Financing Scouting: Rules of the Road

This page links to the Boy Scouts of America's Finance Support Division (FSD) and to their excellent information which provides the basics of Financing Scouting.

Like driving, one needs to know the road rules. In the case of financing Scouting, these rules are provided through local Councils and through the FSD's official public website. Their site provides the latest OFFICIAL guidance on the financial aspects of supporting Scouting: the usage of the official uniform, the guidelines on money-raising projects and more.

Next, you will need a permit to drive on the roadway. This page links to the BSA's official fund-raising form, which is available in Adobe^®'s Acrobat (PDF) format. This form is to be completed and turned into your local Council before your unit starts any fundraising project or program.

Some of the rules of the road include:

• Scouts DO NOT sell things in uniform. There are some exceptions, but for the most part, we sell unit and council stuff in street clothing

• No raffles or games of chance. While that will generate a lot of interest and in many cases, a lot of money, it also generates opportunies for the possibility of misrepresentation or graft. So why go through all of that. Leave the raffles to the schools and churches

• Each item sold must be sold on its own merits....in other words, we don't use the 'good name of the BSA' to sell our things...we sell a disposable flashlight because every home needs one in the event of an emergency, not because the BSA or our unit says that these flashlights work well. We sell a ticket to a Scout show or circus for the recreational and promotion of Scouting in our community, not because if "I sell X number of these, I can get a new bicycle or Nitendo game."

Finally, you need a road to travel upon...here's a scenic road!

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