Q. Hello Ray,
Are lodges allowed to give out an annual scholarship to a worthy Arrowman, if done properly?
In Brotherhood,
Joseph
A. Dear Joey,
Thanks so much for your question. Yes, lodges are allowed to provide scholarship assistance. The ability of each lodge to do so depends upon their own financial limitations.
You may first want to suggest the idea to your Lodge Key 3. Secondly, if providing financial support is indeed a viable option for your own lodge, it would be most helpful to have the suggested aggregate amount for scholarship assistance as the lodge develops its annual budget.
Some lodges may give discretion to the Lodge Key 3 to determine who receives scholarship assistance to ensure confidentiality for the recipients, while other lodges may utilize a committee to make such decisions if the need for scholarships exceeds the monetary amount budgeted for such purposes.
If you do not already have a history of providing scholarships you may want to consider presenting James E. West Fellowships and OA Legacy Fellowships as a way to start that “planned giving” practice. Your lodge may also want to consider supporting your council’s campership fund to assist scouts in getting to camp. Either way has a positive impact on scouting in your council.
Thanks so much for your excellent question and for your dedication to Scouting and the Order.
Ray