NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #3/NN_1993_3.iso/spool/rec/scouting/4502

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From: [e-mail] (Danny Schwendener)
Subject: rec.scouting FAQ  #7: Fund Raising Ideas
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Followup-To: poster
Keywords: fundraising money scout wolf cub pack troop faq
Sender: [e-mail] (Danny Schwendener)
Organization: Pfadi Glockenhof, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1993 08:29:55 GMT
Approved: [e-mail]
Expires: Sat, 13 Mar 1993 08:29:45 GMT
Lines: 997

Archive-name: scouting/7_fund-raising
Last-Modified: 1992/12/24

This file contains a number of ideas to raise funds in a pack or
a troop (in addition to the funding by the unit's chartering
organization). Thanks to [e-mail] (Marc Godbout)
for collecting some of these ideas.


If you have a good idea that hasn't been included in this FAQ,
please do all of us the favour. Write it up and post it on rec.scouting.
Drop me a copy too to make sure that I include it in this file.


This file is in digested format, like all FAQ files on this newsgroup.
If you're using nn as newsreader, type 'G %" to split the digest into
individual postings. In bn or rn, typing control-G should cause the
reader to skip to the next posting within this file.

There are eight FAQ files in the rec.scouting FAQ series. The FAQ files
are posted in regular intervals (one file every three or four days)
on rec.scouting, rec.answers and news.answers. They can also be
retrieved through anonymous FTP from ftp.ethz.ch (path: rec.scouting/).

As the FAQ files are updated regularly, make sure that you have the
latest copy in your hands.

-- Danny Schwendener         [e-mail]
   Wolfsmeute Nidau/Glockenhof, Sihlstr. 33, CH-8001 Zurich, Switzerland
   m.h.c. Troop 14, San Francisco


----------------------------------------------------------------
From: [e-mail] (Joseph Combs)
Subject: Fund Raising Ideas - Christmas Trees and Doughnuts

I'm an ASM with a fairly large troop (approximately 50 boys).  Our sole
fundraiser for the past seven years has been an annual Christmas tree sale.
Until recently we have always done well with this and have never needed to
supplement our income.

This past year we purchased a new trailer and had several major repairs as
well as maintenance expenses on our bus, leaving our backup funds quite low.
We are looking for ways to bring additional money into the troop's treasury
and would appreciate any suggestions.  Our previous fundraiser was Doughnut
sales after our chartering organization's Sunday services.  This worked well
but became too expensive to make a reasonable profit.


--------------------------------
From: [e-mail] (Steve Steiner)
Subject: Fund Raising Ideas - Shop and Share

Our Pack does the following:

The local grocery store chain (Jewel) will run a fund raiser called Shop
and Share.  This entails the scouts and leaders to distribute (not in front
of the store) coupons.  These coupons are then given to the cashiers at the
time of payment for a customers groceries.  The pack then receives 5% of
the before tax purchase price for that customer.  Its simple, no selling
involved, and the best part is that everybody has to go to the grocery
store.  Now for the particulars.  Jewel will give our pack the coupons, and
set the dates that they are good for (usually a 3 day period).  They
(Jewel) will do this for three months out of the year.

The other fund raiser we do is also a non selling thing.  The local Burger
King will allow our boys and leaders to be in the restaurant for a minimum
of 4 hours.  During this time, the boys will perform the chores of the
employees that take care of the dining room (sweep the floor, wipe tables,
pick up garbage).  We then get 20% of the sales for those hours we're
there.


--------------------------------
From:  [e-mail] (m19701)
Subject: Fund Raising Ideas - Meadow Pie Lotto


One of the "fun" fund raising activities I've seen recently was a
"Meadow Pie Lotto" (also called a Paddy Drop, a Meadow Muffin, and numerous
other names).  Basic rules seem to be a) get a field and mark it off into
sections (our high school used the football field so square yards were
easy), b) number each section and sell numbers (I favor putting the numbers
into gelcaps and letting folks draw one out of a fish bowl), and c)  over
feed a cow and let loose onto field (no people allowed onto field but
yelling, coaxing, etc. is allowed).  The first square to rec've a Meadow
Muffin wins first prize, second wins second, and, obviously third wins
third.  Line drops can either be split or officially measured to determine
the owner of the largest plop.  If no winner (or cow paddy) winners can be
drawn, cow can be left in field longer, or whole event to have a back up.
I admit, it was really an exciting event (ever seen a few hundred people
cheer just because a cow dropped a load?)  Cow was in field for an hour or
so.  School held flea market/garage sale at same time.  Big bucks were made
and first prize was significant (for a high school fund raiser).


--------------------------------
From: [e-mail] (ANDREW EDGAR)
Subject: Fund Raising Ideas - Beer and Wine Night

I am crew leader for the Grace Logan Rover Crew 1st Upwey only recently
restarted so fund raising is a major consideration. Going through a list of
done to death ideas we decided on a wine and cheese night which the Group
hadn't done for some time.
We put the idea to a Cub father who was standing around and he said he'd
rather be home with a beer.
BINGO.
A beer & wine night, which pleases most people and is a faily novel idea.

The point being that you can use a 'done to death' activity, change it and
your probably on a winner. Probably because the above mentioned night hasn't
gone on yet. But if an idea is similar to that which people know,
changed to make it attractive so they go and find out what its like, you
should do ok.


--------------------------------
From: [e-mail] (Bob Warburton)
Subject: Fund Raising Ideas - Christmas wreaths and pizzas

We receive no funds from the chartering org. or from the council.

Our big fund-raiser for the year is Christmas wreaths. We use
about 3 tons of pine branches (ordered thru a local greenhouse)
and 12" metal rings. Usually make about 500 wreaths. I don't have
figures but this usually pays for the troop program for the year.
That includes re-charter, patches, awards, and troop equipment.

