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

[Rick_in_CA]

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' date='500+ a year with it).[/quote']

 

You feed over 750 people at your spaghetti dinner? How big is your troop?

 

[scoutergipper]

Everyone knows 20 people they could invite to a Scouting event who aren't involved in Scouting. Friends, neighbors, work colleagues, families from school, etc. Coupled with a little local marketing and door-to-door ticket selling, I suspect you could do a huge event without really straining. We used to do 400 for a softball spaghetti dinner with the girls not coming close to selling their ticket quota (20 each).

[cnew2]

Our troop charges $0 per year and $0 monthly. One time startup fee of $50.

 

Money comes from a big fundraiser (nuts). 60% troop, 40% scout. Can opt out of the fundraiser by contributing $125 to the troop.

 

All monthly outings and summer camp are pay as you go with the amount varying depending on the destination/activity. Pay cash or pay from the scout account from money earned during nut sale. (yes i know this is another topic!!!)

[dgbristow]

Our Troop charges $300 per year plus typically $30 per campout to cover food and other expenses.  Trained adults are not charged to attend campouts.  Drivers are reimbursed at the current IRS business rate.  The driver who pulls the trailer is reimbursed at 1.5 x the current IRS business rate.  Campout expenses in excess of the funds charged are drawn from the Troop account.  Since the same small group of adults generally drives it is fair that the non-participating parents pay for their boys to be transported.  Thus, the dues are largely prepayment of driving expenses and so spread the burden around to the entire troop instead of making the active adults who drive bear the burden themselves.  The Troop is small and so the costs per Scout are high.  When the Troop grows, the cost per Scout should fall and the dues should be lowered accordingly.  This scheme incentivises camping participation since the dues pay mostly for camping.  The greater the participation rate, the lower the draw on the Troop account.  At the end of the year we will review the Troop finances and set the dues for the new year based on the number of Scouts we will have in the new year, as well as the carry over from the ending year.  All fundraising goes into the individual Scout Bucks account.  Scout Bucks can be used for camping charges, Troop dues, Eagle Project expenses, donated to the Troop, or cashed out when a Scout leaves the Troop.

[perdidochas]

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.

So basically, $195 a year plus camping.  Have you registered for a season of youth league sports?  Usually that's at least $125 and for only 4 months or so. 

 

What do y'all do for fundraising?

[andysmom]

This year our dues were $150.  We charge $5 per attendee for food for camping and the troop pays the difference up to $12 per person for food.  We started charging only $5 for food because we had a surplus of funds and didn't think it was right to carry that much money from year to year.  We charge extra for "big trips", its an extra $60 this year if a scout chooses to participate.  Summer camp is $375.  Class B shirts and troop caps run 30-40 extra depending on what type is ordered. 

 

We provide handbooks, neckers, slide and epilets upon crossover.  The troop pays for merit badges, awards and rank patches.  We are in the northeast so we camp in cabins for part of the year and it is quite a bit more expensive than tent camping but we cover that too.  We camp 10 months of the year, not counting summer camp.  We also provide an end of year mini golf outing with ice cream.

 

We currently only sell popcorn as a fundraiser, but our top seller will be aging out so I am sure we will need to be looking into other fundraising options.  I have also redeemed about $800 in bottles that I have collected from a local business for the troop (don't get me started on why *I* am the only one doing that).

 

We only lost 1 scout this year because the the dues are "way too much money",

[Gone]

Joining fee is around $75. This is a one-time fee for new scouts.

 

Dues for Scouts $75.

 

Dues for registered adults $30.

[pargolf44067]

Ours are $65 annually for first scout $58 or so for each additional (don't charge them the Boys Life) and $25 for adult leaders.  Monthly camps are $15-20 for a regular and more for event camps (canoeing, caving).  Depending on where the family camp is, we charge anywhere from $45-$65 per person.  We only do popcorn for fundraising, although every couple of years a new parent asks about doing a spring fundraiser so the new scouts can earn money to pay for Summer Camp.  Our summer camp is $255 (early bird).  It was pretty cheap (like $180-$200) up until a couple of years ago and we have seen a pretty big increase since then.  It is still cheaper than a lot of camps, so I am not complaining !

