How much does it cost to be active in your Troop?

[jeff-o]

Wow. I feel a bit small...

 

Dues: $0

Campouts: $6 per scout x 11/year = $66

Summer Camp: $200 (Usually offset by scholarships and popcorn sales by about $100-$150)

Special Trips: $40-$80 (Whitewater, Climbing, etc.)

 

Total out of pocket cost per year for scouts: Approx $125-$175.

[oldsm]

I don't know where people have gotten the idea that Scouting is or should be "free". I know we never stress that! Aside from looking for bargains and ways to do things without wasting money (a Scout IS thrifty), we make it clear to our families that the money spent will have a direct impact on the quality of the program and what their son gets out of it.

 

People "waste" a whole lot more money on "important" things that deliver a lot less (think movies, eating out, the latest styles, downloading from iTunes or Netflix, etc.) It's all about choices and priorities.

[SR540Beaver]

Annual fee - $65

Base outing fee - $15

Summer camp - $200ish

 

Then the really, really active ones who go on high adventure, NYLT, Jamborees, OA events pay a heck of a lot more.....but by choice.

 

My son and I will have ponied up $11,000 at a minimum for the both of us attending the 2005 and 2010 Jamboree.

[resqman]

Annual dues $75 or $85

Summer camp $225-250

Campouts $40 x 10

High Adventure for 14+ yr old $1200-$1500

 

Total $700-$800

[CNYScouter]

I didn't realize what things are costing in other parts of the country

 

Yearly Dues: $40 ($20 in Sept. - $20 in Jan.)

Registration - paid by CO (youth and adults)

Monthly campouts - $10-$12 for food - unit pays any rental fees

Summer Camp - went up to $300 for 2010 (Some leaders are free depending on amount of Scouts goings - others pay $100 for a week)

 

Any other special trips are paid for by the individuals going.

 

Part of all fundraisers go into a Scouts personal account to use towards aqny of the above

 

And we hear complants all the time about how much things cost around here!

[Oak Tree]

It will heavily depend on how many and which trips the Scout goes on.

 

Dues: $50

Summer Camp: $250

13 other activities: $500 (I'd guess we average closer to $40 per outing, rather than the $20 that seems more common. We're in line with resqman and Mafaking, apparently). This fee includes food, gas, camping fees, activities, etc. Essentially all the costs of a given trip are distributed over those who go.

 

Total: $800 (but no Scouts will actually do all 14 activities).

 

Our fundraisers cover equipment, awards, training fees, and other behind-the-scenes troop expenses.

 

The actual cost to families has to include uniforms, gear, and some cost of driving the Scouts around town (if you live 5 miles away, and go to 50 meetings a year - that's what? About $50?) Uniform cost per year, amortized, must be around $50 (with lots of variation). Gear varies wildly.

[hotdesk]

I understand that scouting is not suppose to be free and that scouts are to earn their own way.

 

HOWEVER, as an Eagle Scout I see scouting as a very important program that can mold youth into quality adults. Therefore, as Chartered Organization Rep. I find it very important that any young person who wants to participate in scouting, be given that opportunity.

 

In 2010 our chartered organization will pay the registration fees for the youth in our program that cannot afford scouting. The Cubmaster will recruit at least one volunteer who is responsible for securing uniforms and make sure that all scouts have a uniform that fits. And all activity fees and equipment expenses will be paid for through fundraisers.

 

 

[walk in the woods]

Great question and thanks for asking. In our Troop expenses are:

 

$40 annual dues (covers registration, boy's life, insurance and most patches, awards, etc.)

$250 or so, summer camp

 

All other outing expenses are covered by the Troop. Our Committee has decided not to do individual scout accounts or charge by the outing. Although, we do and will make exceptions to the latter on occassion. That said, our PLCs annual planning session this year developed a program that would have cost around $750 per scout (excluding summer camp and dues), we didn't get nearly that much from fundraising, so, we'll be cancelling events or only taking those willing to pay. It's a shame for those who did their share of fundraising.

[Eagle732]

Dues: $50 a year , includes BL

Summer Camp: about $300

11 monthly outings @ about $30 each: $330

(actual cost varies depending on transportation costs and camp fees but never more than $30 each)

TOTAL: $680

We do have funds available to help Scouts finically if needed.

[Oak Tree]

The highest dues listed here are $135. However, I've seen dues from $250 - $500, where the troop would use the money to pay for most all trip expenses throughout the year. This would have the effect of having the less active Scouts subsidize the more active ones, and would probably lean towards a self-selection factor of having only "more active" Scouts in the troop. It's an interesting approach.

 

Note: most of these troops do have policies that the dues should not stop anyone from joining and will subsidize the less-well-off.

