Starting a new troop: Budget items

[shortridge]

So you’re starting a new troop - boys’, girls’, or Martians’, it doesn’t matter. Can we talk about the nuts and bolts of startup unit budgeting?

- What line items do you need to have in your first few years’ worth of budget plans?How do you cover equipment, training, camping costs, awards and recognitions, space rental ...? 

- What costs do your troop dues cover vs. fundraising vs. direct fees (eg weekend camping costs & summer camp)?

- How did you go from having $0 in the bank to buying patrol camping gear and heading out on the first campout? What was that initial process like & where did the money come from?

- How did you scale up as you added Scouts? For example, if you had a troop of 12 Scouts and had 6 tents donated by the CO, how did you purchase the 2 new tents for the four Webelos who joined at crossover?

Thanks!

[ParkMan]

Hi @shortridge,

I've not been through this with a new unit, but have spent quite a bit of time watching unit budgeting and how we spend.  For what it's worth, here's my  thoughts.

1) your budget needs to cover awards, meeting supplies, training.  If you need to rent a space, it would need to cover that.

2) ideally your budget would have enough extra money to allow you to cover campsite reservations

3) For the first year or two, I think you could forego equipment expenses.  However, you need to assess if your troop families can provide the equipment.  In our troop, many scouts and families have accumulated equipment and so we could do this.  If your families can not provide equipment, I think you'd want to cover basic camp gear too.

My basic financial model would be:

- dues to cover operating expenses for the year.  Collect these upfront.

- charge up front per event.  Do signups early and ask families to pay in advance.

- I'd plan to run a surplus.  i.e., you want to have $500 in the bank at the end of the year to build up reserves.

- conduct fundraisers of some sort to raise capital for big ticket expenses.  if you find your families cannot supply equipment then set a goal to fundraise to acquire it.

[qwazse]

In terms of budget cycle, most troops want to take stock of accounts after all summer camp money is spent. That would include purchases of awards for the CoH. The checkbook balance is probably your lowest at that point.

Our troop doesn't have tents. So, I can't tell you when to make those purchases for those new webelos.

But, it sounds like you're on the right track of making a reasonable plan for growth, that helps set the mark for fundraisers.

[DuctTape]

A start-up can seem daunting, especially with "no patrol gear". I will focus on just this aspect. As it can also provide for the best opportunities for the scouts to learn and grow.

Scouts will all need their own personal camping gear anyway. Start there. They can either budget and buy, or DIY. Mess kit, scout knife, utensils, sleeping bag/mat, backpack. 

Cooking can be done as individuals in a patrol setting. Imagine each scout prepping and cooking their own meal (or as buddies) with their personal mess kits (or aluminum foil) over an open fire. They will learn quickly before they cook for a group. They will also learn who are the best cooks in the patrol, as well as the best fire-makers, etc... 

For sleeping. The scouts all need their own sleeping bag. Poly tarps are cheap and make great shelters. Buddies learn to pitch them as enclosed shelters, or open. As a patrol, they are all near each other. With multiple pitch styles, they also learn who is best at erecting a tarp shelter and tying knots and lashings. The upfront costs here are minimal for the rope and tarps. 

For a camping area, the scouts can find a private property owner who is willing to let them camp on his property. The scouts usually offer to do a service project as a trade. Even if it is just picking up trash. Many property owners are extremely happy to accomodate. 

To start building patrol gear, scouts can raise money through fundraisers, or build their own. For purchasing, I recommend scrounging yard sales for pots, pans, utensils, axes, saws, tents, etc... I have picked up enough gear to outfit full troops for pennies on the dollar. The great thing about the cheap used stuff is that it was cheap. Its ok if it gets wrecked as they are learning to use it.

[shortridge]

10 hours ago, qwazse said:

Our troop doesn't have tents. So, I can't tell you when to make those purchases for those new webelos.

That’s a model I’ve heard of but not seen in action. Do your Scouts all own and bring their own tents?

 

28 minutes ago, DuctTape said:

Poly tarps are cheap and make great shelters. Buddies learn to pitch them as enclosed shelters, or open. 

Tents are the biggest-pricetag item, for sure. I’ve been looking at DIY tarp options, but the psychological factor of a first camping trip in February with “just a tarp” may be a lot to overcome. Thanks for the other comments!

[Eagledad]

Call the DE or Committee Commissioner, explain the situation and ask if they know of a troop that can loan a couple of tents, stoves and cooking equipment. There may even be a Chartering Organization with a defunct troop looking to move their equipment. 

Barry

[ParkMan]

23 minutes ago, shortridge said:

That’s a model I’ve heard of but not seen in action. Do your Scouts all own and bring their own tents?

 

Tents are the biggest-pricetag item, for sure. I’ve been looking at DIY tarp options, but the psychological factor of a first camping trip in February with “just a tarp” may be a lot to overcome. Thanks for the other comments!

Our troop is the same.  Our Scouts all own their own tents.

When Scouts cross over from Webelos, they work as a group to see who has tents.  Generally there are enough tents amongst them that we get 2 or 3 scouts in a tent.  Over the first year or two in the troop most scouts acquire their own and then we have plenty.  Occasionally we have to scare up a tent or two - but not that often.

I like this model as troop tents are expensive and high maintenance.  Scouts also tend to take better care of things they own and tents are fragile.