For the boys: about 5 times a year we sell and make pizzas.
The boys receive $.50 for selling a pizza, $.50 for helping
make pizzas, and $.50 if a parent or adult helps, also. This
money goes into an account to pay for campouts or equipment.
It can either directly pay for outings, or they can get ap-
proval from the troop committee for equipment. They then make
the purchase and turn in the receipt for reimbursement. If a
boy leaves the troop and is not re-registered at the end of
the year, the money goes back into the troop general fund.


--------------------------------
From:  [e-mail] (Steve Myers)
Subject: Fund Raising - Bike-a-Thon, Popcorn, Coupons, Craft & Bake, Donuts

Troop 1 of the Great Trail Council, Akron, OH, USA  is currently using
the following fund raising ideas.

1.  We sell the Trails End popcorn pushed by the local Council.  We sell
the items for $5 to $10 and make a 40% profit for the unit.  We give
our scouts $1 for every unit sold on his own initiative which goes
into his summer camp fund.  Last year 1 scout went to summer camp
fully paid and a second only had to pay about $20.

    We also take the popcorn door-to-door in targeted neighborhoods
and sell it 1 time after the morning church service.  We also sell
it outside a local supermarket on a morning and at the local Mall
for 1 day.

2.  We sell something called the Entertainment Book (for $28.00) and
make $6.50 on each ($7.50 if we top 100 units sold).  The book has
thousands of coupons in it and are quite useful.  Last year their was $100
off a plane fare - so what a deal.

3.  We hold a craft and bake sale at a different local Church than the
one we sponsor (so as not to tap out our sponsor).  We reimburse our
parents for the cost of good sold and keep the rest.

4.  We are currently exploring the possibility of selling coffee and
donuts (and other stuff...) at a local polling booth during the
rapidly approaching election day.

4.  A bike-a-thon.  Our camp is about 25 miles round trip from our
sponsor.  Each boy gets friends and family and others to sponsor
his ride.  Say each boy gets $3.00 per mile in pledges and we have
10 boys complete - - that's $750.00 revenue.  We bike 12.5 miles
to camp on Friday.  Set up and camp for the weekend.  Bike back on
Sunday.  The best part - other than the pledge work, the boys
don't even realize how much is being made.  Get a local bike shop
to sponsor you.  They can provide you with a complete line of
supplies to fix tires and other problems on the road - on consignment -
meaning that the scout only has to buy the item if it is used.
Bike shop gets some free pub.  Maybe they will do a "free" service
clinic before you set out.  Hey. Where are they going to buy the
items to fix their bikes before they begin???


--------------------------------
From: [e-mail] (Mike Schatzberg)
Subject: Fund Raising Ideas - Dinners, Christmas Trees

Our Troop (T3, Caldwell, New Jersey, USA) does not receive any funds from our
sponsering organization.  They only supply a meeting place and storage
facilities for the Troop and a Cub Scout Pack.

Our Troop caters dinners at the sponsering organization building (a church).
We use the kitchen to cook in and a large room to serve the dinner in.  Our
Scoutmaster is the chef and the Scouts set up the tables, serve the food, clean
up and wash dishes.  Various adults, both Moms and Dads, lend a hand.  Truly a
Troop and parents project.  A typical dinner is for 120 people.

Our Troop budget is taken care of by 4-5 dinners a year and $20/Scout dues.
Adults dues are taken care of by the Troop.  The only additional moneys are for
camping trips, where all attending are asked to pay for food only.  Site rental
and equipment is paid out of the Troop treasury.

Another Troop in town raises its money by selling Christmas trees.  This large
Troop has been doing this for a long time and now grosses about $20,000/year.
About half is used to pay for next year's trees and half is put into the
treasury.  Selling takes about two weeks and every Scout and a member of the
family is asked to take a shift selling, thus reducing the amount of time
anyone spends selling to a minimum.  Those who will not sell trees must pay
money for any trips that are free for those who do sell.  The Troop has a least
one or two high adventure (Seabase or Philmont) trips a year, which are greatly
reduced in cost by this fundraising.

Looking forward to your compilation of fundraising ideas.  If there are enough,
I'd be glad to typeset the results into a booklet.  We could sell it and raise
funds for Troops!  8}).


--------------------------------
From:  [e-mail] (Troye Kauffman)
Subject: Fund Raising Ideas - Lemon Shake-up


 Our pack runs a lemonade stand at a local festival.  The lemonade is more
 properly called a "lemon shake-up" because of the way it is made, and the
 inclusion of lemon chunks in the drink.  Here is the recipe:

 Cut a lemon into eighths.  Put 3/8's of the lemon into a sturdy glass.  Mash
 the lemon chunks until most of the juice is squeezed out. Use a scoop from
 a commercial drimk mix to measure out one scoop of sugar into the glass.
 Fill the glass with ice, then fill with water.  Place a paper or plastic
 cup over the mixing cup, turn upside down, and shake.

 We charge $1 apiece, and sell about 1400 cups in two days.  Our expenses
 are about $350, which include:
 $140 for the spot to put the stand
 $40 for the cups
 $50 for the ice
 $120 for the sugar and lemons.

 An ice vendor brought the ice in a freezer unit, and we took what we needed
 out of the freezer.  After we closed up, the vendor picked up the freezer,
 and billed us for the ice used.

 We count up the total hours worked by adults, and compute an "hourly wage"
 based on a portion of profits to be used by the boys for scouting expenses.


