Fundraising<?>

[LostParent]

I am not sure this falls completely into a fundraising jar, but most of it does.

My sons Troop formed a sister Troop of female scouts a couple of years prior to Covid. I have daughters and I am thankful that this door is an open path to adventure for them (although they have no interest <sniff>). However, the concept is not all colorful and has some dark shades of grey.

The two units seem to share funds, but the female troop takes more than it appears to kick in during unit fundraising events. We have had to do shuffling of schedules and even canceled fundraising events because the girls did not show. I am not sure why the troops are not run independently but I can say for certain they are fiscally joined at the hip. This is the root of my question.

Being a non-profit I assume there is an annual report or something that should be shared with the parents so we can see the health of the Troop(s) - but there is not. At least not that I can find. Am I off base? Is there a way to confirm or even pacify my suspicions? For the record I am the face that is speaking out there is a host of parents behind me; one even has a scout in each the male and female units.

 

 

[fred8033]

The non-profit is the charter organization (if there is a non-profit).  Troops don't incorporate; charter orgs do.  So, "if they are sister troops", then they are probably under the same non-profit.  It's okay for a non-profit to have a fundraiser and then share the results with their specific missions / sub-groups as they see fit.  Scouting dollars almost always stay in scouting (99.99% of the time); but that is not even a hard rule.  

The non-profit "should" have an annual report, but that's for the bigger non-profit organization (church, etc).   Scouting is an arms-length program that works mostly separately.  Finances don't co-mingle with charter org "usually".  In fact, the charter org almost never sees the scouting money.  So, don't expect scouting in the charter org annual reports.  ... BUT ... I'd hope the troop publishes their financial state at least once a year.  Ideally, once a month.  BUT, it's not required.

My question is what was communicated for how the fundraisers would work.  If they are following that, they are good.  If you don't agree, you can advocate for change.   The best way to do that is to get more involved in the unit.  Another way is to stop participating in fundraising.  

My real question is are they closely tied or loosely tied.  One charter org?  One committee?  One committee chair?  Do they camp together often?  Do they have a single or overlapping schedule?  If so, they sharing funds makes sense.  ... on the other hand ... if they are a different committee and different schedule and don't overlap, the funds seem like they should be separate.  

It's really up to the leaders in the unit to setup the expectations and communicate.  

Edited October 25, 2023 by fred8033

[LostParent]

Fred,

Thank you for your reply, you have enlightened me. To shed light on your curious probes I have tried to answer what I could below:

2 hours ago, fred8033 said:

My question is what was communicated for how the fundraisers would work.  If they are following that, they are good.  If you don't agree, you can advocate for change.   The best way to do that is to get more involved in the unit.  Another way is to stop participating in fundraising.  

This is where part of the issue is, anyone can communicate what the intention is, but there is no backstop that is seen to backup what we are told.

2 hours ago, fred8033 said:

My real question is are they closely tied or loosely tied.  One charter org?  One committee?  One committee chair?  Do they camp together often?  Do they have a single or overlapping schedule?  If so, they sharing funds makes sense.  ... on the other hand ... if they are a different committee and different schedule and don't overlap, the funds seem like they should be separate.  

This to me is not as straight forward as I believe it should be. They seem closely tied only at the financials - that is what I seek to confirm or disprove. One charter. One Committee that works for both Units. Two chairs one for the Girls one for the Boys (which is odd to me like having two CEO’s?). Co-Ed only happens at large (district<?>) events (Webelos woods, Polar Bear) monthly campouts and events always happen separately often not even at the same properties. The girl troop appears at first glance to only be a leech to the boy troop I do believe it to be scouting related and not theft; however, it seems to not allow a proper exercise in earning your own keep.

Edited October 25, 2023 by LostParent

[LostParent]

I am reading other threads and feel that I need to come here and scream this.... <sorry if it's not obvious>

My post is not a bash the girls point of view. I welcome the girls and have (2) of my own. I think accepting girls and allowing them to achieve equal merit and recognition for their journeys in life is a great thing. While I speak to girl and boy troops within this thread it ONLY applies to how the two units I am exposed to are run and simply the murky water that the management I am exposed to is creating. This has nothing to do with BSA, Girls in the BSA, Girls in scouting or any "gender" views you want to attempt to extrapolate from my comments.

[fred8033]

32 minutes ago, LostParent said:

This is where part of the issue is, anyone can communicate what the intention is, but there is no backstop that is seen to backup what we are told.

All the involved leaders are volunteers.  Often doing the best they can. 

We as parents easily get stressed or incensed as our kids and our cash is involved.  ...  We'd hope finances from the fundraiser and how they are used would be clearly reported and shared.  Often though, it's at the time and energy of those involved.  At times, I was just happy when the treasurer made the deposits in a timely manor.  ... Or reimbursed people in the same week.  ... Be careful what you wish for.  You might end up as the fundraiser coordinator or treasurer. 

BUT ... your request is not unreasonable.  I'd want the same info.  I'm just saying the leaders are volunteers and might be doing the best they can.

 

32 minutes ago, LostParent said:

This to me is not as straight forward as I believe it should be. They seem closely tied only at the financials - that is what I seek to confirm or disprove. One charter. One Committee that works for both Units. Two chairs one for the Girls one for the Boys (which is odd to me like having two CEO’s?). Co-Ed only happens at large (district<?>) events (Webelos woods, Polar Bear) monthly campouts and events always happen separately often not even at the same properties. The girl troop appears at first glance to only be a leech to the boy troop I do believe it to be scouting related and not theft; however, it seems to not allow a proper exercise in earning your own keep.

"Paperwork" wise, each unit (pack, troop, etc) always has it's own committee chair, committee, scoutmaster, and leaders.  The Charter org has ONE charter org rep above the units to coordinate scouting in the charter org. 

If the units are tightly tied, the paperwork could show the same person as COR and CC for all units involved.  It's happened.    It's really up to the volunteer leaders and how they want to structure it and how much they can handle.   I'm not surprised that the boys troop and the girls troop have separate CCs but overlapping committee members.  

To really figure this out and understand more, often the best place to start is a smile, a handshake and friendly cup of coffee.  Build the friendships first.  Ask the questions second.  

 

 

 

Edited October 25, 2023 by fred8033

[LostParent]

Fred,

 

Got it understood... thank you for hearing me out.

[fred8033]

@LostParent ... Wishing you the best.  Scouting can be frustrating.  Try to focus on the positive and the good experiences.  The times goes really quick.

Edited October 26, 2023 by fred8033