Jameson76

Our unit welcomes ALL parents to come to outings AS LEADERS, not parents. If a new parent wants to come, great. You must take YPT, we make clear the scouts camp in one area and we as leaders camp in another. This is not a parent kid campout that the troop happens to be at. If said kid comes over to the adult area for X or Y, one of the leaders will likely speak with them and guide them to their PL or SPL. We take very seriously the Scout areas and the leader areas. Yes we stroll through, usually in groups of 2 or 3 to converse and observe, but they need to work as a group and they are handling and working all activities. The adults main responsibilities are to drive Scouts there, make sure no gross safety violations occur, occasional headcount confirmation with SPL, remind youth leadership what time it may be at points during the day, bandage as needed, BOR as warranted, conflict resolution if needed, judge the cooking contest, show the Scouts how to pack the car / trailer, and drive them home.

Yeah - that's probably a really good question. Agree that BSA pros have no idea on how to move the organization forward. I will put National Volunteers in that group. Challenge is that what made the BSA great was in fact the Boy Scout program (11 -17 year olds) and the experiences those Scouts had. Autonomy, adventure, self reliance. making mistakes and learning how to work through them, actual life skills like cooking, cleaning, taking responsibility, managing your patrols and troops, learning how to make things happen, etc. etc. These skills and effectively managing Scouts can be difficult. The BSA moved into the 100+ page GTSS, scaring volunteers, and focusing more on family scouting than the individual. The Scouts BSA is, to many families, viewed as Web III and let's just keep the group together. The real genius of the Scouting program is the way it challenges the youth and, done properly, let's them grow as individuals. Yes girls can gain from this. National seems to want to focus on MB universities, STEM, Tech, whatever keeps Scouts out of those treacherous woods, which may be OK, but that is not what keeps Scouts in the programs. Cubs you can rope in the parents and they will bring the kids. Scouts BSA you may can force the kid to participate, but after 7th grade or so, if they are not having fun, no dice. Too many councils are fundraising on what Scouting was, not what it is. The people donating may have a nostalgic view, maybe that will continue to pay dividends, not really sure. To keep Scouting going Make it fun Focus on a game with a purpose Let YOUTH run the program Units should not have pages and pages or rules and regulations Go outside and have adventures, yes youth are pushed out of their comfort zone, which is the method Did I mention to make it fun? Do some marketing to bring the national level of consciousness and awareness surrounding Scouting to a higher level Long-term Scouting can be way more beneficial to youth than travel sports. make that a cornerstone Scouts, should be positioned as part of what can make youth successful; along with family, school, faith, hobbies, friends, sports, and Scouting

In our council unless you are raising money, they could care less. No marketing, no support to new or old units. Remember, Scouting is about the cash and keeping the pros paid. As long as they can keep cashing in on the cache and history of BSA, they are happy

With all the camping / nights camping requirement the "intent" is for the youth to be active over a longer period rather than just coming to week long camps. The weekend outings are critical to develop leadership skills, interact with other Scouts, overcome obstacles, make decisions (like where will my tent go) etc. A week at summer camp is important, but the monthly outings are harder. Planning menus, packing for that weekend weather, working the outing into other responsibilities. These outings are what makes a Scout a Scout and how we as an organization differentiate ourselves in the market for youth time and attention. The Scouts develop, plan, pack, unpack, execute, have adventure, repack, then unpack back at their home on these weekends. Don't try to short change the Scout on this vital opportunity for individual development by gaming the system. If you sit on BOR's and especially EBOR's, the outings and nights camping are why Scouts stay active. Program Program Program, deliver it don't short change it.

The two I have taken were structured as follows 4 hours during a weeknight 8 - 9 hours of on-site on a Saturday 3 -4 hours participant study and review of materials before the weeknight and on-site

Certainly the horse it out of the barn on this one, but, going forward you may want to set clear expectations for rank advancement. You are the SM and responsible for the program. For Star / Life / Eagle other the MB's, all the requirement sign offs you may want to be done by the SM. In our unit for Scout / TFoot / Second Class / First Class the requirements are signed off by Life or Eagle Scouts. Rank requirements are signed off by SM for Star / LIfe / Eagle. They go to their specific ASM for the SM conference for Scout / TFoot / Second Class ranks. SM handles those for 1st / Star / Life / Eagle. If their specific ASM is not available any ASM can step in. If we are on a campout or summer camp and SM is not there, then an ASM handles.

This is one of the reasons I only work at the unit level. I do volunteer and serve on my terms. I would say the leaders in our troop (60 + Scouts and 12 + active leaders + committee) are on the same page. The District Chair and DE wanted to do a meeting on FOS, we said no, send us a flyer with detail and we will distribute. Then they wanted access to our parents e-mails, again, nope. We'll handle it Popcorn, nope. Camp cards, nope. Focus is program, outings, etc. I enjoy mentoring the youth, seeing them succeed. Helping them deliver program to their peers. Way way back in the day did some district stuff. Really unfulfilling and felt most meetings were checking a box for some meaningless District set of goals. Lo these many years have really just had a great time being a Scout. Only real council interaction is at summer camp.

