Popcorn Fundraising
Our pack has one fundraiser each year, selling Trails End popcorn. The fundraiser takes place in September and October, and our scouts have a lot of fun doing it—earning rewards for their efforts along the way.
Why we sell popcorn…
Generates income for the majority of our pack operating budget.
Subsidizes the cost of materials for pack and den programming, and to purchase and maintain pack equipment: the sheds, the pack trailer, camp grills, sun/rain canopies, coolers, etc.
Popcorn money also supports our local council which provides campgrounds, summer camps, special events, program support, leader training, and administrative staff.
Over 70% of total revenues from popcorn sales stays local to our pack and council.
Popcorn Buddies
Is your scout intimidated by the idea of selling popcorn? Do you have a scout with experience selling popcorn and willing to help others? Buddy up!
Fill out this form and we’ll pair you with another Scout to help everyone feel confident fundraising with popcorn.
2024 Personal goal
Every scout should target to sell at least $600 of popcorn. This goal can usually be achieved in just 2-3 storefront shifts (2 hours each). Set a higher goal to earn even more prizes.
Top-sellers Rewards
The top 3 sellers in Pack 421 will win their choice of a pizza party or ice cream party for their den at the November den meeting! … There are also council rewards for hitting certain sales targets.
Amazon Gift Card Rewards
Popcorn sales earn the scout reward points toward an Amazon gift card which the scout can spend on whatever he or she wants. The dollar amount of the gift card depends on the amount of popcorn sold and will be sent from Trails End at the end of the fundraiser (November). See below for details.
Amazon Gift Card
All scouts who sell popcorn earn points toward a personal reward in the form of an Amazon gift card.
How to get started
1. Download the app
The Trails End app has everything you need to manage your scout’s participation in the popcorn fundraiser. It is used to sign up for storefront shifts, log sales, and process credit card payments by customers.
A parent should download the Trails End app on their smartphone:
2. Create an account
Each scout their own account with Trails End. The account can be created via the Trails End app or via the Trails End website. To create the account, you will need some information about our Pack:
Council = Capitol Area Council
District = Armadillo
Unit = Pack 0421
Returning scouts should use the same account as last year. If you have multiple scouts, create a separate Trails End for each one. Note that each account must have a different username but can be linked to the same parent email address.
3. Start selling!
There are three ways to sell popcorn:
Storefront - Sell in front of a local store like Lowes, Walgreens, or REI. Each shift is 2 hours. Everything you need is provided. Just show up (with a parent).
Online - Sell to friends and family no matter where they live via a turnkey personal online storefront hosted by Trails End. Product is shipped directly to the customer.
Wagon - Sell popcorn via traditional door-to-door sales or at a parent’s workplace. You can take pre-orders and deliver the popcorn later or get inventory to deliver on-the-spot.
Each of these ways to sell are described in more detail below.
STOREFRONT Sales
Also known as “Show And Sell”, storefront sales are easy and fun! Most scouts earn the majority of their sales through storefront sales.
You can sign up for a storefront shift in the app or on the Trails End website. Our popcorn team has already identified the retail stores where we are allowed to sell, and the time slots when we can be there. Each shift is 2 hours, and up to two scouts can work together for each shift.
After you sign up for a shift, all you have to do is show up. The scout should be in uniform and accompanied by a parent. The popcorn team will bring a table, the popcorn to sell, a tent for shade, a cash box, and a Square payment card reader to the location.
As people enter or exit the retail store, the scout should cheerfully ask if they would like to “support my Cub Scout pack” by buying some popcorn!
All transactions must be tracked through the Trail’s End app. Before you arrive, make sure you can get into the app using your scout’s account, and that your smartphone has a full battery. As soon as you arrive, log into the app and connect the Square card reader device via Bluetooth (preferred because the BT reader can process tap payments) or via cable for magnetic swipe payments. It is possible to enter credit card information manually in the Trails End app without a card reader device, but this is a last resort.
If there are two scouts working a shift, all rewards are split 50/50. It doesn’t matter which parent registers the sale through their app. As long as both scouts are scheduled to be at that shift, the reward points will be split automatically.
Only one parent needs to register each transaction through the app, but you may register two different sales on two smartphones at the same time. You may have two separate parents simultaneously logged into their separate scout’s account to make transactions at the same time, i.e.: selling to two different customers at the same time. You don’t have to make customers wait to register their sale on one smartphone.
When you arrive for a shift, if there is another scout (or scouts) already selling there, you should wait until their shift is over to change positions.
ONLINE Sales
Online is the most straightforward way to sell popcorn. When you create an account for your scout on the Trails End website, you can also set up a personalized storefront page and URL for your Scout.
This is what it looks like to manage the content of your Scout’s personal storefront page.
Just fill in some content about your scout, and then you can preview your page before you share the link with family and friends.
Use the ‘Preview Your Page’ button to see what the page will look like to others.
WAGON SALES
Wagon sales are like traditional “door-to-door” or “neighbor-to-neighbor” sales. For these sales, you can walk with your scout to homes or send a sign up sheet to work colleagues.
If you want inventory for wagon sales, talk to the popcorn team and get instructions for when/how to return unsold items. It is also possible to take pre-orders and get the exact right mix of items for delivery later (see the “Take Pre-orders” section below).
Sales need to be recorded
When making wagon sales, you need to record all sales in the Trails End app.
You can start an order on your phone’s app and then send your neighbor their order via text message. They can then complete the order (address, email, phone, and payment info—including credit card, Google Pay, or Apple Pay) right from their own phone.
Cash payments and cash donations must also be recorded in the Trails End app. The cash should be turned in to the popcorn team after you are done selling, or a parent can make a “Cash to Credit” conversion in the app. Cash-to-credit transactions can only be done for cash sales made the same day.
The Trails End app will offer to send a receipt to the customer via email or text message, no matter how they chose to pay.
take pre-orders
To take a pre-order, record each sale in the “Wagon Sales” section of the Trails End app. Mark the sale as “Undelivered” and still take payment. You can toggle between “Delivered” or “Undelivered” as you go through the checkout process in the app.
It is also possible to take pre-orders manually using a printed order form and then enter the totals into the Trails End app in bulk. The app will track the amount of payments to be collected and owed to the Pack. Talk to the popcorn team to get the product for delivery.
This is what the form looks like when you click Record Wagon Sale in the dashboard.
How to get help
Reach our Popcorn Team via email: popcorn@pack421austin.com
Popcorn co-kernels: Jill & Eric T.
Assistant kernel: Alex M.
Their mobile numbers are not published on this website but can be found in popcorn email communications and/or the pack roster in Scoutbook.