New Girlguiding Programme, Subs and A lack of funds - Rainbows, Brownies, Guides

[IceRebel]

Is anyone else struggling with the cost of the new programme? I would be interested to find out what other units charge as subs, as we're struggling with having to pay out for the new materials, as well as balancing the costs of the activities we provide. As far as I can see there isn't an online / paperless version, which would really help as finances are quite tight. Is it just our unit or are others out there struggling as well?

Also, if you've ever thought about volunteering your time any local units would love to have you, so please do ask. I've never known it to be so difficult to get adult volunteers, we have such long waiting lists but are unable to accept more girls without additional help.

My dd's unit doesn't seem to be incurring any extra costs particularly but then I've noticed nothing different as to the activities. It's pretty low key tbh. I pay £20 subs a Term but would pay more happily for better activities. I pay extra for excursions etc.She's been a guide for nearly 2 years and was a Brownie for 3 but I think she's going over to Scouts as it's a bit rubbish in her unit. Leader not interested in parental help, has some older ex Guides with her. That's the one good thing!

I've just put my Brownie subs up from £20 to £25 per term.
I've taken over a unit that did a lot of games/crafts and it costs more to do more interesting things, plus buying new programme materials is expensive.
Have you got Gift Aid set up as you can get quite a lot back from that?
Yes also struggling for adults in every section in our area and parents very reluctant to help.

Molly i'm so sorry you and your daughter are disappointed with the guide unit. £20 a term is less than our unit, and we're very much struggling to provide the level of activities we would like to.

Also i'm very surprised to hear the leader isn't interested in extra help, especially if you've offered. Our unit runs with 2 leaders and it's a struggle, we would really appreciate the extra pair of hands.

Hi gently, yes gift aid all set up, but even so it just seems to be getting more and more expensive. The price of the new programme isn't something we had planned for; especially the lack of online resources, and I feel that the fun activities are taking a back seat which isn't fair on the girls.

Subs in DD2’s unit just went up quite substantially, and we’ve pulled her out. Less to do with that, than because the favoured leader left suddenly and (mainly) safeguarding concerns. I know they’re losing other girls because of the big subs jump (almost doubled) though.

We're struggling for adults, most units only have one leader and a parent rota. Rangers doesn't have a leader at all, they run alongside Guides and pretty much do their own programme.

New programme wise, our county gave every unit all the relevant UMA packs, plus a full set of skills builders (stage 1 for R, 2&3 for B, 4&5 for G, 6 for R), so we're actually fine. Before I knew we'd be getting the county stuff, I applied for and got a neighbourhood grant from my local council, £250 in the bank which will provide all existing girls a handbook and badge book at least, and stock a few badges.

Our DC has applied for a council grant for local community organisations and received some money to buy new materials with. Another unit in our area charge £30 subs.
It is very sneaky that they have absolutely nothing online so you're forced to buy the books.
It feels like it is getting more and more commercial and us mugs doing all of the work for free are getting less out of it!

If you don't mind me asking Summary how much were the subs at your daughter's unit? I'm very sorry to hear you've pulled her out, have you considered another local unit?

Rue, so it's not just our area who are struggling for leaders, i've never known it to be so bad. Can you tell me more about the grant from your local council it might be something we can also look into, as funds are a constant worry for our pack at the minute. I would love to provide each girl with a handbook and badge book, but I just don't see how we can manage it with the money we have.

Ours are now £27-£30 plus we paid for our own new handbooks on top.

Thriving unit do lots of additional activities etc at extra cost though tbh.

Yes Gently it's so frustrating, and not very eco friendly. I love guiding but it's beginning to feel like an additional job, what with all the planing and juggling finances, and all this outside the actual meeting time. If it weren't for the girls I would just give it up, but if I go then our pack would have to fold. It's such a balancing act and I think sometimes Girl-Guiding forget we're volunteers with already busy lives.

I’m not a guider, I’m a Scouter and adult help is very limited for us too. I’ve sadly resigned after 8 years as I can’t commit the time needed to running a section alone. Offers of help were forthcoming, right up to the point when people had to do something- then people were no longer so willing.
I no longer have a child in Scouting so feel it’s time to hand it on.

Random, do your parents / guardians mind the additional costs ontop of the subs? It might be worth us asking for extra to help fund more exciting activities that we know the girls love, we already do this for things outside of the regular meeting place. However, we're worried the parents will refuse to contribute for extras as they already pay subs.

