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Boy Scout Fundraising

The Girl Scouts are well known for their cookie sales. Boy Scouts of America troops, packs, and crews have no national fundraising item. Each BSA unit makes their own fundraising decisions. Many councils participate in popcorn sales, but the strong competition in many areas causes troops to look for alternative ways to raise funds. I've seen troops selling many different items and services including poinsettas, carwashes, flags, both flower and light bulbs, and even mulch.

To help with your efforts, here are some Scout fundraising ideas you might consider. While you will find hundreds of different Scouts BSA and Cub Scout fundraising ideas on the internet, I'd like to take a moment to present a few of them here.

Christmas Wreaths - There are many companies to choose to be your wreath supplier: Mickman Brothers, Sherwood Forest Farms, Evergreen Industries, and others.
Snacks - Items that you can sell cover the entire spectrum from smoked meat sticks from Country Meats to nuts from Virginia Diner. One of the top Boy Scout fund raisers is selling chocolate candy bars. Consider selling the Original One Dollar Bar for your candy fundraiser. These are the largest one dollar fundraising chocolate candy bars available. They are packaged in patriotic wrappers that look like one dollar bills. Besides the size and great flavor, smaller groups will love the fact that they can purchase as little as one case of candy at a time.
Camp Cards - In the past 5 years or so, this program has gotten very popular with AllAmerican Card Co being a big player.
Flag Subscriptions - individual homes pay to have a US Flag put up and taken down in their yard by scouts on six or seven key holidays each year. Proceeds can be divided between selling the subscription and doing the actual flag work. A troop needs to invest in the flags and ensure there will be enough scouts available to raise and lower all the flags. This fundraiser allows both 'sellers' and 'workers' to earn by doing what they prefer.
Bulbs - A more unique Scout fund raiser to consider is selling flower bulbs. Flower bulbs are great fundraising products that sell well and are easy to handle.
Food Events - pancake breakfast, pork roast, corn feed, whatever local cuisine is expected. Picnics and 'feeds' allow an opportunity for communities to gather, have fun, and support Scouting.
Tools and Gadgets - Interesting, or hard-to-find items can be sold by a unit. For example, the First Aid Kits.
Goblin Insurance - Before Halloween, sell insurance to residents and businesses. Scouts clean up any Halloween mess, such as soaped windows, smashed pumpkins, etc. that may occur.
Easter Eggs - Before Easter, sell plastic egg orders. Night before Easter, distribute the ordered number of candy-filled eggs in the yard of each home that ordered.
Yard Invasions and Insurance - This is done with plastic flamingoes, rubber ducks, mops, toilets, pretty much anything. Someone pays to have you punk a friend by filling their yard with the items, plus a sign to contact you to remove the items. The punked person hopefully pays you to move them to someone else's yard. You can sell insurance beforehand, or after being punked, to prevent invasions. (I don't care for this idea myself. It is popular and fun, but it is doing something to someone that they did not request.)

It's best to do a fundraiser that targets people outside your unit. A cake auction, for example, would most likely be attended only by Scouting families. So, the same families that would be paying the unit expenses are still paying them. Fundraising should be an opportunity for other community members to support Scouting if they want.

All scout fundraising events are supposed to be authorized by the Boy Scouts of America through the use of a Unit Money-Earning Aplication at this page. There's more details about scout fundraising on this page.
When checking out new fund raising options, a lower up-front investment and a larger percentage of profit are two keys to success. It's also important to have a product that people need or want but don't often purchase for themselves.

If you have a fundraising product you'd like listed here, please Contact Me.

Comments:

Oct 25, 2013 - Den 6 Dad

Folks: One excellent idea we had was to collect scrap metal. Used a truck and trailer from couple of our Den Leaders, and went house to house collecting scrap steel, car parts, aluminum, copper, old batteries, etc. Delivered to a local scrap metal recycling yard (who also gave the boys a great tour) and raked in $1,000 for the Pack. The scrap metal yards will also help you organize and event. Good luck!

Mar 10, 2014 - Irene mckee

Do the Scouts still offer help to the older members of the population for a fixed fee, also worked towards some badges? I was a Girl Guide (Scout) in the UK many years ago, where we did a fund raiser, called "Bob (shilling) a Job! As a senior I would be happy to make donations to the Scouts 2 or 3 times each year, I live on an acre and find clearing all the tree limbs, a bit much for me! Please advise if the scouts would be interested! Sincerely, Irene McKee

Aug 19, 2014 - Wendy LaBerge

We are starting a new troop too. We are planning a garage sale. All families who are starting the troop will chip in stuff and all proceeds go to the new troop. We are also looking into grants too. In the past we have done christmas tree wreaths which generated a decent amount of money. However you need one person who's job is only the wreath sales. Good Luck to you!!!

