Friends of Scouting Campaign

[Right You Are Bob]

Hello. I am new to this forum, but not new to scouting.

 

My son is a new Webelos scout. I just finished reading the required parent information in his Webelos book which describes the FOS campaign and how it will "help ensure good scouting for your Webelos scout."

 

I have contributed to the FOS campaign for the last two years. We are "strongly encouraged" to donate by our pack as our council gives them free award badges for the cubs if we get a certain percentage. However, I wonder if it might be better just to give money to our pack. Does anyone know how much of the FOS campaign drive money directly helps scouts? Frankly, it feel like a shakedown each year.

[berliner]

Welcome to the Forum Bob.

I have only been here a few weeks but the FOS debate came up in a couple of threads, just read around a bit.

A fixed percentage? Unknown.

"Friends of Scouters" was suggested as most seems to end up with National for paying the professional bureaucrats.

Now shakedown does sound a bit harsh, but I hear ya ...

[Basementdweller]

Now all councils are different....

 

But you are refering to what is called Fund our Salaries. This is when the Paid council folks snooker our families out of their hard earned money.

 

I too donated a few years, Thinking the money was going to be used to maintain our camps, or buy uniforms, books and programs for those less fortunate. Well not so much.

 

Council books are closed so you will never truly know where all the money goes. You will never know how much they take in or spend.....

 

 

I have a beef because of the closed books and.............. So explain to me a trap shooting event they bragged raised $!5,000 on a district level......So explain to me why the camporee is $15 a head just to participate So where did all that money that was raised in the name of the boys go????? The folks manning the stations donate the supplies, no patches.......Parents and leaders are asking why $15 and then they have the audacity to complain at roundtable to complain that none of the troops participated.

 

I am frustrated by FOS.....I have no problem donating my money, but for a SE who is making $200k a year.......

 

We told the District NO one year and they came to our Blue and Gold uninvited and struck before the Pack leadership could respond......We were serving food and he came in walked right up on stage and started the presentation.

 

 

Look at those free rank advancement patches.....Not belt loops, event patches nothing else......So Free rank is like $2 per boy.......Our council includes going to a council owned camp..... Your better off just buying them.

[Builder]

A telling story:

My Scoutmaster when I was a lad was in the military. After retirement he joined the professional scouting ranks and became the DE of our district. He was in that position for 10-15 years and retired again. Several years later he approached our troop committee about donating money. It seems he got ticked off at how our council was spending money and wanted to donate whatever amount he had been giving to FOS to the troop. It was enough to fund more than a few camperships. As he stated, "At least I know the money is directly benefiting Scouts." He continued that practice until he died a couple of years ago.

[Basementdweller]

A telling story:

My Scoutmaster when I was a lad was in the military. After retirement he joined the professional scouting ranks and became the DE of our district. He was in that position for 10-15 years and retired again. Several years later he approached our troop committee about donating money. It seems he got ticked off at how our council was spending money and wanted to donate whatever amount he had been giving to FOS to the troop. It was enough to fund more than a few camperships. As he stated, "At least I know the money is directly benefiting Scouts." He continued that practice until he died a couple of years ago.

yep like the story.....

 

Just the way it should be.

[NeverAnEagle]

Percentage that comes back to the units: 0%

 

All the money that is generated from FOS stays in the council office. In our council if you meet your FOS goal you get 15% of the use of camp during one off-season weekend. WHOOP-DE-DOO! Using camp is still 10 times more expensive than taking kids out into the National Forest for regular camping.

[NeverAnEagle]

Now all councils are different....

 

But you are refering to what is called Fund our Salaries. This is when the Paid council folks snooker our families out of their hard earned money.

 

I too donated a few years, Thinking the money was going to be used to maintain our camps, or buy uniforms, books and programs for those less fortunate. Well not so much.

 

Council books are closed so you will never truly know where all the money goes. You will never know how much they take in or spend.....

 

 

I have a beef because of the closed books and.............. So explain to me a trap shooting event they bragged raised $!5,000 on a district level......So explain to me why the camporee is $15 a head just to participate So where did all that money that was raised in the name of the boys go????? The folks manning the stations donate the supplies, no patches.......Parents and leaders are asking why $15 and then they have the audacity to complain at roundtable to complain that none of the troops participated.

