Final Steps to Take Before Your Unit Popcorn Kickoff

As many Units get ready to start their Popcorn Sale, the Unit Kickoff can be the best tool you have to start your sale out right. Here are a few items to consider before you conduct your Unit Kickoff

1. Create and share your Unit Annual Plan and Unit Budget

It cannot be emphasized enough the importance of knowing why you are raising money and how much your program is going to cost. However, that is just the first step. In addition to creating your Annual Plan and Unit Budget, you should determine a way to share it with everyone in your Unit. It is best to do this a day or two prior to the day of your Popcorn Kickoff so people have a chance to get any questions answered on an individual basis. Nothing bogs a meeting down more than trying to answer individual questions in a group setting.

2. Do some calculations

Determine your Unit Sales Goal. The formula is as follows:

Unit Budget Total / Commission Rate = Unit Sales Goal

For example, if your Unit Budget is $4,200 and the Commission Rate you receive in your Council is 35% then the formula is $4,200/.35 = $12,000 in popcorn your Unit would need to sell to have everything covered in your Unit Budget.

The next formula is the Goal per Scout. This formula is below:

Unit Sales Goal / Number of Scouts = Sales per Scout Goal

Using the previous example, if your Unit Sales Goal is $12,000 and you have 25 Scouts, then the formula is $12,000/25 = $480 per Scout in Popcorn Sales. This gives each Scout a Sales Goal. You can break this down further by dividing the Scout Sales Goal by the average cost of containers. For example, in the previous illustration if the Scout Sales Goal is $480 and the average cost per container is $20 then the formula is $480/$20 = 24 containers.

3. Decide on Unit Incentives

As mentioned in an earlier blog, Unit Incentives are key to bringing excitement to your Unit Popcorn Sale. Units with the largest popcorn sales spend on average 3% of their total popcorn sale on Unit Incentives. Once you decide on the incentives, create a flyer or other piece to easily share the Unit Incentives with the Scouts and their parents.

4. Have a theme

As with most programs done in Scouting, it is important to have something that ties the whole thing together. That is where a theme comes in. It does not matter whether the theme is Duck Dynasty, Mission Impossible, or Indiana Jones, Scouts of all ages remember more when they can tie it to something to which they can relate. Here are a few examples I found on YouTube.

Mission Impossible

American Idol

Boxing Champion

Good luck everyone with their Unit Popcorn Kickoff and good luck on your Popcorn Sale.