Now that many troops and packs are winding down the most active part of their program year and are looking forward to scaling back a bit over the summer, and as adult leadership and committee assignments often change, it’s a good idea to review how you do business, from a business standpoint.
While most Scouting units don’t fall in the “small business” category, they do tend to handle a fair amount of money during a typical year. For a Cub pack, registration and membership fees and other costs such as insignia can run upwards of $50 per year per Scout. Add in fundraising proceeds, family camp, Blue & Gold banquet, Pinewood Derby trophies and day camp, and you could hit $10,000 without much trouble. In a troop, this can skyrocket when you factor in equipment, camping and high adventure. A typical troop can run $25,000 or more through its checking account in a year’s time, and if the troop uses a system of Scout accounts, the amount of cash held in the bank can be substantial.
How, then, does a unit best maintain the safety and accountability of these funds? Continue reading “Financial practices for units: The unit budget”
On Scout Sunday, I visited the Blue & Gold Banquet of a Cub Scout pack that I am the commissioner for. The pack is well-run, with exciting and interesting activities planned in advance throughout the year. Most of the Scouts received advancement recognition or awards of some kind, and all dens took part in the entertainment segment of the program. Each den has a den leader and parent help. The most important observation I made was that the boys are having a great time.
You may not have noticed, but earlier this year the Scout shops and Supply Division replaced the Troop Committee Guidebook with a new edition. The previous version, item 34505B, was originally published in 1998 and was reprinted several times since. The new version has a bright red and green cover with photos of Scouts in action, carries a stock number of 616928 and was published in 2013, though it didn’t become widely available until spring of this year.