Beaver subs double Brownies

jaxjax123

At our Beavers we pay £2 a week for our son to go.

ellawood

I think the insurance is more for scouts than guides years ago I was in a group which was a family group and the boys paid more to cover and they put up the girls to make it fairer did not go down well!

Talk to the leaders they will want all the kids to attend things if money is a problem some areas have funds which can be asked for even if only a small amount is needed but they can take time to apply for and in mine you had to apply early to get any for that year for holidays and camps as it can soon go

We did have quite a few sisters sometimes so we could not offer a discount we had a lot to cover at 10 a term ( I used to buy juice and snacks from my own money as we ran out quite offten but did not want to ask for more as we did not want to stop anyone from joining just for the money) we did not make a profit also leaders spend time phoning driving and many do not claim HTH

bestpud

£2 a week for dd's brownies and extra for the bigger activities they do.

We used to pay £1.50 a week when ds was a cub in the late 90s.

Seems hefty if they aren't doing much. What activities do they do each week?

DD is always making something to bring home, or puppets to put on a performance - that kind of thing, and obviously they have to buy in equipment for it.

As for only paying for one - I can't see how that would work tbh. They must calculate the subs according to numbers and your boys wouldn't share anything they use, or do, would they? Plus, you get the extra child benefit etc, same as people with two children of different ages...

Imo, they'd have to discount every sibling group if they discounted twins, and the result would be every parent paying more to cover the shortfall.

At dd's brownies, parents with two children are also asked to provide double the food donation for parties, and that seems fair to me as well - two of them are eating it after all.

SUPERJULES

In Sheffield I pay £10 a term for beavers.

easy

My ds attends cubs, was a Beaver before that. It was £2 per week until recently, but went up to £3 per week, because the church hall was redecorated, and the rental amount the church charge the cubs group was raised !!

I will say that I think Beavers and Cubs is well worth it, especially if they are in a busy group with REALLY enthusiastic leaders.

The subs you pay contribute towards capitation for each child, including insurance (and I'm pretty sure boys cost more to insure than girls, just more likely to cause damage I suspect), rent for the hall, money towards drinks & bikkies at meetings, money towards petrol for outings etc, and paying for the badges that the kids earn.
Our group also work very hard at finding grants etc to swell the coffers. I'm pretty sure that if a child was in real hardship then our group would try to subsidise them a bit, but the danger is that some people might take advantage if that was made common knowledge.

Do feel free to ask the Beaver's leader for info of where the money goes. They should make accounts available anyway at the AGM, attend that and ask questions then if you like.

Or maybe you and your family could help with fund raising for the group in general, Leaders might give you a discount if you could help out in that way??

tiamai_d

The Boys Brigade do a second sibling discount, so it may be worth asking if Beavers do the same.

And as for it being a church organisation and not doing it for profit, you should ask to see their accounts. I know a few clubs that charge stupidly high subs, never do anything and have far too much in their bank accounts (which the minister than tells them to donate as they are only supposed to have so much).

peachyprice

Are the Brownies subs inclusive of all badges and activity materials, or do you have to pay extra sometimes?

And are the Beaver subs inclusive of the capitiation. Perhaps they spread that over the year instead of asking you to pay it in January.

It does seem strange that Beavers is so much more if they're using the exact same premises.

I have twins and have never asked or expected a discount for them, I have always paid the same as other families with 2 children, which I think is only fair.

Threebabes

I only pay £1 a week for Rainbows and same for Brownies. £30 over a term only works out 2.50 a wk (what we pay for an hour ju jutsui), just probably seems a lot in one go.

redpete

ailuro2 wrote: »

It's a Christian organisation so they aren't doing it for profit. Maybe they make a bigger donatino to the church for the hall than the Brownies do, as these things tend to be a voluntary amount.

The Scouts are not a Christian organisation, although they do "...promote the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potential..." The local group will be a charity and will not be run to make a profit.

I'd be surprised if they don't pay a fixed amount to the Church for the use of the hall.

In the group I am involved with the charge is £100 a year in two lumps; this does cover the significant costs of the maintaining the building that we own.

The leaders might have discretion on charging subs when there is hardship, but just having two children in the group won't in its own right count as hardship. Our group doesn't as a general rule discount for families with more than one child in the group.

As a charity you would be able to check their accounts on the charity commission website to see where they spend their money, although this will cover the whole group, not just the Beavers.

The group will have to pay approx £30 a year to the Scout Association (the capitation) for each member.

dizziblonde

Why would you expect a discount for twins (2 children, double the cost in terms of providing materials for crafts, snacks etc)? Ultimately if you don't like it - they don't HAVE to go.