Scout Accounts
Every registered cub scout automatically has a “Scout account”. Scout account funds can be used to pay anything scout related...camping fees, costs of uniforms or handbooks, etc...
Your scout account balance is tracked and you can check it anytime using Scoutbook. When your scouts balance is negative, you will be contacted by your Den leader, Cub master or pack treasurer to make arrangements to pay your negative balance.
How do I put money in the account?
Sell wreaths! Every wreath sold earns approximately $10-$11 for the scouts account, it adds up quickly, even just selling to a few close friends and family members. Many scouts pay for a large part of their scouting activities for the year solely from what they earn by selling wreaths. Selling wreaths is not required by the pack but as you can see it is well worth the effort!
How do I use the money in the account?
If you have a positive balance, you can submit receipts to the pack treasurer for any scout purchases you make directly, you will be reimbursed and your account balance will be adjusted. For instance if you buy uniforms or other items at the scout shop at base camp. If you’re not sure just ask before you buy!
If the pack pays something for you, like if you choose to do polar camp, funds in your scout account will be applied toward the cost.
The $70 per family charge for our annual pancake breakfast is another example. If you have enough funds in your scout account, the pancake fee will be taken out automatically, and you won't be asked for a payment.
What happens if my child leaves scouting?
If you decide to leave scouting entirely, any funds in your child's scout account are donated to the pack for pack programming and operating costs. However if you transfer to a different cub pack, or when your child finishes cubs and joins scouts BSA, the funds will follow along to your new Pack or to the Troop they join.
Have more questions? Just ask!
Cubmaster: Andy Berndt cubmaster.pack9037@gmail.com
Committee Chair: Sam Stevens committeechair.pack9037@gmail.com
Assistant Treasurer: Erik Funk funkerik@gmail.com
Overview of Pack operations and finances and the difference between pack and “national/local” ScoutsBSA operations
Boyscouts of America run at a national and local level with a hierarchy that supports curriculum and structure for scouting in your neighborhoods. Our local organization name is Northernstar Council, and pack 9037 is the cubscout pack chartered by Saint Stephen’s Luterhan church.
When you register for scouts, the annual price is determined by Northernstar Council. They set and collect the amount for paying the national fees they are required to pay out of their budget, plus the amount they deem fit to fund local properties, such as camps, scout shops, etc. The council has paid positions for staff that help run programming and coordinate membership drives and other functions.
“The Pack”, run out of Saint Stephen’s is a charted organization that operates under the Northernstar council’s guidelines. The pack is a separate entity with its own budget, programming, communication distribution list, committee, and leadership that is run entirely from volunteers, typically family members of scouts in the pack.
When you register your scout the fees are set and collected by the council. The pack never touches or sees any money from this transaction - it is entirely between you and the council with the exception that every registered scout has $20 deposited in their pack’s scout account. Pack 9037 uses this money to pay for advancement insignia instead of taking it out of our own operating budget. The council maintains unit rosters and software that help track scout advancement (known as scoutbook), as well as verifies youth protection training, and yearly recharter requirements are met by the pack.
The pack raises money every year to fund the programming budget. The budget is set every year by our treasurers using last year’s income and expenses as a guide, while forecasting this year’s budget based on total number of scouts, some “fixed” activities that we do every year (such as pinewood derby, blue & gold dinner, and raingutter regatta), plus optional events we may choose (by committee) to approve.
Separately, the pack administers fundraising opportunities, such as wreath sales that allow families to deposit the proceeds into their scout’s “scout account” (visible in the scoutbook app). Funds will be held in our Pack 9037 bank account alongside our yearly budget. As of 2023, 10% of all net wreath sales will go to the scout operating account. A report is maintained to verify the total amount of the balance and we ensure our total bank account balance has at least the amount that is the sum of the total of all scout account balances.
The scout account balances from fundraisers may be used for purchasing uniforms, pay for camp, yearly registration fees, or any other scouting activity. While the money is in a scout’s name, it is not that scout’s money. If a scout leaves the pack, the money will be retained to help fund pack programming; think of it as a donation.
As the pack operation budget does not see any funds from the registration process or wreath sales, the committee sets fundraisers that are solely to fund the operating budget. Traditionally, the pack has held a pancake breakfast every January. This is funded by pre-charging each scout family a set dollar amount that represents tickets the family may sell to people who wish to attend the event.
Example: a family is charged $70 for 10 tickets. The family pays $70 to the pack, and their scout account has a $0 balance. The family may choose to sell those 10 tickets to family/friends/etc. To recoup the $70 they were charged. They may also sell additional tickets that will be a “bonus” that is added to the pack’s operational budget.
Camping is a yearly activity that the pack participates in. The council sponsors two events each year; polar camp (day camp) and summer camp (weekend). The pack selects days we “sponsor” but scout families are free to sign up on their own. The pack facilitates the registration of the event and pays the cost up front out if it’s bank account. In order to fund this, the pack draws funds from the scout accounts automatically. In past years, the pack has allowed scout accounts to go negative, but as of 2023, this will no longer be the case. The pack will create a registration camp request list, but will only pre-pay for families with a balance sufficient to cover the cost of camping. Camp cost is set by the council and is around $250 each year.