From Scouting’s inception, local councils have raised their own funds and sustained themselves by through giving campaigns with Scouting units. However, the manner by which people support Non-Profit programs has changed — dramatically. Simply put, we can no longer rely on the unit-level Give the Adventure Campaigns to meet our financial requirements. With this reality facing us, Alamo Area Council's Executive Board of Directors established a committee to study and recommend a solution. The committee was made up of key unit and district leadership across every district of the Alamo Area Council, donors, and members of our Scouting community. After months of evaluation and discussion, the committee concluded that a nominal service fee should be implemented. This will provide a reliable source of income to support our youth while also providing the opportunity to retire the Give The Adventure initiative at the unit-level during meetings. We appreciate your commitment to our community and to all that is being done to develop our young men and women into the leaders of tomorrow.
In keeping with Council policy, the Council's Executive Board of Directors met on August 26, 2022 and approved the Committee's recommendation to institute a $48 Council Program Fee for 2023. Fees will be collected during the 2023 recharter period and will be prorated for Scouts who register thereafter.
We recognize the timing of this fee increase creates challenges as units have already begun collecting fees for their 2023 registration renewal process, and we would not make this difficult decision if it were not absolutely necessary. We are committed to supporting you through this change and are making necessary adjustments to the online rechartering system to support units through the recharter process.
About the Council Program Fee
The Council Program Fee is designed to support the basic services that a unit receives from the council. The vast majority of funds received by the Alamo Area Council (79%) support programs and activities. The Council Program Fee is an anchor that allows the council to build on those services when combined with additional income from fundraising streams, activity fees, popcorn sales, and endowment revenue. More than 60 Councils across the United States have implemented this model and reported higher levels of family satisfaction after doing so.
Advantages of a Council Program Fee
- The Program Fee will replace the unit-level “Give the Adventure” campaign presentations at unit meetings.
- Many families have indicated that they would rather 'give up front' than be asked to make an unplanned donation during a celebration or awards ceremony.
- Increases stability in unit-level giving and allows the council to budget accordingly.
- Provides consistency of overall funding to ensure the sustainability of the program & staffing
- Allows the council to maintain camping and activity fees at the lowest possible level for Scouts and their families.
- All families participate in funding a small part of local program support, and those who feel inspired to make additional contributions toward Scouting can.
- No longer conducting Give the Adventure Campaigns during unit-level meetings, increases the field staff's availability to provide direct support to units and districts.
Let us be clear, the Council Program Fee will not result in extra money for the council but is an attempt to stabilize the revenue our council once received through the unit-level Give the Adventure Campaigns. Our Scouting community depends on these funds to sustain operations at their current level.
