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When do Eagle Scout Candidates Start to Fund-raise?


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We have 10 Scouts in different stages of their Eagle Scout projects in our Troop.  At what point in the process do you allow your Scouts to reserve use of your Charter Org. meeting space for fund raising?  We want to be fair but of course everyone wants it for this summer!  Thank you in advance.

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7 minutes ago, FaithfulScouter said:

We have 10 Scouts in different stages of their Eagle Scout projects in our Troop.  At what point in the process do you allow your Scouts to reserve use of your Charter Org. meeting space for fund raising?  We want to be fair but of course everyone wants it for this summer!  Thank you in advance.

Just curious how much are they raising?

Our unit has an average of about 10 Eagles per year.  Average cost for the projects is about $500.  About 2/3 of that seems to come from family (parents and extended).  The remainder they request donations from unit, friends, etc.  The Eagle project should not focus on fundraising.  It could be a needed part but is not a requirement.  Several are self financed.

As for when they can or need to start, not until AFTER the Eagle project proposal is approved.

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No strict rule exists.  The positive view is you've got a great problem to handle.  Ten scouts going for Eagle.  Great!   

Find a fair process / rule / idea. 

  • Approved project proposal write-ups before "conceptual" projects that are not signed off yet.
  • Time sensitive projects first.
  • First come, first served? 

The tangential comment you will get is it's very unusual to get ten scouts at the same time.  It's even more unusual to have ten all asking for fundraising from the charter org.  Did the charter org have a list of suggested projects?  Or is there an "overly" supportive eagle coach?   Or are they just feeding off each other's ideas?  That does happen. 

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The Scouts are raising anywhere from $500 to $1,000 depending upon the project.  My true concern is being fair.  We have more than one Eagle Coach in the Troop and I want them to be able to say to our Scouts that they can ONLY reserve dates on the calendar after XXX is done.  

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Yes don't raise until after the District has approved the project and signed the addendum to raise money.

My son's project is an expensive one $1500 and 50% came from him reaching out to the local mountain bike community as it is a mountain bike trail, the other were mainly my work friends that saw his gofundme page on facebook.

The great thing about the project has been the great support he has been getting from the mountain bike community, both money and volunteers,  It is a project that they get benefit from and they are putting in their money/labor to support this project that they will be getting benefit from.

I just wish Summer didn't hit with a vengance, all work has basically stopped until it gets a little cooler.

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11 minutes ago, mashmaster said:

Yes don't raise until after the District has approved the project and signed the addendum to raise money.

My son's project is an expensive one $1500 and 50% came from him reaching out to the local mountain bike community as it is a mountain bike trail, the other were mainly my work friends that saw his gofundme page on facebook.

The great thing about the project has been the great support he has been getting from the mountain bike community, both money and volunteers,  It is a project that they get benefit from and they are putting in their money/labor to support this project that they will be getting benefit from.

I just wish Summer didn't hit with a vengance, all work has basically stopped until it gets a little cooler.

So you wouldn't allow fund raising dates to be booked until after both the proposal and fund raising application have been signed?

Congratulations to your son on his project!  Yes, asking volunteers to work in oppressive heat isn't easy.  Good luck to him.

Edited by FaithfulScouter
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1 hour ago, FaithfulScouter said:

So you wouldn't allow fund raising dates to be booked until after both the proposal and fund raising application have been signed?

Congratulations to your son on his project!  Yes, asking volunteers to work in oppressive heat isn't easy.  Good luck to him.

My understanding from the rules are that fundraising and starting work on the project prior to the district signing off will invalidate the project.

If it is just putting a hold on a facility, I think that would be ok but no actual fundraising or solicitation until the paperwork is signed.  It shouldn't take too much work to get the paperwork signed.  My son was able to get that done over the course of a week of phone calls, emails, and video conferences.

Good luck on your son's project as well.

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I agree with the above that the space should be reserved after the district sign-off. With 10 Life scouts and a thorough district advancement chair, one or two of them will get sent back for further work. Those one or two reserving a hall for a fundraiser could block a date that might suit others who are clear to start their project.

Also. Talk to your COR. The CO might not be comfortable with indoor fundraising events this year. Ten of them means ten chances that someone with the virus passes through, and you all will need to help contact trace. Our CO has so many at-risk congregants that they have asked us to not use the building ... even for meetings. Also, ten additional fundraisers might be unrealistic. One big fundraiser to load the pot for projects might work better. But, that also means that boys will have to share leadership at that point. Not a big deal, but a challenge.

Some CO's  will charge a fee for extra use. Be open to discuss that.

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2 minutes ago, FaithfulScouter said:

Qwase - when you refer to District sign off you do you mean the proposal or fund raising application?  Our District Advancement Chair signs fundraising applications on behalf of the Council.

The District Advancement chair should sign both places I believe. The fundraising addendum is usually not a big deal, they are looking for reasonable and scout-like fundraising. 

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57 minutes ago, FaithfulScouter said:

Qwase - when you refer to District sign off you do you mean the proposal or fund raising application?  Our District Advancement Chair signs fundraising applications on behalf of the Council.

Reminder on the fundraising questions - 

*This application is not necessary for contributions from the candidate, his parents or relatives, his unit or its chartered organization, parents or
members in his unit, or the beneficiary. All proceeds left over from fundraising or donations, whether money, materials, supplies, etc.,
regardless of the source, go to the beneficiary. If the beneficiary is not allowed, for whatever reason, to retain any excess funds or materials, etc.,
the beneficiary should designate a suitable charity to receive them, or allow the unit to retain them. The unit must not influence this decision

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12 hours ago, mashmaster said:

Yes don't raise until after the District has approved the project and signed the addendum to raise money.

It's always nice when the scout fills out the fundraiser application.  It's clearly a grey threshold if the scout is only fundraising within the charter org.  If the charter org pays for the project, the scout does not need a the fundraiser application.  If the fundraiser is completely separate from the charter org (and it's significant money ... and ...), then yes you need it signed.  The scout could legitimately argue a fundraiser application is not necessary if all the fundraising occurs within the boundaries of the charter org.  

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You can fundraise anytime after 2 things are approved. 
 

1. Project proposal workbook 
2. Fundraising application/form (this may need council signature if raising over a certain amount, the form tells you how many signatures you need)

Edited by ItsBrian
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