (from 3:30 AM to 6:30 AM) in support of the United Way Campaign. I'm still mad at the United Way about that one. But that was back in the day when the council received nearly 30% of it's income from U.W. and I went with a smile on my face. I also didn't show up at the office until about 2:00 PM that day.

 

Two more quick things . . .

 

1. Bob White is an extremely well educated and trained volunteer. He's not a professional, although I'm sure he'd be a very good one. I'm also pretty sure he's making more than the current DE starting salary of roughly 30k. Bob White is also correct that his commission is the same as mine. There are only two commissioned by the BSA kind of folks, Commissioners and professionals. It's a topic for the Scouting History forum, but commissioners pre-date professionals and there is a great deal of respect for each other.

 

2. Darn right I'm busting at the seams to express my opinion in this type of matter. I don't need to ponder the central issue (it's the tertiary ones that have me pondering.) As far as I'm concerned, the central issue on membership standards of the BSA is the right of the Boy Scouts of America as a private organization to determine it's own standards of membership. On that issue, the Supreme Court of the United States has given its final answer.

 

The other issues, as have been pointed out, I am not in a position to debate.

 

DS