Friends of Scouting Goals

[SeattlePioneer 144]

I was supposed to have someone come in to make the FOS pitch at my Cub Pack --- they didn't show so I did it myself. Raised $620 with the council goal $500.

 

 

Today I was called by the Cubmaster for the Pack for which I'm Commissioner. The FOS presenter wasn't going to make it so I was the designated pinch hitter. Raised $1190 with a council goal of $900.

 

Ever noticed that when you do well making a FOS pitch you suppose that it was because of your brilliant presentation? If it's a dud there's always some other reason.

 

 

 

 

[Scouter. 15]

Great job!

[Eamonn 61]

While you do deserve a pat on the back and a well done.

I do have to admit that I was always very uncomfortable with any sort of FOS goals.

As District Chair. One of my duties was to meet with the SE each year and set the goals for the District.

The District Goal. - That being how much we could get from the people who served on the District Committee.

The Community Goal -How much we could get from the business community.

The Family goal - How much we could get from the units.

I seen all of this as being a load of you know what!

I wanted to know how much he wanted from the District -That being "Hey guy give me a number!"

 

To be really honest I didn't really care what the number was, but my thinking was that that if I got him down to a small number, he when he made his budget wouldn't be tempted to over spend.

I did hand out cards to the members of the District Committee but I let it be known that more than any amount of money, I as chairman appreciated everything they did for the District and that there wasn't a goal.

The longer I remained a member of the Key 3, the more I seen sending people out to beg from the units as a waste of time.

The units were made aware that the campaign was happening and if they wanted someone to come to their unit and give the parents and members of the unit the opportunity to donate, we (The District Finance Committee.) Would ensure that someone would make a presentation. Again there were no goals. Some units wanted the presentation, some didn't.

We really did take a lot of time selecting our Community FOS Captains and Community Chairs. We made sure that they were updated weekly, when a big donor was recognized and we felt we needed to "Work" on him or her, I'd take them out to dinner.

I had local business owners come up to camp and eat in the dining hall and then give them a tour of the camp.

The other Districts held a Kick-off Lunch. We didn't we had a party when we reached the number given.

In ten years we missed being Quality once, we missed due to not being able to recruit the needed 25 Cub Scouts.

We added a District Golf Outing that raised an extra $35k and a District Outstanding Citizen Dinner that brought in about $12k.

I have a fair sized ego and I loved the fact that the smallest District brought in the most cash.

Ea.

[SeattlePioneer 144]

Hello Eamonn,

 

 

Well, goal setting is one of the leadership methods taught in Boy Scouts, and for good reason in my view.

 

Still, that can be done well or poorly.

 

Our council has a council FOS goal and a district goal, and each Scout unit is assigned a goal.

 

As recognition for achieving unit goals, the council awards Scout troops free badges of rank for the remainder of the year and Cub Packs a free Pinewood Derby Car for each boy.

 

I use the goal and the reward as a tool in my presentation, and find it useful. The council suggests that it costs $160 to support each Scout and I use that in my presentation as well, which usually produces several $160 donations.

 

The council also offer some premiums for those making various levels of contributions. This year a specially designed uniform council patch is offered for that $160 contribution as well.

 

I find the unit goal is usually reasonable, and even my unit in a low income area has met the goal for two years.

 

At the district level we solicit units to provide for a FOS solicitation. The two I did this year were both at Blue and Gold dinners. If a unit doesn't achieve their goal, the attitude is "better luck next year," just like if some Cub Scout didn't win in their Pinewood Derby.

 

So I think such things can be done well or poorly. I think my council does them well.