--------------------------------
From:   [e-mail] (Don Newcomb)
Subject: Fund Raising Ideas - Target Riflery

This is an interesting one that will probably raise some eyebrows.
I expect that most people reading this will have never heard of my
favorite sport, highpower target rifle, much less have any idea
how it is conducted. One aspect of the game is that bull's-eye
targets are raised from behind a protected earthen/cement berm (wall)
called the "pit" on a device that works like an old style window
sash. When the target is hit, it is pulled back into the pit and
the hole is marked and the value (score) is indicated. In a regular
match the competitors take turns at "pit duty" and "on the line".
While some might find the idea of having rifle bullets flying about
10 feet over their heads unnerveing, it is really safer than most other
sports. The most likely injury in the pit is getting hit on the head
by the target carrier if you decide to bend over to tie your shoe and
your partner pulls the target down. The berm is 10 feet high and
14 feet thick at the thinnest point.

Now having given you this introduction to the pits, I will introduce you
to Bill, the club President. Bill is planing to hold a clinic with
coaches from the NRA and Army Rifle Team in which marksmen would spend
a lot of time "on the line" with the coaches working on technique.
The marksmen would be paying for the clinic and would probably not
want to give up time with the coaches to go do "pit duty". So Bill
is looking for a group who would like "work the pits" as a fund
raiser. The first group he thought about was Boy Scouts.

My response was not entirely positive. "Bill, do you have any earthly
idea just how liability shy the BSA has become in the last few years?
Its almost to the point that you can't go on a canoe trip with out
a helicopter with a Navy rescue diver hovering overhead! I'm sure as
soon as you mention the word 'rifle' they'll skitter away like so
many jackrabbits."

So, what do you think, here is a profitable, honorable fund raiser.
Would it have a "snowball's chance" of being allowed by BSA?

--------------------------------
From: [e-mail] (Danny Schwendener)
Subject: Re: Target Riflery as fund raiser

> So, what do you think, here is a profitable, honorable fund raiser.
> Would it have a "snowball's chance" of being allowed by BSA?

High power target riflery is a mandatory activity for every swiss
adult male until age 45, and I've shot, oh well, enough times to be
able to talk about the proposal.

In my opinion, there are two issues there. The first one is ethical.
If you set this plan to reality, you will find more than one parent
opposed to the project, because they don't want to involve their kids
with 'lethal weapons' (e.g. material originally built to kill). It will
depend on your rhetorical skills that the general opinion among parents
won't shift to the opposition or (worse) to a split. FYI, our town
(Zurich, Switzerland) organizes a yearly HPTR tournament for boys
and girls aged 13 through 16. Average attendance is 1400 competitors.
This has worked for a century now without any problems.

The second issue is safety, but this will be easier to cope with. There
are a few simple rules you should add to your standard safety rule set
when working with youngsters:
- only work with older kids (14 and up). Do not allow smaller scouts on
  the area, especially in the pit. This will avoid the situation where
  a kid wants to leave the pit a minute before open fire because he's
  left his chewing gum in the car.
- Have at least one trained supervisor for four marksmen/targets - no
  matter how you train the scouts before, the questions will flow when
  the activity begins. _Don't_ give these supervisors a target to work
  on. These people will be responsible to handle questions regarding
  marking, to help out if one of the target jams, and to make sure that
  all safety rules are respected.
- If the scouts get access to the stand (they will at least on three
  occasions - before the competition starts, during lunch break and
  at the end), tell them imperatively not to touch any weapon without
  the supervision of an instructor.

--------------------------------
From:         "Foley, Mary Lee" <[e-mail]>
Subject:      Fund Raising Ideas - Superbowl sub sandwiches

Our pack has sold sub sandwiches on Superbowl Sunday for several years.
We begin taking orders about 3-4 weeks before the game, with deadline
1 week before the game. The sale seems to work best if the delivery
date is a day when you expect many people to be home and not inclined
to spend much time preparing food.

We have three varieties of subs: deluxe, ham and cheese, and freezer.
All three sell for $2.00, with amounts of ingredients adjusted so that
all are pretty equal in value.

We ask each boy to sell 20 subs, but there are no hard feelings towards
those who sell 2 or three. Others make up the difference, so that the
averages of the past 3 years ranged from 23 to 27 subs per boy.

Profit has ranged from $.96 to $1.03; it is dependent on total sales,
current prices for produce, and whether we could get a discount for
Scouts. We made only $900 this year because our pack shrank; the two
previous years' profits were $1025 and $1156.

Note for those who are serious: calculating quantities to purchase can
be tricky. If anyone wants the information, I would be glad to supply
the recipe and helpful hints such as slices per pound, quarts of dressing,
etc. My husband has been the chairman for 3 years, so I have accurate
numbers and tips for chairmen.


--------------------------------
From:         [e-mail] (Chris Haggerty)
Subject:      Fund Raising - Part Time Jobs (for expensive trips)

The only easy way to raise that kind of money before summer is selling
something expensive which people will buy (fertilizer if you are in an area
where people have lawns is one example).  The only way you are going to
make money is if the boys will SELL.  My experience is, most will not.

Dividing your $18,000 by 24 I come up with the number $750 per person.  I
do not know how much is for transporation and how much Philmont fee are now
(I was last there in 1970 and we took a charter plane from Detroit with a
total trip cost of around $300 per/scout).  If you are traveling by bus or
some other less costly way (I have know groups to even rent vans for trips
like this) and the philmont fees are still resonable, then I would like to
suggest the following:

DO NOT BUY ALL THAT EQUIPMENT.  You do not need to have $100 to $200 packs
and frames.  In most cases, unless the kid will be using the pack and frame
for the rest of their lives (most will not), get cheap ones or better yet,
make your own.  Sure it is a little bit heavier, maybe a litte bit more
awkward, but you are going to live with it for only 10 days.  I have heard
people go to the pound on the 25% weight rule.  Unless you are going
STRENOUS at Philmont, properly prepared scouts can carry more if need be.
Those that go STRENOUS should all be cross-country runners.  The big one in
our group at Philmont found rocks in his pack one day, after he finished
the day's nine mile hike.  All he said was, "I thought the pack seemed a
little heavier."  If they can not do that, then they should avoid the
strenous trips.  Slow down and enjoy the activities at Philmont.

