Fee For Faith ?

[SSScout]

Well the Jamboree is coming up. Our Committee just received word about the Faith and Belief Pavilion. That is where every faith sets up a display for folks to stop by and compare theological notes....

 

Seems this time around, BSA wants to charge per floor footage . For the smallest area, 10' x 10', they will provide the big tent, a wood floor, electric hook-up, a table and two chairs, and some other amenities. Charging $1450. This, in addition to normal Staff Charge, etc. Seems that the BSA Jamboree wants to "cover expenses", by also charge (?how?) Merit Badge areas. Well, corporate, commercial exhibitors, yeah, but the faiths? Rumor has it that the OA is also to be "charged"?

 

Last time around, no charge. Faith is as ever, a large part of Scouting. However, now, it is a defined requirement in each rank. Does this now make it part of the "Program"? The letter we received is labeled a "Draft", which implies this charge is yet to be firmly determined .

Might cause some smaller faiths some problems, stretching of small budgets, reconsideration of their attendance or at least presence in the Faith and Belief Tent. Ummmmm....

 

I came to think of the Jamboree as a working vacation, that the Staff charge was , if not cheap, at least almost reasonable for the entertainment and fun stuff included.

 

** How'bout knocking a hundred off the charge.... I don't need another duffle bag, this one is still good!

[desertrat77]

Sounds like a rip off.

 

And a sure way to turn off/turn away people.

Edited April 9, 2016 by desertrat77

[Krampus]

I'll never go. Rip off of the highest order.

[CalicoPenn]

Let's look at it another way - if they don't charge the fee to cover their expenses, and can't get corporate donations to cover those expenses - who is going to pay to cover those expenses?  They don't go away just because they don't charge for them - the answer should be obvious - the Scouts pay for it with higher Jamboree fees.  Maybe the average increase is only a dollar or two per Scout - but why should a Scout have to pay for what is essentially an advertising opportunity for those faiths?  Now maybe an individual church might find it difficult to raise $1,450 for a 10x10 set-up, but I find it hard to believe that the Catholic Church, the Southern Baptists, the Methodists, the Lutherans, etc. etc. can't find $1,450 in their annual budgets for this.

[vumbi]

I may be teasing the third rail because I suspect this is destined for Issues & Politics....but...I have to ask: Is there something participants can get from a display like this that they can't get from the internet?

[CalicoPenn]

@@vumbi - personal contact

[Oldscout448]

A little off topic, but I was thinking that it serving at Jambo would be a cool way to "pay it back" then I saw the fees. No way I could afford it. Guess I'll just have to go to summer camp with the troop, or maybe do a 50 miler on the AT

[qwazse]

I may be teasing the third rail because I suspect this is destined for Issues & Politics....but...I have to ask: Is there something participants can get from a display like this that they can't get from the internet?

One of scouts (several Jamborees back) thought very highly of the Faith and Belief Pavillion. His specific example: instead of the Mormons coming to his door -- an intimidating prospect to him -- he could go to then with any questions he had and get friendly and helpful responses on his terms. The boy never joined LDS, but he learned a lot from them,

 

Here's what I suspect: BSA grossly overestimated Jambo attendance projections since the Centennial. I have no data nation wide, but interest among our scouts here is at an all time minimum. If they are now making more conservative projections, then they are bugging accordingly, which means recouping costs wherever they can.

 

The down side: this new payola scheme may not sit well with churches (like mine) who are on the cusp of deciding between chartering Boy Scouts vs. some other program.

[Krampus]

I'll bet you BSA's cost is no where near $1400 for what they provide.

[qwazse]

I'll bet you BSA's cost is no where near $1400 for what they provide.

Really? Churches pay 10 times that per year for youth ministers who may manage to retain 5-10 members from the effort. Ask a nationally focused denominational leader what he/she would pay for a week's access to 30,000 youth?

 

What's changing here, as @@SSScout points out, is BSA is moving from seeing denominational leadership as a service to our scouts to seeing our scouts as a service to denominational leadership.

 

P.S. - sorry for the lack of proofing in my last post. Should have been sleeping!

[Krampus]

Really? Churches pay 10 times that per year for youth ministers who may manage to retain 5-10 members from the effort. Ask a nationally focused denominational leader what he/she would pay for a week's access to 30,000 youth?

 

I'm talking about the cost of the materials BSA's provides. There's no way a 10x10 tent, crate floor, electric a few chairs and a table costs BSA more,than $500 for the week. Given their profit margin on everything else at jamboree they are making a killing.

[bsaggcmom]

Duffle bag, what duffle bag?  My council had been stating in their recruiting talks for Jambo that there won't be a duffle bag for participants or staff this time around. Don't know if other councils are doing them but it seems that a duffle is not in the national price this time.