From: Scoutmaster John

To: Troop Committee for Troop 316

Re: BSA Checklist for Fund-raising Projects

Date: 4/19/00

Chapter 17, "Troop Finances", of the BSA Scoutmaster Handbook gives the following checklist for testing the value of fund-raising projects for a BSA troop:

- Does the fund-raiser serve a real need? Scouts, their families, and the community quickly tire of too many moneymaking campaigns or fund drives without a clear purpose.

- Has your chartered organization, troop committee, and local council approved the project, the dates when it will occur, and the methods by which it will be achieved?

- Are the dates set so that there will be no competition with other fund-raising programs of your chartered organization, BSA local council, or the United Way?

- Is your plan free from any suggestion of gambling? Is it fully consistent with the ideals of the BSA?

- If a commercial product will be marketed, will it be sold on its own merits without reference to the needs of Scouting? (The Scout uniform must not be worn when boys are selling commercial products. For more on when and when not to wear the uniform, see chapter 15, "The Uniform and Isignia.")

- If the troop will sell tickets for any function other than a Scouting event such as a troop supper, will they be sold by the boys as individuals without depending on the goodwill of Scouting to make the sale?

- Will buyers get their money's worth from the product or service?

- Does the money-earning project respect the boundaries of other troops and their fund-raising efforts?

- Are you reasonably certain that the troop's plan will not compete with local businesses or jeopardize opportunities for people who need work?

- Does the plan protect the name and goodwill of the Boy Scouts of America? Is the plan designed so that the BSA and its symbols cannot be capitalized upon by promoters of shows, benefits, or sales campaigns?

- Fund-raising contracts must in no way bind the BSA local council or the BSA organization to any agreement or financial responsibility. If contracts are to be signed, will they be signed by a person acting as an individual without any reference to the Boy Scouts of America?

After giving this checklist, the Scoutmaster Handbook states that when "a fund-raising project has been thoroughly considered, submit a Unit Money-Earning Application to your local council service center well before the proposed date of the project." Please remember that any fund-raising activity in which our troop will be publicly representing the Boy Scouts of America should be approved by our local council.