Tents, are you buying lightwight backpack tents.  Do not bother unless your
troop will be using this.  For a one trip trip I suggest Traps.  They are
light wight, can be combined to make bigger tents and depending on size can
keep two or more scouts quite dry, even in a Philmont summer rain (It does
rain there).

There are lots of resources on making your own equipment and doing this
stuff makes for good scout meeting activity.

A last thought on fund raising.  You found out how much work, time and
effort it took you to rasie the money from the dinner.  Unless you are
willing to do that every week for the next 60 weeks or so, I would like to
recommend the following.  TELL THE SCOUTS TO GET PART TIME JOBS AND EARN
THE MONEY.  Maybe the adults in the troop can help the scouts find
something.  I deleivered newspapers, cut grass, etc,  to earn money in
order to go to the 1969 Jamboree (my parents paid about half of this),
for Philmont (I paid for all of this and for the III Pan American Jamboree
in Botogta, Colombia (I paid all of this as well). (A note about the Pan
American Jamboree, this was in 1974 and cost about $500, if I could earn
that kind of money while keeping a B+ average in high school and going to
three scout meetings a week and wrestling after school, then 16 years latter
$750 should not be that big of a problem for a motivated youth.) I realize
this is tough for those under 16 years of age, but a resourceful scout can
cut lawns, run errans, help people clean the garages on Saturdays or offer
similiar cleaning services.  Remember, you do not have to have hi-tech
backpacking equipment.  Low tech works just fine if you let it.  I do not
know the wood situation in Philmont now, but our hi-tech backpacking stoves
were wood fires!  The lightest stove gear I have ever carried, just a bunch
matches.

Sorry for the long lecture, but my feelings on raising the money are, give
them an opportunity to raise unlimited funds (usually selling popcorn or
some other product).  Those that go out and sell, raise the money.  Those
that do not, have to come up with it on their own.  I will give them the
opportunity, but I will not break my back to provide financing for a scout
who will not the same for himself.  It is one of the lessions to be learned
in scouts, we are not all salesmen, those who are not and can not learn to
be salesmen have to work for a living. (Selling is considered work, but in
the context of fundraising projects, most-not all-require selling.)


--------------------------------
From:         [e-mail]
Subject:      Fund Raising Ideas - Duck Race, Balloon Animals

Hi Folks.
               In my troop we have an event called a duck race.  We have a huge
supply of yellow plastic ducks.  Each of these has a number painted on it's
underside.  Several weeks before the event we sell numbered tickets one for
each duck.  On the day of the race we dump all the ducks in the river at our
local park.  A quarter of a mile downstream one of the leaders has a net strung
across the river to catch the ducks.  The first ten or so ducks to reach the
finish line win a prize for their ticket holders.  We have the scouts posted
along the river bank with sticks to free any ducks that get caught in the
reeds.  This has become a regular local event and the council publicise it free
for us as we run it on the day of the town's water carnival.  Several times a
year other organisations hire our ducks from us to run similar events.

    I do children's parties in my spare time and use empty 35mm film
cannisters for a couple of the games.  You will probably find that your local
film processing shop throw these away.  If you ask nicely they will save them
for you.  They are great for all sorts of games and a host of other projects.
They come in black and also clear.  You could if you wished use these instead
of the ducks for a water race.  Sell tickets with peoples names and addresses
on and seal them in the containers prior to dumping them in a stream.  Make
sure you don't lose any though, we don't want to get accused of littering the
countryside do we.

    In my role as a children's entertainer I also sell balloon models to
raise money.  The balloons that I use are called skinny balloons and I make an
animal from one balloon.  These balloon animals I sell for 25p each.  They cost
me #5.50 for a bag of a 144 balloons.  Even if I get 20% breakages which is
extremely rare you can see that I make quite a healthy profit.  I buy my
balloons from America where the folks can get them for about half what it costs
me, as I have to pay import duty and VAT on my balloons.  If anyone wants the
address drop me a line.

--------------------------------
From:         [e-mail]
Subject:      Prices for modelling balloons for fund raising.

Hi Folks.
               I have just been in touch with Balloon Box, the company in the
States that I get my modelling balloons from.  Their latest price for a gross
(144) bag of 260E modelling balloons is $5.20.
    For England and Europe you have to add to this 25% for shipping.  I
normally order twenty or so bags at a time and sell each balloon after making
it into an animal for 25 pence.  Over the years I have raised a bob or two for
my scout troop with these.  As each balloon works out at about 4 pence to buy
this makes quite a nice fund raiser.  I don't know what balloon modellers in
the States sell their models for but I would think that you could easily charge
40 - 50 cents for each one.
There is an additional insurance charge of $3.15 per order for overseas.
The address for balloon box is:
2416 Ravendale Court
Kissimmee Florida
USA
ZIP 34758
Telephone [phone]
Scouters in England will have to put 0101 in front of the number
If you do try selling modelling balloons, take my advice and use a pump.  I
blew up over three hundred by mouth one day and it almost killed me.  For
several days after the event I had a splitting headache, never again.

--------------------------------
From:         "Michael H. Lampkin" <[e-mail]>
Subject:      Fund Raising - Candy sale fiasco

Gang,

I think the topic of "Fund Raisers" came across the list a few months
ago, but I can't recall the conversation.

