For more than eighty years, the Cape Cod & Islands Council has shaped hundreds of lives in the Cape Cod and Islands Region with character-building programs. That the Council continues to grow is a tribute to the dedicated volunteers who give of their time and resources.
Financial support from the community and Scouting families provides the resources enabling the Council staff and hundreds of volunteers to deliver the best program possible.
Fundraising activities help support Scouting at both the council and the unit level. Several annual events give businesses and members of the community a chance to support this program.
Use the links located below to learn how you can support Scouting and the Cape Cod & Islands Council.
Things You Can Do to Support Scouting
- Enroll your children in Scouting. They will love it and thank you for it!
- Become a Scouting America volunteer. With the enormous time pressures in their lives, America’s youth need time well spent. Whether you volunteer as a den leader, Scoutmaster, or merit badge counselor, Scouting will be worth your time and effort because of the benefits it provides to youth.
- Tell your neighbors and friends about Scouting. Youth love Scouting and its activities, but they love it even more when their friends are involved.
- Get your place of worship involved in Scouting. Churches, synagogues, and mosques are great places for Scouting activities. The Boy Scouts of America supports the strong ideals and values that families are looking for today.
- Write a letter to your local newspaper. The Boy Scouts is a great organization that builds character and values. Tell other people about it!
- Write your local school board president and principal. Thank them for the opportunity to use their facilities for Scouting activities, for the use of their bulletin boards to get information to youth, and for the access their school provides to help get information to parents of Scouting-age youth.
- Call your local Scouting America council. Tell them how much you appreciate what the organization is doing in your community to build tomorrow’s leaders.
- Organize a Scout color guard for local athletic events or city council meetings. It is important for people to see Scouting as a meaningful and vital part of the community.
- Financially support a youth in need. Everyone who shares Scouting America’s strong values should be able to participate in Scouting. Contribute to Scouting and you will change a life.
Friends of Scouting
The Cape Cod & Islands Council, in meeting its annual budget, receives local financial support from United Way, special events, activity fees, and the Friends of Scouting campaign. The Friends of Scouting campaign provides an opportunity for a community, both in and out of the program, to reaffirm its belief that Scouting is a significant force in the development of young people.
Services provided by the Cape Cod & Islands Council include:
- A trained professional staff who help organize Scouting units, train leaders, and develop programs.
- Office personnel to maintain records, handle registrations and help leaders receive materials and awards.
- A Council Service Center including a full service Scout Shop where awards, program materials, training records and publications are available to youth and adults.
- Greenough Scout Reservation which provides an outstanding outdoor facility on Cape Cod .
- New unit organization and membership recruitment.
- Insurance and liability coverage for all adults and youth participating in Scouting.
- Training aids, visual aid equipment, and literature for use in training adults and youth leaders.
- A council newsletter and website which provide communication for leaders on all programs and activities.
- Program equipment including: canoes, boats, rifles, archery equipment, cooking and camping equipment.
- Meetings, roundtables, training courses, seminars, conferences, commissioner’s meetings all geared to help a unit carry out its program for youth.
- Summer camps, camporees, Pinewood derbies, community service projects, good turns, recognition dinners, etc., are planned and administered to support units.
- Recognition and various awards for youth and leader achievement.
Gifts to Scouting and the Cape Cod & Islands Council can be made at any time. Contact the council office at 508-362-4323 or email us to learn how your gift can be used to make a difference.
Endowments & Planned Giving
The endowment was established to provide a permanent source of income to Scouting. Gifts to the endowment fund are placed in a permanent trust. Individuals may make outright gifts or planned gifts, such as a will or gift annuity, where the Council will receive the proceeds at a later date.
James E. West Fellowship
The James E. West Fellowship Award recognizes individuals who have contributed $1,000 or more to the council’s trust fund. Those who are recognized by the James E. West Fellowship Award provide continued support to the Cape Cod & Islands Council as they help ensure the Scouting legacy for future generations of young people and create the financial stability of the program in the twenty-first century.
The James E. West Fellowship Award is available to all with an interest in providing for the future. A brochure is available from the Council Service Center.
Scouting Heritage Society
As part of our Endowment Development Program, the Cape Cod & Islands Council has created an organization to perpetuate scouting. Membership in this group is available to those altruistic men and women who have included the Cape Cod & Islands, Scouting America in their wills, or have made a planned endowment gift or an outright gift available to the Council.
There are various levels of giving within the Society and all members are recognized for their thoughtful generosity at the annual Recognition Dinner. A full color brochure is available from the Council Service Center describing membership levels and methods of giving.
Memorial/Tribute Fund
The Cape Cod & Islands Council tribute fund provides a permanent way to support Scouting, while at the same time providing a memorial or recognition to an individual. Gifts are often given as memorial, but may also honor individual accomplishments (Eagle Scout, birthdays, etc.).
Gifts to the tribute fund are placed in the Council endowment to provide a permanent source of income to the Scouting program. Donors are recognized and acknowledgement is sent to the family or recipient of the tribute.
A permanent record is maintained of the memorial/tribute fund.
Trail’s End Popcorn Sale
The Trail’s End Gourmet Popcorn Sale is conducted each year from late Summer into Fall. The sale features great products, ranging from caramel corn to Chocolatey Pretzels. There is also a heroes and helpers option which will send popcorn to our military, first responders, and food banks.
70 Percent of your purchase will go to local Scouts, shared by the Council, the units, and individual sellers through prize incentives. Over the years the popcorn sale has funded some outstanding programs and helped youth raise their own funds to fulfill their Scouting dreams.
See the Council Calendar for popcorn sale dates.
Unit Money-Earning
Unit money-earning projects play an important role in enabling the unit to obtain new equipment, go on camping trips, and participate in other activities and events. More important, the way a unit earns money is of great importance in the education of youth members. Usually, these projects fall into one of four groups:
- Service projects – car washes; forestry projects; the collection of paper, aluminum, scrap iron, and plastic
- Activities involving parents – bake sales, pancake breakfasts, spaghetti dinners
- Sales of tickets for council shows or other events
- Sale of commercial product – candy, Christmas trees, first-aid kits, popcorn, or light bulbs
Units are responsible for keeping policies concerning unit finance and for getting approval for the unit money-earning projects. The following Scouting America policies are designed to protect both the unit and the good reputation of Scouting:
- No direct solicitation for funds by units is permitted.
- The unit committee is the custodian of all funds.
- All units must submit the Unit Money-Earning Application, No. 34427, to the council for approval. Such approval is contingent on prior approval of the unit committee and chartered organization.
- General guidelines for unit money-earning projects include
- Do not gamble or conflict with local ordinances.
- Ensure your project provides a value worthy of the money spent on the project.
- Respect the territorial rights of other units.
- Do not conflict with goods or services offered by established merchants or workmen. Do not schedule a project that conflicts with established dates of money-earning in the chartered organization, council, or community.
- Protect the name and goodwill of the Boy Scouts of America.
- Do not enter a contract that may bind Scouting America, either locally or nationally.
- Consider money-earning projects that serve a dual purpose of conservation and money earning. Collection of aluminum, glass, paper, and scrap metal can be profitable when conducted near a recycling facility. Units should be sure of a market before any collection. A collection must be well planned with adequate adult supervision and safety precautions.
Visit the Resource section of our website for a printable version of the Unit Money-Earning Permit Application