There are many ways to donate to the Leatherstocking Council BSA!

Friends of Scouting (FOS) is the annual appeal for the Leatherstocking Council. It provides you with a meaningful opportunity to make a tax-deductible gift to support the $1,500,000 operating budget of your local council. Our staff and trained volunteers provide many important programs and services to Cub Scout Packs, Scouting BSA Troops, Explorer Posts and Venture Crews across Delaware, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Otsego and Schoharie counties. We also maintain and operate Camp Kingsley, near Rome, NY. Your gift enables our team to provide a high-quality Scouting experience to all of our registered members and we cannot thank you enough for investing in our youth, our leadership skills training and our character development programs.

Thank you!

In order to support your local Scouting families, you may send checks made out to The Leatherstocking Council, BSA, with FOS in the memo field, to the Leatherstocking Council, BSA, 1401 Genesee St., Utica, NY 13501. To make a donation securely online, click the button below to be taken to our FOS campaign page!

Contribute to Friends of Scouting

James E. West Fellowship & The Bob Carpenter Fund

James E. West (1876-1948)

Orphaned at age six and afflicted with tuberculosis, James E. West never had much of a childhood. West had to fight for permission to attend school outside of his orphanage—and only if he did his extensive orphanage chores before and after school. Nonetheless, he finished high school in two years, graduating with honors in 1895. By 1901, he’d worked his way through law school and was practicing law in Washington, D.C.

Given those circumstances, it was not surprising West gravitated toward children’s issues. When a young boy stole his car, he declined to press charges, offering instead to represent the boy in court (he got him off on a technicality). This incident led West to lobby successfully for the creation of a juvenile court. He also worked for the Washington Playground Association and the YMCA and prompted President Theodore Roosevelt to convene a White House Conference on Dependent Children in 1909. Given his background, West became a natural choice to serve as the first Chief Scout Executive. He agreed to take the job for up to six months and stayed on for 32 years.

A gift to a local council, designated by the donor to the council endowment fund, qualifies for membership as a James E. West fellow. The gift must be in addition to— and not replace or diminish—the donor’s annual Friends of Scouting support. A minimum gift of $1000 in cash or marketable securities qualifies for the Bronze level membership. Donors may make cumulative gifts to reach Silver, Gold, and Diamond member levels. For example, 5 years of giving at the Bronze level would qualify for Silver level membership. Many individuals and corporations make these gifts either on behalf of someone else—such as in honor of an Eagle Scout, Silver Beaver recipient, a retirement, a special accomplishment, or anniversary—or in memory of a special individual.

Bob Carpenter (1955-2023)

Robert was a Boy Scout as a child and carried that passion into adulthood, where he passed his knowledge onto the next generation. Robert was an Assistant Scout Master, with Troop 31, of Little Falls for many years. He was also the Assistant Scout Master with Troop 4, in New Hartford and a member of the Eagle Scout Board of Review in the Leatherstocking Council’s Adirondack Foothills District. Since Bob always admired the donor wall of honor in the Council Service Center lobby, his friends raised $1,000 to permanently add Bob’s name to this very special list of honorees and the Bob Carpenter Memorial Fund was established to memorialize Bob’s legacy.

If you would like to learn about honoring a loved one with a permanently restricted gift to our endowment, or if your financial advisor has any questions about supporting local Scouts with planned gifts through your last will and testament, please call our office at (315)735-4437, ext. 223.

Contribute to the Endowment Fund

Camp Kingsley’s 100th Anniversary Capital Campaign

Camp Kingsley turned 100 years old in the fall of 2021 and has been providing a lifetime of memories and friendships for Scouts for over a century! To celebrate this milestone, the Barnes family challenged our community to raise $200,000 worth of gifts or pledges (payable over five years) by March 1, 2021. If we could meet their challenge, they would donate $100,000 in memory of longtime Camp Kingsley volunteer Robert “Bob” Barnes Sr. The proposed Robert “Bob” Barnes, Sr. Welcome Center is a 2,000 square foot building that will honor Bob’s legacy by providing guests with a warm and welcoming space to check into camp, visit the trading post, find a restroom, or meet up with their friends to begin another great outdoor adventure! On March 1, 2021, we met their challenge!! To date, $326,000 has been raised from 391 individuals, foundations, and corporations. Any additional funds we raise will go toward a maintenance fund for this building. If you would like to set up a tour, or you would like to discuss some of the naming opportunities made possible by this very special centennial campaign, please call (315)735-4437, ext. 223. Pinko’s Landscaping will be putting together a donor recognition walkway for those who donate or pledge $250 or more (payable over five years). Donors will have a personalized brick paver placed in front of the Robert Barnes, Sr. Welcome Center in their name, to honor a friend, or in memory of a loved one. Just be sure to enter how you would like the name to appear in the notes below and please feel free to call the same number if you need help completing this form. We will also have a donor wall of honor located in the building. Thank you for supporting Scouting families and Scout programs in your local community!

Other ways to support Scouting

Project Sales and Gifts in Kind

As with any charitable organization, Scouting survives and grows because of gifts from its friends and supporters. In its early years, Scouting got the materials it needed to administer the Scouting program and build camp facilities from the generosity of merchants, manufacturers, and suppliers in that community. Lumber, paint, hardware, and medical supplies were contributed in support of Scouting. New and used office equipment, computer paper, and other supplies always found their way into new and renovated council service centers. It seemed that almost everyone in town tried to help ensure the success of Scouting in that community.

As councils grew, their needs also grew. Councils did a better job identifying their needs, figuring out their costs, and finding donors to help the council purchase the product or service. Sometimes, they received these gifts every year; other times, the gifts were just one-time contributions. But it worked well for capital and operating needs. This is termed project sales. It continues to grow in size and importance for capital and operating support. In fact, many councils find it as practical and effective to conduct a project sales campaign as to conduct a Friends of Scouting campaign, a special event or activity, or use other council fundraising strategies. Project sales continue to take two forms: gifts-in-kind and specific project support.

Gifts-in-Kind: With a Gift-in-kind a council accepts a gift of goods and services, rather than cash. The best gifts are gifts of goods and services that the council would have needed to purchase in any event; these types of gifts provide “budget relief” for the council. But even gifts that are not immediately needed for council purposes can be sold, traded, or kept for future needs (assuming that storage costs, insurance, liability, etc. don’t become issues)

Specific Project Support: Specific project support is where the council identifies and attempts to “sell” specific, line-item costs for a particular program or activity. The costs are separated and written up as a “project” for potential donors (or underwriters, in some cases). This helps donors understand exactly what they’re asked to support, and how much it will cost. This, too, is an excellent way to match donor interests with specific needs and expenses that are already a part of a council’s operating budget.

Leave a Legacy

To establish your Scouting legacy you can make a charitable bequest in your will, make a gift of an IRA or a life insurance policy. Estate planning with these vehicles reduces the tax liability for your heirs. In addition, your final gift to Scouting also cements your Scouting legacy within your family ensuring your descendants know the important role Scouting should still continue to play in their lives. Additional information can be found at this link.