Anyway, I have a couple of Posts that are planning to sell candy as
one of their fund raisers next fall. Has anyone had any experience
with selling candy? And can you give statistics on profits, losses,
troubles, benefits?

When I was a scout, my patrolleader order a large shipment of candy
(without _anyone's_ knowledge) and it was quite difficult to sell.
It didn't help that it was in the middle of July in Mississippi and
some of the patrol happened to be out of town on vacation with their
family. Needless to say all of the parents had to chip in to pay for
the melted, but tasty glob. Of course, this was an UNORGANIZED selling
fiasco which I am trying to help these Posts avoid.


--------------------------------
From:         "David D. Miller" <[e-mail]>
Subject:      Fund Raising Ideas - Cake & Candy, Coffee Mornings

Michael H. Lampkin asked recently if selling candy/sweets was a
worthwhile fundraiser.

It sounded as though they were doing it as a one-off - buy a large batch
and sell the lot.  This sounds like a lot of effort to set up, and runs
a high risk of failure through saturation of the market with a single
product.  I wouldn't put my money into it.


(Alternative 1)
Why not have a Cake and Candy stall at some other event, e.g., a coffee
morning/afternoon/evening?  I don't know about Stateside, but in my home
town in Scotland there is a coffee morning in the Town Hall nearly every
Saturday morning, run by different organisations:  political parties,
Scouts, BB, Red Cross, etc.  (It's not a question of "Is there one on
today?"  but more "Whose turn is it this week?")  A good coffee morning
can take in a couple of hundred pounds profit, partly from entrance
fees, raffle, but mainly from selling *donated* cake and candy.

Admittedly, this will need far, far more organisation than a simple
door-to-door sale of candy.  You need to guarantee enough volunteers to
run the event, and to book the venue months in advance.  A first attempt
at this game will probably run a small loss and cause severe headaches
for the organiser, but after two or three you should have it down to a
fine art.

Such a coffee morning has other benefits.  The Scouts are not profiled
as being overly commercial, since the boys and girls (in uniform of
course) are politely serving behind stalls, waiting on tables and (very
important) making conversation, rather than knocking on doors trying to
sell something with profit as the only motive.  The parents are brought
in to help, something lacking in some places.  What is also important is
that the Scout Movement is presented as being at the same level as the
other organisations running similar events - including many of the major
high profile charities.

Scouts can also get good publicity by helping at coffee mornings and
fundraisers for *other* organisations.  Even rattling tins on a street
corner may be a suitable activity for uniformed Venture Scouts, if it's
for a good enough cause.  For commercial events (e.g., running a car
park for a country fair), go out looking for a "suitable donation" for
any assistance provided.  Agree a definition of "suitable" beforehand.
And make sure no Scout uniform is visible if there's any political angle
to the event.

Remember that helping someone else with their event is a good investment
when you chose to do something similar.  Firstly, you gain good
experience for your own event.  Secondly, helping is a bit like
back-scratching:  the people you help out will often turn out to support
you.  Having a Regional Councillor drop in to help is really nice---OK,
so we donated 700 pounds to his favourite charity last Christmas.


(Alternative 2)
My second suggestion is to start selling candy on a regular basis at
Troop and Pack meetings.  Forget about home-boiled stuff, and look
instead at what the kids would buy in the shops:  Mars, M&M, crisps (US:
chips), soft drinks, etc.

My former Venture Scout Unit has a complete tuckshop ready for any
Scouting event.  The bulk of the sweets travel in a plastic storage box
(about 2'6" x 18" x 9").  There is also a box (48 packs) of flavoured
potato crisps and a mixed case (24) of soft drink cans.  The range of
stock normally includes about 10 different lines, including small
things that Cubs can buy for 10p (same price as a short call from a
public telephone).

This basic kit is always present at Unit meetings, and is also taken to
'visit' other sections whenever possible (The Unit supplies helpers for
most of the other sections :-)  For the Ventures, it's always open on a
self-serve basis with a Tupperware box for the money.  For the younger
sections, the PLs or Ventures open shop at fixed times, usually at the
end of a meeting --- the parents collecting their children bring the
money, of course.

We have a contract with our local Cash & Carry, so we pay the same as
the local shops.  (The same contract is used when we buy supplies for
camps and expeditions.)  Since there's no real expenses, we can keep the
prices below normal R.R.P. and still make a decent profit.  It doesn't
make a *lot* of money - perhaps a couple of pounds (2 or 3 US dollars)
are taken in an evening - but it is easily enough to keep the Unit in
Coffee, Tea, Sugar and Milk.

The only disadvantage is the value of stock that needs to be kept.  Our
present setup has the Venture Scout Leader actually owning the stock.
The profit is calculated and paid when the stock is taken in, so the VSL
actually pays the full selling price.  All the money taken in from the
tuckshop can go into his pocket, and he doesn't gain from it.  The
profit goes into a special book, with small expenses (coffee, etc.)
taken out of the same book.  About two or three times annually, a lump
sum is transferred to the Unit's account.

After the first year of operation, we could have transferred ownership
of the stock to the Unit, but we didn't to encourage honesty among the
Unit members.  It would be somewhat different if they could say, "But it
belongs to us anyway."  The Venture Scouts (and other Leaders) know the
system, and have few complaints about it.

The bonus of having an ongoing tuckshop is that we can lift everything
and go to camp.  The Unit has an exclusive contract at the District
Activity camps --- that was really how we started.  The best sale yet
was a weekend Area (US:  Council) camp with nearly 1000 boys and very
hot weather:  although we'd bought in a lot of extra stock, and bumped
the prices up, everything was sold out on the *Saturday*.  After
visiting a local supermarket to resupply on the Sunday morning, we sold
right out again.  (It helped that none of the other Districts had made
any provision for refreshments.)

