Sustainable Funding FAQ

1. What is changing? a. We are replacing the Family Friends of fundraising campaign (2020) and annual recharter fees (2021) in favor of a monthly subscription for Scouting in the Occoneechee Council. 2. Why are we doing this? a. There are many reasons, but the driving reason is to better allocate our Council staff and volunteer resources to improve the Scouting experience and offer Scouting to more youth. b. We’re working to help our families better understand the true costs of Scouting - Our National organization has always done this through annual dues. Many units do this through unit dues. Now the Council is passing along a portion of the true costs of Scouting locally to those who participate and are able to afford it. This better focuses our lean staff’s attention on delivering a world class program. c. We are initiating a sustainable funding model that will create a better Scouting experience for our youth. This change will result in a more focused and efficient staffing model intent on delivering our life changing program with greater effectiveness and a broader impact. 3. What brought this about? a. The world around us has evolved. Twenty years ago, we were primarily funded by United Way contributions and our staff focused on working alongside volunteers to deliver a world class program. Over the last twenty years, our staff have spent more and more time raising funds to keep the lights on AND working with volunteers in support of our program. We need them to be able to focus on program, and this change enables them! 4. Who initiated this change? a. A group of volunteers made up of unit, district, and council leaders began studying this concept in 2018 as part of an initiative to re-think our operations for better scouting. After months of discussion, evaluation, feedback, and consideration, the decision to change has been presented to the council’s board of directors for adoption. 5. Will I be able to pay monthly? How often am I billed? a. Yes! We will offer a monthly, quarterly, and annual billing option. 6. What if I don't have a credit card? a. A is Thrifty! Direct draft via credit and debit cards are the easiest and most efficient ways to process payments for our program. That said, we recognize that while most of our families use credit/debit cards as part of their daily lives, that can’t be said for ALL of our scout families. We’re committed to working with our Scout families to make this work in a way that makes sense for them. 7. How will the monthly fee be derived? a. Our process has studied similar youth serving activity programs and also the lowest cost we could offer to successfully reach our objectives. The Council cost to deliver the program (not including the unit activity costs) is $320 per participant plus National fees. b. We will be able to pass along a lower monthly cost to Scout families due to the support of individual and corporate donors who give annually through our Friends of Scouting campaign. Without their support, the true annual cost would be approximately $320 per scout. 8. How much of the subscription will go to national versus council? a. The subscription is being designed to cover the national dues in full beginning in 2021, as well as insurance and Boy’s Life costs. We’re anticipating that National will increase their annual dues in the years to come and plan to absorb those costs without increasing the monthly cost to Scouts locally. 9. Are adult fees increasing? a. No, the cost for an adult to be registered will remain $35. 10. Does this include national dues? a. Yes 11. Does this include $2 annual insurance? a. Yes 12. When does this start? a. Our plan is to start this process no later than January 2020 and to include national recharter dues in 2021. 13. Does this impact unit dues? a. No - unit dues will continue to be set and collected by individual units and maintained by the chartered organization. 14. How often will fees increase? a. We are committed to set a fee level through the Scouting year which will now run until September 2021. 15. I am an alumni / parent or grandparent of alumni --- how do I participate? a. We appreciate our alumni and grandparents and are counting on your support. You may participate via the application or our development team is available to meet with you individually to determine a plan or strategy that meets your preference. THANK YOU! 16. How safe is my personal data when I give my credit card? a. We are using a nationally recognized vendor to handle payment processing. Your payment details will be stored securely with the vendor and will not be used for any purpose other than the authorized subscription. 17. Will my personal data be used or sold to other organizations? a. Absolutely not. 18. If my credit card information needs to be replaced, who do I contact? a. If you are using our new secured system, you will be contacted if there is any issue in processing your payment or suspicious activity. Our system will also contact you if your card is near expiring. 19. Is there a fee if I have to replace my credit card and I fail to notify the system? a. No penalty will be assessed however past due amounts will accrue into your next billing cycle. 20. Is there a discount for paying annually in advance? a. Not at this time. 21. Is there a discount if you have multiple scouts in the program? a. Not at this time. Any Scout of family that requires scholarship to participate will be eligible for support. 22. Will the monthly fee to apply to adults? a. Volunteers remain the core of the delivery of Scouting. We will only ask and pass through the costs which must be remitted to the National organization for registration and insurance. THANK YOU. 23. Since the fee does not apply to adults, how and when are their dues collected? a. We hope that adults will adopt and take advantage of the new system to securely and flexibly handle dues and also consider a FOS contribution to promote . 24. Who do I call with questions? a. The best resource is your Family Scouting Executive. You can also email [email protected]. 25. How does this impact sustaining members (FOS)? a. Our Sustaining Donors have been paying for Scouting monthly for almost 10 years now! The Sustaining Donors program will continue to enable those who wish to support of Scouting. 26. Will there still be unit FOS presentations? a. No. Individual donors will continue to have the opportunity to show their support for Scouting but will not be engaged through a unit based Friends of Scouting presentation. 27. Will the council still host the annual FOS breakfast? a. Yes. No changes here, except the hope that our increased focus on promoting Scouting to ALL in our community will increase our value to our corporate donor community. 28. Will this replace other Council fundraisers (i.e. popcorn & camp cards)? a. We will continue to offer and promote these campaigns as a value to both the Council and the units. These campaigns offer viable ways for units to significantly decrease the activity costs they would otherwise pass along to participants. b. We routinely hear from Scout Leaders and parents about the way’s product sales are part of their program, teaching resilience, salesmanship, public speaking, and building confidence in our Scouts. These programs also supplement activity costs for participants in the unit. Popcorn and camp card programs will continue for the foreseeable future. 29. Is Boys Life magazine covered in this new model? a. Yes. All youth participants will receive a subscription to Boys Life. (2021) 30. What if my youth is registered in a Troop, Crew, or Ship? a. Youth with multiple registrations will be covered by a single monthly fee. 31. If a youth drops from my unit, how do they cease payments? a. Participants will be able to cancel their membership through the online system as they exit the program. 32. What if I’m unable to pay? a. No youth will be denied Scouting due to an inability to pay their own way. Unit leaders and Family Scouting Executives will have authority to confidentially grant scholarships on a case-by-case basis.