Ten Guides to Unit Money-Earning Projects

Application

The way in which a unit earns money to carry out its program is of great importance in the education of youth members in basic values.

Please note: Monetary contributions solicited in the name of the Boy Scouts of America is reserved to the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America and each local council (The South Texas Council for our 17 county area) by the by-laws of the Boy Scouts of America. Unit money-earning projects should provide either a product or a service. 

Whatever your unit is planning as a money-earning project, this checklist can serve as your guide. It will be helpful to you as you fill out the Unit Money-Earning application. If your answer is yes to all the questions that follow, it is likely that the project conforms with Scouting?s standards and will be approved.

• Have your unit committee and chartered organization approved your project, including the dates and the methods? There should be a real need for earning money based on your unit?s program. We should not engage in special money-earning projects merely because someone has offered us an attractive plan. It?s well to remember that individual youth members are also expected to earn their own way.

• Do your plan and the dates avoid competition with money-raising efforts and policies of your chartered organizations, Scout council, or United Way? Check with your Chartered Organization Representative to see that your chartered organization agrees on the dates. The Chartered Organization Representative can also clear the other dates by calling the council service center.

• Is your plan in harmony with local ordinances, free from any stigma of gambling, and consistent with the ideals and purposes of the Boy Scouts of America? Money-raising projects on a unit or council basis which include the sale of raffle tickets are in violation of this policy. This question can be answered only in terms of specific proposals. If there is any question of its suitability, drop the project and find a better one for your unit.

• If a commercial product is to be sold, will it be sold on its own merits and without reference to the needs of Scouting, either directly (during sales presentations) or indirectly? Teaching youth members to become self-reliant and to earn their own way is an integral part of training our youth members. Uniforms may not be worn when selling a commercial product.

• If tickets are sold for any function other than a Scouting event, will they be sold by your youth members as individuals without depending on the goodwill of Scouting to make this sale possible? Tickets may be sold by youth members in uniform in the name of Scouting for such things as pack shows, troop suppers, circuses, expositions, and similar Scouting events.

• Even when sales are confined to parents and friends, will they get their money?s worth from any product they purchase, function they attend, or services they receive from your unit? Here again is the principle of value received - a sale standing on its own merit - so that the recipients are not in any way subsidizing either Scouting of the member. Youth members must learn to pay their own way and to honestly earn the money to do it. You cannot permit anyone to capitalize on a Scouting connection or induce sympathy as a substitute for a worthy product or service.

• If a project is planned for a particular area, do you respect the right of other Scouting units in the same neighborhood? It`s a courtesy to check with neighboring units to coordinate the time of your project and to see that your aren`t covering their territory. Your pack or troop commissioner or service team member can help you with this.

• Is it reasonably certain that people who need work or business will not lose it as a result of your unit`s plan? Your unit should neither sell nor offer services if by so doing it will damage someone? livelihood. If possible check with the people who may be affected.

• Will your plan protect the name and goodwill of the Boy Scouts of America and prevent it from being capitalized on by promoters of shows, benefits, or sales campaigns? Because of Scouting`s good reputation, customers rarely question the quality or price of a product. Unchecked, the network of Scouting units could become a beehive of commercial interest to the neglect of character building and citizenship training.

• If any contracts are to be signed by your unit, will they be signed by an individual without reference to the Boy Scouts of America, and in no way appear to bind the local council or the Boy Scouts of America to any agreement of financial responsibility? Before any person in your unit signs a contract, he must make sure the venture is legitimate and worthy. If a contract is signed, he is personally responsible. He cannot sign on behalf of the local council or the Boy Scouts of America.