FW: FW: Donations to Units
Nell Colbert (ncolbert@GATEWAY.NET)
Wed, 28 Apr 1999 11:57:58 -0400
I received this response to my original question posed a couple of days ago
and am posting this repose to the list as requested. It pretty much sums up
all of the other responses I have received to date. Thank you all so very
much for your help. I've forwarded on to my daughter all of your individual
responses and she was overwhelmed by the knowledge and support shared by our
list members. Who knows - maybe she will end up a subscriber <VBG>
Nell Colbert
SM, T631
Oviedo, FL
-----Original Message-----
From: KYBLKEAGLE@aol.com [mailto:KYBLKEAGLE@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 1999 12:36 AM
To: ncolbert@gateway.net
Subject: Re: FW: Donations to Units
( Hi Nell!! Would you please do me a favor and post this also on Scouts-L
for me?? I would happily do it myself, but I'm down here in Honduras and
can't directly post. Thanks! )
Hi Nell!! You asked specifically about a donation made to a Pack from a
local
businessman after observing the Pack in a community service project:
>Now, here is the kicker - the Council got wind of the donation and told the
pack that >the pack could not keep the money - they pack was required to
turn
the entire donation >over to the council - in fact, they were told that ALL
donations (even from parents who >wanted to contribute directly to the
pack's
activities) had to be turned over to the >council!!
First, I would question who stated this: was it the Council Scout Executive
(in all probablility, I don't think so!) or was it a Field Director (good
chance) or a District Executive (very good chance....this is "money makin'
time" for field professionals!)
Second, I would ask "where is this in writing?" There is NO BSA policy
which
states that monies DONATED (not "soliticed", but given freely) MUST be
forwarded over to the local Council. And before people start in on the
other
side, there's NO BSA policy which states that "excess monies above basic
operation" of a unit has to go to the Council's General fund, either. Nor
is
there a policy which states that the unit HAS to give a certain percentage
of
their treasury to the local Council.
All of those are LOCAL COUNCIL "urban legends" and very few local Councils
have those things WRITTEN in any form (if they did, they would be subject to
review by the BSA's legal team and the Finance Support Division, which the
first questions would be "why are you making units give to family FOS
mandatorily" and "why do you have this policy...isn't that why you employ
those field executives??"
Sometimes, Nell, District Executives (and other field executives, bless
their
hearts!) get a *little desperate". Their jobs depend in a good part upon
the
successful District Friends of Scouting (FOS) campaign, done with a lot of
volunteer help. Sometimes, the volunteer help isn't all it needs to be and
sometimes the amount of money, despite the high degree of volunteer support,
isn't just there. As my Mom would say, you can't get blood from a turnip.
So, in PURE DESPERATION, they "invent" some "special rules" and tell units
one of the above things....in hopes that the volunteers in that District or
Council don't have access to resources like Scouts-L, won't be told the
"real
story" from other volunteers, or worse, won't question and ask to see this
"policy" in writing.
I've had a volunteer to write me privately and when I told him the above, he
responded that the DE told him that "this policy just came from National and
he didn't have the paperwork to explain it....and that he could just take it
from the unit's treasury because he represents the BSA and therefore he
could
do so".
All which are lies and totally FALSE. NO professional -- not even the
Council's Scout Executive -- can take money from a unit's treasury UNLESS he
or she has the WRITTEN PERMISSION of the Chartered Partner Organization AND
unless someone from that chartering partner organization actually TAKES THE
MONEY OUT. And about that "mysterlous National policy??" Your Chartered
Organizational Represenative can actually call the BSA's Finance Support
Division at the National Office (and be aware that the local Council will be
notified that he or she has done so, as it should be!) or go to the BSA's
Finance Support Division's website at www.fsd.com to find those "mysterious
policies". All of the policies affecting unit program are there for ALL
volunteers to see and review.
It is a great site.
Tell your daughter's Pack to spend the money wisely, send a personal note to
the businessman thanking him for the contribution (and reminding him that
there's a lot more Cub Scouts where you guys come from and that by
contributing to the local Council's Friends of Scouting, he can help a lot
more Cub Scout Packs struggling like your daughter's!!) and insure that the
Pack's leadership is aware of and understands the difference between going
out and ASKING for donations (which the BSA and all local Councils frown
serverly upon!!) and being GIVEN donations of money and/or materials, which
EVERY unit can freely do and have done and will continue to do (and which
the
BSA doesn't have problems with from a national standpoint....local Councils
MAY have a problem with this but if the money or materials come 'from the
sky" and NOT as part of a "campaign" or "solitication", they don't have a
leg
to stand upon!).
Hope this helps out!!
Settummanque!
