Girl Scout/Boy Scout Fundraisers

[mkcdaisy]

So the Fundraiser thread got me wondering since I am a leader. So I have a question for you all. I know how you feel about the ones for schools but do you feel that way when it comes to girl scouts and boy scout sales?

I am a leader and I hate going to the parents about it. We have 2 sales, on in the fall and cookies after the new year. I feel bad cause I know they have all these coming from the schools but at the same time, for these groups its our operating money. The councils/states etc. don't give us anything to start and leaders spend at lot in the beginning. So I just wonder how you feel about this.

oh btw, I don't require any girl in the troop to sell. If the parents and and want to donate money its great but I don't ask them too. I have one mom with 5 girls all in girl scouts, its hard for them to do anyway you do it.

I posted it in that tread but thought i would make its own

[KateD]

My son's cub scout pack 'requires' popcorn sales, which we don't do. It's not that we really have anything against it, we just always seem to have something going on during the group sales and I don't want the boys going through the neighborhood selling to our neighbors. My husband is (and I was) in a job where he isn't allowed to sell at work which makes it really difficult.

Now, girl scout cookies are another matter. I have to have a couple boxes of thin mints, samoas, and tagalongs every year. I search out girl scouts to get the cookies from

Fundraisers aren't bad by nature, but I don't like being pressured to participate.

[newfiemountiewife]

I have coached figure skating for years. The only paid person is me, everyone else is a volunteer. To pay for ice (and for me), they have to fundraise. I am ok with this, however, I don't like to do it, and would gladly give the monetary equivalent. My girls are also in girl scouts, and I detest doing the cookie sales. I just really hate going door to door. In the Spring, I got one of the older girls who was in Pathfinders to take my two out, I just did the driving.

ETA that I TOTALLY see why it's necessary to have fundraising. But I just really wish there was a pay out option.

[digideb]

Well, I personally don't know what I'd do w/out Girl Scout cookies! lol But, I love that they don't come to my door asking for me to buy them. They are patiently waiting for me outside the stores & always sucker me into buying some!

[mkcdaisy]

jamie they ask the girls here not to do door to door except for the houses they know with a parent only. Do you have booth sales at stores? We do that so even if a parent doesn't wanna do to friends/family the girls can participate in that.

[NeverendingJen]

I love scout fundraisers. I gladly support the boy scouts and girl scouts at any and all fundraisers because they made such an impact on my life. I love it when the scouts show up at my door, and I always buy from them or donate at group sales too.

[crecia27]

I think the boys popcorn is a bit over priced, but I buy it anyway. My daughter is in Girl Scouts and people are always happy to buy the cookies. :-) They are more than you can buy in the store but the money doesn't just go to the troop, it goes to the city/state/US councils to help keep the whole organization running, which doesn't happen with just give a donation to the troop. I don't ask family to buy from the school fundraisers so I can get them to buy from the scouts without feeling as bad.

[alaskan]

I love girl scout cookies. yummy.

So I have no problems with that...I have a friend whose girls are in girl scouts, she just calls me every year and I tell her what I want.

My boys are in boy scouts which means I have to work with them to sell the popcorn. But people seem to be happy about that (last year was my first year selling) and several people actually said to make sure that we come back by next year.

The school stuff just seems so junky and over priced.

The schools here also do book fairs which I think are lots of fun.

[MommaTrish]

Girl Scouts cookies - affordable and yummy
Boy Scouts popcorn - hugely over priced and eh

Figures I'm stuck with having to sale the popcorn....
We're just doing the low donation amount (since its all we can afford), my parents have offered to do one of the donation amounts, and my older brother said he'll definitely do a donation amount and maybe buy popcorn.

[CA Dreamer]

Our Cub Scout pack has only one fund raiser a year. The dreaded popcorn sales.... so, we dutifully do it. We have a "Popcorn Colonel" and she sets up all of the store sales way ahead of time. I try to get our boys to do 2 sale events and then they basically meet their goals without feeling that we have to buy or have to ask our families. We don't send the kids door to door except I do have my boys make one round in our court. These neighbors have kids a lot older than mine and before my kids were born, we bought all of their kids' stuff, so it is fair.

Our pack shoots for $150 per scout and the pack gets 50% of the sales and our district gets 25%. So... I know that the popcorn is WAY over priced, but 75% goes back to Boy Scouts.

Now, GS Cookies are a total different story! I actually look for GS selling cookies to buy from!

[fruitysuet]

When my girls were in Brownies, the only fundraising event was having a stall at the summer carnival and all we had to do was donate tombola and bric a brac items. All other costs were met by the weekly subscription.

Do you not have to pay fees for scouts? What is all that extra money used for if you do? Would you not prefer a set (higher) fee instead of going to all that trouble?

