Rates and Dues for BSA Troops - How much does your troop charge for registration?

[SSF]

Just looking for some comparisons. Our troop charges $75 per year per scout plus $10 per scout per month for dues. This is not including food for camping trips ($15 per scout), summer camp or other special trips or outings.

 

The $75 registration rate is not really an issue, but the $10 per month seems a bit much and I can't fathom how they justify these costs.

 

Our troop is largely comprised of working class families and we're not an affluent community by any means.

 

Again, just looking for some comparisons.

[SM bob]

We charge each scout and registered adult the $24 to register yearly. Our dues are $25/month. That does not include summer camp or food for camping trips ($10). The troop does fundraising during the year to help offset the cost of summer camp. Camping fees, gear rentals, troop equipment, merit badges, and other things cost money. Volunteer to help out with the committee and look into the cost of the program. Scouting is cheaper in the long run than any other extracurricular activity. Hour for hour you cannot beat the cost. Also don't rush out to buy all the camping equipment your son might need. Let him come to you. He will know what is needed based on the other scouts and the planned activities of the troop.

[qwazse]

$55/year. But if we didn't count fundraising, our boys would probably have to toss in another $10-$15/month to cover expenses. (Campsite/cabin, reservations, gear maintenance, etc...)

[IM_Kathy]

boys pay their national fee and $20 per campout to cover all food and campsite. Boys also pay summer camp and any additional expense.

 

adults - troop funds cover registration and we use the lent bake sales to cover costs to get adults to summer camp.

 

fundraisers are getting a little harder to do with the size being smaller than it use to be and the schedules being so crazy with the boys. Popcorn and camp cards are the best for us. We throw in a couple extra when we can. Our fundraisers go 60% to boys and 40% to troop to cover any equipment and the adult registration.

[Twocubdad]

Annual dues are $95. Summer camp and food for monthly camping is not included. Food cost vary depending on patrol menu and is all handled within each patrol.

 

We do charge a one-time equipment fee for new members of $125 which includes all patrol gear -- tents, stoves, cook gear, fly, etc. A few years ago most of our troop gear was pretty old and in need of replacement. Our main troop fundraiser was producing less and less money. We went to the Scouts and parents and asked for ideas for fundraising. Everyone said "how much do we make the checks for?" The answer was $125. Now, as a matter of fairness, we continue to collect the $125 but keep it in a separate equipment fund to replace gear as needed.

 

Some of our Scouts participate in the council's camp card sales to raise money for Eagle projects, high-adventure trips, jamboree or summer camp, but few do.

 

We do no fundraising for the benefit of the troop however we are very fortunate to have several parents working for large corporations which have grant programs which match parents' volunteer hours with cash payments to the troop.

[scoutergipper]

$300 a year for returning Scouts, $100 at Cross Over - does not include camping food or Summer Camp, but does include outfitting of a lot of Patrol gear (once - if they lose or break it, the Patrol pays to replace). The reality is that very few families actually pay this - a Scout who works at it a little can fundraise all this money, and Summer Camp money and High Adventure money. In addition, no Scout is turned away if his family cannot pay - we either add extra fundraising, or scholarship them.

[Tampa Turtle]

Our Troop charges $35 a year of which we get pretty much nothing. No monthly dues. We expect participation for our two big fundraisers. We sell popcorn but proceeds go to Scout Accounts. Campouts average $25 though some are $40 if farther away and an occasional $150 'big one'. Summer Camp is about $475.

 

We run the Troop (with about 50 actives) on about $5,000 to $8,000 a year, Main income is a Spaghetti Dinner take away and parking/concessions on several big parades. Our CO kicks in $500 to $1500 a year. CO gives us space but we pay our share of utility, insurance, and wear and tear on vehicle. As well as beaucoup service hours.

 

Our Pack charged $150 a year. Some years we did great in Popcorn and we charged $35 to keep skin in the game. No other charges, Our Pack (with 150+ cubs some years) could earn $12-15K in sales easy.

[eagle90]

We charge $55 dollars per year, with Boy's Life being optional. Weekend camps average $20.00 each. We have two main fundraisers, a pancake breakfast and Rummage Sale. Half of the Pancake Breakfast profit goes back to the scouts for Summer Camp. Popcorn is optional, with the profits being saved up for High Adventure activities.

[walk in the woods]

We charge $0. All events are pay-as-you-go. Fundraisers used to be split b/w ISA and general ledger.

[jc2008]

Doesn't your troop have a treasurer who can explain the budget or what the troop pays for vs what the kids fundraise/parents pay for?

 

Finances should not be a secret

[fred johnson]

SSF - Your numbers are not off. Our troop charges $75 per year for membership (advancement cost and registration cost). Campouts cost about $25 to $30 per scout per month.

 

So you are doing $10 per month fee plus $15 per camp out. That's about $25 per person. That is the camp out expense. They are just reducing cost to attend and increasing membership cost. i.e. They are encouraging camping.

[SSF]

Thank you everyone. All of this information is very helpful.

[Baseballfan]

$100 a year, paid quarterly. Camping trips are monthly and range from $15 to about $150 if it is skiing or rafting. We usually have 3 summer "big trips". We have a pretty good scholarship fund in memory of one of our Scouts who dies in a car accident a few years ago.

[ScoutmasterBradley]

Our troop charges $0 per year and $0 per month for dues. Being a member of our troop is 100% FREE (the registration and charting fees are covered by an annual unit fundraiser along with left-over funds from campouts). We charge $15 per person per campout (to cover the cost of food and campsite fees, etc.) but we usually end up "making money" on the event (it's rare that we spend $15 per person on food and lodging, so an extra buck or two per person usually goes back into the troop funds for other expenses down the road).

 

For a Scout that attends every campout (we don't do June or July because of summer camp and day-events are free), he'll need $150 for the year... and summer camp is another $300 per Scout (rate set by our council), so a year in our troop costs a family $450 (plus uniform parts, books, or other supplies from the Scout Shop here and there will probably add another $50). So we tell parents to budget $500 a year if they want their son be 100% active. Most Scouts raise more than $500 just by selling popcorn, so it's break-even for them. We do the annual popcorn sale and also hold an annual spaghetti dinner fundraiser (tickets are $10 for a Scout-cooked and Scout-served spaghetti and meatball dinner...we usually bring in $7,500+ a year with it).

[dfscott]

We charge $70/year, plus $15 for campouts to cover food. Currently, myself and the ASMs are eating the cost of fuel, and the campsites. We're trying to get them to raise the amount so it's not coming out of our pockets, but they're worried we'll get too much pushback from the families.