OK, some of you are probably saying that this is exploitation of the
youngsters.  I agree.  I see nothing wrong with it.  The Cubs and Scouts
(and their parents) see it as a useful service --- it's cheaper than the
town centre shops, and it's open funny hours and funny places.  All of
the profit goes to the Unit and around two thirds of the total takings
come from the Unit members and the Leaders:  Exploitation of the
members, by the members, for the members.  What's the problem?

--------------------------------

From: [e-mail]
Subject: Fund Raising Ideas - Wreaths and Christmas Tree Recycling

We don't recieve any money from our council or charting organization.  We have
to fund raisers where we get most of our money.  We, also, do the council
sponsored candy sales.

We sell wreaths.  We have a few to choose from.  The boys sell them to the
relitives and neighbors.  We get them from a local farm.

We recycle Christmas trees.  Our pack and several troops work with the local
garbage hauller.  They supply the flyers and do the mulching.  We distribute
flyers and pick up the trees.  We get to keep any money we collect.  This
also doubles as a service project.


~From: "Ben Parker [IL]" <[e-mail]>
Our Boy Scout Troop sells pine bough wreaths for christmas.  We have 65+
boys registered and over 45+ active.  Some sell a lot, some sell only a few,
but it all adds up.  We net over US$7000 per year with this activity.  It is
our only fundraising activity for the year.  In a large metropolitan area
(we are in suburban Chicago area) this is possible as there are many homes
and businesses as customers, and it is a tradition to display a wreath.

--------------------------------
From: [e-mail] (John McCollum)
Subject: Fund Raising Ideas - Popcorn

  Popcorn sales!  This is a highly organized effort by the entire Circle
Ten Council (Texas).  Last year, our troop of about 25 boys netted
approximately $1500.  The best part is that the popcorn is a good product
and people are actually asking for it.

From: [e-mail] (Richard Threlkeld)
Subject: Fund Raising - BSA Approval requirement

BSA must approve any sales of items by scouts in uniform.  They approve
projects in which they profit (Scout Show, Trail's End Popcorn, etc
here).  They may approve your use, but they are very careful about
seeming to provide the goodwill of the Scouting organization to a
commercial product.  They also want to know about any fund raiser which
approaches persons outside your unit.  This is to ration Scouting's dips
into the public well for funding.


~From: [e-mail] (Mark Wilson)

You are correct. Let me also point out that your troop T-Shirt (or even
the ones in the catalog) are not considered BSA uniform. There is no prohibition
that I know of that prevents you from wearing a unit t-shirt while selling.

The rules of thumb that I posted were for planning and organizing. You still have
to complete a fundraising form and get it approved prior to holding the fundraiser.
If the local council has a problem with your plan, they will let you know.


--------------------------------
From:  "(Don Newcomb)" <[e-mail]>
Subject:  Caveat - road block, NOT!

One fund-raiser that I find very objectionable is the "road block"
or "begging on the corner" approach. This system is frequently
used in this area by volunteer fire companies, veterans groups and
even youth sports teams. Not only is it (IMHO) very dangerous to walk
among vehicles waiting for the light to change, I feel it teaches kids
all the wrong lessons (i.e. If you need money, go out and beg on the
street.) I have never seen Scouts do this and I hope it is because it
is one of BSA's prohibited practices.

--------------------------------
From:  [e-mail]
Subject: Fund Raising Ideas - Baseball Concession Stand

        My troop runs a Concession Stand at a local baseball park where the
youth leagues play.  It runs from the beginning of May until the middle of
July.  Although this project requires a good deal of effort, we have succeeded
in running it for the past 5 years (4 of which I have been the chairman).  This
past summer, the stand made about $11,500, half of which goes to the Baseball
Commission (who runs the program) because they provide the equipment and the
other half goes to the troop.  Our cub scout pack also worked some of the
stand, so they got a part of it, but the troop ended up with over $5,000 this
year.  What we do is the troop keeps $2,000 for general troop use, and the rest
is split up into "Camperships" for the scouts depending on how much they and
their parents worked.  The scouts can use their campership money for anything
scouting related (summer camp, a new pack, a sleeping bag, etc, etc).  Last
summer, the scout who worked the most got over $400 in his campership (not bad
for a 11 year-old).  We found that by splitting up the money, it gives the
scouts an incentive to work...

--------------------------------
From: [e-mail] (David B. Haseman)
Subject: Fund Raising Ideas - Popcorn, Stadium Cleaning, Rent-a-Kid

Our troop has several money making efforts.  The whole troop sells
popcorn much as John's troop does.  Our troop is in a town with a
football stadium.  We have one saturday when we clean the stands after
a football game (get paid to do so - some of you have colleges in the
town.  If the stadium is very large, or your troop small, you may ask
for a section or more to clean.  We get the whole family out there,
kids, moms, dads, the works.
  Another possibility, and we haven't tried it yet, is to glean an
orchard for fallen fruit, or a field for missed pickings.  If I manage
it, I'll let you know how it works out.
  Boys going to camp who need help meeting expenses, get together as a
group and work at car washes, and hire out as "Rent a Kid" for older
patrons who need labor intensive jobs down around the yard, picking up
slash, sticks and the like.  Moving /stacking wood piles, clearing
drainage ditches, mowing lawns, and the like.

--------------------------------
From: Ramon Tate <[e-mail]>
Subject: Fund Raising Ideas - Door Number Painting, Mulch Sale

Troops that I have been associated with over the years have used several
successful fundraising methods.

