Pathfindersonline

We have a small group of 7 kids. Two of which are non-SDAs.

When is comes to club campouts, how do you figure for who supports the cost of the campout? If staff come along, do they need to add $$ to help for what they will use?

Also International camporees, does your church pay for all the pathfinder kids or do the parents need to help with part of the bill?

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Tiffany Thomas
Master Guide
I LOVE Pathfinders!!!

Our church gives our club a budget. It may or may not cover all or part of the camping cost. Dues are collected by many clubs. Those dues have been used by clubs to cover camp-outs (depending on how much dues are). Other clubs have charged an additional fee for camp-outs (I've seen this in clubs where dues are lower).

As for international camporees, much the same applies. Additional fundraising is extremely common for camporees such as Oshkosh. My current club has money that comes from the church for Oshkosh, that pays for some of the cost. Some of the cost is paid from fundraising. The rest comes from parents. Sometimes church or community members finance/sponsor one or more children as well.

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"Jesus answered, 'Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.' " John 13:8b

I charge staff the same as I charge kids for camping. They eat too. I've never had them complain about it.

The campgrounds don't care if the staff member is a volunteer or not - they want their fee. Conference Camporees generally cost more than club camping trips, but I set the fee the same for both. I don't want kids missing the "expensive" campouts because they can't afford it. Also, it's easier to remember one number. I have enough stuff to keep track of without having to deal with that too.

In truth, the fee doesn't quite cover the cost, so some of the club budget is used to cover the shortfall.

For the NAD Camporee, we raise funds to mitigate the costs, but the participants will have to kick in a pretty significant amount. But it's good for them to have some "skin" in the game, especially once the tickets are bought. I require them to pay their part before the tickets are bought, and once that happens, the money is not refundable.

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Jim Thomas
The sooner you get behind, the more time you have to catch up.

Thank you both for the replies.

Can I ask how much is your club dues?? Does you club provide a pathfinder uniform (shirt, scarf and sash) and field uniform free or charge parents?

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Tiffany Thomas
Master Guide
I LOVE Pathfinders!!!

We set dues at $45 per year ($5/month for nine months). I collect it at the beginning of the year because I don't want to be hounding people for money every month. That is not the focus of Pathfindering, but it could become that by accident if we weren't careful.

You should really make out a budget and figure your dues based on that (plus what you think the families can contribute - if dues come to $1000 per year, you might want to look at scaling back operations).

We charge a registration fee ($20), dues ($45), camping trips ($20x4 trips per year, and for Leadership Training ($30, set by our conference). We also charge cost for uniforms (field and dress), but there is also a stash of used uniforms that we allow PFs to take for free if they need one. When kids outgrow their uniforms, they donate them to the stash. We also get an operating subsidy from our church (averages $100/month, but varies year-to-year depending on church finances).

At our church we collect the "Lamb's Offering" every Sabbath. I provide a form to the parents requesting funds from that if they can't meet their PF-related expenses, and then present the request on their behalf to the church board. That helps a lot. Sometimes I will cover unmet expenses from my own pocket.

For big expenses (Oshkosh, Mission Trips, equipment trailer) we run fund raisers. Right now our plan is to raise money for 2.5 years for Oshkosh, and 2.5 year for a mission trip.

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Jim Thomas
The sooner you get behind, the more time you have to catch up.

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Graduated TLT, Master Guide

"The union of all strengthens the work of each." ~Ellen G. White, 1SM 84.3