Subscriptions
Term fees
All terms will be a flat rate of £35 regardless of attendance; over 3 terms/academic year this works out at £3 per week.
Subs are used for purchasing books, official Girlguiding programme resources, printing, postage, envelopes, promise supplies, badges, stationery, craft materials, refreshments, leaders mandatory training, gifts and prizes etc. It is also used to cover the cost our annual membership fees for all Brownies and our volunteer leaders. As a registered charity the district commissioner must audit our accounts annually. None of the leadership team are paid for the many hours we donate – we are volunteers.
Annual membership subscription
Every February, Girlguiding conducts a census, when we count the number of members we have in the UK. At the same time, we collect an annual membership subscription, which must be paid by all members of our organisation. The census includes all girls, leaders, helpers in the unit who have attended more than one meeting, and who are attending when the count is taken. The amount charged for annual membership changes each year and can differ for different regions around the country. For 1st Waddington (RAF) Brownies, it will be £55 per head in February 2024 (a total bill of £1.7k!).
At our unit, termly subs have always included a contribution towards this fee, so we have never had to ask parents to pay for it separately (something that is common in most other units).
The money collected from the annual membership fees benefits Girlguiding at both local and national level. It covers necessary running costs and ensures that we meet the needs of our girls at all times.
Gift aid
If parents pay income tax, leaders can use gift aid to claim back the tax paid at basic rate – that means Girlguiding units get an extra 25p for every £1.00 you give in subs or donations. Daffodil claims this at the end of the school year every August. This allows us to subsidize most unit events and trips, offer reduced priced badge books, free badges and throw fantastic end of term parties!l