Tiger Foot

Hello Everyone... Sorry to bring an old post back to life, but I wanted to share an update, and maybe crow a bit. It started out as a slog, but our 2017-2018 program year wound up great. We did lose scouts when we decided to raise dues. I expected that, but I think it was okay. It cleaned out a lot of the people who were really using us as a babysitting service. I feel a little bad to say it, but people find tome and money for the things that are important to them. And scouting just wasn't important to the families that left. But most families, when they saw a budget and a breakdown

Does anyone have an excel spreadsheet they would be willing to share? Google has turned up the pack budget one from BSA, but that's all I've found. A search here found mention of several, but I didn't see anything I could download. Thanks again.

Thanks for the advice everyone and quick responses. I've sent an email to the rest of the pack committee that basically follows Qwazse's advice... have an official meeting, make an official motion and then vote to accept a 'starting balance' that we received from previous leadership. Also an outline of stuff to cover and put in place for future financial accountability and transparency. If the rest of the gang isn't on board, then I'll follow the advice to move on. At that point, I don't know what else I could do since it would be clear I'm the only one with this level of discomfort co

As sure as I can be I guess. We've been able to reconcile all the large deposits with fundraising activities. I would think if there was an extra $700 or whatever in the account, we'd be over not short- we'd be asking, hey, where did this extra $700 come from, not why are we short money. I also think the old CM would have informed me or the CC of that when I started pushing about these financial issues and it was revealed that he spent pack money sending his own sons and his friends sons to camp, right?

Yes, I've spoken with him on numerous occasions... phone, email, facebook chats, face to face, and we've held several meetings of the new pack committee. 'Concerns' might be too strong a word. I think he is a really good guy and has been working very hard to try and recoup at least some of this money and solve this issue. But I also seem to be getting information piecemeal from him... each new answer comes in an email that also reveals a new issue. So, yes, I'm confident he's trying to fix it, but I'm not confident I'm getting all the details, and if that's the case I would guess it'

Yes, we had 16 kids attend camp last year, and 4 leaders. Yes, other scouts would have attended if the pack had offset some or all of the cost. No, that option was not made available to the whole pack.

I don't know if that meets anyone's definition of stealing, but it certainly doesn't seem right. It would be one thing if the leadership had come together and said hey, we're going to sponsor some kids to go to camp. But nothing remotely close to that happened. Instead the CM used pack funds to send his own sons to camp, and the sons of his friend to camp, completely on his own. If parents did know that was how their money was being spent, I don't think they would be happy. I'm sure many of their boys could have used some financial help to attend camp as well.

I'm sorry to be vague. About $200 of the missing funds was spent on resident camp fees for the outgoing cub masters two sons last summer. Another $520 was spent on resident camp fees for the AOL den leaders two sons to go to resident camp last summer. There are no committee meeting notes from last year and there really was no committee last year. That doesn't account for everything that's missing, but it is a large chunk of it.

The charter org is and has been very hands off. The COR is an elderly vet with health issues who really hasn't done more than sign off on applications that I'm aware of. I've only met him, very briefly, once, at our Charter organizations facility. At this point, I think he is house bound. The current committee chair was our cubmaster previous to the one I was replacing. He took the CC position after turning over CM to the guy I am now replacing. As CC he was very hands off, almost no involvement until I had the blowout I detailed in a previous post. At that point he stepped back in/up,

Hello all, I've been gobbling up all your advice from my previous posts and trying to implement it. Now I'm afraid I've uncovered an even more serious situation, and would welcome more advice. I'll try and keep it brief and drama free. It appears our accounts are short by a little less than a thousand dollars. I know some of this money has been spent inappropriately by the CM I have now replaced. I was not aware of how much it was, where it came from, what it was spent on, or that the decision to disburse it was made only by him until yesterday... a day after I officially took over as the

Is there any official training for new pack trainers other than the pack committee videos? I have a leader who wants to do this. I know I'd like him to attend pow wows, round table and whatever else is offered... but is there anything specific to being/becoming a pack trainer he should try and take? More generally... If you have a pack trainer, what kinds of things does this leader do for your pack? For example... would they pretty much run recruiting activities from top to bottom? Or maybe just help get the new Den Leaders you find through training? Something in between? I k

Very nice!

