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  1. Welcome to SCOUTER Forum

    1. New to the Forum?

      Tell us a bit about yourself so we can welcome you to the Virtual Roundtable

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    2. Forum Support & Announcements

      Forum support and announcements from SCOUTER.com

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    3. New to Scouting?

      Questions and answers for parents and leaders new to Scouting.

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  2. Open Discussion - Program

    1. Open Discussion - Program

      Share Scouting Topics here.

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  3. News & Politics

    1. Issues & Politics

      In answer to many requests, we established a separate forum for these topics. Those not interested can skip this forum instead of spending time reading unwanted messages to identify content.

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  4. Unit Fundraising

    1. Unit Fundraising

      Ideas for fundraising projects and programs for your unit.

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  5. Order of the Arrow

    1. Order of the Arrow

      Discussions for OA Members and those interested in Scouting's Honor Society. Also includes a private sub-forum for OA Members only.

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  6. The Patrol Method

    1. The Patrol Method

      Lessons and questions of Scout leadership and operating troop program

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  7. Cub Scouts

    1. Cub Scouts

      For Cub Scout specific topics only.

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  8. Wood Badge and Adult Leader Training

    1. Wood Badge and adult leader training

      Post Wood Badge specific topics here.

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  9. Advancement Resources

    1. Advancement Resources

      Scouting ranks, merit bades, and the advancement programs

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  10. Patch Trading Central

    1. Patch Trading Central

      Have a patch or memorabilia you're looking to swap? Use this virtual patch trading blanket. (This area is intended to facilitate memorabilia swapping, not necessarily commerce.)

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  11. Working with Kids

    1. Working with Kids

      Counseling, inspiring and teaching kids.

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  12. Uniforms

    1. Uniforms

      For All messages dealing with Scout Uniforms

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  13. Camping & High Adventure

    1. Camping & High Adventure

      Share a camping tip.

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  14. Girl Scouting

    1. Girl Scouting

      Content specifically related to Girl Scouting

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  15. Summer Camp

    1. Summer Camp

      All about planning and going to Summer Camp

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  16. Scouting Around the World

    1. Scouting Around the World

      Scouting is a worldwide Movement with nearly 30 million members in 151 countries around the world.

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  17. Council Relations

    1. Council Relations

      Discuss issues relating to Scout Councils, districts and working with professionals

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  18. Venturing Program

    1. Venturing Program

      Meet people from other Venture Crews and discuss program.

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  19. Scouting History

    1. Scouting History

      Share and celebrate the history of the world's largest youth Movement

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  20. Scouting the Web

    1. Scouting the Web

      Share tips and info for Scouting webmasters and discuss Scouting resources on the web

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  21. Scoutmaster Minutes

    1. Scoutmaster Minutes

      Inspirational stories and meaningful remarks to share

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  • Latest Posts

    • yknot
      What?? You've Got to Be Kidding Me with These Membership Numbers!

      By yknot · Posted

      I agree in that the focus is always on recruitment, not retention. I also think part of the reason for that is that the reasons for poor retention are unpalatable and not what leadership wants to hear. It isn't so much that "bad" units are pushing scouts and families away, it is that the entire organization has become so poorly designed and managed and unworkable that it is very difficult for Scouting America to produce a high quality, consistent product at the unit level whether that's across country let alone across town. The organization needs to re-engineer itself around providing a good product at the unit (parent and scout) level, instead of organizing itself around what has become the Scouting institutionalized monolith. There are so many touchpoints that simply don't work for most parents and kids and there seems to be little recognition of it or appetite for changing anything. 
    • Eagle94-A1
      What?? You've Got to Be Kidding Me with These Membership Numbers!

      By Eagle94-A1 · Posted

      Don't forget costs. National fees are up. Councils are implementing their fees on top of that. Then uniforms and books. Then activities.
    • skeptic
      The Same People Attack

      By skeptic · Posted

      Yep; lots of selfish and greedy people.  Meanwhile, back in the trenches we struggle on to live the Twelve and carry on the Spirit as designed.   ,
    • Tron
      The Same People Attack

      By Tron · Posted

      https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/25/us/politics/pentagon-scouting-america-lawsuit.html It's just a rinse and repeat of the same people looking for any way to throw mud on scouting from any angle. Look at this guy suing to get the MOU from the pentagon. Literally nothing changed on the Scouting America side so this dude is on a fishing expedition to see what he can sue about next. This is what scouting is up against, a constant barrage of people who hate the movement and will do anything to dredge the name of through the mud at any chance. This MOU non-sense was basically over-and-done and we were all moving on, now Hegseth is going to get a burr up his you know what and the movement is going to come under fire again.   
    • Tron
      What?? You've Got to Be Kidding Me with These Membership Numbers!

      By Tron · Posted

      We're basically wrapping up the very tail end of crossover season here in my district; we know right now that arrow of light scouts who have not crossed are basically never going to join a troop. This time period has led my district to look at who the "winners" and "losers" of crossover season are; the results are staggering.  Over half of our districts troops received ZERO crossovers this year. When we (district committee) looked into this we noticed a trend. The units that received ZERO crossovers had all of the same attributes in common. Units with untrained leaders, small leadership groups, and little to no advancement of current scouts were the big losers that received no crossovers. We also identified "super losers" in the crossover situation; these were units (we had multiple) that have not received a crossover in 2 or more of the past 4 years. We are very concerned with those units as they are in a situation where they have a structural gap of little to no young scouts for the older scouts to lead, and in a few years (if they troops survive) they will have no older scouts to lead the potential younger scouts.  I know other activities are pulling families away from scouts; however, I think bad units are also pushing families away. 

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