United Way Capital Region No Longer Fund Boy Scouts Over Gay Policy
The United Way of the Capital Region said today it will no longer fund Boy Scouts. The decision resulted from last month’s announcement by the Boy Scouts of America that it will continue to deny membership to “open or avowed homosexuals.”
A Boy Scout Jamboree tent area
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A United Way of the Capital Region committee then met with the New Birth of Freedom Council, which oversees Boy Scouts in the Harrisburg region, to discuss the local ramifications of the policy.
A Boy Scout Jamboree tent area
Joe Capita, the CEO of the United Way, said the board found that the local Scouts teach “tolerance and diversity” and don’t inquire about sexual orientation. But if it becomes known a scout or leader is gay, local Scouts would have to follow national policy, which would mean excluding the scout or leader. That puts the Scouts in violation of the local United Way policy of not partnering with organizations that exclude people based on sexual orientation, Capita said.
“It was a difficult decision,” said Robert S. Jones, the board chairman. “Many of us have been involved in scouting and I am and my kids are ... We have a high regard for what the Boy Scouts do in the community.”
New Birth last year received about $90,000 from the United Way of the Capital Region. The funding they received for the period that ends in March, 2013, is unaffected. But there will be no funding after that.
The decision pertains to the Boy Scout’s role as a community partner and recipient of a standard allocation from the United Way. However, United Way contributors can still specify a contribution that the United Way will channel to the Boy Scouts, Capita said.
Last year’s contribution from the United Way of the Capital Region amounted to just under three percent of the total budget of New Birth, which oversees 11,400 scouts in Dauphin, York, Cumberland, Perry and Franklin counties.
New Birth receives funding from several other United Way organizations, including the United Way of York County, which provided about $166,000 last year. That United Way chapter has said it will review the Boy Scout policy to determine whether there’s a conflict. Individual United Way chapters are free to their own policies which are determined by community volunteers.
The United Way of Carlisle and Cumberland County last week announced it will continue funding New Birth of Freedom.
“It was a difficult decision,” said Robert S. Jones, the board chairman. “Many of us have been involved in scouting and I am and my kids are ... We have a high regard for what the Boy Scouts do in the community.”
New Birth last year received about $90,000 from the United Way of the Capital Region. The funding they received for the period that ends in March, 2013, is unaffected. But there will be no funding after that.
The decision pertains to the Boy Scout’s role as a community partner and recipient of a standard allocation from the United Way. However, United Way contributors can still specify a contribution that the United Way will channel to the Boy Scouts, Capita said.
Last year’s contribution from the United Way of the Capital Region amounted to just under three percent of the total budget of New Birth, which oversees 11,400 scouts in Dauphin, York, Cumberland, Perry and Franklin counties.
New Birth receives funding from several other United Way organizations, including the United Way of York County, which provided about $166,000 last year. That United Way chapter has said it will review the Boy Scout policy to determine whether there’s a conflict. Individual United Way chapters are free to their own policies which are determined by community volunteers.
The United Way of Carlisle and Cumberland County last week announced it will continue funding New Birth of Freedom.
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