I can't thank you all enough. I was feeling pretty beat down when I posted this. Not at all sure I wanted to take this on, ready to move on. It's so nice to be able to get objective, outside, helpful and encouraging advice and experience. Thank you.

That's fantastic advice Eagledad. Right now Den leaders are doing everything. We are are exhausted. My wife and I were saying the same thing this morning so I'm glad to see you say it and confirm our thoughts. The sad thing is, we really don't even do actual pack meetings like you all are describing. Dens all meet in the same building, same time each week, and we wind up having a mini pack meeting each week... which is really just the CM rambling for about 20 to 30 minutes of the hour we all meet. It's no wonder we've morphed into a drop and run pack. Even with my prodding, the most

CalicoPenn, that's mostly correct... his wife and daughter were kinda sorta doing it. He decided to provide the option for paying dues monthly (another unilateral, un-communicated decision) and now we know we have folks who are behind, but they also did not keep/give receipts for the dues they did collect, so... it's a pickle. He also decided he wanted to put Scout account balances online, but we stopped that one before it got very far. I'm really, really glad the woman we tapped agreed. She is meeting with the former treasurer tonight I think to start getting a handle on it.

Thanks for all the info Hedgehog! After Action Report does sound tedious... I meant that after we finish an event we just need to jot down some final thoughts. What went right, what didn't, any ideas for next year. Otherwise a year goes by and then everyone is scratching their heads trying to remember at thing we were going to do. I just didn't know what to call it. And with JTE, I just want to focus on those areas. I was thinking the categories provided a good roadmap... trained leaders, an actual budget, a committee that meets and plans. I don't care so much about reaching the

Thanks Cubmaster Pete. I initially took all the online courses, I'm going to retake them to ensure I have a thorough understanding of how things should work, and pickup the book Qwazse listed. No sense reinventing the wheel! I didn't see any trainer for the pack trainer position... I think a pack trainer could/would be a good asset for a pack trying to regroup and rebuild.

Mine is good for 2 years. The certification and instructor were from Solo, in New Hampshire, and the course was put on by council. The cost was $150. CPR was offered as well for those who needed it for another $50. It was a fun class. I can't imagine I'll use it much with cub scouts, but I enjoyed it, and knowledge is always a plus.

Thanks for the encouraging words Back Pack.

Thanks Qwazse. When I first became I den leader, I took all the available online training. I don't think it would hurt me at all to go through it again. And I'll pick up a copy of the leaders guide next week.

Thank you bbender, I've been gobbling up your 50 ways to lure a leader and the other resources I've found on your site since Monday. And that's what I mean, using B&G banquet as an example... If we can't get VIP guests because no one wants to ask, if we can't organize a potluck, if no one wants to head up decorations, and all the other things we've tried to do in the past... Then let's not KICMEH. Let's not pile it on the leaders to accomplish. Maybe instead we do a simpler party. A birthday cake and awards. Maybe some skits from each den and games. And if we can't do that,

Hello everyone, I've gotten wonderful advice here in the past and I'm hoping I can get your thoughts and advice again. I'm sorry for the length of this post. I've tried to briefly lay out the current situation, and what I'd like to try and do, but if you need more details, I'll provide them. The background: -I'm serving as ACM, Wolf Den Leader, and Lion Guide. -Our Charter Org and COR are very hands off. They sign applications and ask us if we are raking up the leaves at the American Legion each fall, and that's about it. We enjoy lots of freedom. -Our CC is our former cubmast

This is awesome, thank you so much. I feel like our pack has been slowly imploding all year and getting more help will help alleviate the burnout. I want to implement all these ideas... Starting 6 months ago.

Thank you all again, here's a quick update after tonight's meeting: The previous cubmaster got back to me and agreed with my basic plan. Can't tell you how nice it is to have experienced ears to listen to your ideas! With his help, the current cubmaster was much more engaged tonight as well. I got the tiger den split into two dens, 10 scouts each. In den 1, I have a den leader and assistant, and those parents have divided up adventures and have a good start on mapping out their year. In den 2, I have a den leader, and several possible assistants. These are the parents who contempl

The amount I don't know about scouting could fill volumes!