Who Pays For Scouting?

Youth Members

Assisted by their parents or guardians, boys in Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, and Varsity Scouting and young men and women in Venturing pay their share from personal savings and participation in money-earning projects.

Members buy their own uniforms, handbooks, and personal equipment and pay their own camp fees.

Packs, Troops, Teams, and Crews

Weekly or monthly dues and funds from approved money-earning projects meet expenses for supplies and activities in the Cub Scout pack, Boy Scout troop, Varsity Scout team, and Venturing crew. These monies help pay for camping equipment, registration fees, Boys' Life magazine, uniform insignia, special activities, and program materials.

Community Organizations

Each chartered organization using the Scouting program provides a meeting place and adult volunteer leadership for its BSA unit(s). The chartered organization and local council must approve unit money-earning projects before the launch of the project.

Local Council

Financial resources for the local council (the local nonprofit corporation chartered by the National Council) come from an annual Friends of Scouting (FOS) campaign, local United Way, popcorn, foundation grants, special events, project sales, investment income, trust funds, bequests, and gifts of real and personal property.

These funds provide for professional staff supervision, organization of new Scouting units, service for existing units, training of volunteer leaders, and maintenance of council camps. They also finance the operation of the local council service center, where volunteer leaders can obtain literature, insignia, advancement badges, and other items vital to the program. In addition, the service center maintains advancement and membership records.