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Boy Scouts of America
The BSA and its funding sources
Sponsored link.
The United Way:
The United Way is a collection of autonomous local agencies that organize
individual funding drives in their communities -- typically on a yearly basis.
Each United Way then funds individual local agencies with the money that they
have collected. This arrangement has a number of advantages:
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It helps the individual agencies. Without United Way funding, each would
have to dissipate a great deal of their resources to organize a separate
funding drive. |
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It benefits the public who would otherwise be faced with many dozens of
requests for support each year. |
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It reduces overhead costs. One funding drive costs less to organize than
perhaps 80 individual drives in a community. Thus, a larger percentage of the donations end
up in the hands of the agencies. |
There is a growing movement within the United Way to deny funding to agencies
that discriminate in the provision of services, employment practices or board
membership selection on the basis of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation,
etc. An increasing number of United Way agencies have pulled their funding for
the Boy Scouts of America in their community because of their policies of
discrimination on the basis of religion and sexual orientation. These included the United Ways of:
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CA: Santa Cruz Count, Bay Area, and Silicon Valley | |
CT: Greater New Haven | |
FL: Broward County, including the city of Ft. Lauderdale: They pulled
$130,000 in funding for 42,000 boys because the South Florida Boy
Scouts would not sign a non-discrimination policy. According to a
report in the Maimi Herald in 2001-JUL, after dialoging with the United
Way and a local gay-positive group, the Scouts decided to:
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abandon seeking after public funding, |
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abandon recruitment in public schools, |
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develop a training program for its leaders to help them deal more
sensitively with gay youth. |
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sue any group that uses the Boy Scout's name to further its
political agenda. According to Jeffrie Herrmann, executive director of
the South Florida Boy Scouts Council, some conservative Christian
groups were trying "to confuse the public by using our name to
gain support for their causes. We are not involved in these petition
drives." 1 |
An anonymous donor donated $200,000 so that the local Scouts could
continue their policies of discrimination intact. | |
MA: The United Way of Massachusetts Bay dialoged with the
Boston Minuteman [Boy Scouts] Council and reached agreement in
2001-JUL that the Council would adopt a policy of nondiscrimination on the
basis of sexual orientation. 1 | |
ME: Greater Portland | |
NJ: Somerset County | |
MN:
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In an attempt to forestall the cancellation of funding, the Four
Lakes Boy Scouts Council made available a new Scout patch called "Respect
for all." To qualify for the patch, scouts had to learn about
different family structures, including gay and lesbian families. They
also issued a resolution stating that they disagreed with the anti-gay
discrimination policy of the national BSA. However, the Council
continues to follow that national BSA policies. |
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In 2001-NOV, the Gamehaven and Gateway Boy Scouts Councils
reached an agreement with the United Way of the Greater Winona Area to
violate national BSA policy and to "not discriminate regarding
someone’s sexual orientation." 1 |
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RI: Southeastern New England. |
By early 2002, a number of Boy Scout councils had taken action to defy
their national body and lessen discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation. Some have quietly signed pledges with their local United Way to
comply with the latter's non-discrimination policies. Others have drafted
their own non-discrimination policies.
Other councils, appear to have adopted a "don't
ask - don't tell" policy, similar to that of the U.S. Armed Forces:
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On 2001-DEC-17, the Associated Press reported that
the Green
Mountain Boy Scouts Council in Vermont council had adopted a policy that "unlike national rules, permits gay
Scouts and Scout leaders." Green
Mountain Council Executive Director Jerry Lupien denied the report. |
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In 2001, Boy Scouts of America's Milwaukee County Council Boy
Scouts officials signed the United Way of Greater Milwaukee's
non-discrimination policy, but only after having first crossed out the
sexual orientation phrase. In 2002, they signed the full statement: "any
program or agency that discriminates in the provision of services on the
basis of race, color, religion, national origin, handicap, sex, or sexual
orientation." The Council had recently adopted the "don't
ask - don't tell" policy.
Michael Childers, Scout executive for the Council, said that they
have been able to harmonize the apparently conflicting rules of the BSA
and United Way because they do not ask members or leaders whether
they are homosexual. However, if they found out that a youth member or a
leader had a sexual orientation, they would auotmatically eject him from
the organization. When asked whether that wouldn't violate the United Way
policy, he said: "It's not like we're trying to discover it or make it
an issue." Neil Albrecht, executive director of the Milwaukee
Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Transgender Community Center, said that
Childer's said that the comments were "discouraging and disheartening."
