As a non-profit organization, the Illowa Council relies on the generosity of charitable donations to support its ongoing operations and capital expenses. Every donation provides essential funding for BSA programs that benefit Scouts throughout the Quad Cities area. By supporting Scouts, you are helping youth in our community participate in programs that will leave a lasting, lifelong impact. Below are some of the ways you can invest in their future TODAY by supporting our local Scouting movement – the Illowa Council.
Friends of Scouting Campaign
Friends of Scouting is the Illowa Council’s annual campaign for individuals and companies to make a 100% tax-deductible gift to support Scouting programs. The Illowa Council invested over $445 in each of our approximately 2,600 youth in 2023 alone. By making an investment in this campaign you are supporting families who are in need of financial assistance in order to participate, two year-round facilities: Camp Loud Thunder and the Illowa Council Service Center, and an infrastructure designed to support over 1,500 adult volunteers who bring Scouting to life. Friends of Scouting is the most cost-effective way to support Scouting programs.
Your Friends of Scouting Investment:
- Helps maintain Camp Loud Thunder
- Provides youth with camp scholarships
- Helps subsidize leader training
- Ensures that activity and camp costs will remain low
- Allows us to offer the very best programming available
Matching Gifts
The following organizations will match employees’ contributions to our Friends of Scouting Campaign; doubling the impact of your gift. Some organizations also provide grants for their employees’ volunteer hours. Please contact your Human Resources Department for more information.
For more information please click the links below (if available).
1st Farm Credit Services
Bayer
HNI Corporation
Sherwin Williams
Special Events
Birdies for Charity
The Birdies for Charity Bonus Fund was established to support the continuing efforts of the John Deere Classic, a 501(C)(3) not-for-profit organization, to provide bonus dollars to participating charities. As a 501(C)(3) organization, Illowa Council BSA is a great place to direct your giving through the Birdies Program!
As before, the tournament will provide a bonus to all participating charities. In 2024, all charities are guaranteed a 5% bonus on amounts up to their prior year pledge total, or $100,000, whichever is greater.
HERE’S HOW IT WORKS:
Simply make a one-time flat donation and mail with payment to the Birdies for Charity office at:
15623 Coaltown Rd., East Moline, IL 61244.
To enter the contest, guess the number of birdies that will actually be made by PGA Tour Pros during the tournament, Wednesday through Sunday. A grand prize will be given to one person who guesses the correct number. In case of ties, winners will be randomly selected.
Want to take part?
Our Birdie number is 32.
Major Gifts
Giving to the Illowa Council Endowment Fund is one of the best ways to ensure that the Council can continue to offer outstanding programs for future generations of Scouts and families. An endowment gift says, “Scouting is important to me and my family. It’s more than an organization; it’s a way of life. It’s what we say and do in the spirit of the Scout Oath and Law.” To recognize such gifts, two national awards can be presented by the Council; the James E. West Fellowship Award and the Second Century Society.
Please call the Illowa Council Service Center, or reach out to the Scout Executive for more information regarding donations to the Illowa Council endowment.
The James E. West Fellowship Award is a national recognition for individuals who contribute $1,000 or more in cash or securities to the Illowa Council endowment trust fund. This contribution is in addition to, and does not diminish or replace, the donor’s annual gift to the Council’s Friends of Scouting Campaign.
Organizations or individuals may contribute an award in honor of someone – an Eagle Scout, a Silver Beaver recipient, Council President, or District Chairman, or in memory of a departed loved one, business associate or special Scouter.
Each donor is recognized with a personalized certificate, distinctive pin and an embroidered square knot which you may wear on your uniform.
There are several levels which are achieved with an accumulated level of giving to the James E. West Fellowship.
The Second Century Society, SCS, is the Boy Scouts of America’s national social organization of individuals, families, foundations, and corporations stewarded by key volunteers and implemented by the Boy Scouts of America National Foundation. Established in 2011, SCS, replaces the 1910 Society and Founders Circle as the way to recognize Scouting’s major donors at both the local and national levels. Qualifying gifts to be recognized as a Second Century Society member have a broader definition than Scouting’s major gift recognition in the past. These gifts include an outright gift of $25,000 or more payable over five years, or a deferred gift of $100,000 or more to a local council, the Boy Scouts of America Foundation, high-adventure base or any Scouting entity for operating, capital, or endowment.
Consider helping to ensure the Scouting legacy for future generations of young Americans.
You must be logged in to post a comment.