A Stitch in Haste

MSNBC has a quick update on the FBI fraud investigation of local and regional Boy Scout chapters that have been accused of inflating their enrollment statistics in order to boost their funding from charitable organizations such as the United Way:

On Scout rosters obtained by NBC News, names are frequently duplicated. Others have phony Social Security numbers. And over and over again different Scouts share the same home address.

Much of the Boy Scouts’ funding, as evidenced by the Birmingham Council’s 990 tax form, comes from business and government grants — that’s tax dollars and charities. United Way alone gives the Boy Scouts $85 million a year.

“The more Scouts you have, the more you can ask for funding,” says Boy Scout volunteer Dr. Tom Willis.

In Dallas, former council employees say the Scout count was inflated 20 to 30 percent. In Birmingham, some believe the numbers were hyped 30 to 40 percent. In Atlanta, a local civil rights leader accuses the Boy Scouts of inflating their inner city membership by thousands.
…
Critics say the Boy Scouts’ national office turns a blind eye while reaping annual registration fees paid by local Scout councils for every member, real or not. In 2002 that amounted to over $109 million.

Perhaps the scouts need a new arrangement — “covenant scouting” or something — to reinforce that whole “morally straight” thing. Or perhaps the AARP could give them some lessons in how not to be hypocrites.

Related Posts:
Could You Explain that “Morally Straight” Part Again?
Who are the AARP?

Similar Posts:

• ScoutGate Update
• Another Quick ScoutGate Update
• Could You Explain that “Morally Straight” Part Again?
• From The Archives: Could You Explain that “Morally Straight” Part Again?
• Who are the AARP?

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