Best way to collect money from other troops for a Girl Scout event?

[ang79]

Our Girl Scout Community group has started using EventBrite to sell tickets to Community events (for local GS troops). The coordinators started using it to collect fees up front to ensure all troops are paying to attend events. I am currently helping to plan an event (all leaders were asked to work with another troop to plan an event throughout the year). It was suggested that I charge a small fee ($5) to help off set costs of the provided drinks, materials for games/craft, and for gift cards we are giving out as prizes. Each attendee is also bringing food to share. While I don't mind asking for a small fee to help cover supplies, I just realized that by purchasing tickets through EventBrite by credit card, it adds $1.94 to each ticket (and the fees are higher per ticket if the tickets cost more, like they do for other upcoming events that are being planned). And I've been asked to pay for my girls that are attending (even though my troop is doing the work to sponsor the event, and the troop and parents are donating some materials for the event - which is another rant I won't get started on right now). But to pay for my troop of 10 girls to attend, it will cost me almost $20 extra in fees. Which I think is crazy, because we aren't swimming in money and I'd rather spend our troop money on actual activities or supplies, not credit card fees. So, before complaining about it, I'd like some other options to present for collecting payment for future activities. What are other efficient and free or inexpensive ways to collect money before an event (most likely by credit card, or possibly a bank account transfer since it is easiest to collect payment via online)? I realize that if paying by credit card there are usually fees associated, but this fee seems especially high compared to when I have purchased online tickets at other places. Starting to regret that I volunteered to help with this.......

[SnuggleBuggles]

Venmo, Paypal, Pop Money...
They all have fees but they might be lower.
Actually, some may not have fees if person to person. Check into it.

[ang79]

Thanks. DH suggested Paypal, he thought the fees there are lower. And I've heard of Venmo but haven't used it. Looks like the CC fee for Venmo is just 3%, free if from a linked bank account.

[o_mom]

Can you take cash/checks?

The way our BSA troop works, we have an online sign-up through our website, but you can pay by check. There is an option to pay through PayPal, but then you pay the fees. So, for example, if the event is $5 and you pay by check, you pay $5. If you want to pay online through PayPal, it would be $6.94 (using your example, I don't think PayPal is that high).

Most of our district/council events have an option at checkout to "pay at event" and then you bring a check with you. Also, some of the events they have Square readers on-site for CC payments day of the event - again, fees are on the payer, but from the Square website, it is 2.6% + $0.10, which would be $0.23 for a $5 ticket.

Can you set up the reservation through EventBrite, and then have the troops either bring/mail a check or pay via PayPal? (not sure if EventBrite allows this?)

[ezcc]

Paypal and Venmo are both free for person to person (assuming both parties have accounts with linked bank accounts). Venmo is particularly popular around here for that kind of thing and is very easy to use.

[meggie t]

Paypal and Venmo are both free for person to person (assuming both parties have accounts with linked bank accounts). Venmo is particularly popular around here for that kind of thing and is very easy to use.

This. And when sending person to person, if the sender choses a credit card, the sender pays the fee.


ETA: I think Venmo is only balance and bank account run, so that's prob why it's popular. No credit card option so no fees.

[ang79]

Can you take cash/checks?

The way our BSA troop works, we have an online sign-up through our website, but you can pay by check. There is an option to pay through PayPal, but then you pay the fees. So, for example, if the event is $5 and you pay by check, you pay $5. If you want to pay online through PayPal, it would be $6.94 (using your example, I don't think PayPal is that high).

Most of our district/council events have an option at checkout to "pay at event" and then you bring a check with you. Also, some of the events they have Square readers on-site for CC payments day of the event - again, fees are on the payer, but from the Square website, it is 2.6% + $0.10, which would be $0.23 for a $5 ticket.

Can you set up the reservation through EventBrite, and then have the troops either bring/mail a check or pay via PayPal? (not sure if EventBrite allows this?)

That is what they used to do. The leader would collect money, or pay from the troop account, for each girl attending an event and then bring cash or check to the event. I'm not sure if people forgot to, or didn't pay, that they decided to start getting payment in advance? And I'm sure its easier to collect it this way. But I'm not really sure why they went with that particular website when the fees are so high. Plus, not all of our local leaders are tech savy. They are older and prefer doing things old style. So by mandating that all fees be paid in advance through this website, I'd think they are losing part of the community population from participating.

I will look more into Paypal and Venmo and suggest those. I see there is a way to pay through SignUpGenius as well, which many of us use for school or troop sign ups. It looks like they charge 5% plus a .50 transaction fee for credit cards, which is still cheaper than EventBrite. Also, some of our troops have credit card readers through Clover that were given to us by council to use for cookie sales. And some use Square. So if troops did want to pay with credit card at the event, there is always that option. It seems like a big waste of troop funds to continually pay such high CC fees with the site they are using. If they continue using that I will probably not be taking my troop to many of their events!

[elephantmeg]

We tend to do paypal friends and family which has no fees or venmo. I still do checks and paper or emailed registrations though. Some of the other leaders are using jotform this year but I haven't had enough time to play with it to figure out how to build what I wanted! For girls in my troop I collect cash and checks for events and then register them as a group using the troop account.

[ahisma]

It looks like you can take the fee down to 1.04/participant if you go with the "essentials package". Not a total solution, but it does cut them almost in half.

[Percycat]

Check to see if your council has any guidance or restrictions on how to use e-commerce. In my council, we are only allowed to use Chedarup to collect money..... paypal, venmo, pop money are not authorized. We are also allowed to use square for credit card purchases --- but only when for fall product or cookie purchases and in accordance with additional rules.