Sep 21, 2014 - Jeff B

Would doing a fund raiser with a local restaurant be against the BSA rules? I know Culvers and McDonalds support our local school with donating a small portion of the proceeds to them. Thanks

Nov 19, 2014 - Veronica Sparks

We do well with Krispy Kreeme doughnuts. All of the info you need is on their website. They are very easy to work with and the kids get 50% profit.

Jan 06, 2015 - Cheryl

I was wondering if you every had parents ask why the Pack needs to do fundraising? We have a very small Pack and it has been a topic of conversation and I'm wondering if there is a easy answer to this. We currently don't have scout accounts setup do to lack of scouts that do things so we have a general fund that it all goes into right now. Any suggestions would be great. Thank you!

Apr 09, 2015 - Stephanie Santos

Cheryl, I would tell the parents that fundraisers are needed because scouts are a non profit organization. Therefore, any and all monies made go toward pack functions such as camping or awards. Our pack doesn't have dues so to make up for that we do a lot of fundraisers. We don't want a possible scout to not join because of dues every month.

May 03, 2015 - Chris Kuhl

We have a very small Troop. We did the beef jerky fundraiser and it went so well that we are doing it again. Once people tried the jerky, they loved it and wanted more. We are looking to build up our funds so we have something planned every month and some months have 2 events going on. Jerky sales, car wash, restaurants will sponsor a "family day" and they pay the scouts 10-15% of the days sales on a day you choose to do it. Announce to everyone to eat at the restaurant you choose and they put their receipts in a box (provided by the troop) and then restaurant pays out the percentage at the end of the day. Pancake breakfast, BBQ plate sale, and currently we are asking academy for a donation to purchase something to raffle off. Of course anything you choose has to be approved before council, Also, most major corporations will sponsor a troop. I am looking into a few to sponsor the boys for camping trips so the single parents in our troop will only have to pay their own way.

Aug 19, 2015 - Jojo

Chris, who did you do the beef jerky sales with? I've been looking on the web for places. Want a reputable place if you don't mind saying. Thanks.

Aug 19, 2015 - scouter paul

@jojo - Country Meats has a nice product for scouts to sell. There is a link to their site towards the top of the page.

May 26, 2016 - Moose

Curious about something. Would it be out of the ordinary for an individual den to do some fundraising on their own? I'm looking at the "future" for these boys in scouting and seeing an increase in cost for activities. And they have an opportunity for some awesome activities after a certain age. Philmont, Sea Base, Bechtel, Northern Tier and a multitude of other possibilities. I keep hearing that as these boys hit a certain age and their no longer the "cute" "ahhhhhh look at him" scout that the amount of popcorn sales and stuff starts to drop off dramatically. So I would like these younger scouts to basically start stockpiling scout bucks over the next 4 - 5 years. So that they're not scrambling to afford summer camps and stuff. So back to my original question. Would it be out of the ordinary to do individual Den fundraisers? What concerns do any of you see coming from doing this? Would you look upon it negatively if you were part of the pack? Thanks in advance.

May 26, 2016 - Scouter Paul

@Moose - What you are proposing is contrary to BSA guidelines. You should read this page and this page.

May 26, 2016 - Moose

So basically the whole pack would have to approve the fundraising and only those that wanted to participate in it would participate. And then some of that money could be allocated to the "pack" and a percentage to the scouts (that participated) individual scout bucks account. Kind of like a lot of units/packs do with the popcorn sales. Am I interpreting that correctly?

May 26, 2016 - Scouter Paul

@Moose - There's more to it. Fundraising is for the unit, not for individual scouts. Your Pack needs to get a Unit Money Earning Application approved by your chartered organization and your local council.
If you read the Checklist for Approval (in the link above), you are trying to earn money for individual scout use sometime in the future, for some undefined need, rather than for a current need for your current unit. That is not what fundraising is for.
Here is another page that states fundraising can not be credited to an individual for his expenses. This "individual scout bucks" that you mention can be money contributed by the scout and his family, but not from unit fundraising. Another discussion on the topic can be found here.
It's certainly a good idea for scouts and their parents to start putting aside funds for expensive future adventures as soon as possible. A Cub Scout could put aside a portion of payment for his job, allowance, or birthday gifts into an account that will be there for that Philmont adventure in 6 years. But, that should be separate from unit fundraising.

Oct 03, 2016 - Cindi

wondering what is the fundraising money for then if not to assist the individual child with camping and opportunity costs through the BSA. Where does all of the money go to?

Oct 03, 2016 - carol

You should attend a Committee meeting to see where all the money goes. It goes into the Treasury to cover expenses for the unit such as awards, patches, badges, supplies, fees for events, food, equipment, etc. A yearly budget is set, based on the calendar of events and their costs. The popcorn sales goal for each boy is based on this budget. If you want all the fees covered for all the boys for all the events & trips, there is a much larger budget and fundraising goal. One year we had a tremendous popcorn sale and spent almost $2500 on our Blue & Gold banquet and didn't have to charge anyone and had the food catered at a hotel banquet hall with a magician. When we don't do so well, it's potluck dinner in the school cafeteria or we have to sell tickets to cover the costs.