First, our neighborhood troop has painted curbside housenumbers in the
neighborhood with excellent results. Often we were able to obtain donated
professional quality supplies, which improves the results considerably. This
sort of project relies heavily on adult participation, since the equipment and
materials required can be dangerous if mishandled. The boys would canvass the
neighborhood for permission to paint the house number on the curb, recording
location preferences. A background painting crew would then make the circuit
painting a rectangular white background in the desired place. Finally, the
numbering crew would come along and paint in the house number in black. We did
NOT "charge" but rather asked for a donation to cover our expenses as well as
support the troop's public service efforts. We usually averaged over $10/house,
and even with rental compressors, etc., this was a good money maker and a great
public service project as well.

Another method: our church troop currently sells and delivers landscaping
mulch. Again, this requires a lot of support from the adults. We go out every
Sat. AM in Feb. taking orders for 2 varieties of bark mulch (3 cu. ft. bags),
to be paid in advance AND DELIVERED the first Sat. in March. The selling price
in recent years has been $3.25/bag, actually an excellent value in itself.
Because we have had the donated use of a fork lift truck the past 2 years, the
troop - 20 boys - was able to sell and deliver in ONE day (Whew!) 3700 bags of
mulch, at a gross profit of about $1.15/bag. Of that, each boy received a 10
cent commission, and prizes were awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd highest sales
($50, $35, and $15).
Deliveries were made by small truck, van, and station wagon, using mostly
donated vehicles. A lot of work, but it is a boon particulary to the elderly
homeowner who just can't wrestle those 40-50 lb bags (it's usually wet!) into
and out of a car.

If you would like more info, drop me a line.

--------------------------------
From: [e-mail] (Stephen J. Padbury)
Subject: Fund Raising Ideas - Sub Sale, Community Fairs, Candy Sale

My troop has about four fundraisers every year, and then some odd ones
thrown in whenever we are preparing for a High Adventure trip. Our big
fundraiser is the two sub sales we have. A troop committee member was
the owner of a small deli, and knows wholesalers. he gets us meat, bread,
lettuce, tomatoes, etc. and the boys go out for a week ahead of time and
get orders. Then on a saturday the boys go to the meeting place and make
the subs and deliver them or get them picked up. We currently sell about
300 subs each time we do this. One has just passed and one is done on
a sunday for the superbowl. we sell the subs for $3 and because some of
the wholesalers give us a discount because we are a scout troop we make
about $.75-1.00 on each. It should be noted that our troop has about 20
active members and only 3 or 4 actively go out and sell outside their
families. Our other major fund raiser is Newark Community Days. One
saturday in late september the city of Newark and the University of
Delaware sponser a fair of sorts aimed at getting the students more
active in the community by letting them know waht's out there.
Naturally, the students tend to avoid it (even though it is practally
in some of their front yards) but a lot of the city comes to see.
At this we sell hot dogs and soda and stuff like that and make around
$500 -$750 for the day if the weather is nice. Our only other regular
fund raiser is a candy sale similar to the ones done by school clubs.
we usually only make aprox. $100 on it. Other fundraisers that we have
done on a one shot basis are: major landscaping work, selling wreathes
for christmas, and a failed car wash.
    I hope some of this is of a help to someone in the overweight,
beleagured masses of Scoutmasterdom that I am now a part of. (esp.
the overweight part)  :)

--------------------------------
From: [e-mail] (Joseph L. Wood, III)
Subject: Fund Raising Ideas - Fertilizer Sale

We sell fertilizer every spring.  We go out on the first
Sunday afternoon in March and take orders for a variety of products.
We then make up an order for our supplier who gives us a really
good deal and arrange for the loan of a semi to bring the stuff to town.
On Friday 12 days later we deliver to the customers.  We are
a very small troop and we can pull in $1500 from even our small town.

The fact that we deliver is our competitive edge.  Our prices aren't
any better than the local nursery store.

--------------------------------
From: [e-mail] (Mark Turner)
Subject: Fund Raising - Door Number Painting: up- and downsides

I seem to recall in the fine print on the back of the Unit Money-Earning
form (BSA) that units aren't supposed to engage in fund-raising activities
which are in competition with local businesses.  We aren't supposed to be
doing things that would take business away from commercial enterprises, at
least the way I read it.

Our pack recently combined public service with fund-raising by painting
large black-on-white house numbers on the curb or front steps of
neighborhood homes.  We advertised in the neighborhood newsletter, took
orders in advance (by mail or phone to a volunteer) and then spent a day
going around and doing the painting.  We made our own stencils to keep the
cost down.  We got 19 orders at $5.00 each, with expenses of less than $10.00.

The downside of the event is that Cub Scouts really haven't developed good
spray-painting skills, so they were frustrated when the adults didn't let
them spray the numbers, and the adults were frustrated when the kids did
prevail and try their hand at it (with a few runny numbers resulting).  We
had to send adults back out to do some touch-up work.  We're not sure
we'll do the event again, but we're out of the hole financially for the
time being.  It might work better for a Troop or Post.  We got positive
free publicity on the radio from the fire chief who was on a local morning
talk show.

------------------------------
From: [e-mail] (Jack Mortimer - K31)
Subject: Fund Raising Ideas - 1st Aid Kits, Light Bulbs, Scrub Buds, Various

Well, the first couple of things that came to my mind are first aid kits and
light bulbs.  Both are used and the bulbs are consumed, especially if you
get the popular wattages, like 60.
Another thought is a product called scrub buds. Contact your local Amway
dealer and ask him/her about fund raisers using Amway products.
Next thought is providing the food for an auction.  In my area it seems like
estates and homes are always being auctioned, and to keep the crowd buying,
the auctioneer insists that food is available.  Could be hot dogs, chips
hot and cold beverages or other stuff, but in one of these our Troop made
over $400.
Another thing our Pack did was sell from the Charles Chips specialty
catalog. Took orders for 2-3 weeks, then bought the stuff at dealer cost
or cost +5% (still 35% profit) and delivered the goods.
Then there are the traditional car washes, spagetti dinners and those
sort of projects.
The most ingenious money raiser I have heard of was to fund an Eagle project.
The Scout leased a farmer's field, hired someone to plant corn, harvest it
and market it.  He paid for the field, supplies and work from the profit
on selling the corn and had enough money left over to pay for his project.
I realize that this is a long term fund raiser, but it could be an example
to the boys of management and planning.  Might also be fun and good PR for
your unit.

