Church Administrative Professionals: Chartering Boy Scout Troops

The Scout Sign We recently asked church leaders about the following situation:

Your church has decided to sponsor a Boy Scout Troop. Seeing it as another way to reach out to the community, the Pastor signed the charter. Now they meet in your building every week.

What are a church’s responsibilities when they host Boy Scouts?

Most of us remember our Scouting days with great fondness. Those merit badges, campouts, hikes, meals cooked over the campfire…are all great memories. Scouting also helps us learn responsibility, honesty, dependability, and other positive character traits.

When the Cub Scout or Boy Scout Troop leader asks your church to sponsor their Troop, as a church leader you are excited to be asked to help further these positive experiences for the young people in your church. This can also be a great way to reach out to the young people in the community.

When you sign that Boy/Cub Scout Charter, are you aware that you have made the Troop a ministry of your church? After signing that charter, the church takes ownership of the Troop. This means that the church now owns all of the Troop’s camping equipment and assets as well as its liabilities.

Here are some issues that need to be addressed so that the church, the Troop, and all involved are as safe and secure as we can make them!

Insurance

Is your insurance company aware that you charter a Boy Scout Troop? If the trailer with all their equipment and camping gear inside is stolen or someone is hurt on a camping trip, the claim will be filed on the church’s insurance. Contacting your insurance agent should be one of the first calls you make after signing the charter (if not before to assure that the coverage is available).

Financial Oversight

The church needs to have control of the Troop’s funds.

The financial controls and safeguards used by the church for all of its ministries should also be used by the Troop. Is there separation of duties in place, so the same person isn’t receiving and depositing funds and also signing checks and reconciling the checkbook? Is the Troop checking account included in church audits? Are monthly financial reports turned in to the church to maintain control?
It does not matter if the Troop uses the church’s Employer Identification Number to open a checking account or if it has its own EIN number–the church is still responsible for the account.
The church needs to be sure the Troop is not tracking their fundraising through youth designated accounts. This means that they track money coming in from fundraising activities, assigning the portion that Johnny sold to Johnny’s account, and so on. This results in making the scouts employees–of the church–causing the church to be responsible for the same employer’s tax liabilities as for any staff member.
Private benefit issues might also be created, possibly jeopardizing the church’s tax exempt status. (That’s not a problem if all fundraising income is made available equally to all members of the Troop for whatever trip or camp registration it is being raised.)
IMPORTANT NOTE: Your church youth group should not be keeping track of funds for mission trips this way either! Click Here to read a letter from the IRS’ Manager of Exempt Organizations, Gerald V. Sack, on this topic. (NOTE: You will need to use your browser’s back button to return to this page.)

Background Checks

Is the Troop doing background checks on their adult leaders? They need to be following the same policies and procedures as all other areas of the church that work with children/teens. Again, the church would be responsible if something happens in this area.

Representation

It's a good idea to have a church member on the Boy Scout Committee to assure that the church’s interests are being protected, and to be the communication liaison between the church and the Troop, and to help monitor the use of the building.

Boy Scouts are great! We are not trying to discourage you from sponsoring a Troop. But in our experience we’ve found that most churches don’t understand what they took on when they signed that Charter. We want to be sure that the church is protected, as well as the Boy Scouts and their sponsors.

Not to leave out the Girl Scouts

Girl Scouts are organized differently than Boy Scouts and do not ask for a chartering organization for their Troops. They might ask to use your building for their meetings, but that is as far as the connection goes!

Please Note: This information is provided with the understanding that Church Administrative Professionals is not rendering professional advice or service.

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