Community Events: Types, Funding, Approval, and Processes

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1 Community s: Types, Funding, Approval, and Processes Purpose: The purpose of Community s is to provide high quality events and series for girls in the GSSEM Communities. GSSEM maintains a bank account for each of the 12 GSSEM Communities. The community bank account provides the financial means through a revolving fund: funds are expended as needed in advance of events and fees are then collected to continually replenish the fund. The community fund also supports cover small administrative expenses, and a limited number of recognitions for girls and adults. Types of Programs Supported: Community s and Series provide girl programs for all Girl Scout levels or specific Girl Scout levels or special interest topics or for skill building. s are targeted to all applicable girls or Juliette Network girls or for recruitment purposes within the entire community, then cross community girls up to event capacity. The National Program Portfolio is expected to form the foundation for program content. Other content that supports the Girl Scout Mission is allowed. Community s must comply with all rules related to money-earning, i.e., no funds may benefit an individual girl, no fund raising for organizations other than Girl Scouts is allowed, etc. (See Money Earning. ) Revenue: There are two sources of revenue for Community s: 1) GSSEM Board of Directors annual allocation, dependent on the finances of the organization and the health of the community funds; and, 2) Fees. Each community is expected to be self-sufficient, that is, conducting its affairs such that a balance of $3,000 is maintained as a reserve by July 1 of each year to support any upcoming events & series planned for the fall. Governance: The volunteer Community s Coordinator (CEC) and the volunteer Community Finance Coordinator (CFC) for each community and the assigned Community Specialist staff person make up the Community Funding Committee. This committee is the primary overseers of community events. They ensure that all events support the Girl Scout Mission and the Girl Scout Law, comply with all GSSEM policies, and meet the requirements listed in the Intent to form. They may also organize community events where there is a lack of event organizers available. 3/4/20 12:21 PM Page 1

2 Community Bank Account Signers: Community bank accounts are owned by GSSEM but operated by the CEC and CFC with staff support. Each community bank account has two unrelated appointed volunteers (typically the Community Finance Coordinator and the Community s Coordinator) as signers on the account, along with two assigned council staff. Reporting Responsibility of the Community Finance Coordinator: The Community Finance Coordinator maintains accurate and complete financial records for community bank account which are open for review at any time by Council staff. A financial report is due to the GSSEM Finance Department by July 1 each year. Records must be retained (with receipts) for at least 3 years. Community Financial Requirements: Community bank accounts are generally used to support deposits to reserve certain venues or program expenses that are needed in advance of receiving any revenue for the event. Community events should generally break-even but if there are sufficient funds, and as long as the balance of $3,000 is in place by July1, the CEC and CFC may support or plan events that are offered below cost or free events. If the bank account is below the minimum, events that generate a surplus may be held as long as all requirements for money earning are met. (See Money Earning). All surplus funds are returned to the bank account to help fund future events. Any event involving non-girl Scout entities must be approved by staff in advance (i.e., Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer) to ensure that non-profit laws are met. Other approved uses of community funds include: 1) Administrative Expenses: 5 to 10% of total funds available. This can include expenses incurred by the Community for operational expenses (i.e., photocopies, P.O. Box, postage, paper, etc.). 2) Recognitions: 5 to 10% of total funds available. Adult Recognitions: This can include formal recognitions such as years of service pins, numeral guards and other expenses associated with recognition and support of volunteers. (Please note that volunteers should be nominated by girls, parents, and volunteers for the Annual GSUSA National Volunteer Awards, so that they can be recognized at the awards banquet held each spring. Contact the Volunteer Relations Specialist for application forms.) Girl Recognitions: As funds allow, the Community Budget Committee may consider the purchase of Bronze and Silver award pins to be presented at existing events or meetings. Gold Award pins are provided to the awardees by GSSEM. 3) Recruitment s / Girl Scout Information s: 5 to 10% of total funds available. GSSEM provides Troop Organizer volunteers with all of the marketing materials necessary to support these types of events, which are typically held at no charge for participants. If 3/4/20 12:21 PM Page 2

