Membership

The results of the Boy Scouts of America Fall 2013 Voice of the Scout survey have been published in this executive summary and infographic. You can also access the published results of all VoS surveys. How it Works A Voice of the Scout (VoS) survey is conducted every six months. Invitations are emailed to seven different audiences (Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts/Ventures, Cub Scout Parents, Boy Scout /Venture Parents, Youth Facing Volunteers, District/Council Volunteers, Chartered Organizations....

If your Troop, Pack, or Crew assigns proceeds from fundraising to individual Scout accounts you may have been taken aback by this statement in the Fiscal Policies And Procedures For BSA Units FAQ I shared last week Can my unit credit amounts from fundraising to an individual toward their expenses? No. The IRS has stated that crediting fundraising amounts constitutes private benefit. However, the unit could use the funds (all or a percentage) raised to reduce or eliminate dues and various registration fees, purchase uniforms and Scouting books, and purchase camping equipment....

There he is, waiting for our reply; how do we respond to a Scout who wants to quit? Not every boy is going to maintain an active interest in Scouts, it doesn’t automatically mean that anything is wrong with them, the program, or ourselves. I expect that every Scout will have a tough time once in a while, because I have tough times myself. If a Scout says they want to quit imagine what you would like to hear if you were in their place....

Here’s this month’s ScoutCircle, a solo appearance! Here’s the resources we discussed The New Parents Quick Guide Webelos_to_Scout – BSA information webelos-to-scout-transition-plan-1 Heart of America Council WebToScout Webelos to Scout Transition: A Parents’ Guide

The Boy Scouts of America Statement: “For 103 years, the Boy Scouts of America has been a part of the fabric of this nation, with a focus on working together to deliver the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. “Based on growing input from within the Scouting family, the BSA leadership chose to conduct an additional review of the organization’s long-standing membership policy and its impact on Scouting’s mission....

National Executive Wayne Brock’s message on the policy resolution; Anticipation and emotions are high as we prepare for the membership standards vote this week. Regardless of which way the vote goes, the important question for each of us is, where will we stand after the ballots are counted? To help provide some perspective, I’d like to share a letter from Ray Capp, chairman of the National Order of the Arrow Committee....

After it’s founding Scouting quickly and spontaneously spread around the world. Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of this burgeoning worldwide movement, would look back at those years and recall*: Scouting was not a year old before other countries had formed their branches. In twenty-one short years the Scout and Guide training has spread to forty-two different countries about the world, and has proved its potentiality as a factor in world peace....

After reviewing this BSA Membership Standards Review Information on Thursday, May 23, approximately 1400 voting members representing 265 local councils will vote on a resolution that, in short, removes the stipulation that boys can be excluded from membership in the BSA based on sexual orientation alone. The BSA has prepared a Voting Member Information Packet (PDF file) that describes the voting process and includes the findings of the membership standards review....

On April 19 the B.S.A. released the Membership Standards Study Initiative Executive Summary and the Membership Standards Resolution to be voted on in our May national meeting. Like many people on both sides of the question my first impression of the membership standards resolution was disappointment and frustration. (My opinion of the question of inclusion is explained here). As someone who supports inclusiveness I was disappointed that the resolution did not end the policy of excluding adults based on sexual orientation but I was heartened to see that the resolution removed the ban for youth members....

Via Curious, Useless, or Simply Interesting Scout Knowledge What is authentic Scouting? 52 Scout leaders from 16 countries in the European Scout Region replied to a survey about the retention of young people in Scouting conducted by the World Organization of the Scouting Movement (WOSM) during the World Scout Jamboree in Sweden. Their responses indicate that Scouting everywhere shares common challenges. Here’s some key thoughts offered in answer to one survey question that I think are particularly important;...

This email about one Webelos crossover to a troop needs little introduction or explanation, but one part bears repeating; Meetings don’t cut it, selling the parents on how great a troop is doesn’t cut it, your “reputation” of being a strong troop doesn’t cut it. What does? Read on; Clarke – I recently stumbled across your podcast and blog. I have been listening my way through the podcast archive. I just listened to one show about visiting Webelos....

Yesterday a Boy Scouts of America review of ‘Values and Membership Polices’ was announced on the Scouting Magazine Blog where a link to this B.S.A. website with comprehensive information about the review is available. I’d suggest reading the information available there for a pretty thorough understanding of how the membership policy of excluding people based on sexual orientation is being addressed. Here’s my summary of the information on the site:...

