To: Tahoma School District
Free Meeting Rooms for Non-Profits
Non-profit organizations like the Girl and Boy Scouts have no room in their budgets for fees for building use for simple meetings and activities. By charging for meeting space, the children that need these less expensive activities the most will be penalized by needing to pay higher dues, perform more fundraising, and have less time to give back to the community.
Why is this important?
Non-profit organizations, like Girl and Boy Scouts, are made up of people from the local community and free meeting space is necessary to maintain the effectiveness of these programs and to reduce costs for all of the participants.
For Girl Scout troops, some whose numbers are small, or have challenges to fundraising, having to sell 216 BOXES OF COOKIES for funds dedicated just to meeting space, will hamper their efforts of giving back to the community in which they live. There is a mandatory limit on dues for participants, so these fees can not simply be an added overhead cost.
Additionally, most of these troops give back to the district through volunteer projects-either earning a badge or through Make A Difference Day. Without a connection to their meeting space the incentive for organizing these projects will significantly decrease and the district buildings will actually suffer from this change.
Please reconsider charging these groups a fee for simple meetings and activities. The participants are local members of the community who already pay taxes for these buildings, and should be allowed to utilize them whenever time and scheduling allows, to make as much use of those public buildings as possible. Remember, we are all connected in this community, and this decision will have only negative consequences.
For Girl Scout troops, some whose numbers are small, or have challenges to fundraising, having to sell 216 BOXES OF COOKIES for funds dedicated just to meeting space, will hamper their efforts of giving back to the community in which they live. There is a mandatory limit on dues for participants, so these fees can not simply be an added overhead cost.
Additionally, most of these troops give back to the district through volunteer projects-either earning a badge or through Make A Difference Day. Without a connection to their meeting space the incentive for organizing these projects will significantly decrease and the district buildings will actually suffer from this change.
Please reconsider charging these groups a fee for simple meetings and activities. The participants are local members of the community who already pay taxes for these buildings, and should be allowed to utilize them whenever time and scheduling allows, to make as much use of those public buildings as possible. Remember, we are all connected in this community, and this decision will have only negative consequences.