ASB Scouts wishes to:

• Be an open and inclusive group, including supporting youth who may need financial assistance

• Encourage and provide opportunities and support for extension within Scouts with things like Jamborees (incl international), Summer camps, Scout schools, Venture and others

• Encourage and support our leaders to be able to support youth in these activities

• Manage our property and assets well, and where relevant replace or increase the asset base

Our fundraising muscle

Fundraising is a lot of things:

• Routine – something we do on a regular basis

• An important source of operational funds

• The ability to subsidise and support our Scouting youth and activities

• Simple – eg sausage sizzles

• Complex – eg quiz nights

• Paperwork – eg grants

• Volunteering time to maintain or build our group’s assets which reduces our costs.

Fundraising activities and policies

ASB should have a regular series of events and activities with owners among parents. You always need one person to make a thing happen – what ever it is.

To coordinate fundraising in line with this policy we will have a designated fundraising committee member. This will be an overall coordination role and not a responsibility to organise each fundraising activity.

Regular small fundraisers

These are both to raise funds but also teach our youth that we support each other, and the group.

Eg sausage sizzles, car washes

• By default all proceeds go to committee and are to be used to:

  • Lower term fees

  • Fund assets

  • Support Scouts needing financial assistance

  • Support Scouts and Leaders attending larger events

Fundraising for specific events

The committee may decide to support a section to do specific fundraising for an activity – for example Jamboree, zone Cub camp, Kea sleepover. Should this happen, the idea is to lower the cost for the entire participating group. This is part of the Group’s regular fundraising activities and the Committee has the discretion to allocate amounts to a particular purpose or event. 

So that money always flows to the Group as a whole a maximum of 70% of raised funds this way after profits go to the activity. The committee may decide to use the 30% to sponsor youth going to the event, or any other non-event-related purpose.

This easily allows sections to support each other eg Scouts to support Keas and Keas to support cubs - a Kea sleepover at Kelly Tarltons could be subsidised by one or two specific sausage sizzles. It shouldn’t matter who is actually serving sausages.

This is important and teaches all our youth we support each other – not just ourselves.

Large Fundraisers

Examples include Trivia nights, Bingo nights, Halloween Disco and other events likely to raise several thousand dollars.

These will be critical to the growth and longevity of our fundraising base. It is hugely important not just individual sections or groups are involved in each one, and all sections support each other.

To that end:

Large events will likely be to sponsor a particular activity or event.

The owner of the event should be able to decide participation criteria with the proviso:

• They are reasonable achievable

• Should a particular criteria not be achievable there is a backup available

• There can be cultural issues, recent immigration, parental care arrangements which stop this sort of thing happening.

• It is open to all at the start, and clearly advertised.

• Checked by the Group Leader and Committee chair without onerous requirements placed on it

An example for Quiz night:

1. Bring a table gets a small share

2. Bring a table, do a job before hand, or on the night, or afterwards gets a larger share

Any large scale event profits share should be agreed in advance with the organisers, Group Leader and Committee share. As a starting point this may be:

1. 70% to the organisers of the event to support youth participation in a specific event

2. 30% to All Saints Committee to provide financial support youth, purchase equipment or subsidise operational costs of the group.

This allows material investment and reward from the organiser and organising team.

• Specific support for the event

• Specific support to those who need it

• The ability to opt out for those that do not wish to participate.

• When explaining to other sections the understanding that  proportion of funds raised are for the general good – not specific kids.

Large events should be decided at the start of the year, and allocated to the section/event participants that want them, spread over the year so as not to be overwhelming.

This will bring clarity to the process, ensure everything is upfront and not disincent participation.

Individual fundraising

Eg Selling chocs, pies, selling crafts at markets, sponsored knot tying (?!)

Individual fundraising is absolutely permitted using Scouts attire, equipment and signage (available on request).

It must be clear that the fundraising is individual if this is taking place - eg I am fundraising to go to Jamboree with All Saints Birkenhead Scout Group.

Working bees

We will run at least two working bees a year. This reduces the cost of maining/improving our facilities and equipment thereby lowering the cost for our Group. It also builds a sense of community. We will involve our youth only where it is safe to do so.

We maintain a list of working bee tasks. We appreciate the working bee dates may not be convenient for all and people can volunteer to perform tasks at other times. Please contact the Group Leader to coordinate.

Grants

Grants are part of the fundraising muscle. This will be organised by the ASB Croup Committee. We have a dedicated committee member to assist with grant applications together with the Group Leader and Committee Chair.