Subscriptions, payments for events and Gift Aid

Membership Subscriptions

Membership subscriptions are payable termly and are currently £40 per term. You will receive a request for payment via Online Scout Manager each term.

The rate of membership subscriptions is set annually by the Group Trustee Board, after discussion by the Group Leadership team.

1. Memberships subscriptions are paid by all youth members and are issued each term.
2. We do not charge membership fees for adult volunteers or Young Leaders volunteering in any section.
3. Membership subscriptions become payable when a young person has been a member of our Group for more than four weeks. We will not refund membership fees, on a pro-rata basis or in full, where a young person has been a member within that term and their membership ends within that term.
4. We define “being a member” as starting when a young person first participates in our activities and ending either: when we receive notice that they will no longer be participating (or when they last participate in any of our activities, whichever is later), or when their membership is terminated by the Group.

Payments for events - camps and activities

We will usually charge an event fee for activities that fall outside a normal section night.

1. the fee will only be used to cover the additional cost of running each event, including a contingency (which may be retained as unrestricted reserves for the Group, where it is not used). Our intention is to cover the event costs, we don’t typically expect to make a profit (except fund raising events) or incur a loss from an event.
2. we do not charge event fees for our adult volunteers or Young Leaders volunteering, the event cost for each member attending will include this cost.
3. event fees must always be paid in advance of the event, unless otherwise agreed with the leader-in-charge of the trip. Places may be forfeited should a payment not be received by any due date without prior agreement, with any overdue payment remaining payable.
4. any deposit is non-refundable (when there is a single payment for an event, this will be deemed a non-refundable deposit).
5. all other payments are generally considered non-refundable, especially if the payment due date has already passed or it is within 3 days of the event.
6. if attendance is cancelled to an event, the full event fee will remain payable. We will make refunds if the group can recover the cost of the activity.
7. signing a young person up to an event constitutes an agreement to pay the full event fee. Should there be extenuating circumstances, payments may be waived under the sole discretion of the Group Lead Volunteer, Treasurer or Group Chair.

Refunds

Where a refund is given, we will deduct any associated transaction cost e.g. GoCardless transaction fee.

Financial assistance

12th Harpenden Scout Group wishes every young person in the Group to be able to take part in our activities, learning skills for life and having fun. 

We would not want a young person to miss out due to the cost and therefore we have a Financial Assistance policy. If you're at all concerned about covering the cost of our membership fee or any activities, please contact Jackie Agg, Group Lead Volunteer glv@12thharpendenscouts.org.uk, in confidence. There are ways we can support you.

Gift Aid 

As a Scout Group we rely heavily on income from the UK Government’s Gift Aid scheme. Gift Aid allows us to claim an extra 25p from HMRC for every £1 you donate to us, including on termly subscriptions. This is worth around £25 per young person each year to our Group. 

If you (or your partner) pay UK Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax, please consider choosing Gift Aid for your child’s subscriptions. It won’t cost you anything extra, but you must have paid enough tax in the tax year to cover the Gift Aid we reclaim (otherwise HMRC may ask you to pay the difference). 

We’ll send you a sign-up link shortly after you join. If your tax situation changes in future, you can let us know and we’ll update or cancel your Gift Aid declaration.

Non-payment

If a payment remains overdue for 28 days, the Group reserves the right to terminate the membership of the young person concerned. Termination of membership does not remove the obligation to settle outstanding payments.

GoCardless / OSM Online Payments

The payment facility provided is through a company called GoCardless, who are sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Parents/guardians control all payments and are protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee.

Parents/guardians will be sent a Payment Request email via Online Scout Manager when a payment is due.

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