We pay £30 and I haven't heard anyone say it's excessive. I also know that Tawny spends a good deal of her own money too.
The girls have made some incredible crafts, been on interesting trips, been swimming etc
They tend to do a sporty week, then a week looking at a specific badge, then a crafty week, then a badge week with lots of games to run off energy.
It's 1.5 hours and so for me £30 is incredibly reasonable especially as we aren't ever asked for money on top except for trips. The pack is massively oversubscribed with a long waiting list.

I'm sorry to hear that Queen, I always thought scouting were fairing better than guiding, but the offers of help but refusal to commit when asked sounds frustratingly familiar. What happened to your unit after you left?

Our subs are £22 a term and from January we will be increasing the joining fee to £15 to cover the cost of the new programme.

I am exceptionally angry that Guiding have been so short sighted over the costs of the new programme.

We are a large but close knit district, we have bought the resources between us and will share. With contacts in other areas we are hoping that we can scan the card and then swap electronically with other areas. I am hoping that when I have done this for our resources I can load them to guiders.co.uk and others will do the same.

Fundraising is really hard as costs for everything seem to be sky rocketing. Census is obscene so close to Christmas, uniform costs are high and rents are astronomical. We are lucky that we run in a church and they are very good at supporting us (we have run there for over 30 years) and not increasing our rent but other groups who run in schools have had to up their subs to £30-40 per term as they are charged at £20 per week for the hire.

We pay £30 a term my daughters brownies have applied for the Tesco bags scheme to cover costs, you get a minimum of £1000 if you come third.

To add; they haven't mentioned the new badge books yet but I assume they will be funded by subs. I'll have to ask Tawny.
We have a parent rota and in the first few weeks of term everyone is firmly guided towards it with a pen to choose their day. We have two parent helpers, Tawny, Snowy and Barn Owl (an A-level student) each evening.

Thanks Zeeboo it's nice to hear from parents, and it sounds like your daughter's pack have a great time and a lovely leader. Is she the only leader?

Can I ask if you were asked Tawny would you be willing to pay extra for some of the activities that she provides in the meeting, or to perhaps pay for the badge / handbook? (assuming you haven't already paid for these, as we give our girls them when they enroll)

I don't know, I'm just a parent and I don't mind.

We have a private Facebook group so we knew something knew was being launched and they expected it to cost money. They are very upfront with everything which I think helps.

My son is a Scout and we pay £40 a term. They do loads; and I'd probably say I would happily pay extra as we get so much out of it.

Wheresthel1ght, so much of your post that I agree with, although I find it sad that we're not the only pack suffering financially. It would be very much appreciated if you or any others could upload the cards, although in fairness it should have been available this way from the get go.

Unfortunately our subs fall in the £30-£40 range, which compared to other activities is super cheap, but compared to what we used to pay it's far more than we would like it to be.

Greatestshowwoamn, the bags for life is a good suggestion. Unfortunately we're not the only local unit who have tried this, but the stores are reluctant to have rainbow, brownie and guide units on there each week, so it might be some time before we manage to get selected.

Zeboo, thanks for the extra information, please do check back when you've asked Tawny about the books. I'm very interested to see if other units are passing it on the the parents / guardians. Are the parent helpers / barn owl actual leaders are just a helping pair of hands?

Very interesting that the Scouts is £40 a term and you would be happy to pay more, does this cover extra trips / activities or just the weekly sessions?

At my Guide unit we are getting the parents to pay for the books, at my brownie unit we are providing the girls with them. Subs are £25 at both units.

I'm curious about the cost of compulsory uniform items. What is the minimum required and the total cost?

My child is in Scouts and I only had to buy the shirt, which is about £20 new. They require trousers (not jeans) for camps, but these do not have to be uniform ones, and school trousers for smart uniform occasions are fine. We pay £30 a term.

We knew the new programme was coming so went easy on the spending g for the past few terms in preparation, and tried to save the majority of our most recent gift aid claim, which is covering most the new books. We’re easinng in this term then starting in full swing when our older girls leave at Christmas.

You don’t need every resource immediately - there’s a year changeover, and even after that you can buy packs as you do them for the first time. We’ll see how finances are looking post-Census and see what else we want to buy.