Friends of Scouting

Friends of Scouting is a long standing tradition in most Councils. It is an important fund raising effort that helps to finance many aspects of Council operations. This may include salaries of Scouting professionals, office space and utilities and other things that are important for the daily operating budget. On our side as volunteers, these funds can also be used to help subsidize the costs of program supplies at Council and District events to keep costs low for event participation. Possibly most important to most Scouters and Scouting parents these funds are often used to help build camperships, scholarships for events, and uniform scholarships for families that have need of financial assistance. Helping to ensure these camperships and uniform scholarships is something those of use who are able to assist with can do to “help other people at all times.” However this meeting presents a way to raise money while having more fun than traditional Friends of Scouting presentations. It also adds a way to have a new perspective on what a “Friend of Scouting” can be.

Cheers:

A good cheer can add a lot of fun to a meeting. A cheer can quickly get the attention of the group or add some enthusiasm to a meeting that may be hitting a lull. Here is an example of a cheer for this meeting.

Cubmaster: Help other people.

Scouts: At all times?

Fund Raising and Fun Raising Activities:

Instead of a traditional Friends of Scouting presentation and collection that only appeals only to the adults in the room and largely causes disengagement with the Scouts, consider building a meeting around a theme filled with different activities. These activities can be things that cause the Scouts to have a good time while helping to raise money in the process. Two successful themes are “Desserts” and “Art” among others. It is a good idea to start the meeting with a brief discussion about what the money collected at the meeting will be used for. This will help build an understanding of the importance of the donations being made at the meeting.

Bring a mid-sized canvas and paints for each Den. Have them work as a team to design and create a painting as a Den. It can reflect their rank, a Cub Scout activity, or any other Scout appropriate idea. Then when the paintings are completed have the Pack do a Gallery Walk so all of the Scouts and families get to admire the various peices of artwork as they dry. Once your gallery walk is done auction off the paintings. The highest bidder for each painting gets to take home the painting and their bid will be a donation to the Friends of Scouting fund.

For a dessert theme you can use the same concept as the idea above, but instead of canvases and paint, get each Den a small undecorated cake and cake decorating supplies.

Scouts having fun decorating their cake.
The older the Scouts the more detailed the decorations tend to be.
A great two headed snake monster.
This design was based on a gardening activity the Den had done earlier in the year.
Some of the younger Dens went with more abstract decorations.

Fun with a leader:

While the main activity is going on have containers in the back of the room with various leaders names on them. Cubs and families can donate by putting money into the container for the leader of their choice. At the end of the meeting the leader with the most money donated will have something silly done to them. Cubmasters be warned you are a frequent target since all of the Scouts know you.

Dessert night lends itself to a simple pie in the face activity.
One of our Den leaders had one son in the Webelos Den and one in the Lion Den. Since mom worked and helped with both Dens the families of the Dens argued that the two Dens combined made more money and any one person and so she should also be pied in the face. She was happy to be a good sport.
The Den Leaders sons were the natural choices to deliver the pies!
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For the Art night the leader with the most money donated had their face painted.

Silent Auction:

Another simple fund raiser is to do a silent auction throughout the Pack meeting. Have each family bring an item to donate for the auction. Items that are scouting or outdoor themed are always good sellers as are things that fit with the theme but anything they want to bring is fine. Let families know they can bring used items in decent condition. If they want to purchase an item for the auction suggest a $5.00 limit. We would rather they donate most of their money to the Friends of Scouting campaign than spend it on auction items.

Auction items laid out, each with a pen and a bid sheet.

Recognize a local Friend of Scouting:

Friends of Scouting has always been focused on a fund raising campaign. However this is a great time to thank and honor someone who goes above and beyond for Scouting in general or your unit specifically. There are so many wonderful people that help with our mission in Scouting and it is good to take the opportunity to show our appreciation for them. These individuals are truly Friends of Scouting.

This Pack wanted to honor one of the custodians at the school where they meet. The custodian always checked in on the Pack and Dens asking if they needed anything. She frequently helped loan supplies that helped solve unanticipated issues, stayed late if the Pack meeting ran long, and just stopped into be a friendly face to the Cubs. The Pack honored her at the meeting and thanked her for all that she did and presented her with a framed PAck tshirt that the Cubs and leaders had all signed. They made sure to also notify her supervisors of how much they appreciate her as well so she was recognized by them as well.