The Badge Archive

We reserved a double booth ($150) to make space for our Scout-Led Entrepreneur Fair. The goal? Support The Badge Archive’s 2026 operating costs while giving scouts a chance to showcase their own creations. Every scout-made item was priced to support the maker directly, while the rest of the booth supported our mission to keep resources free for leaders nationwide.

(No, this was not a council approved fundraiser. No funds went to our troop and no troop funds were spend. We told anyone who asked about the scout connection this was simply us providing space for any of our scouts who wanted to try their hand at entrepreneurship).

How did each offering go?

Our booth was packed with handcrafted items, each one tied to a badge, a memory, or a scout’s creative spark.

• Quilts and Afghans – Blankets made throughout the year by Ms. Tia. None sold.
• Crocheted Whales – Three found new homes at a discounted price.
• Craft Kits – Assembled from personal supplies we had previously used in scouts. These were beginner-friendly kits for shadow boxes, wire wrapping, etching, and painting. There were no takers this time.
• Jewelry – A mix of donated costume pieces and handcrafted items from Ms. Tia’s grandparent’s final collection (they used to make and sell jewelry too!). We cleaned, sorted, and priced them fairly. Only two pieces sold, but luckily none of the display structures we bought actually worked correctly so we can return them all.
• Scrapbook Kits – One scout transformed leftover albums and badge pages into ready-to-use kits, complete with tape dispensers. The effort was real, over $100 in supplies and hours of assembly for the fair price of $35 each. None sold, but we were only out the $13 for the tape dispensers.
• Cute Cows – A beginner crocheter brought her first cow to market.
• Puppy League – Scout K revived her Puppy Pet Rocks from 3rd grade.
• Ornaments – From a troop exchange, these were surprising sellers. $64 in sales, from around $28 in materials. The $30 tree we bought to display them cut into the margin.
• Small Gifts – Scout K, now in 10th grade, led a gift table with gratitude-themed and fidget-friendly items priced under $5. She sold the most, earning $148. Unfortunately, her supply costs were $187. We honored her effort with a family guarantee: she kept 15% of all sales and 100% of her puppy rock earnings.
• Gag Gifts – Mr. John’s gag gifts (like “Air Guitar Strings” for fifty cents) brought in $29.50 and a lot of smiles. Considering we spent maybe $10 on these in paper and bags. to contain things we already had, this would have been another “successful” run if it wasn’t for the vendor booth fee.

What We Spent

• Booth Fee: $150
• Trunk Rental: $187
• Ornament Display Tree: $30
• Craft Kit Supplies: ~$20
• Scrapbook Tape: $12
• Scout K’s Gift Table Supplies: $187

Total expenses: Over $600
Total sales: $271

Scout K. walked away with $32. Our Cute Cow new crocheter got $4, which was higher than her lowest request of $3.40 for her single cow. Our Jewelry got $18. Mr. John walked away with $19. Ms. Tia counted the ornaments and her little whales as her profits with around $20, which paid for the cotton batting used for the whales. And our family is just covering the cost of the vendor fee and truck and Scout K’s extra supplies (we’re going to have fun giving them out as Christmas presents this year!).

What We Learned

This wasn’t the fundraiser we hoped for. But it was highly successful in teaching everyone about real-world entrepreneurship:

• Location matters. Our booth wasn’t in a high-traffic area, and foot traffic was lower than past years.
• Price point matters. Most shoppers were looking for items under $5. Anything over $10 rarely moved.
• Presentation matters. Our jewelry displays couldn’t hold the weight, and we had to pack them up early.
• Connection matters. Even great products need the right audience. Without it, effort doesn’t translate to sales.

We talked to other vendors and learned that the last two years had stronger indoor crowds due to rain. This year, the outdoor carnival pulled more attention than the vendor booths. We also learned that if we try again, we’ll skip the truck rental, stick to a single $75 table, and focus on what sold best: ornaments, gag gifts, and small items under $5. Even then, it will just cover the costs and would be for the fun of it, not for a fundraiser.

What We Celebrate

Despite the financial loss, we gained great experience. Our scouts learned how to price, display, and pitch their creations. They saw firsthand how effort doesn’t always equal profit. They still had enough fun to make it worthwhile.

We’re back at square one for funding The Badge Archive’s 2026 costs. But we’re proud of what we tried, and grateful to everyone who cheered us on. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t.

This was our final effort as The Badge Archive Team. From here, Ms. Tia will continue the work solo. The plan is to go slow and steady as she also has to return to part time work. Currently in the works:

• Updating GSUSA badge info, including adding direct links to the official PDF booklets from the Volunteer Toolkit (VTK).
• Expanding our coverage to include Cub Scout adventures and Scouting America Merit Badge pages.
• Launching the Youth Activity Archive, a new space dedicated to searchable, standalone activities. This makes it easier than ever to find what you need, whether you’re planning a badge meeting or just looking for something fun and meaningful.

This shift will help clear space on The Badge Archive and make the site more intuitive for leaders and families alike. We’ll still host activity lists and meeting plans here, but when we link to our own instructions for an activity (instead of an external site), it will now point to the Youth Activity Archive. That way, leaders can browse by badge or by activity type, whichever suits their needs best.

Thank you for believing in us.

—The Badge Archive Team