Girl Scout Moms...question for you

[castleview]

Ok, my DD is a Daisy now and we're trying to figure out how GS budgets work. I got a notice calling for $10 grab bag for the Christmas party. Normally I wouldn't mind, however every meeting they need money for something. I thought that the dues I paid at the beginning of the year was supposed to cover their activities. Not talking about going away activities either...basic crafts. Plus this does not include the snacks we're to donate on our alloted week.

One brownie leader friend of mine says that she does ask for money to cover the more expensive activities and then reimburses the parents (protecting themselves from paying for a kid who doesn't show up). One other mom says that her DDs troop leader never asked for money in addition to the dues. Does anyone know procedure here?

I want to ask the leader if she knows she can dip into the dues money. But I don't want to offend her afterall - she's giving her time and I'm not. Plus she sneered at me the first meeting - we meet in a classroom at the local public school and when she went for the teacher's supplies, I told her she couldn't do that. She wasn't happy about that, but that's another story.

Any information would be welcome!

 

[6_Time_Momma]

I don't know, but that's one of the main reason I pulled my girls out of Girl Scouts. Constantly asking for money.

 

[Rachie0507]

My DD started Daisy Girl Scouts this year too. We had to pay an initial registration fee (I think it was $10) and then she also pays $1 a week for dues. The leader said it is the first year they are allowed to collect dues from Daisys. They are having a party next week and I was not asked to bring in anything additional.

Do you have a regional council office that you could call and ask what normal procedure is? I know in my area, additional money requests or donations would never work because we tend to have a lot of low income families involved.

 

[jfulcer]

DW is a Brownie troop leader. Funds for the troops dues and sales throughout the year are the only 'money' that parents have to deal with.

Her troop has a parent volunteer at every meeting that is responsible for bringing a small snack for that day, but everyone takes a turn. I'm not sure this is 'asking for money' - DW says she does that so less money is taken from the troop for crafts/trips/etc.

I think, as a parent, that I'd be upset about being asked for extra money. That's why I help DD so much with her other sales - so I don't have to pay - all of you buying those cookies pay for me.

 

[AboutTheMouse]

I'm a Brownie leader and have been a leader since my daughter was in Daisy's. The basic problem with Daisy troops is that they have no money. Daisy's don't sell cookies or do other fundraisers (at least they don't here), so there is no fund from which to work. We also need to provide our own supplies - paper, markers, scissors, glue etc. which can get expensive when you add them up. We are lucky that our council had a day in which leaders could swap supplies. 4th grade leaders would donate their leftover supplies and the Daisy leaders could take what they thought they might need.

The way we worked it was each girl contributes $20 at the beginning of the year to cover the costs of craft supplies and any misc. outings. This is in addition to the $10 registration fee. We don't ask for weekly dues from our girls. Our activities and outings for Daisy's were very simple and cheap - seeing a holiday light display (free), sledding (free), etc. If we had an outing requiring an admission fee, we asked the parents to cover part or all of it depending on our bank balance. At the end of the school year we have a big party in a park and we spend all of our remaining money on that.

If you are uncomfortable with the gift exchange, just notify your leader. There may be others that are of the same mind as you. You could also just keep your daughter home that day if you wish. There are no "mandatory" GS activities that I know of.

 

[mickeyboat]

My daughters are both in Daisies this year, and AboutTheMouse is correct. Since Daisies are not allowed to do any fund-raising, their troops really don't have any money. We paid a $10 registration fee and $20 dues at the beginning of the year which needs to cover the cost of all craft supplies, trips, etc. We will do a lot of free events this year including a tour of the fire station and a McDonald's.

We are fortunate in that our Daisy co-leader is also the leader of the Brownie troop, so we do some of activities together with them. Our meetings are from 6-7:15, so we do not have a snack. But we are doing the gift exchange ($10 limit) and a little party on Monday, and parents have been asked to contribute snacks. When each child only contributes $20 for the entire year, it isn't reasonable to dip into dues money for the Christmas exchange.

Denae

 

[Buttercup26]

I am a long time adult girl scout and leader, I currently lead a Brownie & a Cadette troop. I can tell you that the $10 registration fee you paid does NOT go to your troop. It goes straight to GSUSA to cover insurance and administrative costs.

Daisy troops are not allowed to do any fundraising, so all crafts, supplies, parties, snacks, etc.. must be funded by the leader or the parents. Weekly dues and asking for small donations from the parents is pretty normal. Taking turns bringing snacks each week is also very normal.

Your leader may be saving the dues money for the Daisy "petals" (badges) or other troop supplies.

As the girls get older and do more fundraising (cookies, magazines subscriptions, calendars, etc...) the parents will contribute less & less. My Cadette troop completely funds themselves, we do not collect dues or ask the parents to contribute any funds at all.

If you are at all concerned you should talk to leader. Become an adult volunteer and help with the bookkeeping. As a leader I always appreciate parents assistance!!!

 

[allison443]

I don't think daisies are allowed to sell cookies, so any funds for the troop have to come from the parents. Also, the $10 registration fee at the beginning of the year does not go to the troop--it is sent to the national organization, Girl Scouts of the USA.
I know Daisies can earn "petals"--are the dues perhaps being used to purchase the petals for the girls as they earn them, or the blue daisy tunic, or any daisy gs books? When my daughter's troop was starting, there were start up costs: a pair of scissors for each girl, a big box of crayons for the group, glue sticks, etc.
I don't know what your dues are--around here most charge $6 per month for two meetings per month.
Also, troops vary a lot, depending on the leaders...some do a lot of crafts, some do no crafts, some camp, some don't...also as far as crafts, some leaders are great at using things like recycled coffee cans, etc, while others need to go to a craft store and purchase supplies. As a leader I spent a lot out of my own pocket, but not every leader can or should do that.
As far as a gift exchange, in my troop we only did that after we ran the idea by the parents.