 

I am frustrated by FOS.....I have no problem donating my money, but for a SE who is making $200k a year.......

 

We told the District NO one year and they came to our Blue and Gold uninvited and struck before the Pack leadership could respond......We were serving food and he came in walked right up on stage and started the presentation.

 

 

Look at those free rank advancement patches.....Not belt loops, event patches nothing else......So Free rank is like $2 per boy.......Our council includes going to a council owned camp..... Your better off just buying them.

"We told the District NO one year and they came to our Blue and Gold uninvited and struck before the Pack leadership could respond......We were serving food and he came in walked right up on stage and started the presentation."

 

They seek into ECOH's and do it here too; just plain tacky IMO.

[NeverAnEagle]

Now all councils are different....

 

But you are refering to what is called Fund our Salaries. This is when the Paid council folks snooker our families out of their hard earned money.

 

I too donated a few years, Thinking the money was going to be used to maintain our camps, or buy uniforms, books and programs for those less fortunate. Well not so much.

 

Council books are closed so you will never truly know where all the money goes. You will never know how much they take in or spend.....

 

 

I have a beef because of the closed books and.............. So explain to me a trap shooting event they bragged raised $!5,000 on a district level......So explain to me why the camporee is $15 a head just to participate So where did all that money that was raised in the name of the boys go????? The folks manning the stations donate the supplies, no patches.......Parents and leaders are asking why $15 and then they have the audacity to complain at roundtable to complain that none of the troops participated.

 

I am frustrated by FOS.....I have no problem donating my money, but for a SE who is making $200k a year.......

 

We told the District NO one year and they came to our Blue and Gold uninvited and struck before the Pack leadership could respond......We were serving food and he came in walked right up on stage and started the presentation.

 

 

Look at those free rank advancement patches.....Not belt loops, event patches nothing else......So Free rank is like $2 per boy.......Our council includes going to a council owned camp..... Your better off just buying them.

"We told the District NO one year and they came to our Blue and Gold uninvited and struck before the Pack leadership could respond......We were serving food and he came in walked right up on stage and started the presentation."

 

They seek into ECOH's and do it here too; just plain tacky IMO.

[qwazse]

My experience is opposite:

Some of our boys applied for and got camperships this year. Might have helped avoid a family with sky-high health bills having to choose which son went.

Our state park fees are more expensive and often charge per user. So, a patrol might find the state park cheaper than council camp, but four patrols? Doubt it.

Between crew and troop, we will have used council facilities at least 6 times this year.

 

So, yeah, FoS does take the edge off for us. If a variety of council facilities were not available on a competitive basis, our boys would have to fund raise harder.

 

You folks who only have one humble camp property in your council, I can definitely understand where you don't see much return on investment.

[Stosh]

Instead of contributing to FOS, I simply give directly to my boys. That way I know EXACTLY where the money is going, I write the check. I'm starting a new troop and I have a few parents who are interested in helping out. It's a poor neighborhood, so the training thingy is a problem for them. I figure it is in the boys best interest to have properly trained adult leadership so I put my money where my mouth is. I pay for it. If anyone wishes to "reimburse" me, that's fine, but not expected. Those that do reimburse me, I thank them and let them know that the money will be recycled back into the next leader that needs training. Boys need help to get to camp? No problem, I've written a few "camperships" over the years. Even the boys, knowing this have reimbursed me after camp, but again, once I donate the money, as far as I'm concerned it's spent, but if it gets recycled a bit, that's good too.

 

So, what about support for our local camp? The boys from my former troop annually voted unanimously to attend out of council camps.

 

Does this practice hinder the work of our council? Maybe, but then it's up to them to shake the bushes a bit harder, and there's a lot more money out there other than the parents' pockets.

 

Stosh

[frankpalazzi]

Now all councils are different....

 

But you are refering to what is called Fund our Salaries. This is when the Paid council folks snooker our families out of their hard earned money.

 

I too donated a few years, Thinking the money was going to be used to maintain our camps, or buy uniforms, books and programs for those less fortunate. Well not so much.

