Boy Scouts of America

[meshoo96]

Sooo, my DH and son joined the Boy Scouts of America (BSA)...DH is an assistant scout master. The troop has commented that their fund raising skills leave a lot to be desired. Anyone have any ideas? Seems a lot of mine have been shot down because they are BOYS...not GIRLS. Any suggestions?

 

[jeninga75]

How old are they? like age range? Car wash for donations is always a hit around here. Just have to get permission from wherever you want to do it (they usually do it at gas stations around here) hook up a hose, buy a bunch of cheap supplies, and go for it. When I was in the Army we did these often and usually after a day ended up with 200-300$ Good luck!

 

[Katie H]

One thing our boys did when they were scouts is, on Saturday mornings, drive through neighborhoods and sell boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts. Their scoutmaster would get up really, really early and go to the Krispy Kreme bakery and buy a hundred boxes or so at a discounted rate. Then, the boys would sell them. The folks in the neighborhoods really enjoyed having fresh donuts delivered to their doors for Saturday breakfast.

You might not have a Krispy Kreme bakery in your immediate area, but another donut outlet might give you a break for the scouts.

 

[meshoo96]

How old are they? like age range? Car wash for donations is always a hit around here. Just have to get permission from wherever you want to do it (they usually do it at gas stations around here) hook up a hose, buy a bunch of cheap supplies, and go for it. When I was in the Army we did these often and usually after a day ended up with 200-300$ Good luck!

my son is the youngest at 11 and the oldest is 15 or 16. i was thinking car wash, dog wash (LOL), bake sale, craft fair, spaghetti night, fashion show, halloween party or haunted house (DH's idea), leaf raking in the fall, snow shoveling in winter (not much snow here last year though), etc. I just think that sitting outside a store on a saturday or sunday with a jar is just too boring.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Have you considered looking for a Sponser...A Church? A Bank? A Civic organization? A Business? It's great PR for them..Here (most) Scout Troops have sponsers....Any Fund Raising Projects are mostly philanthropic in nature.....

 

[meshoo96]

they meet in the basement of a church, but they don't get any funding from them.

 

[Uncle Bob]

they meet in the basement of a church, but they don't get any funding from them.

Maybe someone needs to ask....for a few bucks on an annual basis, or go to A bank etc. and say...Look... So & So Church is doing this for us...What can you do to help us...They will ask.. what you need...Tell them...Ya might get it!

 

[DrThunder88]

The popcorn was always a bit of a sticking point for me. On one hand, it's pretty good popcorn, but, on the other, it's not as good as the price indicates. Girl Scout Cookies, unfortunately, are built to a much better price point. I think they win the youth program junk food battle!

You might want to solicit local businesses for donations. I remember when my troop was in need of a new shed and trailer, several of the businesses helped with small donations that helped in a big way. A number of these businesses were along the stretch of highway the troop "adopted", so there was already a bit of a tacit relationship between the organizations. In recognition of their support, I believe the businesses who donated so much money also got "special thanks" to them printed on the back of the trailer, so the donations weren't totally out of the goodness of their hearts or as recognition for the troop's service to the community.

Looking back makes me wish I could help out with my old troop some more. Now that I'm on midnights, I have the time to go to the weekly meetings, but it won't be any time in the foreseeable future, which is a shame.

 

[GB]

The kids around here collect cans door to door. I doubt they make a lot doing that, but I am sure people slip them extra cash as well.

 

[Loprraine]

I've had a few come knocking at my door lately. One was selling paper yard waste bags that we have to use in my neighbourhood. Another was selling kitchen waste compost bags that we also have to use. Yet another was selling the big commercial rolls of tin foil and plastic wrap. I bought from all three. Do local banks in your area support local non profit groups? Can't hurt to ask. Good luck!

 

[buckytom]

meshoo, the best fundraising event that i was ever involved in was selling fresh citrus fruit from florida.