Unless you come from an economically disadvantaged area, I'd see if you'd get enough families willing to buy their scouts a tent in order to make it work.  I'd stay away from tarps.

[Treflienne]

23 minutes ago, ParkMan said:

I'd see if you'd get enough families willing to buy their scouts a tent in order to make it work.

There are an overwhelming number of tents available for sale,  all different types.    A reccomendation of what to buy, that would be suitable for scouts camping with the troop, would be helpful for the families, if you decide to go this route.

[walk in the woods]

Talk to  your CO about making a startup donation.  Also talk with them about service opportunities your young scouts could take on right away.

[qwazse]

1 hour ago, shortridge said:

That’s a model I’ve heard of but not seen in action. Do your Scouts all own and bring their own tents? ...

Well about 1/2 or fewer bring their own tents. Boys decide among themselves who's bringing whose tent. The "or fewer" is on account of older scouts who tend to be "tarpologists" or hammockers.

I've encouraged this out of memories of being in college in the big city and wanting to "get out" but not having ever bought a tent of my own and suddenly on a tight budget, I had to rely on the generosity of strangers. Son #1 came into the troop with a family-size armory of canvas. He soon saved up for his own (or got it for a present, can't remember). Mrs. Q, would bargain hunt and garage sale. so our family was well stocked with the intention that our kids would be able to provide for their buddies. Other families were of similar ilk. And, most of us don't like to see gear sitting idle.

I guess it depends on the culture of your community.

The troop does have a small collection of lightweight models for boys who want to try a backpacking tent.

[Eagle1993]

1 hour ago, Eagledad said:

Call the DE or Committee Commissioner, explain the situation and ask if they know of a troop that can loan a couple of tents, stoves and cooking equipment. There may even be a Chartering Organization with a defunct troop looking to move their equipment. 

Barry

Definitely a good idea.  We had a local Troop run a service project once where they colllected old camping gear from the scouting community.  These could be individually owned or old Troop equipment.  The scouts then setup and tested the equipment and donated the usable items to new or struggling Troops.   I thought this  as a great idea as there is a lot of equipment gathering dust.  

[DuctTape]

2 hours ago, shortridge said:

That’s a model I’ve heard of but not seen in action. Do your Scouts all own and bring their own tents?

 

Tents are the biggest-pricetag item, for sure. I’ve been looking at DIY tarp options, but the psychological factor of a first camping trip in February with “just a tarp” may be a lot to overcome. Thanks for the other comments!

A tarp can be configured to be an enclosed tent. But, you are correct about first time in Feb.  

[qwazse]

3 hours ago, DuctTape said:

A tarp can be configured to be an enclosed tent. But, you are correct about first time in Feb.  

The problem about tarps (and most modern tents with low-slung flys) in winter: to keep "exhalation frost" from building up on everything, it's actually best to allow for a lot of ventilation. So the trick is proper alignment of vents, and bodies. That requires lots of practice that 1st years obviously do not have.

In the days canvas floorless tents, piling snow around piled around the walls of the tent not only blocked wind, but attracted condensation. So even in calm frozen nights when the flaps weren't kicking open, canvas walls were frost-free on the inside. (Although folding them at the base could be rough if you packed the snow to tight!)

[fred johnson]

6 hours ago, shortridge said:

Do your Scouts all own and bring their own tents?

I've been in multiple troops that do it differently.  Scouts bringing their own tent makes life easier for the adults.  BUT, there are lots of benefits to the troop owning the tents.  It gives the QM something meaningful to do.  It gives the troop things to do at meetings (setup, clean, put away, etc).  It's also a great leveling aspect as everyone has the same stuff.  It doesn't become a competition for who has the best tent.  Also, you can avoid scouts bringing party tents.  I swear half the trouble at night is when you have five or six scouts sharing one tent.  There is something about two in a tent that causes them to fall asleep faster.  Most importantly, everyone having matching tents makes for a sharp looking camp site.  

Our troop had matching tents for ten plus years.  We replace one every other year or so.  Now, I'd say we are at about one new tent a year and we have 15+ in our trailer.  

For a new troop, I'd avoid big cost items.  Heck, I'd think it might be cool to have a patrol go to a second hand shop (goodwill, savers, ...) and have them pick out what they need.  Silverware.  Plates.  Cups.  Skillets.  Etc.  It would be a cool way to stock a patrol.  Plus, when the patrol crashes, donate that patrol's stuff and let the new patrol go shopping again.  I bet you could get most of the cook stuff for under $20 from a second hand shop.  Except lanterns and stove.  

[thrifty]

Our troop charges $30 above the required fee.  This provides a necker, slide, patrol patch and advancement/MBs the first year.  All campouts including summercamp  are charged separately in advance. 

Try and network.  Does someone's grandfather or someone at the CO own some property where you can camp?  What about shooting sports/hunting clubs in the region?

beg and borrow equipment in the beginning.  many communities have facebook pages devoted to local happenings, post that the new troop is looking for tents and items that might be taking up space in someone's garage.  people are happy to help the scouts when they can and maybe that old tent will only last a year but by then there should be some fundraiser money in the bank.  Also, depending on what tents you eventually buy, do not pay retail!  Several companies give scout discounts on tents.

we sell popcorn and do an annual fundraiser as well.  the two combined replace any needed tents and purchase any new equipment like staves or rope.  our troop also assists with leadership training costs so some cash goes there.