Who does What.

[FScouter]

There's no reason to feel offended at being asked to contribute money. We'd be in sad shape indeed if we sat back and waited for contributions to voluntaraily come in! The whole FOS program revolves around asking for a contribution. I'm not so sure asking for a contribution constitutes an "attitude" in a negative sense.

 

Sure it may be uncomfortable to respond to a determined contribution request. How about saying "No thanks, I've already made a contribution this year", or just say "sure, no problem" and write a check for $25. Surely one can have the strength to stick to one's giving level without quitting board membership? How does quitting help make things better?

[Eamonn]

I know I should spin off!! But!!

 

If money or the ability to donate money to a Council is the reason for having an Executive Board?

I can't help thinking that we have lost some if not most of the values we keep harping on about.

 

This thread was spun off from one about the Silver Beaver and service to youth.

I really don't have any problem recognizing people who "Bring Home The Bacon".

As District Chair. I nominated our Community FOS Chairman for the District Award of Merit. (I didn't sit on the selection committee. -But he did get the recognition, which I felt was deserved.)

I would not have any problem seeing someone like him serve on a Council Executive Board. I feel that he could provide the Board with a wonderful insight to how a community FOS campaign, should be run and how it should work.

My feeling is that everyone needs to bring something to "The Table".

I was upset when the Board "Stole" a School District Superintendent from "My" District Committee. But again I can see that he had the potential to help the Board. (As it happened he attended one meeting where the Council President made a speech about the "Suggested level of giving" for Board members and he never returned.)

This "Suggested Level" in the Council I serve is not very high. I'm not on the Board but when I left it was $100.00 a month. This entitled Board members to attend the Council Fund raising dinner, in fact they received a ticket for every $150.00 they donated, the real cost of the dinner was about $50.00 a plate.

When it became clear that the Council was in dire financial need, I was a Board Member. I came up with the wonderful idea that every Board Member who could afford it donate $5,000 on top of the $1,200.00 and that each and every member donate at least an extra $1,000.00. The end result was two people donated at the $5,000 level. No one donated the extra $1,000. I know who the two people who gave the extra $5k are -One got heck from his wife!!

 

Placing the management of a Council in the hands of a group of people whose only real claim to fame is that they might be willing to donate twenty-five dollars a week to the Council? Just seems wrong.

Many of the most knowledgeable and talented people who could do great service to a Council can't for one reason or another donate large sums of money.

I would hope that a real understanding of Scouting and the needs of a Council would come before the ability to donate cash when it comes time to select a Board Member.

Not every Board member has to wear shorts and wear socks with red tops. But I would hope that when it's time to select people to serve on the Board of a corporation which employs people, oversees a budget of well over one million dollars and provides help in facilitating program opportunities for several thousand youth members, we select the very best people available not base our selection on twenty-five bucks a week.

Eamonn.

[Bob White]

No words were twisted eagle90,

 

" realize moneyis important, but it seems to me we are forgetting why we are here and who we are doing it for, and what our priorities should be."

 

To suggest as you did that giving financial support to the progrtamn is not being done for the same reason that a unit leader volunteers their time is misleading. Not everyone has the same available time to volunteer, so thay take the proceeds from the time they spend at work and give it to help all the scouts in the council. And yet you seem to think that that means they have the wrong goal in mind.

 

I serve on a number of boards and committees where I am not able to give the financial support that others do. Yet I have not been made to feel that my contribution of ideas and and assistance are less appreciated.

 

The key is communications. When asked to serve just let the committee chair know what you can bring to the committee and what you cannot.

 

As far as a council's goal to grow their committee to whatever size they want for what ever purposes they have determined they need, how is that anyone's business besides the Scout exec and the Council President. It is their committee they can decide how to staff it. It's more volunteers in the program and more things that the council can work on.

 

If a unit wanted to increase the unit committee from 3 to 15 then that is between the CR and CC to decide and no one else. I would be far more concerned with a council that had too few people engaged at the council level not about having "too many".

[OldGreyEagle]

The way it was explained to me was that many foundations and compnaies that the council solicits for funds for various reasons typically ask how much did your Board donate? Sometimes they will agree to match the Boards donation or give some other amount contingent on a set level of financial participation of the Board. The way it was explained to me, I was a liability because I couldnt donate at the monthly drop of the hat so I quit so some guy who could give could take my place.

 

It wasnt my finest hour in scouting, but it was educational