Popcorn
The Popcorn Fundraiser is one of the major fundraising exercises that we do. 60% of the cost of the popcorn returns to Scouting and 40% comes back directly to our Group.
An overall popcorn coordinator is required. That person needs to get the forms at the Popcorn kickoff meeting and distribute them to the various Sections. The Popcorn kickoff is in late September or early October, often at the Rotary Building at Camp McLean. The popcorn coordinator needs to push this and challenge the kids to get out and sell items, not simply sell one package of popcorn to their parents. If we do well on this fundraiser, it really relieves the financial pressure for the rest of the year.
The kids have a few weeks to gather orders. The forms and money are collected in late October and a single overall order placed. All the individual order forms should be scanned for future reference.
High sellers can qualify for a scholarship. If applicable, the paperwork for this needs to be completed and submitted.
Incentive prizes need to be discussed at the Group Committee meeting. In the past these incentive prizes were provided by the popcorn people, but in 2015, this responsibility was downloaded to the Groups. We therefore need to decide on the prizes and purchase them. Typically Walmart gift cards work well ($10 per $200 sold with cards in $10 increments). There may be some additional National-provided incentive prizes for people who sell over $300 (pocketknife or flashlight).
The B.L.A.S.T. Trophy must be retrieved from the previous year’s winner. A plaque needs to be engraved and affixed for presentation at the Christmas Party.
Pick-up happens in mid-November from a warehouse in Langley or Maple Ridge somewhere and it changes every year. That person will need the complete order form, a cheque (if not prepaid), and know the pickup location. Pickup time is assigned for us from the popcorn people (all groups pick up at different times) and varies year to year. It typically take less than an hour to get the order at the warehouse.
Depending on the size of the order, make sure the trailer is available and one of the Sections hasn’t taken it for the weekend to go to say, Rainbucket! If a low amount of popcorn is sold (say $4,000) it will likely fit into an SUV.
The popcorn patches and incentive prizes used to be provided at the same day as the popcorn pickup. This has changed and they now get delivered to the Group Commissioner at a later date.
Sorting happens at someone’s house or at a Church. With a very large order, it works much better in a large area like Queens Ave. United Church or Knox Presbyterian Church. Phone early and book a spot because sometimes they are rented out. More people doesn’t necessarily make the sorting easier. Slow and steady wins the race. Going too quickly can result in mistakes, which can take a very long time to find. A good suggestion is to distribute the popcorn by type in a circle around the room in the same order it is on the form. This makes sorting a lot easier. Have two types of people – sorters and checkers. That way, two sets of eyes are on every order. Once the order is verified, put a piece of green tape over it with the name. The original order form is returned to the seller with the order.
If one kid sells a huge amount, insist that they attend the sorting and take their popcorn right away. Have parents pick up the popcorn on that day or distribute popcorn at the following Section meeting. Sorting takes about 90 minutes or so, so people can pick up around 3:00. It is easier on the Section leaders if the parents pick it up from the sorting location.
The top popcorn sellers of each Section get to throw a whipped cream pie in a leader’s face at the Christmas Party. This is always a highlight!
In 2015, we dropped in sales by a lot. Not only did our top seller for many years (Evan O’Brien) leave Scouting, most of the other kids didn’t do as well. Also, very few leaders participated. An idea for the future could be to take a dozen kids to Queens Park one Saturday for “Popcorn Selling Day”. Assign streets and a huge area could be covered. This would likely sell a lot of popcorn!
Recent sales history:
| Year | Sales ($) | Profit ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | $4,219.45 | $1,843.45 |
| 2014 | $11,280.00 ($3,290 by Evan O’Brien) ($7,990.00 by remainder of group) | $4,512.00 ($1,318 by Evan O’Brien) ($3,194.00 by remainder of group) |
| 2013 | $9,135.35 | $3,609.35 |
| 2012 | $7,545.00 | $2,907.51 |
| 2011 | $7,181.00 | $2,574.00 |
| 2010 | $7,869.80 | $3,449.00 |
| 2009 | $5,225.00 | $1,868.00 |
| 2008 | ~$5,000.00 | $1,805.60 |
Things to remember to do to kick this off:
- Need an overall popcorn coordinator.
- Pick up the forms and go Section to Section to push the sale.
- Suggest to have a selling day and take kids to Queens Park and do a blanket coverage.
- The feedback from other groups is DO NOT buy extra and try to sell it later. While it sounds like a good idea, this is a disaster.
Things to remember to do in late October:
- In the Group Committee meeting, discuss order, pickup and sorting.
- Place the overall order and scan all the individual orders.
- Purchase incentive prizes.
- Ensure that the national provided prizes and the patches are ordered.
- Get the B.L.A.S.T. Trophy and engrave a plaque.
- Submit the scholarship application if applicable.
- Organize a sorting location.
- Ensure the box trailer is available.
- The person who picks up the popcorn needs the order form, the pickup location, and the pickup time.
- The organizer needs to bring copies of the sales forms, masking tape, packing tape and pens to the sorting location. Mike Hamilton has a box of tape, pens, etc.