[Aquila calva]

11/8/2009

 

This is an interesting exercise. Following is what it will cost an active 14-year-old to be in Scouting in our troop this year:

 

$ 80.00 Annual dues (includes registration, Boys Life, T-shirt, annual picnic, troop equipment, training, patches)

$ 226.00 Summer camp 2010

$ 147.00 Seven weekend troop campouts at $21 each

$ 82.00 Winter camping weekend including transportation

$ 25.00 Lock-in

$ 600.00 Northern Tier summer 2010, including transportation

$ 100.00 Extra gear for high adventure

$ 15.00 Order of the Arrow Lodge dues

$ 25.00 OA Fall Conclave

$ 18.00 Four (average?) merit badge books at $4.50 (rest from troop library)

_________

 

$1318.00 Total

 

If the Scout has outgrown his old uniform and gets the new one:

 

$ 34.99 Supplex Nylon Shirt, short sleeve

$ 49.99 New Switchbacks pants

$ 10.99 Boy Scout Cotton belt

_________

 

$1413.97 Total with uniform (plus patches and socks)

 

 

Our Council and our troop offer camperships, but they are rarely used.

 

Adult leaders pay their own annual registration fee and food expenses on campouts. Adults who drive to campouts usually pay their own gas expense. When a scout joins our troop they are given a neckerchief and slide. The Cub Pack they come from usually gives them a scout handbook. If not, the family buys it.

 

Our troop has an active money earning program and it uses the Scout account system. The 27 scouts have plenty of opportunity to earn their way in Scouting. And the scouts are advancing and having fun.

 

 

 

[SMT224]

This is an interesting discussion, and clearly Troop do things differently when it comes to money. I am especially curious about the cost of the monthly camping trip.

 

In our Troop, the campsite cost is typically $15 (for the entire Troop) for a weekend use of a Youth Group site at a State Park. The Troop treasury covers this. Each Patrol designates a food buyer who collects $10 from each Scout and buys food for the menu they developed. Thats it. No additional funds are collected from Scouts.

 

Costs listed in this forum for a Scout to attend a camping trip varied from Troop to Troop, from $6 to $10 to $20 to $40. I appreciate the cost break down by Mafaking, but I'm curious about others... where does the $$ go? Why is $40 per Scout necessary for a weekend campout? How is the $$ used? And jeff-o, how do you do a campout for $6?!

 

Note, I'm not at all challenging anyone here, or saying our way is better. Maybe it's not! But as we are commencing to get ready to start looking at our budget for 2010, it is good to know how other Troop do things.

 

Thanks!!

[Lisabob]

OK, I can give you a recent example. Our guys went climbing recently. Cost was about $40. That included the gym fee (about $28), campsite rental ($1), and food ($11).

 

The month before, they went fishing, no campsite fees, so total cost of $11 per boy.

 

I think that they could do $6/boy if the boys are bringing some food items from home or if the troop is supplying some of the main ingredients for some meals.

 

 

[Aquila calva]

Our troops seven weekend campouts average $21 per scout. This includes $11 for food and $10 camping fee. Our Council camps charge a $5 per person weekend fee (youth and adult), plus the price of the campsite or cabin and these fees can range from $0 to $150 for a weekend. Sometimes any deficit is paid from the troop account and sometimes there is a surplus contribution to the troop account. The biggest variable is the number of scouts attending each weekend event. It averages out over the year. We like to get the scouts a patch for the weekend campout and these can cost $2 each. It is tight budgeting. We can adjust the cost per scout each month if we know there will be a substantial variation from the normal $21.

[Mafaking]

 

Money, demographics, location all play a part in the campout location. We don't use the council camps a lot. They are far away and many other campsites of better quality can be found in between.

 

The scouts pick their campouts, so a plain old council campsite has little chance of getting selected over one where we rent boats and go fishing.

 

We use fundraisers to off set camping costs but no scout accounts. The funds are pooled and then distributed over common cost for the outing. Usually gas or rental equipment.

As was mentioned in one post, if mom and dad invested time or money in an event then there is as better chance the scout will make room on his schedule to attend that outing.

 

From a BSA program object scouting could do a better job of designing the fee structure to improve participation. The example of a fixed $500 fee to cover all campouts is a great impetuous to get the scouts to attend outings. The challenge is for the scouts to arrange/select their campouts to stay within this budget.

 

The crux is that we might be a $500 troop another may be a $1,000 troop and a third a $200 troop.

 

Wording could look like this:

"With the help of the Troop Treasurer and the SM, the SPL along with the PLC will establish a annual campout budget for the troop. The Budget will include all camping expenses including meals, camp fee and event costs. The SPL and PLC will then select the campout program that's meets this budget."

 

As leaders this is actually what we are doing anyway. Our programs are designed around the financial capacity of the troop's families. I just think there are ways to better use this inherent system to increase participation.