Years ago our Explorer Post raised money by building and selling bird feeders.
We cut our the pieces of wood, assembled them , stained them and peddled
them to raise money to pay for our summer canoe trip to Michigan.

I hope this has helped you somewhat.
Please post a summary of ideas so that we may all benefit from your quest.
Jack Mortimer
ASM T255
[e-mail]

------------------------------
From: [e-mail] (Dennis Wilkinson)
Subject: Fund Raising Ideas - Auction, Frieds of...

My troop has always fared pretty weel in the fundraiser department,
occasionaly doing things that were a little oddball. Don't be afraid to do
things that are a touch out of the ordinary, just watch out for the boys (the
Council will do more than a good enough job of telling you if it's not good
for BSA image :-)

One thing that we've done is a Troop auction, usually as part of something
else, like a dinner. We've done all right in the past, although, given the
overall financial situation in our good ol' Nor'east, who knows? Local
businesses don't usually have much of a problem donating small goods, and
sometimes you can even get cash for "junk" - consider it the granddaddy of
the yard sale, 'cept that nearly everything sells for something.

One idea (that you may not be too keen on, depending) is to have an
"organization" other than the Troop do your fundrasing for you. For example,
(mostly so we could get away with it) we had a "Friends of Troop 46" raise
money in what was called "The 1st Annual Stupidest Thing I've Ever Done". The
people involved in the "Friends of..." group, were, granted, all adult
leaders in the troop, but we weren't acting as the troop, just raising money
_for_ the troop. Basically, we took a dip in Buzzards Bay on the first Saturday
in January and took pledges for every five seconds we stayed in the water.
NO BOYS WERE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE (It wasn't a sanctioned BSA event or
fund-raiser, and no one wanted to deal with insurance problems). We did cover
our (mostly not-so-little) toukases by signing a disclaimer that a legal pal
of the unit drew up, limited the maximum amount of time in the water to
one minute, and had both an EMT and a practicing ER nurse on the site, with
warming facilities close at hand. In the space of one hour on a Saturday morn,
we raised $2000 for the troop.

I've seen quite a few troops who do things this way to "legally" hold raffles,
Las-Vegas style nights, and even dinners with bars, all normally things that
the Council would frown upon if it were actually the troop doing it. It
doesn't usually generate any animosity in our Council, provided the involve-
ment of the boys is nix (we normally use parents and adults in the Troop).

Actually, if I understand correctly, the Narragansett Council in RI actually has
an entire fund-raising corporation that provides a significant amount of
money to the Council by doing things that the BSA would probably frown upon.

OK, so we're a touch on the sneaky side occasionally... just be sure that
doing something like this wouldn't generate problems within your council or
district, as I'm sure that in some even being mildly sneaky could generate some
difficulties.

Oh, and we're looking for a "Second Annual Stupidest Thing I've Ever Done" --
we're considering something a bit (ahem) safer and (maybe) warmer -- duration
flagpole sitting.

Whatever you do, try to keep boy involvement to a minimum (a personal goal -if
you do use the boys, take whatever profits the boy takes in and set up
half of it towards his summer camp fund...) and have FUN with the fund-
raiser (isn't that part of why we're here?)

------------------------------
From: David R. Brierley
Subject: Fund Raising Ideas - Clamcake and Clamchowder Dinner

     When I was a Scout my troop had an annual clamcake and clamchowder
dinner.  The troop had a special deal with a local seafood company,
which gave us a bulk discount on the food (the company even made the
clam chowder).  The troop's adults cooked the food while the Scouts
waited tables, cleaned, and sold beverages.  Admission was by advance
ticket sales, which allowed the troop to have the money up front to buy
the food.  I don't remember how much of a profit was made but it seemed
to do very well.

P.S.  Before the dinner my troop tried rummage sales and selling
      lightbulbs; neither worked.

------------------------------
From: [e-mail] (Jim Stillson)
Subject: Fund Raising Ideas - Bag-Boying

My troop in Fridley, Minnesota (a suburb of Minneapolis) bags groceries
and merchandise for a local discount/grocery chain.  As background
information, grocery stores in the Twin Cities have not had bag-boys
for about 10 years.

For the holiday seasons, the store pays us to come in during their peak
times on Saturday and Sunday.  We supply a minimum number of youth and
adults, they pay a set donation to the troop.  The youth and adults are
allowed to keep tips over and above the donation, but are not allowed
to solicit them.

This program works out well, the "pay", assuming their minimum hours,
is about $3.50/person/hour.  (When we started a few years ago, the set
fee was $500.00 per day/10 people/8 hours. i.e. The rate has gone
down.)  The stores are looking for the more mature Scouts, sometimes
setting minimum age limits.

The only drawback in the fundraiser is for the scheduler, who has a
difficult time getting the right number of people for each shift.  It
is usually Friday night when he/she finally knows who will be working
the weekend shifts.

This may be an idea for you if the stores in Derry do not regularly bag
for you.  I would be interested in hearing some of the other replys you
receive, assuming they are really different and interesting.

--------------------------------