Genuine need

One of the hardest things to work through when providing grants is how you identify genuine need. As we’ve said previously, if you are providing grants to Groups to support individuals or families, Groups should be left to have these sensitive conversations directly, and you should agree with the Group what support you are willing or able to offer before these conversations start.

When it comes to dealing with Groups as a whole you can have a more open dialogue. As we’ve covered previously, you should receive a copy of each Group’s accounts annually, and it is common practice for a funder to ask for the most recent set of accounts anyway. As we’ve also said previously if you see the Group already has strong funds of its own, you should ask why they feel they need financial support for the District. Don’t discount them straight away, create space for an open and honest discussion as there might be something going on that you don’t know about.

The Group accounts might also give you cause for concern, either how they appear to manage their money, or their reporting may not be compliant with TSA’s accounting and reporting requirements for example. If an external funder encountered this they may simply reject an application and move to the next one. We should be more proactive. If the accounts show that a Group might need help or guidance on how they manage their money and present the accounts, the District Commissioner and District Chair (perhaps along with the District Treasurer) should speak to the Group Scout Leader and Group Chair and talk about their concerns, and how the District can provide advice and support to the Group Executive to get them back on track. If it is clear the Group is in a worse financial position than first thought, the District can consider providing more financial assistance than was applied for, if the Trustees determine this is the right thing to do.