3 there are any additional costs associated with hosting Girl Scout Information s (such as facility rental, snacks, etc.), the Community can consider providing funding, if available. Cookie Dough, Cashew Cash, Juliettes and Program Credits Money earned by non-juliette Network girl members through their participation in the Fall Product or Cookie Program (Cookie Dough, Cashew Cash) can only be used for Council-wide series and events, not District or Community s. Girl members of the Juliette Network may earn Program Credits through their participation in the Fall Product or Cookie Program, which they CAN use to pay for their participation in councilwide AND Community s, because they are not eligible for troop proceeds from product sales (and GSSEM may not keep individual girl accounts of any kind). When a Juliette Network girl registers for a community-sponsored event with Program Credits, the event organizer collects the girl s name, Program Credit card number, and program fee, then s this information, along with the name of the event, to the Community Finance Coordinator. The Community Finance Coordinator provides this information to the GSSEM Finance Department at gssemfinance@gssem.org. The Finance Department will then arrange for electronic reimbursement to the community bank account. Prioritizing the Allocation of Community Funds Whether it is a single event, or there are competing events, all events are considered for feasibility via the mandatory Intent to process. Some communities may not have enough community events planned for the year, in which case the CEC, CFC and staff will endeavor to recruit more volunteer organizers. Only if there are no available event organizers will the Community Funding Committee take on organizing events for the community. Some communities may have so many requests for funding that some must be denied. It is important to set up a fair and reasonable process for judging competing funding requests. Following is a suggested process for judging competing funding requests. 1) Developing Spending Priorities: An important first step for the Community Funding Committee is to develop spending priorities for community funds for the program year October 1 September 30. Spending priorities will help the development of a standardized rating chart. It is recommended that spending priorities be updated at least twice a year. The Community Funding Committee should consider consistent factors and local trends when setting up spending priorities for the upcoming period. One priority is that at least $3,000 should be in the bank account each July 1. Other priorities are council-wide, such as programming that supports the National Program Portfolio. Local priorities may be affected by other available programming by the Districts. 2) Developing the Rating Chart: Spending priorities are used to set up the scoring for the rating chart. The number of points for each element of the rating sheet should reflect the spending priorities. 3/4/20 12:21 PM Page 3

4 EXAMPLE OF A SPENDING PRIORITY CHART Spending Priority for period to Geographic distribution among districts in the community needs to be improved Focus of events will meet needs not already covered by other district, community or council events, specify: s need to reach more numbers of girls or different levels of girls. There is/is not sufficient funding in the community bank account number of events being proposed Fewer duplicative events are needed (market is saturated) Priority Level: high, medium or low Juliette Network girls are sufficiently supported Other community priorities for this period: EXAMPLE OF A RATING SHEET COMMUNITY No. For time period to Name of Persons Rating the Project(s): Date of Review: Rating Criteria (Consistent with Intent to form) Date of event does not conflict with other district, community or council events Program Level is/is not already sufficiently covered by other events s support a wide geographic distribution among districts in the community Number of Points available NOTES 4 will reach sufficient numbers of girls supports Juliette Network girls and/or involves girls in planning Expected Outcome is consistent with the proposed event activities 7 Adequate safety measures are in place 10 8 Budget is realistic 10 9 Overall feasibility of event 10 TOTAL 100 Final Recommendation: 3/4/20 12:21 PM Page 4

5 3) Implementing the Rating System The Community Funding Committee should publicize the availability of funds along with copies of Spending Priorities and the Rating Sheets through district meetings and other means. It is recommended that a deadline be set for the Intent to Forms for certain periods of the year. Once the Intent to forms are gathered, the Community Funding Committee meets to rate each proposed event. The same members of the committee must judge all of the events. The highest rated events are awarded funding until the available funding runs out, given that $3,000 must be in the community fund by July 1 of each year. Once rating decisions are made, members of the Community Funding Committee must inform all of the persons who submitted forms whether or not their event was funded. The final rating forms with the aggregated scores of the Committee as a whole should be made available to anyone who asks for them. The Committee is not obliged to provide individual scoring sheets that may have been completed by any individual Committee member. Persons who are not satisfied with the rating process can be counseled by the Committee about how to improve their event, or whether to hold it at a different time, or about any other matter that may have led their score to be lower than competing events, but the Committee is not mandated to do so. It is extremely important that the individual Committee members support the decision of the committee as a whole. Committee members may not reveal the individual scores or comments of other Committee members. Noncompliance with this requirement may result in the Committee member being asked to relinquish their position. 4) Record Keeping Spending priority charts and completed funding sheets should be kept for a minimum of three years. The Community Specialist staff person is responsible for collecting these documents and submitting them to the Finance Department as soon as possible after they are completed. Involving Girls in Planning s: Planning an event is a great way to keep older girls interested in Girl Scouting. While it is important to note that girls should not be responsible for handling funds (cash, checks, or credit card information), girls can certainly take a lead role in planning, including completing the Intent to form. Girls may also become members of the rating committee for a certain period, as long as they are able to comply with all of the rules pertaining to the adult members of the committee. 3/4/20 12:21 PM Page 5