Because Troops 82 operate as part of a non-profit, all of our funding comes from member dues and fundraising activity.
To that end, Troops 82 gratefully accept donations, which can be made (among other ways) by clicking on the DONATE link
at the bottom of every page of this site. We also:
- Proudly represent the Great Alaska Council by participating in its annual fundraising events. In 2023, as it has in
years past, this consisted of selling popcorn in person and online;
- Require families that can afford to do so to pay membership dues equal to about 80% of the average cost to the Troop
of their Scout's participation;
- Engage in independent fundraising activity, with the approval of the Great Alaska Council, to raise fund toward
particular goals and targets.
How Much Does Scouting Cost?
There are a lot of ways of looking at the costs of Scouting. You can concentrate on the cost to the Scout or their
family (that is, the out-of-pocket expense). You could focus on the total cost. Wherever your focus, though, it is
helpful to think of the elements that must be paid for in order for a Scout to participate in the program. The portions
of those costs covered by Troop 82 include:
- Insurance - one of the largest expenses that helps to keep Scouting and the people particpating in it safe is
insurance. BSA and the Great Alaska Council supply insurance that covers our activities, which helps us assure that
if something goes wrong there will be resources to help make it right;
- Professional staff - BSA and the Great Alaska Council both support Scouting, including Troop 82, with a (very!)
small cadre of dedicated and trained professional Scouters. Salary, support, and benefits for the professional Scouters
and insurance for the program cost Troop 82 $185 per Scout in 2023. The actual cost
of providing staff and insurance was significantly higher than that, but Great Alaska Council and BSA have their own
successful fundraising campaigns that help close the gap;
- Program reimbursement - For most elements of the program Troop 82 either pays directly or else asks its volunteers
to pay and then reimburses them. These reimbursables include things like space rentals for events,
subscription fees, consumable materials like rope for learning knots, event food, recruitment assets like printed
flyers and banners, and more. Troop-wide reimbursable expense for Troop 82 in 2023 was well over $1000, which translates
to around $100 per Scout per year;
- Volunteer expense - Troop 82 has long held the philosophy that no one should have to pay to volunteer for the
benefit of our kids. For that reason, if there is a direct expense associated with helping the Troop will cover it
on prior approval. For example, volunteers are asked to take a week out of their schedule in order to attend a
full-time residential summer camp. If we do not have enough volunteers for camp, we simply cannot go - the Troop
must supply enough chaperones to keep its Scouts safe. Eagle River Camp charges $150 per adult leader, which
mostly covers food and similar expenses for the week. Troop 82 will pay that fee, rather than making its generous
volunteers do so. The Troop also buys, updates, and maintains a library of useful leadership materials for the
volunteers, including handbooks, idea books, and the like. The total cost of volunteer expenses for the 2023-24
program year, including summer camp, will likely be around $50 per Scout;
- Some camping and event costs - Troop 82 provides a budget for each Patrol for camping and events, and covers
food expense up to that budget. This is a critical component of teaching Scouts to be Thrifty, but it comes at
obvious financial expense. If we assume about 1/2 of the Troop attends each outing, we might
guess that these costs (between food, stove fuel, matches, etc.) will come to about $65 per Scout per year;
- Bling, books, and uniforms - The Troop provides one $25 handbook and a neckerchief and slide to each Scout
upon their first fully-paid registration with the Troop. Altogether that comes to about $40 per Scout, and is
a one time expense. As the Scout advances, the Troop pays for the Scout's advancement - rank badges, merit badges,
and parent pins. If Scouts earn about 3 merit badges per year (fast for young Scouts, slow for older ones) and
at least 1 rank per year (which is our goal,) the additional bling would come to around $20 per Scout per year;
- Program gear - The Troop provides tents, stoves, camp cooking gear, camp water coolers, water filters, and
similar outdoor gear for the use of the Troop on outings. It also keeps a collection of spare hiking backpacks,
day hike backpacks, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, and similar gear in case a Scout has not yet collected
everything they will need to participate in the outdoor program. Most of this gear has been generously donated,
or has been purchased by Scouts long graduated from the program. But as gear wears out it must be maintained
or replaced, and as the state of the art advances it makes sense to add to the Troop's collection so Scouts
are familiar with what they will most likely be using as they grow. Gear purchases tend to happen all at once
every few years, so the annual gear expense is best viewed as depreciation. For tents and related parts (footprints,
spare stakes) the depreciation is about $400 per year. For stoves and kitchen gear it is around $100 per year,
and $50 per year is likely in range for the rest. That's a total of about $55 per Scout
per year in gear acquisition and depreciation.
That means the total annual cost to Troop 82 of providing Scouting comes to over $475 per Scout. The Troop collects
$370 per Scout in dues, and less if the Scout's family does not have the ability to pay.
Troops 82