I asked Jay to write about his experiences in Scouting because I think it’s important to get to know and understand each other, that young men like Jay, a gay Scout, are not new to Scouting, they have always been there – Clarke To all my fellow Scouters – We are all engaged in a conversation about whether or not to keep a policy in place at the national level that keeps gay people from active service in Scouting, as either adults or Scouts....

This statement concerning the BSA membership policy decision was released today from the Executive Board (Link): For 103 years, the Boy Scouts of America has been a part of the fabric of this nation, providing it’s youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. In the past two weeks, Scouting has received an outpouring of feedback from the American public. It reinforces how deeply people care about Scouting and how passionate they are about the organization....

Are BSA membership policies about to change? No doubt you’ve heard about or read the following statement from the Boy Scouts of America: Monday, Jan. 28, 2013 Attributable to: Deron Smith, Director of Public Relations “For more than 100 years, Scouting’s focus has been on working together to deliver the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. Scouting has always been in an ongoing dialogue with the Scouting family to determine what is in the best interest of the organization and the young people we serve....

Just last night we hosted a Webelos troop visit. While the visiting Webelos went off with the Scouts we asked the parents to come with us into another room and meet with the troop’s adult volunteers. The committee chairman talked to them for a bit about the basic functions and administrative things involved with having a son in the troop. When I was introduced to the parents I said a brief hello and explained that the best way for them to learn what our Scouts do and experience would be to talk to the Scouts rather than me....

Keeping older Scouts active and involved is a perennial concern. Scoutmasters wring their hands over losing older Scouts and many troops do have a problem keeping them around. The standard response is amping up the ‘wow’ factor of the program but I have never been very fond of the “bread and circuses” approach to Scouting. (If you aren’t familiar with the metaphor ‘bread and circuses’ refers to placating real concerns with superficial means of appeasement like diversions or distractions without getting to the heart of the matter....

This announcement from the B.S.A. is nothing new but I’ve had questions about it recently – here’s the way the college reserve works: Does your troop or team have a Scout who has turned 18 and is away at college, on a mission, or in the service and wants to stay registered in the unit? That situation occurs quite often, and until now the choices were to register them as an assistant Scoutmaster, register them with the council as College Reserve, or drop them....

Recruiting Scouts from those who have been Webelos is very different than recruiting form those who haven’t. Much has been written on Webelos transitions so I will not retrench the subject here. Here’s discussions of retaining the Webelos you recruit and some notes on transitioning Webelos leaders. By way of review – Find all the Webelos Dens in your community within reasonable driving distance of your Troop. Offer them support, camping opportunities and (perhaps most importantly) Den Chiefs....

The BSA’s annual report for 2008 shows that membership numbers are continuing to decline as the ratios of Scouts to leaders remain steady. The table below reports membership changes from the past four years and analyzes the sizes of units and leadership ratios. I am counting on more mathematically talented folks to check my work and the assumptions I draw from the numbers. 2005 2006 2007 2008 Change % YOUTH Tiger Cubs 243,609 247,017 241,851 231,471 -12,138 -5% Cub Scouts 834,562 819,882 800,729 798,060 -36,502 -4% Webelos Scouts 667,153 634,962 645,406 636,104 -31,049 -5% Total Cub Scouts 1,745,324 1,701,861 1,687,986 1,665,635 -79,689 -5% Boy Scouts 879,789 860,675 851,572 844,939 -34,850 -4% Varsity Scouts 63,637 62,161 62,016 60,940 -2,697 -4% Total Scout/Varsity 943,426 922,836 913,588 905,879 -37,547 -4% Venturers 249,948 244,266 254,259 261,122 11,174 4% Total Scouts 2,938,698 2,868,963 2,855,833 2,832,636 -106,062 -4% UNITS Cub Scout Packs 51,469 51,077 50,780 50,213 -1,256 -2% Venturing 20,117 19,920 19,920 19,998 -119 -1% Boy Scout Troops 42,811 42,269 41,947 41,628 -1,183 -3% Total Traditional Units 122,582 121,530 121,034 120,262 -2,320 -2% ADULT LEADERSHIP Cub Scout Leaders 493,165 480,457 480,316 470,400 -22,765 -5% Boy Scout Leaders 520,591 519,557 524,962 528,534 7,943 2% Varsity Leaders 23,380 22,799 23,356 23,392 12 0% Venturing Leaders 63,821 63,500 65,645 65,621 1,800 3% Council Leaders 45,269 43,638 43,829 44,406 -863 -2% Total Leaders 1,146,226 1,129,951 1,138,108 1,132,353 -13,873 -1% Unit Ratios Scouts per Troop 20....