Dec 13, 2016 - Sheena Cater

We are a brand new troop, just starting out. Do we have to submit a Unit Money Earning Application for each fundraiser? Is there a generic budget plan for new troops? I have no idea what to expect regarding monthly expenses or setting budget goals for our troop. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Dec 15, 2016 - Michelle Lister

I am new to this fundraising thing. Popcorn sales just aren't going to well. Looking for a different fundraiser idea for my troop. In specific, I am looking for a fundraiser for hurricane preparedness items. My troop is comprised solely of special needs adults. Looking for hand-crank radios, first- aid kits and/or flashlights. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Apr 06, 2017 - Jeff Carver

It seems we are dealing with similar issues as those here in raising funds for our growing expenses. Popcorn and pancakes only go so far and often times we are still short. We were looking around for other possible options and I am wondering if anyone has considered selling flags.

Apr 11, 2017 - Moose

Many options for fundraising. Troops could do a black friday childcare fundraiser. Watch kids while parents shop. Bake sale. Aluminum cans. If you're located close to a sporting facility like an NFL stadium (for example), check and see if it is OK to walk the parking lot and pick up aluminum cans. Or possibly set up containers for people to deposit their cans in. Strip laptops and computers of their valuable metals and parts. Wreaths I've heard people have success with. Country meats (beef jerky and stuff) I've heard has done well for some. Car wash. Some restaurants will donate a portion of their sales during a specific time of day for one day. Some do up to 25% of their sales during dinner time. If it's a popular restaurant, that can add up quick. Rummage/garage sale. Pumpkin patch at the church or chartered organization location. Springtime = flowers. Fall, yard clean-up (raking leaves). After christmas "real" tree recycle program. $10 - $15 for pickup (depending on drive time) and recycling of tree or $5 per tree drop off for recycling.

Jun 01, 2017 - Debbie Epps

I have been reading through these ideas and I am feeling like they do not meet all of the guidelines for scouts. I was told no raffling or chance games....yet I continuously see raffles as suggestions for scouts. Any clarification please.

Jun 03, 2017 - Scouter Paul

@Debbie - I didn't reread every comment, but I only see "raffle" in one comment and "chance" nowhere, other than yours. For official clarification, please see the Unit Money-earning Application linked in the content above where it gives guidance on raffles and games of chance.

Sep 24, 2017 - M Porter

@Debbie
From BSA www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/510-274.pdf
Will the fundraising activity uphold the good name of the BSA? Does it avoid games of chance, gambling, etc.?

Selling raffle tickets or other games of chance is a direct violation of the BSA Rules and Regulations, which forbid gambling. The product must not detract from the ideals and principles of the BSA.

Jan 02, 2020 - Denise Cummings

My grandson in a pack in Ovid Mi, it’s a totally unorganized, out of control meeting. When asked if the leader how much money do we have the say “we’re good”. They will not answer. How do I get answers. The Christmas Caroling that was to be done at the local senior center was a joke. They didn’t know anything of it and would not let kids sing that had walked to the facility. Un- prepared. Sad learning experiences.

Jan 22, 2020 - Bruce Boyd

The Boy Scouts needs to take a page from the Girl Scouts and abandon the Popcorn selling because it not NEAR as lucrative as selling cookies! The one snack that can definitely compete with cookies are “ Thin Brownies”! We can actually mimic the same flavors the Girl Scouts are using for there cookies into Thin Brownies and sell them! I believe this could finally put a fundraising item together from the Boy Scouts that can actually compete with the Girl Scout cookie sales

Jan 22, 2020 - Stacey

Recently my younger joined a new troop for girls. During their last meeting it was mentioned that the troop needed to start doing more fundraising to help for camp and such. However there was a statement that was made that parents would have to sign a consent form similar to that of the Girl Scouts when parents agree to take a certain amount of cookies/product and then be financially responsibly for the product. I am wondering if this is acceptable. I have never heard of a BSA unit requiring parents to sign a consent/ commitment form for fu?draising.

Feb 07, 2020 - Kristen

@Stacey, I don't know about a specific form, but when our Troop distributes camp cards, parents sign a sign out sheet that states, that they are responsible for the cards they take, if the cards are lost or damaged,they are financially responsible for what they took. They are always able to return unsold cards as long as they are not missing any parts. This form was put in place after a parent misplaced a number of cards and the Troop was still responsible to pay the district for them.

Oct 10, 2021 - Carol Iannessa

I’m interested in doing Goblin insurance. Wondering if I need to do anything formal before we try this?

Oct 13, 2021 - Scouter Paul

@Carol - Yes, you need to get it approved by submitting a Unit Money- Earning Application beforehand.

Feb 19, 2023 - Erin Crawford

Can we have a fundraiser for our troop where a restaurant donates a portion of sales a particular night to the troop? If so, what is the procedure?

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