Popcorn 2023

2023 Popcorn Fundraiser Information for Troop 38 Scouts and Families

Instead of filling up an email to talk about popcorn, I thought putting it here on our website might be more helpful.

Why sell popcorn? Lots of reasons!

• The troop receives a 35% commission on popcorn sales.

• Scouts will receive 25% of the gross sales for their Scout account. If the Scout sells $1000 in popcorn through the various methods, that's $250 for their Scout account. That's $250 less you will need to pay for summer camp next summer. The 25% Scout commission is allocated differently, depending on the sales method:

  • Storefront Sales (where 2-3 Scouts stand in front of a store and ask patrons to support local Scouting): We'll have 3-4 storefront sales this fall. The total of all storefront sales is added up and then a proportionate amount of sales is allocated to each Scout depending on the number of hours worked as a fraction of the total hours of all Scouts.

  • Online Sales and Wagon Sales (selling to friends and relatives): This is allocated based on exactly what the Scout Sells.

• The Troop receives the remaining 10% for our troop account to help pay for camping supplies, awards, and other items.

• Doing these fundraising activities helps the Scout to earn his own way.

• Many of the customers that frequent our locations have purchased popcorn or made donations in the past and are expecting us there.

• Scouts learn to interact with other people. They handle the money and process credit card sales. They learn how to handle rejection and, perhaps, persuade the customers to support Scouting.

• Scouts can also earn Amazon gift cards for prizes.

OK. So, how does this all work?

I'll cover the Storefront Sale now and get to the Online and Wagon Sales in the future. I've arranged with the owners of a couple of North Falmouth locations to run these fundraisers. We set up a table with popcorn products and the Scouts ask those passing by to "support local Scouting". If they decide that they want to help, they'll either choose a popcorn item and purchase it from us or they'll donate some money to purchase popcorn for the military and first responders. As mentioned above, the Scouts earn money for their Scout account and may also be able to earn an Amazon gift card. We'll do 3 or 4 of these Storefront Sales from now until October. They'll most likely be in North Falmouth. There used to be a lot of units competing for Stop & Shop and Walmart so I tried the North Falmouth locations many years back and they usually work very well. Also, our troop is the North Falmouth troop so there's less competition in this area.

Scouts must register and sign up for shifts using the Trail's End app or website. We also process sales using the app and it allows us to accept credit cards without paying additional fees!

Do Scouts need to use the app?

Each Scout needs to be registered online. I cannot register the Scout for you. The Scout can register or the parent can register the Scout. Parents must register Scouts under 13 years old. If you have multiple Scouts in the troop, you can use the same email address to register more than one Scout. When you register, you create a unique username and password (the username is NOT the email address). Keep track of this since it will be used to log into the app and sign up for shifts as well as do Wagon Sales later on. At least one Scout on the shift must know the username and password to sign into the app when they show up for the Storefront Sale. I will have a tablet and a Square reader that the Scouts can use to record sales. For Wagon Sales, they will need to use their own (or parents) smartphone to record sales. I'll talk more about Wagon Sales later. This is where you sell to friends and relatives.

Where can you find the app?

The app is compatible with most Apple and Android devices. You can search the Apple App Store or Android Play Store for "Trails End". Before you download the app, make sure it says it's from "Weaver Fundraising, LLC".

How do you register?

After you download the app, click on the Register button in the app. You can also go to trails-end.com and click on the Register link. If your Scout doesn't have an email address just use the parent email address.

When registering, you'll be asked for your Council, District and Unit. Please make sure you choose:

• Council: Cape Cod & Islands

• District: Troops & Islands

• Unit: Troop 38

If you don't remember your username/password, there's a link on the trails-end.com login page that will help you reset it.

I can also send you an email or a text message through Trails-End.com that will include registration instructions.

Sign Up for Storefront Shifts

After you register, you can sign into the app or website and sign up for a Storefront Shift in the Storefront Sales area of the app. I currently have 2 spots per hour open. The system will let you sign up for as many open shifts as you want but I ask that you limit it to 2 shifts per Scout until Friday at 6 PM to allow others the opportunity to sign up.

Adult Supervision

I'm normally at each of the sales. However, I either need an additional registered adult leader (21 or older) or each Scout's parent must stay due to BSA Youth Protection rules.

Hopefully, this isn't too confusing. If it is, I'll try to walk you through it. Please let me know if you have questions.