My hard earned money and me, maybe learning to forgive?

[Eamonn]

For sometime now I have been doing some estate planning.

Like many, the economic crisis didn't do me any good.

It was easy to watch with horror as some of my investments went south. Not so easy to know what was or what might happen with the real estate I own. Truth is that I never really bought this with any real plan to sell it anytime soon. A lot of it is income property that pays its own way.

I have met with different Investment and Retirement Advisers. Some who I just didn't get! Or just didn't trust.

Over all, I don't see myself as being wealthy. I prefer to call myself comfortable.

I don't have a large family.

I have a son who will when the time comes do OK from my passing.

I do want to leave some money to the things (People, organizations and that sort of thing.) That have brought me pleasure over the years.

When we were first married we adopted a dog from Battersea Dogs Home in London. Woofter was a great dog. It cost me more to fly her over from England to the USA than it cost to fly HWMBO over! She lived until she was almost 17 years old.

So Battersea Dogs Home is on my list.

At one time I thought that I might have a calling to be a priest! I know that might seem odd now!! Back then I wanted to join the White Fathers. (Now The Missionaries of Africa. I think at that time I seen myself as some sort of religious Lawrence of Arabia! I still think that the work they do is worth while and have over the years supported it with donations.

I feel much the same way about the The Monks of Moyross who are doing some great work with troubled Irish youth in Ireland.

I admit to have being very upset with my Church (The Roman Catholic Church) about the way it went about handling child abuse by members of the clergy. But I seem to have been able to move on.

Then there is the Boy Scouts.

I have spent a very long time in Scouting, it has been a very big part of my life and played a lot in making me the person that I am today.

Yet, the truth is I just don't trust the people at the top of the organization.

Locally, SE's seem to come and go. Where as right now we have a really nice good guy. The past two left a lot to be desired. A Council near to us has just hired a guy as SE that I wouldn't trust as far as I'd throw him and I'd be scared to pick him up!

National? It seems to me that they have more money than they will ever need. What with over 3 million members paying $15.00 a head a year along with the other big donations they receive.

At work we have for State employees a yearly campaign, much like the United Way. While it seems that every other Council I know of is listed, the Council I'm in isn't.

I brought this to the attention of our SE and provided him with all the details of how to get on the list. So far in three years he has done nothing. So for three years my $2,600 donation has gone to an English Setter Rescue. Hey if they want my hard earned money more than the Council does? That's fine with me.

I do believe that Scouting can do a lot for a lot of kids.

But more and more I see it's the people at the ground level who are doing this, many times in spite of what is coming down from the top.

It somehow seems unfair that I'm able to get past all the bad stuff that my church allowed to happen and I'm still willing to support and forgive them, yet I just don't trust the organization that I've been a member of for nearly my entire life.

Eamonn.

[Twocubdad]

I'm not yet to the point of making the plans you are, but I would have the same concerns you do. I've decided my support (time and money) are best directed at my unit. If I had a large amount of money to give away, I would probably make a restricted gift to our Chartered Organization (they own the 501©3 status) with instructions that the Scoutmaster, Committee Chairman and COR manage the funds to the best use of the troop and other units in the community. I'd like to see the money go to help individual boys -- uniforms, camp fees, even attending Jamborees and high adventure trips which usually isn't come with any financial assistance.

 

I would trust the church, troop and the current individuals to handle the money according to my wishes. But if I had concerns, or if I simply wanted to spread the wealth, I might identify other stable, long-term COs in the district and set up small funds with all of them. Maybe some of the money goes to fund things you wouldn't have choosen personally, but most of it would.

 

An easier route would be to set up a convential trust and appoint a couple like-minded Scouters at trustees.

 

Sure, you could give the money to the council with instructions that it go to the campership fund (if that's what interests you). But we know how that game is played. New money going into the campership fund just means the old money gets re-directed to another use.