[MommaTrish]

Originally Posted by fruitysuet

Do you not have to pay fees for scouts? What is all that extra money used for if you do? Would you not prefer a set (higher) fee instead of going to all that trouble?

It says our fundraiser stuff goes to paying summer camp fees. (Which we don't plan to do anyway.) I know our's don't go to buying supplies and such because we have to pay to $25 amounts (months apart) to cover all that. All together in fees we'll end up paying $74, which isn't too bad. $24 is the registration. BUT that doesn't include uniforms, scout book, activities, etc. which are all hugely expensive.

[mkcdaisy]

for us the fundraising money (fall and cookies) is for all activities, supplies and badges. If we for example go roller skating, the troop account pays for the girls admission and then if they want money for games or candy they bring it. It also helps pay for gas on longer trips, food and supplies when camping. Supplies to do badges and service projects. And buys the badges the girls earn.

When I have a new girl start it cost the parent about $40 and that's the national registration and the vest. I do not require the entire uniform. I also do not require them to participate in sales but it does make money for the troop to do the above things. It all goes back to the girls. We have a meeting due of $1 which helps with supplies and snacks but for me that's more of a responsibility thing for the girls to learn than it is about the money.

[Sharon Kay]

Our boy scout troop sells trash bags and have been our best fundraiser ... however our local trash company has announced (city enforced I think) that in January they will not accept plastic trash bags and MUST USE their trash cans (think how nasty that will be) and paper sacks (which I am betting we must buy from them for our lawn waste). ...so there goes our biggest fundraiser...not sure what they will do.

We also man a concession stand at an indoor craft festival in the fall ... the Scouts help the crafters carry in and out their supplies to their vehicles and they are generally given "tips" for helping ... that goes into the fund too.

[Stacey42]

Our scout troop does the popcorn thing, which I agree are overpriced and not really worth it even if they were underpriced. Our family doesn't sell for the same reason we don't do school fundraiers. DH can't take it to work & we can't go door to door since the nearest door is a quarter mile away. If the timing is right I'll offer some to my bunco group & maybe get two sales. So we donate cash.

The troop also does sales at a couple local festivals. They sold bottled water & birdhouses at the summer street fair & we all took an hour manning the booth. I'm perfectly willing to contribute time or baked goods to them. But I'm not going to complicate my life trying to sell stuff I don't think is worth the cost.

[crecia27]

Originally Posted by fruitysuet

Do you not have to pay fees for scouts? What is all that extra money used for if you do? Would you not prefer a set (higher) fee instead of going to all that trouble?

We only pay $25 to our troop, all the other money for badges, crafts, community service projects and yearly camping trip are covered by the money made from the nut and cookie sales. We also did a lemonade stand in the neighborhood and collected cans for recycling. Our troop is lucky to be able to be so active, but we are also trying to teach the girls to give back to the local community and last year we did two projects for soldiers as well. Though now that I think about it, we did personally provide the items for the care package sent over seas.

[kscwgirl]

I don't mind them. I want girl scout cookies.

Boy Scouts, we don't start here until 1st grade.. but I will do the fundraisers for them.

[DawnMarch]

I love all GS cookies, but I wish that all sales were done at booths (which I'm more than happy to participate in or to donate at) rather than expecting the girls to sell them individually. We have no family in town and our neighbors have their own kids and don't want to buy our cookies. So, our kids always end up selling basically nothing, unless we buy a bunch of cookies that we really don't need.

[aggiefamily]

I don't have an issue with scout fundraising. They are very upfront about how the profits are split and will be used. The items are not junk and there are not crappy selling incentives. Our scout troop does the popcorn and a coupon book. They also don't push the kids to go sell door to door but give the option of signing up to work a table at the grocery store.

I think the difference is that scout fundraising (or any activity fundraising) is for my child so I am more likely to be involved with that.

[Jengerbread88]

I don't mind them. I usually buy 2 boxes of Girl Scout cookies per year. If no girls come to my door, I buy them from the girls who sit in front of Walmart selling. That's all I manage is 2 a year, but I figure it's better than nothing, and the cookies are yummy!

As for Boy Scouts, I've never been asked to buy anything from them, but if I were, I imagine I'd find something.

[CA Dreamer]

I just remembered that for our Boy Scout troop, we collect Christmas Trees after Christmas for a small donation, usually people give like $5-$10. We publish in the paper the collection date/times and people leave them out.

[newfiemountiewife]

Originally Posted by mkcdaisy

jamie they ask the girls here not to do door to door except for the houses they know with a parent only. Do you have booth sales at stores? We do that so even if a parent doesn't wanna do to friends/family the girls can participate in that.

They get an area of town to go to, and a parent usually goes to drive them. Our town is VERY small, everyone knows everyone, so it's not an issue...except I'm fairly new to town and though everyone knows me, I don't necessarily know them LOL.

They don't do booth sales.