Albrecht said: "It should be alarming to the United Way. I would
question the sincerity [of signing the United Way policy]." Gregg
Shields, national spokesman for the Boy Scouts of America, said "The
national policy is that the Boy Scouts of America have always stood for
and taught traditional American family values and an avowed homosexual is
not a role model for those values, and accordingly we don't extend
leadership to homosexuals. We don't force these values on anyone. We are a
volunteer organization." He neglected to mention that the anti-gay
policy of discrimination extends beyond the BSA leadership to youth
members as well. 5 |
In mid-2004, Hans Zeiber, a student at
Hillsdale College, prepared a list of United Way organizations which have
de-funded their local Boy Scouts chapters because of discrimination based on
sexual orientation and/or religion. They are sorted alphabetically by their
location: United Way of Alachua county, Gainesville, FL
United Way of Allegan County, Allegan, MI
United Way of Austin, Texas
United
Way of the Bay Area, San Francisco, CA
United Way of Bronxville Eastchester
Tuckahoe, Bronxville, NY
United Way of Broward County, Fort Lauderdale, FL
United Way of California Capital Region, Sacramento, CA
United Way of Capital
Area, Hartford, CT
United Way of Chicago, Chicago, IL
United Way of the
Columbia-Willamette, Portland, OR
United Way of Dane County, Madison, WI
United Way of Dunn County, Menomonie, WI
United Way of Essex and West Hudson,
Newark. NJ
United Way Evanston, Chicago, IL
United Way of Fox Cities, Inc.,
Menasha, WI
United Way of Greater Duluth, Inc. Duluth, MN
United Way of
Greater Fall River, MA
United Way of the Greater Winona Area, Winona, MN
United Way of Greenwich, Connecticut
Hampshire Community United Way,
Northhampton, MA
Heart of Florida United Way, Orlando, FL
United Way of
Jackson County, Medford, OR
United Way of King County, Seattle, WA
United
Way of Massachusetts Bay, Boston, MA
United Way of Metropolitan, Dallas, TX
United Way of Miami-Dade, FL
Monadnock United Way of Keene, NH
United Way of
Monmouth County, Farmingdale, NJ
United Way of Monroe County, Bloomington, IN
United Way of Monterey Bay, CA
United Way of Morris County, Morristown, NJ
United Way of Moscow/Latah County, Moscow, ID
United Way of New Haven, CT
United Way of Norwalk and Wilton, Norwalk, CT
United Way of Northern Fairfield
County, Danbury, CT
United Way of Northwestern Michigan, Traverse City, MI
United Way Inc., Palm Beach Community Chest, Palm Beach and Minalapan, FL
United Way of Pierce County, Tacoma, WA
United Way of Portland, ME
United
Way of Santa Barbara County, Santa Barbara, CA
United Way of Santa Clara
County, CA
United Way of Santa Cruz County, Capitola, CA
United Way of Santa
Fe, NM
United Way of Silicon Valley, Santa Clara, CA
United Way of Snohomish
County, Everett, WA
United Way of Somerset County, NJ
United Way of
Sonoma-Mendocino-Lake Counties, Santa Rosa, CA
United Way of Southeast New
England, Providence, RI
United Way Southeastern Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
United Way of Thurston County, Olympia, WA
United Way of Tucson and Southern
Arizona, Tucson
United Way of Ulster County, Kingston, NY
United Way of
Ventura County, Ventura, CA
United Way of Westport-Weston, Westport, CT
United Way of Westchester and Putnam, Inc. White Plains, NY
United Way of
Whatcom County, Bellingham, WA
State and municipal governments:Berkeley, CA, had allowed non-profit organizations to berth their boats
without charge at the municipal marina. In 1997, the city restricted the free
use of the marina to groups that did not discriminate against minorities. In
1998, they revoked a subsidy previously given to the Sea Scouts -- a branch of
the Boy Scouts. City officials informed the Berkeley Sea Scouts that their
$1,500 a month subsidy for their three boats would be restored if it broke ties
with the Boy Scouts or disavowed the policy against gays and Atheists. The Sea
Scouts refused and launched a court case -- Evans v. City of Berkeley, 06-40. A
lower court ruled that the city could treat the Sea Scouts differently from
other non-profits because of the Scouts' membership policies. In 2006-MAR, the
California Supreme Court let the decision stand. They determined that municipal
governments are under no obligation to extend benefits to organizations that
discriminate. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case. 6 The ReligionToday News Summary reported on 2000-AUG-30 that: "Some
support for the Boy Scouts is eroding. In the two months since the U.S. Supreme
Court ruled that the Boy Scouts of America has a constitutional right to exclude
homosexuals, Chicago, San Francisco, and San Jose, Calif., have told local Scout
troops that they can no longer use parks and schools...Large companies including
Chase Manhattan Bank and Textron Inc., have withdrawn hundreds of thousands of
dollars in funding, and numerous United Ways have cut off funds amounting to
millions of dollars a year." The Connecticut state government "banned contributions to the Scouts by
state employees through a state-run charity." The Connecticut Commission
on Human Rights and Opportunities is evaluating whether to allow the BSA to
continue to use public campgrounds, public schools, and other state-owned
buildings. In 2004, a court rejected an appeal by the BSA to reinstate their
status. 6 The city of Fort Lauderdale, FL, voted in 2000-SEP to discontinue a grant to
the local Boy Scouts. They would have given $4,000 to the BSA Learning for
Life program which benefits public school children in high crime areas. At a
support rally for the BSA, Larry Thompson, pastor of the First Baptist Church
of Fort Lauderdale presented a check for $10,200 to the Scouts to offset the
loss of municipal funding. In the same area of Florida, Broward County approved
a $92,884 grant for the Scouts, but require them to sign a contract which
includes a non-discrimination clause. This they cannot sign because one of the
prohibited grounds for discrimination is sexual orientation. Also, Miami-Dade
schools have postponed a Scout recruitment drive. "Miami Beach City
Commission on [2000] Sept. 13 voted unanimously to preliminarily approve a new
ordinance that would prevent the Boy Scouts from using city facilities for free."
