That is why I went right to the source...the Executive Director of the Greater Western Reserve Council. They were very helpful and answered every question I had plus provided additional information that I didn't think to ask. Don't hesitate to call!
I have posted on this subject many times and keep coming back to the same issues...
Please, please, please, before any decisions are made, talk to your local council that services your area, or contact BSA national in Irving Texas. Talk to other groups chartering troops/packs.
There are a lot of misconceptions and rumors going around- perpetuated by people whom unknowingly pass on invalid information, including people who volunteer as leaders in the BSA....
There are many issues to consider and not every PTO/PTA/PFA is a correct fit to be a charter sponsor.
Going to the website will not give you all of the answers needed, you really need to speak to a professional (yes there are professional boy scouts!) and the only way to do this is to contact the local council/national.
I hope this helps....
I wish you luck. Because we have been their charter for so long our principal wants us to try to turn our BSA Troop around and rebuild it to what it has been in the past. That is going to take a lot of work on our behalf because we are working with a troop leader that is a " I am not taking orders from a group of women" kind of man. He is so hostile with us. The principal is supposed to talk to him because he has been calling everyone he can think of trying to get them to give him our EIN or to put pressure on us by badmouthing us. He is basically blaming the PTO for messing this up from the beginning....13 years ago! Somewhere along the line someone in the BSA didn't like dealing with the PTO and put someone else's EIN on their checking account. Now that person wants out of BSA and wants to take their EIN with them. Now that the PTO is asking questions he is getting irate. Then he tells us that as far as he knows they have never filed any taxes on this old EIN account. And he is mad that we are asking questions. We could lose our EIN if they are irresponsible with their accounting. UUUUGGGGGHHHH! I really wish that I had never heard of this charter.
I was on the BSA website and they give "presentation tips" to those who request a sponsor and are turned down. They are a very persistant group.
Here's a link to their Unit Organization Process:
Boy Scouts of America - National Council
Good luck with your decision and follow through. My mess has just begun.
Have a great weekend!
I emailed the BSA that is wanting us to sponser their group. I have told him that this is not something that our group can sponsor due to our group's benefit is to the whole school, not just a particular group.
He has just emailed back and is wanting me to them get this group going, even after politely turning them down. Just like last year.
Thanks for checking this out. See how this is so confusing. Almost like they don't want you to know about this financial stuff till you have signed the dotted line. I wasn't comfortable with it then and still am not.
Don't get me wrong, I am not against them either, just wish they were more upfront when you ask questions.
Hi everyone!
I had so many questions that I needed answered that the BSA website couldn't answer that I called and spoke with the Executive Director of the Greater Western Reserve Council here in Ohio. He explained a charter as this:
he said that the BSA is like a "branch" of the PTO. The PTO is a constant with their own EIN number. The board members change but the PTO is in constant existance unless disbanded. Same thing with the BSA troops. When chartered by another group the BSA is in existance as long as they are chartered and have Troop/Pack leaders. For the BSA to hold a checking account with non-profit status it needs to be linked to a greater group...either a church, school or PTO. Someone needs to extend their status to them. If your group (church or otherwise) puts your EIN on their account then your group becomes responsible for their use of your EIN. When their bank reports their account to the IRS it will have your EIN attached to it. When your group files their taxes it needs to include all accounts linked to your EIN. If you extended your status to them and they have your EIN on their account then you need to include their financials into your taxes.
I hope this clears it up a little. The BSA website is very vague. I have requested that the BSA fax us a copy of all of the charter paperwork that was filed years ago so that we can become familiar with all of the requirements that need to be met. There is more to it than just making a meeting place available.
Now, maybe your BSA isn't opening or has already opened their own checking account. You need to find out how are they going to handle the money coming in from fundraisers and joining fees? Are they running it through a personal account or the PTO account? I only got involved in this when the BSA troop leader demanded our EIN for their checking account. Otherwise they would have continued operating under someone else's business EIN and we never would have known about this.
I didn't post this to cause an uproar, but there is a lot more to chartering an organization than first appears. I only posted information that was given to me directly over the phone by the Executive Director. We spoke for almost an hour. After speaking with him I still have a few more questions that I am going to call him back on.
I am not for or against chartering an organization. I just feel that both the PTO and the Troop Leaders need to know exactly what is expected of them.
I am requesting all of this charter information to put together a file for both the PTO and BSA Pack to be handed down through the years so that all of our leaders are on the same page.