 

 

[scoutldr]

My will currently is simple...if I die, SWMBO gets it all, and when she dies, my two sons split everything down the middle. I don't believe in playing favorites or saying that "X needs it more than Y"...they are both my sons, and I love them equally. One of them recently married, and I have a feeling grandchildren aren't far behind...that will be a consideration too. But so far, we don't think they appreciate all that we've done for them...seems it was "expected" or a "duty". The last two wedding gifts I sent to friends' kids were never acknowledged. Next time, I'll send a card and a donation to the SPCA in their name where I know it's appreciated.

 

I too, give substantially to the Combined Federal Campaign (United Way)...but I do not designate the Council. It was once explained to me that the amount each charity gets is pre-determined, and the only way your designation makes a difference is if the designated amounts exceed the pre-determined amount. If I adjust my will, I may just leave it to an animal charity like the SPCA. I have had cats and dogs over the years and have recently been "adopted" by the cat next door whose owners abandoned him when the house burned. Last night, I brought him in from the cold and he just seemed so darned appreciative! I made him a bed in the garage and he curled right up and slept all night. With humans, you give, and give and it never seems to be good enough.

[Basementdweller]

I do not understand the financing of scouting beyond my FOS, recharter fee and the expenses I pay to attend events.

 

I imagine the politics are immense. Are the financial records public?????? You have aroused my curiosity.

 

 

I see the way our council manages money, it is terrible. I have spoken on occasion to the councils camp rangers and have helped with their wish or need lists.

 

 

I trust these camp supervisors, it is ashame there is no way to see to the camps needs with out the greedy people at the council office getting involved.

[Twocubdad]

So ask your ranger buddy what he needs and restrict your contribution to that specific item or need. Understand that if you restrict your contribution to "camp maintenance" (or any other on-going budget item) that the total camp maintenance budget probably won't go up -- they'll just claim that "your dollars" were spent on camp maintenance.

 

On the other hand, if you specify a particular item which is not currently funded -- like replacing the tents in campsite 1 or buying new archery targets -- the money goes toward those items. If you really don't trust the council folk, ask them to provide documentation once the money is spent.

[DancesWithSpreadsheets]

ScoutLdr, that is not my understanding of how the CFC works. Contributions designated by the donor are supposed to go to the designated charity, period. Contributors who do not specify who their contributions are to go to I think end up giving to a designated "lead agency" usually the local United Way, then those funds are divvied up according to pre-established percentages, but contributions to a specific 501©(3) are supposed to go there, period.

 

I looked at the CFC section on OPM's website to see if I could clarify this, it did not directly address the question, but did clearly indicate that if an org was included in the campaign but did not receive any designations, it would not get any money; that to me seems to suggest that there are not pre-established funding levels.

 

Unless there is a pot of money in addition to employee contributions to be allocated along with CFC funds, I don't see how it could work the way you describe.

 

Regards,

 

DWS

 

[scoutldr]

Thanks, DWS. Perhaps I was confusing UW with CFC. I think you are correct that if undesignated, then CFC donations go to the local UW.

[Eagle732]

Our troop received a large donation many years ago with the stipulation that it go to Scouts to help with their college education. To this day Scouts who earn Eagle and are active in the troop at the time they start college receive a grant from this fund. It's a gift that keeps on giving since the amount paid out never exceeds the interest earned since the last gift.

[desertrat77]

Eamonn, I share your concerns...I am reluctant to donate to local scout councils (and national) because of the reasons you've stated. Twocubdad outlined an option I really like...the units can best utilize contributions, and the scouts themselves will tangibly benefit.

[SR540Beaver]

I was watching Pastor Rick Warren (The Purpose Driven Life) on Meet the Press yesterday. The discussion turned to tithing and "giving". He says we can give money and we can give time. Of the two, time is the most valuable. You can always make more money, but once time is given, you can't make more of it. Giving time is personal and more of a sacrifice. I've commented before that I do not give to FOS. I'm not trying to pat myself on the back here, but the main reason is because of the amount of time I give. I was a Pack Committee Chair. I'm an ASM in a large troop for 6 years now. I Campmaster. I staff our Cub Scout Fall Family Adventures camping program. I'm serving for a second time as a Jamboree ASM. I'm serving on my third Wood Badge course. I've staffed IOLS/WELOT. I'm the incoming OA Chapter Adviser. I pay for the privelege to do most of these things. I feel no guilt when I don't fill out the FOS pledge card and I don't plan on leaving anything to the council or national when I'm gone. They got someting much more valuable......of course, I enjoy the heck out of it.

