Scout Fundraising

During my early years as a Scoutmaster fund raising for the Troop was a miserable task. We tried selling stuff offered by fund raising companies with marginal success. What we finally hit on was a spaghetti dinner that has been a great money earner and event for the past decade or more.

There is no ‘right’ fund raiser for all Troops. Some will find success where others fail- here are a few guidelines that have served us well: Value for Money – Don’t sell something that has an artificially inflated price – for example don’t sell a fifty cent candy bar for two bucks. Lots of groups do this, I think it is a scam. Why not just walk around with a can and beg for the two bucks? If the product doesn’t sell itself because of its intrinsic value it is somewhat less than honest to ask for money.

I don’t like to see children selling overpriced products in front of a grocery store or be asked to buy them by their parents on the job or in the office. The idea that people should buy the product only because it is subsidizing a Troop is inimical to the values of Scouting. Get it Over With – Selling something that requires the customer order a product, that these orders be managed and turned into a group order, delivered to a central location, distributed and finally delivered to the customer require huge commitments of time. We distribute and sell tickets, collect the money and spend a long day cooking and serving the dinner. Then we all get to go home. No lost orders, no late deliveries, no hard feelings, no overstressed volunteers. Keep it Fun – We do two dinners a year (spring and fall). We ask (not require) each family to be responsible for five tickets each – most do several times that. The tickets are mailed right to their homes.

Parents and scouts are asked (not required) to assist with preparing and serving in two hour shifts – many end up staying longer because it is actually a lot of fun. The men work in the kitchen, the ladies work the dining room, the Scouts serve as waiters. Most of the Scouts have a great time playing waiter and the customers get to see them in action. The whole thing has become an event that Scouts and parents look forward to – we work hard for a day (there is a prep evening the week before) and have a blast. The official policies are spelled out in the “Ten Guides to Unit Money Earning Projects” found on the “Unit Money Earning Application” available as a PDF File