Neffs Boy Scout Troop 57
Coordinator’s Planning Guide
Friends of Scouting
Project Name:Friends of Scouting
Timeframe: January
Primary Purpose: Friends of Scouting (FOS) is the major fundraising for the Minsi Trail Council. The Council has asked each troop to have a presentation every year. Troop 57 has allowed this presentation to happen as part of the Red and White banquet held every January. The FOS coordinator is responsible for making all arrangements for the FOS presentation at the Red and White Banquet.
Brief Description of Project:. As the coordinator, you will make sure there is a FOS presentation at the Red and White Banquet. You have three choices.
- Give the presentation yourself.
- Find someone from Troop 57 to give the presentation. You will still be responsible for the paperwork.
- Or tell Council they need to send someone to give the presentation. Try not to use this option. We try to cover things ourselves at Troop 57. If you have to use this option, you will still help with the paperwork.
They are short on presenters, and since you know Troop 57, I encourage you to give the presentation yourself. Since FOS is a major Council event, there is a lot of support for this event and they will train you and provide you all the materials you need.
Expenses: None
Tasks:(Check off each box as task is completed):
Pre-planning Tasks:
In September, decide which of the above three options you are taking. Find out the Red and White Banquet date for January. Contact the Minsi Trails Council (610-264-8551), ask for the North Valley District Friends of Scouting person, and tell them what Troop 57 is doing for the FOS campaign and tell them the banquet date. If you or someone else from Troop 57 is giving the presentation, give them the contact name, phone number, and email, and your name, phone number, and email.
September – December, Watch your email for information on the FOS campaign. Council will send you invitations to a training session and an informal reception. Please try to attend the training session if at all possible. You will receive a script at this event which will be very helpful for you.
In December, contact the troop chairperson, the Scoutmaster, and the chairpersons of the Red and White Banquet. Let them know that you are doing the FOS presentation at the Red and White Banquet. Ask for time on the program. (If you are having someone else do the presentation, let everyone know that too).
Project Tasks (January):
Contact Council’s North Valley District FOS person and set up a date to pick up Troop 57’s materials. You will receive a script, white pledge form for each family, some blank pledge forms, posters for the presentation, a ribbon for Troop 57, flyers for the Banquet tables, a few pens, some car magnets, and a sample patch. Even if you are not going to give the presentation, you are responsible for the paperwork involved.
Collect more pens so that you can put some on every banquet table. Rubber band the pens in groups of 4-5 for each table. Bring some extra paperclips and sticky notes to the banquet.
Review the script and practice your presentation. It is a great idea to use Scouts at the banquet to help you with the posters during the presentation. Speak from your heart and don’t worry about getting every single point covered.
Alternately, get the script over to who ever is going to do the presentation.
Put the white pledge forms in alphabetical order. Attach a paperclip to each pledge form. Put in a few alphabetized sticky notes in the stack so you can find individual families quicker.
Come an hour early to the Red and White Banquet. Set up a station next to whoever collects the money for the dinner. Put flyers and pens on every table for adults. Put your notes, posters, sample magnet, sample patch, and the ribbon for Troop 57 up at the podium area.
Sit at the door. As families arrive, give them their pledge form and let them know that you will be doing a presentation for FOS later in the program and that they’ll need the form for that. If anyone already has decided their pledge amount, go ahead and take their completed form. Don’t give out any magnets at this time. If there are families who don’t have a pledge form, please give them a blank form and ask them to write their name and address on it.
Enjoy the meal, and give your presentation! Alternatively, make sure the FOS person from Council is seated with the troop leaders. Introduce them, and make them comfortable.
Spend the most time on the presentation going over how to fill out the form. Tell people that following your presentation, you will walk around answering questions and that you will then be at the door to answer any other questions. Tell them to paperclip any checks or cash to their forms, that magnets will be available at the door following the program. Tell people that if they want your signature on the pledge tear-off tab, that you will sign those and get them back to them after the banquet. Give the Sr. Patrol leader the ribbon for the troop.
After the presentation, walk around with a box or basket, extra paperclips, and blank forms. Answer questions and collect completed pledge forms.
For the remainder of the banquet, check over the pledge forms, signing and tearing off tabs as necessary. Keep a list of every pledge family so they can get a magnet at the close of the banquet. Identify each magnet with a family name on the sticky note. Use the sticky note to attach the signed tab to the magnet. If you don’t have enough magnets, keep a list of the people who still need one. I suggest you give magnets to families first that don’t have a scout leader in them.
At the close of the banquet, collect the pens and extra flyers. Be sure to bring home the posters, all the pledge forms (filled out and blank ones), any magnets that you don’t have to give out, and the sample patch. You don’t have to fill out the envelope – Council will do that.
As soon as possible after the banquet, go to the Council office and bring them the posters, the flyers, any pens they gave you, the sample patch, and the envelope with the filled-out and blank pledge forms. While you are there, pick up any magnets that you still have to give out.
Get the magnets to the families who still need them. Label them with sticky notes and give them to the Scoutmaster to distribute at the next troop meeting.
Contacts: Minsi Trails Council – (610) 264-8551