Edited April 16, 2015 by pargolf44067

[miranthis]

$65 yearly fee plus the $24 to National.  Camp outs are all individually priced depending on activity.  Usually a friday to sunday camp is $15 for food plus any unusual site fees (June we are going to a stable and doing Horsemanship so there is a stable fee for the horses etc.Most regular months are just the food fee)  If travelling more that 2 hours we do impose a gas fee to help defray the cost for the guy stuck hauling the troop gear trailer.   Summer camp is $320 for 10 days and there is a 'crackerbarrel' fee that covers the costs of a camp t-shirt and all the ice and cleaning or other supplies that we have to have for summer camp including the Visitor's Sunday meal.  No monthly dues.

 

Its not cheap, but it is cheaper that day care...:-)

 

Jeff in KC

 

P.S.  Last couple of years we have waived the yearly fee for any returning Eagle Scouts and they only pay the $24 to National.  It has helped us retain some Eagles for meetings and camping, both monthly and the OA events.  Most of the scouts attend summer camp for 5 years, but drop off after that as work and school intrude.

Edited April 16, 2015 by miranthis

[Hedgehog]

We're at $125 with no monthly dues. Scouts get a $25 credit to Scout Account if they sell at least $25 of popcorn and then 15% of what they sell over $200. We increased the fees last year due to a lack of fundraising. The parents sense was they would rather pay $50 more than worry about fundraising. We're hoping to use the extra funds to purchase new lightweight tents for the boys.

 

We charge for each outing based on actual costs. We take the site cost and divide by 20 (the minimum number of scouts on a typical outing) add any per person site fee and then add food ($3 breakfast, $3 lunch, $5 dinner and dessert) plus a $1 charge for consumables such as propane, charcoal and paper towels.

 

We have the adults pay the same amount as the scouts. The adults that come on campouts don't have a problem with that because we eat very well. We only reimburse for gas when it is more than 130 miles.

[Daped01]

the only registration fees we charge are the $24 fee from National.  We do charge for camps and other outings, but that's on an event by event basis.  Scouts that sell XXXX amount of popcorn get their summer camp fee covered though.  XXXX changes each year depending on the number of kids selling, and what our starting budget numbers are.

[Momleader]

Troop $65/year. Suggested each boy sell $250 of popcorn, no monthly dues, campout fees and summer camp fees each family must pay - this includes boys life and fees to national

 

Pack $85/year. Suggested each family sell $250 of popcorn to help w expenses for pack. Includes, all awards earned, derby car kit, regatta kit, food for a Blue & Gold and end of the year burgers at picnic, rocket making materials for spring event, boys life subscription and fees to national. Special event sleepovers and summer camp are for the parents to pay

[Gone]

Bump to the topic...

 

How many units have a defined budget? Know their expenditures per Scout and are recovering (or subsidizing) various costs.

 

For example, we know each scout costs a unit $24, $36 if Boy's Life is added. If you provide any patches at crossover, hats, books or other items, how do you recover those costs?

 

Our unit makes sure we know our per Scout costs, itemize all expenses and recover those costs through fees.

[MattR]

We have a real accountant for a treasurer. He came up with a real budget based on the past several years and it includes everything including budgeted major items. We've had a few people try and do this before but with no luck. It was surprisingly difficult to figure out where our money went until our current treasurer organized everything. Our dues are $70/year and that covers national, boys life, cohs, adults, gear and 50% training (first aid, woodbadge, sm, etc). We have scout accounts that can only be used for scout events and scouts pay food, fees, and sometimes gas for events. I would like to see how much scouting costs for a scout and compare it to other activities.