So my girl has been selected to represent West Yorkshire at the 2015 World Scout Jamboree in Japan and she needs to raise a fair bit of cash to be able to go.

I’m really looking for advice on fund raising; has anyone done something similar and has any good ideas?

Alternatively if there are any rich benefactors reading this…..

Any help gratefully accepted.

Chris

Have you had a chat to the local scout master chap(ess)?
If not district leader?

We used to pull 1K in a day bag packing at a big sainsburys….def the quickest way to fill the coffers if you have enough willing folk!

as above. Book early……

My friends daughter went to the one in Sweden a couple of years ago – and still raves about how brilliant it was. Hope yours raises the funds – what a great opportunity.

The group who were raising cash did a few events – one being a burns night supper, which was brilliant but maybe a bit late to sort now.

Maybe get a few of them bike washing at a trail centre – must be worth a couple of pounds a wash, just need ti find a busy place on a muddy day.

I think more people were happy to donate as they took time to explain that not only did it fund their trip vut also supported those of scouts from poor countries

She’s going to have a great time, it’s an amazing opportunity.

She could send back lots of cheaply obtained grey market Shimano bike parts and sell them for a nice profit to pay for her trip. 😉

Win. Win.

Car Wash, bag packs, discos, sponsored litter pick, eskimo rolls, cycle run?

No doubt the scout group will have fundraising plans to help subsidise. As long as the youngsters take the initiative themselves though. That’s the point.

My son is going on the Avon selection day on Sunday, 5 places up for grabs and 100 kids applying!

if he gets through there will be another one day selection followed by a whole weekend selection event.

Great opportunity for any kid but like you say, it costs a packet.

May have to go cap in hand to the grand parents if he gets selected!

I went to the holland event some years ago was ace.
I found that there was a local fund for youth devlopment that I was able to apply to for funding
It was something my year head put me in touch with
Its always worth asking / mentioning to every one and anyone what your doing as you never know what’s out there

Apart from that we did car wash at local super market
Went on a mission with the local press to get ourselves noticed

But I’m guessing for japan the amount needed is a good bit higher
Good luck

Car wash, bike wash, grass cutting – provide a service that people will pay for rather than just asking for money/being sponsored.

If my son did get chosen, there is some money put aside by the district to part fund it. I think the group contribute a little as well (I think we would still need to find about 1.5K though.

Just wanted to say congratulations, nothing useful to add to above. Sadly all my funds for 2015 will be spent paying for my wife, son and daughter to go to Peak 2015 at Chatsworth with their (seperate) units. If there isn’t enough left over for me to get away that week, my end up volunteering and go with them!

I went on the 2007 one! (in Essex 🙁 )

Some ideas we tried:
*Bag packing (several times – at M&S/Waitrose near Christmas is the best bet. Sainsbury’s were always happy to accommodate locally too. We often topped £500 over a 6 hour stint, you just need willing volunteers)
*car washing at the local rugby club
*cake sales and coffee mornings at town centre churches (people you know are always happy to donate books/make cakes etc)
*writing to local businesses
*A couple of summer garden parties (more cake, cream tea…)
*I made probably getting on for 70 bird boxes and sold them at £7.50 a pop

We were lucky in that as it was the centenary year there where 10 of us from our area all in the same boat raising around £1k each (most likely to subsidise other country’s less fortunate scouts than to pay our 2 week camping fees…) which made finding help relatively easy. If she’s on her own it might be worth contacting other districts to assist/benefit from their youth’s Jambo fundraising?

Sorry if any of that is a repeat, haven’t read the above closely yet.

R kid went to Australia in 1988 (from W Yorkshire). As a troop we did the West Yorkshire cycle route over three days dossing in other scout huts along the way. Possibly not the most efficient way of raising money but far more memorable than not putting tins in a bag on top of eggs and worthy of scouting endeavours (but pre risk-assessment).

Thanks for all the replies!

Yep it’s a tough one; we need £3400…..

Chris

Thats a lot of cash to find. Certainly talk to the local group and district as they normally part fund.

If not then bag packing is a huge fundraiser for not much effort. Unfortunately almost everyone does some form of run/bike for charity these days so people willing to give to someone for this type of event are few and far between.

How much of the £3400 goes to good causes and how much is to pay for her holiday?

My son went to his second selection event last night. I think the group contribute quute a bit to it from what I gather.

I’m still bitter about not getting selected for the 1995 one.
Two days of selection all based on points me and my mate were near the top until lunch on the second day and then ended up outside of the number needed to be selected, all those were selected from just 2 out of the 7 districts in the county, all those selected were also known before hand by the selection team.

It will be a great experience, it may be worth looking for local grants and trusts, the lions, rotary, and round table to see if they can offer assistance.

As for the cost most of it is down to the cost of flights iirc something like £1400 for the flights.
The cost is worked out so that richer countries subsidize poorer one’s, in the UK we are in the top bracket.

My older brother represented West Yorkshire in ’91 in South Korea.

Seem to remember we spent the summer washing car windscreens at Wooley Edge Services on the M1 and raised loads.

We did a sponsored bike ride too, going to all the corners of the OS map, was quite a distance for me back then.

Tried the local rotary club? Maybe they’d match any funds raised and so your target only needs to be 1700.

Just had a call from the district commisioner to say my eldest is going. I am really pleased for him. I wish I had the opportunity to do something like that when I was his age.

I am in the same boat as you now with regards to fundraising.

My lad has suggested a sponsored ride following one of the tour stages when it is in England!

Its a colossal amount to raise – our group/district are planning on fundraising for one of ours if he is selected.

Something at a motorway services might be a goer – cleaning windscreens, sponsored exercise bike ride etc. Get a stall at school/summer/Christmas fairs – one of my wife’s Guides was painting kids’ nails at the primary school Christmas fair to pay for a trip to Kenya.

Local supermarkets should be keen to help if they get publicity, maybe do an event at school (even just a non-uniform day?). See if there are any local charities that support young people – we have one on the village that offers bursaries for uni students and apprentices, might fall under that banner?

Remind me again why anyone else should pay for some middle class wannabes kids to go on a jolly to Japan?

Why not just put it on the credit card?

I think you forgot your smiley?

Sorry please mind my manners, 🙂

Edit: remembered my manners…

Remind me again why anyone else should pay for some middle class wannabes kids to go on a jolly to Japan?

Have to say that was my thought too.

Actually, to put my point differently. The beavers/cub/scout movement promotes equality, respect and manners. It certainly isn’t a middle class wannabe aspirational society.

Maybe you should have tried it….

As said in previous posts, some of the money goes towards sending the child and the leftover goes to subsidising a child from a poorer country. Hardly someone coming from the Tarquinetta and Camilla jet set eh?

If you don’t like, don’t pay. Choose to donate something to a cause closer to your heart.

Thank you Luffy, I hope a full explanation will be included when you send your kids out begging for their holiday money?

No chance of mine getting picked for something like that. They’re not well behaved enough.

Besides, we’re upper class wannabes so would probably just send the domestic staff out to do the begging for them. ..Or just sell one of our workers houses from under ’em and kick them out in the snow….

🙄