[eaglescout1996]

For anyone who gives donations to the United Way, do a little research on the specific UW in your area. Before moving to Atlanta, I spent five years with UW of Brevard's (FL) Emerging Leaders program (20-40 year olds) as well as sitting on allocation funding panels for that time.

 

There are two ways local UW's actually fund programs. The first is the way UW of Brevard did it, they have three designation opprotunities, the UW general fund, a specific group of organizations (Children and Families, Substance Abuse, Homelessnes, ect), or you can direct designate.

 

An organization submits an application (let's say Central Florida Council asks for $250,000), the allocation funding panel gets the applications from the entire group (organizations who help children and families, substance abuse, ect) and review. These applications include everything, operating budget plus the previous two years budgets, lists of the board of directors, lists of staff members, recomendations and notes from teh previous year's panel, ect. The panel then makes site visits where the organizations make presentations, after that, the panel meets seperately and makes a funding determination.

 

The panel knows before hand that they have x amount of funds for y number of organizations who are asking for z funds, and x is always greater than z. So the panel might fund a specific program at the asking level, keep at last year's funding level, give less (or none at all) or give more. After the award is made, they UW gives the organization their direct designation funds as an addition to the award the allocation funding panel made.

 

Although the other way most UW's will tell their allocation funding panels how much has been direct designated to each organization and tell them to reduce the award amount by that much. Their thinking is that if you really wanted to give the organization the funds, you would do it outside of the UW.

 

And as most everyone here knows, some UW allow local BSA councils to be partner organizations, and others don't. For instance, in central Florida, one does, two don't. The two that don't will give direct designations to Central Florida Council, but they don't list them as an organization, so the individual must specifically write their name in.

 

My wife and I decided a few months ago, that instead of giving through the UW, we would just give our donations to the Council endowment fund, that way it is perpetual (and the UW doesn't get it's 10% cut), and hope that eventually will reduce the need of FOS (pie in the sky!).

 

 

[John-in-KC]

This is a tough one. I'm single again. I've allocated a portion of my estate, via a trust plan, to the Council general endowment. I may move that in the coming years: Our Council does a superb job of retaining camp staff through giving them higher education scholarships. That's an area where the money is being set aside for the future.

[Eamonn]

John,

I have in the past made donations to the Council endowment fund.

The Council I serve has a very healthy fund.

There is in place a very complicated formula for how much of the interest earned can be moved into the general fund. It's a percentage. Off hand I can't remember what percent is supposed to be allowed.

I do not believe that there will ever be enough income from the fund to cover the cost of running the Council.

Right now I think that cost is something like 1.3 or 1.5 million dollars a year.

Like all of us the fund hasn't done that great over the past couple of years.

That is OK with me! And is to be expected.

Sadly a couple of years back, due to really bad management by the SE, where there was bank overdrafts that no one seemed to know about and years where the no audit was done or if it was done? It wasn't done very well!

We ended up in a real mess.

The only way to save the Council was by having the Council borrow money from the fund!

This was in part covered up by having the endowment fund "Buy" a camp site that the Council owned.

Talk about smoke and mirrors!

Sure the guys who manage the fund are volunteers, but shenanigans and deals done in smoke filled rooms, under the cover of night. Do little to help build any sort of trust that I might have for the future.

There are of course a lot of really great SE's just as there are a lot of wonderful volunteers.

Ea.

[SemperParatus]

I'm with you Eamonn.

For the past few years, my giving has been very local - to organizations that I know personally and trust the folks running it, and where I can see my money going directly to aid actual beneficiaries. I got tired of black hole giving to national groups that seem to support executive salaries and professional fundraisers at the expense of those in need.

You can never go wrong leaving money to dogs.

[John-in-KC]

E,

 

Understood, and that's part of the reason I'm looking at moving the planned giving to the scholarship endowment instead of the general.

 

I also have some significant plans for memorials when the time comes for my folks. They have a broader focus than just Scouting.