2 In Michigan, the city councils of Ann Arbor and Detroit banned payroll
deductions from city employees to the Scouts and prohibited police and fire
departments from sponsoring scout troops. This was required by the cities' human
rights ordinances. According to the Associated Press:
"On a separate matter, federal judges in two other court cases that are
being appealed have ruled that government aid to the group is
unconstitutional because the Boy Scouts of America requires members to swear
an oath of duty to God."
" 'The issue of governments seeking to punish organizations
for exercising their First Amendment rights is a recurring one. There will
be other opportunities for the Supreme Court to affirm First Amendment
protections for organizations dealing with government agencies,' George
Davidson, the longtime attorney for the Scouts, said in a statement." 6
Sponsored link:
Companies:Some of the largest contributors to the BSA are withdrawing their economic
support. "At least three blue-chip sponsors -- including Chase Manhattan
Corp. and Knight Ridder Inc. -- are pulling hundreds of thousands dollars in
support...the companies have come to a sobering conclusion: the Scouts' visible
rules don't comply with many of the companies' own diversity guidelines. So for
corporate America, the case has brought to the surface a difficult dilemma: Can
companies fund an apple-pie organization like the Scouts without alienating gay
customers, not to mention gay employees?" Merrill Lynch & Co. are reviewing
its policy. Jim Finn, a
spokesman for Chase Manhattan, commented: "With the Supreme Court's
decision, it's hard to justify the funding. Diversity is an important issue for
our company and our employees, and the ruling doesn't square with our own
feeling about fairness. Gregg Shields, spokesman for the BSA responded: "We
are pleased that these companies chose to fund the Boy Scouts and are sad to
hear that they no longer will...we ask that people respect our private beliefs
as much as we respect theirs." American Airlines, AT&T and General Electric
have decided to continue their contributions. "Many of the companies point
out that they recognize the issue is complex. But they say any withdrawal of
support could end up jeopardizing the very people they intend to help -- kids."
3 (Chase Manhattan later restored
support when large religious organizations began closing their accounts.)
Fundamentalist Christian groups:According to ReligionToday news summary for 2000-SEP-18, Focus on the
Family,
Family Research Council, and the Center for Reclaiming America "say
they will try to stop local governments and other longtime financial supporters
from turning their backs on the group over its ban on homosexuals." Focus on
the Family is taking an aggressive stance against the situation in Florida. 4 They recommend that listeners
complain to the Fort Lauderdale City commissioners, and the Broward County
commissioners. They ask that those listeners who live in the rest of the country
threaten to boycott the city and county. The language used by Fundamentalist organizations often stresses that the BSA
organization itself is being targeted. Violent terms like "attack" and "assault"
are used. For example, the Focus on the Family article refers to:
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"Florida Boy Scouts Under Attack!" |
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"...growing wave of assaults against the Boy Scouts nationwide." |
Other reports in the media stress that it is the homosexual and religious
discrimination policies of the Boy Scouts that are being criticized, not the
organization itself. They tend to use less violent terms, indicating that the
conflict is over ideas, and is not a physical confrontation.
Related essays on this site:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above
essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
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Candi Cushman, "Who's
Selling Out the Scouts?," Citizen, at:
http://www.family.org/
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"Florida Boy Scouts under attack," Focus on the Family,
at: http://www.family.org/
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Daniel Costello, "Some backers pull Boy Scouts' funding after high
courts ruling on gay scouts," Wall Street Journal, 2000-AUG-24
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"Florida Boy Scouts under attack," Focus on the Family,
at: http://www.family.org/
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Jessica McBride, "Scouts use 'Don't ask, don't tell'; Approach allows
council to sign United Way anti-bias policy," Journal Sentinel Online
(Milwaukee, WI), at:
http://www.jsonline.com/
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Mark Sherman, "Boy Scouts face setback in Supreme Court,"
Associated Press, 2006-OCT-16, at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Copyright © 1999 to 2006 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance.
Originally published on 1999-AUG-9
Latest updated: 2006-OCT-17
Author: B.A. Robinson
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