🍝 Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser

⚠️ This is the troop’s primary annual fundraiser. Continuity of this event is critical to troop operations.

🎯 Purpose

Annual troop fundraiser supporting program costs through community dinner service and silent auction.

🗓️ Event Timing

  • Typically held in March
  • Example: March 28, 2026

👥 Leadership Roles

  • Event Lead: (Laura Peacock)
  • Kitchen Lead: (assign)
  • Auction Coordinator: (assign)
  • Scout Coordination: (assign)

👉 Critical: Identify and assign roles early

📣 Advertising & Promotion

  • Distribute flyer:
    • Social media
    • Schools
    • Workplace boards
    • Family/friends
  • Post to:
    • Town website
    • Community boards

👉 Goal: Max visibility

🧾 Scout & Volunteer Coordination

  • Use SignUpGenius for:
    • Scout shifts:
      • Seating
      • Order taking
      • Serving
      • Cleanup
    • Adult roles:
      • Kitchen (salads, pasta, etc.)

👉 Full participation expected

🎟️ Silent Auction (MAJOR COMPONENT)

Structure

  • Combine donated items + themed baskets
  • Patrol-based basket contributions (recommended)

🏆 Proven High-Value Donations

(These should ALWAYS be attempted first)

  • Empire State Aerosciences Museum passes
  • Ausable Chasm passes
  • Van Patten Golf Course foursome
  • Sky Zone passes
  • Restaurant gift cards (Druthers, Carson’s, etc.)
  • Benson’s Pet Center (with added items performed well)

⚠️ Lessons Learned (CRITICAL SECTION)

  • Too many items = lower bidding engagement
  • Focus on fewer, higher-value items
  • Opening bids matter—too high reduces participation
  • Bundling items increases value perception
  • Patrol baskets increase Scout involvement

🧠 Donation Strategy

  • Assign specific people to secure specific items
  • Reuse known successful donors
  • Use donation request letters (update annually)
  • Follow up with local businesses directly

🍽️ Food Operations

  • Pasta dinner service
  • Salad prep
  • Dessert (cake slices recommended over ice cream)

👉 Kitchen requires strong adult support

💰 Revenue Streams

  • Dinner tickets
  • Silent auction
  • Basket raffles

📄 Required Items

  • Event flyer
  • Donation request letters
  • SignUpGenius links
  • Auction tracking sheets

⏱️ Timeline

2–3 Months Out

  • Form committee
  • Secure venue
  • Begin donation outreach

1 Month Out

  • Launch advertising
  • Finalize donation list

2 Weeks Out

  • Confirm volunteers
  • Finalize auction items

1 Week Out

  • Prepare materials
  • Confirm food logistics

Day Of

  • Execute setup
  • Run event
  • Track revenue

🧠 Lessons Learned (Add Every Year)

📧 Sample Leader Communication

📢 Event Announcement Email (Send to Troop)

Good Evening All
I apologize for sending this email so late.

As you know our annual Spaghetti Dinner is coming up in just a couple of weeks on March 28, 2026. Attached is the Spaghetti Dinner flyer. Please post to all of your social media accounts, print and pass out to friends, neighbors, teachers, family, grandparents, aunts, uncles, post at work etc. We need as much advertising that we can get to put the word out so we have a successful event.

A signup genius is up and available for the scouts to sign up for shifts on the day of the event. We will need all the scouts to help seat customers, take orders, serve customers, clean up etc. We will also need adults to help in the kitchen making salads, cooking pasta etc. Please feel free to sign up.

As part of the Spaghetti Dinner we will be having a silent auction. One of the mom’s has done a fabulous job at obtaining donations for this part of the event. We have passes to Liberty Ridge, Glenn Peters, Spac and many more. We wanted to do a Troop Basket and the scouts picked movie night as the theme. A signup genius will be going up for the scouts to bring items to put in the basket.

Jasper as we discussed at the meeting last night can you please send to the parents of the new scouts that will be crossing over in the next couple of weeks? Can you please reach out to your contact with the town and see if they can post it on their web page and on the sign at the commons. Thank you.

If you have any questions or concerns please let me know.

YIS
Laura

🧠 Internal Planning & Donation Coordination

Good Evening All
I am putting together a committee for the Spaghetti Dinner on 3/28.
Cily I really hope you can help this year you were instrumental in getting some of the bigger donations.
I am trying to do a few things different this year than we did last year with the donations. We had over 40 donations and some of the donations people didn’t even bid on and some of them came in under the initial bid. These were the top selling donations so these are the ones I would like to do.
1. Empire State Aerosciences Museum Complimentary Family Pass – Cily would you be able to obtain again or let me know how to you obtained it and I will get.
2. Benson’s Pet Center 25.00 Gift Card I added a bunch of dog toys, in the basket and it went for $45.00 – I will see if I can secure this again.
3. Ausable Chasm, 6 free admissions – Ms. T. I believe that you obtain this one can you try and get another one. This went for like 80.00.
4. Lowes Propane Firepit this didn’t go as well as I planned but I am going to reach out to Lowes again this year to see what I can get.
5. Albany Indoor Rockgym (2 day passes plus full rental) – Could someone reach out to see if we can get something from them again this year.
6. Carson’s Restaurant Gift Card – $50.00 – this went for $50.00
7. Druthers Gift Card $50.00 I already reached out to them for another gift card. This also went for $50.00
8. Emma Jayne’s Gift Card $25.00
9. Glennpeter Jewlers Wine & Shine $600.00 – no one really bid on this but I think I started the opening bid way to high. Cily can you reach out to secure another one.?
10. Home Depot Gift Card $50.00 – I can see if I can get something again this year.
11. Nothing but Bundt , 75.00 punch Card –
12. Sky Zone 4 90 minute jump passes – Kim can you reach out to obtain this one
13. Van Patten Golf Course Foursomes 250.00 value – Cily can you reach out to see if we can get another donation again this year.
I was also thinking that we have each Patrol pick a theme (Camping, movie night, gardening, Stem, etc.) out of a hat and that patrol is responsible for making up a basket to auction off. What do you think.
Kim, you also got a cake from Price Chopper last year do you think you can do that again. I was thinking that doing cake slices would be easier than doing ice cream for dessert.
Gotta love Price Chopper. I submitted the application to them, and they came back to me that I have to submit the request to the local store manager. I am hoping to get over there this week to see what I can get.
I should have the updated donation letters on Wednesday.
Let me know if you are willing to help out on this part of the event. If you aren’t able to help, I completely understand just let me know as soon as possible.
If you have any questions or have any ideas please let me know also.
Thank you in advance
YIS
Laura