Oranges Fundraising - Citrus Fund Raising - Fruit Sale For School Fundraisers - Florida Indian River Groves

if you have enough people selling, you can make a few grand on one sale. enough to make a dent in summer camp costs. it won't be a lot of work just to make a few bucks and the dads aggravated.

plus if you order enough for a full truck, the boys get to work together to help offload then deliver it.

a bunch of 10 lb. boxes of fresh fruit ain't for girly scouts.

since it's harvested and shipped directly from the grower when you order it, the fruit is amazingly fresh. i remember eating oranges and grapefruits until my stomach hurt every year.

 

[quicksilver]

Down here alot of communities have a no-soliciting policy - so door to door is out of the question.
But alot of the "Big Box" stores and supermarkets do donate, or allow non-profits outside their stores.

So, what I'm thinking is: what about hooking up with the local V.A. or American Legion, getting donations of money or flags from the "Big Boxes" and selling them. And collecting old flags for proper disposal. When our local group do the disposal the local newspaper covers the story. With both groups involved, it would be news worthy and may get them more donations.
It's so close to Memorial Day and The 4th, they may go over good. School is almost out and I doubt the troop will meet in the summer, so time is of the essence.

 

[simplicity]

Boy Scouts here sell bags of mulch in the spring. They take orders and deliver it a couple of weeks later. It's great for those of us that have small vehicles, limited trunk space and don't want to lug the bags home from the nursery. They sell those 39 gallon lawn and leaf bags at the same time.

 

[Maverick2272]

We did pancake breakfasts, car washes, BBQ's, and selling candy bars. We also had a sponsor that let us use a space for meetings, and others that helped fund us I think twenty in all. All local business' that liked the right off, and all did it by taking up collections in their stores for us as well as from their employees and owners. Our biggest funder though was the American Legion, followed by the Masons, the BBB, the Rotary Club. IE civic organizations seemed to support us more than business'.

 

[Maverick2272]

Down here alot of communities have a no-soliciting policy - so door to door is out of the question.
But alot of the "Big Box" stores and supermarkets do donate, or allow non-profits outside their stores.

So, what I'm thinking is: what about hooking up with the local V.A. or American Legion, getting donations of money or flags from the "Big Boxes" and selling them. And collecting old flags for proper disposal. When our local group do the disposal the local newspaper covers the story. With both groups involved, it would be news worthy and may get them more donations.
It's so close to Memorial Day and The 4th, they may go over good. School is almost out and I doubt the troop will meet in the summer, so time is of the essence.

The VA, VFW, and American Legion seem to be big sponsors of the Boy Scouts, course out here the Mormons are as well.
I don't know about others, but we met year round as well as took at least two camping trips each year. Add onto that a week long trip to Thomas Ashford scout camp for badges! And the Jamboree, and a canoe trip.
We had a lot of fun, LOL.

 

[FutbolMom]

One good fundraiser we did was the Gooseberry Patch cookbooks and calendars. Sold them for people to give for Christmas gifts.
One thing with Boy Scouts, is the fund raiser has to be aproved by the Boy Scout Council before they can do it. So make sure they get approval first.

 

[quicksilver]

Maverick, what is "the BBB"? Never heard of that org.

 

[Maverick2272]

Better Business Bureau.

Many of our sponsors would actually run the fundraisers for us and we would just supply help, this way we got around waiting on the counsel to approve something. Helped us out a lot, and we never had any problems with the counsel.
At the same time, the Boy Scouts have been around for so long, lord knows just how many different ways have been approved to raise funds. You might just check with them and see if they have a list they can send you... might hurry things along and provide you some more ideas.

 

[Shani]

What about organising a bush dance? have a band to play, and sell refreshments on the night. Often bush dance bands know the usual people who go to these and can get word out to the 'usuals' and you go from there. Hold a raffle or two on the night and maybe an auction along with refreshments you can make a profit.

Well it works here anyway, not sure about the US

 

[meshoo96]

The VA, VFW, and American Legion seem to be big sponsors of the Boy Scouts, course out here the Mormons are as well.
I don't know about others, but we met year round as well as took at least two camping trips each year. Add onto that a week long trip to Thomas Ashford scout camp for badges! And the Jamboree, and a canoe trip.
We had a lot of fun, LOL.

we are going white water rafting in a few weeks, then there's the 2010 jamboree marking the 100th anniversary of the BSA and next year the boys want to do a high adventure trip on top of taking at least 1 trip per month over the next year