 

Council books are closed so you will never truly know where all the money goes. You will never know how much they take in or spend.....

 

 

I have a beef because of the closed books and.............. So explain to me a trap shooting event they bragged raised $!5,000 on a district level......So explain to me why the camporee is $15 a head just to participate So where did all that money that was raised in the name of the boys go????? The folks manning the stations donate the supplies, no patches.......Parents and leaders are asking why $15 and then they have the audacity to complain at roundtable to complain that none of the troops participated.

 

I am frustrated by FOS.....I have no problem donating my money, but for a SE who is making $200k a year.......

 

We told the District NO one year and they came to our Blue and Gold uninvited and struck before the Pack leadership could respond......We were serving food and he came in walked right up on stage and started the presentation.

 

 

Look at those free rank advancement patches.....Not belt loops, event patches nothing else......So Free rank is like $2 per boy.......Our council includes going to a council owned camp..... Your better off just buying them.

Tacky enough that if anyone ever attempted that at one of our ECOHs, I'd bodily throw them out. We have a program. If you're not in it, you sit quietly in the audience and honor and respect the Eagle recipient. Period.

[King Ding Dong]

Now all councils are different....

 

But you are refering to what is called Fund our Salaries. This is when the Paid council folks snooker our families out of their hard earned money.

 

I too donated a few years, Thinking the money was going to be used to maintain our camps, or buy uniforms, books and programs for those less fortunate. Well not so much.

 

Council books are closed so you will never truly know where all the money goes. You will never know how much they take in or spend.....

 

 

I have a beef because of the closed books and.............. So explain to me a trap shooting event they bragged raised $!5,000 on a district level......So explain to me why the camporee is $15 a head just to participate So where did all that money that was raised in the name of the boys go????? The folks manning the stations donate the supplies, no patches.......Parents and leaders are asking why $15 and then they have the audacity to complain at roundtable to complain that none of the troops participated.

 

I am frustrated by FOS.....I have no problem donating my money, but for a SE who is making $200k a year.......

 

We told the District NO one year and they came to our Blue and Gold uninvited and struck before the Pack leadership could respond......We were serving food and he came in walked right up on stage and started the presentation.

 

 

Look at those free rank advancement patches.....Not belt loops, event patches nothing else......So Free rank is like $2 per boy.......Our council includes going to a council owned camp..... Your better off just buying them.

Sad to see a Scouter could be so rude. That would never fly in my district or unit. Fortunately, the custom here is for the FOS rep to request an audience and the Unit schedules a time for them to speak. They honor it and thank us for our time.

[Sidney Porter]

I always thought there was a rule against donating directly to the unit. The boys had to do "something" to earn it. Unit money can come from dues, fund raising or the charter organization but not outright donations. Donations must go up to the council. I know that we would turn down donations at my previous unit or arrange a service project for them prior to accepting the donation.

http://www.scouting.org/About/FactSheets/Funding.aspx

[Stosh]

I always thought there was a rule against donating directly to the unit. The boys had to do "something" to earn it. Unit money can come from dues, fund raising or the charter organization but not outright donations. Donations must go up to the council. I know that we would turn down donations at my previous unit or arrange a service project for them prior to accepting the donation.

http://www.scouting.org/About/FactSheets/Funding.aspx

Yeah, right, like my Council cares whose check pays for it? Maybe I can't take a tax write-off on it, but I donate to the boys not because of what I get out of it, but because of what the boys get out of it. I donate time, talent and resources. Why would resources be any different than time and talent?

 

Stosh

[Basementdweller]

I always thought there was a rule against donating directly to the unit. The boys had to do "something" to earn it. Unit money can come from dues, fund raising or the charter organization but not outright donations. Donations must go up to the council. I know that we would turn down donations at my previous unit or arrange a service project for them prior to accepting the donation.

http://www.scouting.org/About/FactSheets/Funding.aspx

really????

 

So popcorn season is upon us........So an older couple wants to support your unit but cannot afford your $20 cans of popcorn, so are you going to turn down their support of a hand full of change.

 

 

So you have folks wanting to donate.......I am not too picky, send them my way......