Boy Scouts are a great place for youngsters to learn about themselves, the outdoors, and how to prepare themselves with valuable skills for the journey through life ahead. Scouting offers a variety of great activities from camping, hiking, biking, fishing, mountain climbing and many more that offer a range of activities the child likely would have never been exposed too. Unfortunately, these trips/activities cost money, so here are a few ideas on ways to raise money so that your troop can do even the best Scouting event, and plan your next large trip out of town.

Pizza / Cookie Dough

Who doesn't love frozen pizza and cookie dough at an affordable price? Several places sell affordable pizzas and deserts with 40-50% of all the profits going straight to the troop. One of the biggest suppliers in the Midwest for instance is TJ's Pizza, which is one of the most common and easiest companies to run a fundraiser through. To get an idea on how fundraisers through selling pizzas and desert work, visit TJ's website (tjspizza.com) for more information. TJ's Pizza might not be available in your area, but there are numerous other companies that offer similar deals to sell pizza, cookie dough and other deserts for fundraisers.

Popcorn

Another popular option to raise funds for your troop is to sell tins of popcorn. This idea has taken off, and the most popular company to use for popcorn sales amongst Scouters is Trail's End. Here a whopping 70% of your sales goes back to help the troop making this one of the best options amongst products you can sell to raise money. Trail's End offers tins in a variety of flavors, from butter, caramel and cheddar. Their site also offers rewards once various selling numbers are reached, giving an added incentive for Scouters to sell as much as possible and get creative with who/where they sell. For more information on Trail's End, check out their website (trails-end.com).

Holiday Wreaths

A seasonal fundraiser opportunity is selling wreaths for the holidays. This might not be the biggest or most profitable of your fundraisers, but it is a nice boost to depleted funds late in the Scouting year. Companies such as Alpine Farms offer a variety of Holiday decorations where the troop keeps $10 per unit sold. Alpine Farms requires sign ups early before the holidays roll around, and fill up quick, but other places run similar Holiday Wreath sales that can add a bit more to your Camping budget.

Magazines

This is one of the more difficult fundraisers to pull off as magazine subscriptions are difficult to sell as most people already are subscribed to the ones they want. However, it is a nice change of pace if you are deciding to go away from the usual food route (pizza/popcorn) and think your area might be interested in the magazines you offer. There are numerous companies that will help you create a magazine fundraiser, and you can expect to keep somewhere between 30% and 60% of your sales which in turn goes to your troop.

Breakfast / Dinner

Some of the most successful and profitable fundraisers used are dinners held by the troop. For instance, one very large troop annually holds a Chicken Dinner. The order chicken in bulk, as well as potato salad, green beans and a variety of deserts. They clean out and prepare the wings and breasts they day before the dinner, and then fry them in a large tent the day of the dinner. Doing the preparation and cooking themselves cuts down on a lot of the costs.

The parish and school of the troop comes out in waves to support the troop and get a big dinner, but the sales don't end there. The scouts themselves sell tickets to anyone they know, and if they reach the $300 mark, they are able to attend a variety of Scouting events for the rest of the year at a much smaller cost.

This dinner covers the vast majority of all the trips and events the troop goes on for almost the entire year. While troops just starting out shouldn't expect this type of success in their first attempt, it is important to note that when done right, a fundraiser can supply nearly 100% of all the funds needed for the year. Long trips including those to Scouting favorites such as Philmont can be nearly completely covered through fundraisers, so get started selling today!