Well, do you raise money to have a Scouting program (volunteer thinking) OR do you have Scouting to be able to raise money (professional thinking). When well over half you expenses are salaries and compensation and not focused on program, it's an issue. My council's largest group is dedicated to raise money, so they can have more staff to, well, raise money You are being kind, it's like any management thinking is from the 30's and 40's of layered management (many layers) and nobody really makes a decision, they just sort of meet about it. My council has a lot of staff and a well paid SE (sorry CEO). He has 1 direct report. Then there is the ASE who have 3 or 4 Sr Field Directors, then the SrFD have FD, then they have Sr DE's, then they have DE's. A lowly DE has 5 to 6 levels of management to the CEO, and they do not have that many staff. My company has 10,000 US staff. Warehouse guy has less levels than that to our US CEO Many have only worked in the BSA, that is the entire Senior Management team. You lock step and say yes sir (or maam) to the higher ups and toe the line

Don't overthink this, remember the focus should be on the Scout and delivering the program. SM or CC is not available, quick text or e-mail should be able to secure their approval, leader on site signs, and move on. If they (CC or SM) have concerns those should have been voiced long before the Eagle application is in play.

Well - That explains the focus on FOS, popcorn, and camp cards. Guess all of our fair share is needed to support their lifestyles

You can find the 990 form for your council. For my council latest one I could locate was 2019 Revenue - $14.3 M. These top 6 staff (less than 10% of the total staff) account for $1.594MM in costs or 11% of the budget. SE pay is not in fact a misprint SE / CEO Reportable compensation - $459K Other compensation - $159K Total - $618K Deputy SE Reportable compensation - $189K Other compensation - $70K Total - $259K Director of Development Reportable compensation - $155K Other compensation - $38K Total - $193K Director of Field Service Reportable compensation - $151K Other compensation - $33K Total - $184K Director of Field Service (another one) Reportable compensation - $146K Other compensation - $30K Total - $176K Director of Accounting Reportable compensation - $101K Other compensation - $63K Total - $164K

Out unit does not sell popcorn, camp cards or FOS. When we look at the council roster of staff roughly 30% of the folks are specifically related to "development" I was at a troop event and the area director advised that scouting was a success due to amount of money raised at a dinner When they list a new person coming on as a DE, they list FOS, popcorn, and camp cards as their main functions. Then ONLY time we see our local DE, it's about money. Honestly not sure what the guy does 40 hours per week. We have maybe 20 units in the district. 3 of those at our CO. Basically 1 day per week should be focused on "assisting" our units. Yeah, guess he's out raising money. We don't bother the council and they don't bother us. We did speak with one field director. I advised if he could advise on # of Cubs / Scouts / Explorers in the council in 1975 and the number of council staff (Pro Scouts, rangers, admins, etc) and the # of Cubs / Scouts / Explorers in the council at the start of 2022 and the number of council staff (Pro Scouts, rangers, admins, etc), then we could see how they are managing overhead and discuss. We're still waiting

The BSA has never been overly transparent on their numbers or their math. Lately they don't seem to report their numbers or generate an annual report. Their math is suspect at best. They always report that only 5% of Scouts get Eagle. This number is generated by XX Eagles in a year divided by YY Scouts registered at that time. 50,000 Eagles, 1,000,000 Scouts (now Scouts BSA) and you have 5%. Challenge is that a good number of Scouts are Scouts for multiple years. Not a big deal but I think it speaks to the casualness the BSA has with actual data. No way diminishing the Eagle rank (I am an Eagle Scout), but let's report the number honestly. Now with the bankruptcy / LDS / COVID and other impacts that have been long in the making the total membership is well under 1,000,000. Some basic numbers from press reports middle of last year Decline in membership in the Boy Scouts of America from 2019 to 2020 From 1.97 million Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts to 1.12 million Associated Press reports that BSA membership has fallen even further since 2020—to about 762,000 For purposes of comparison in the BSA peaked in 1972 at 6.5 million members As recently as 1998 membership was 4.8 million If as noted in the slide that membership is under one million, a lot of work to do

Our unit has had some discussion on this requirement. In our mind the key phrasing and verbiage is "who has an identity that’s different from yours" At it's most general, the definition of identity is "the fact of being who or what a person or thing is". This really could quite literally be anyone, other than an internal dialogue. All of us have some different traits, beliefs, or characteristics than someone (anyone) else. It is not saying a person of Christian faith must speak with an atheist. That would be enlightening no doubt, but not required. They (the scout) should have the conversation with someone else, no more, no less than the requirement asks

Has National BSA just stopped publishing annual reports and membership numbers? Last one I can find is 2019 CUBS - 1,1176,119 Scouts BSA - 798,516 Ventures - 42,571 Explorers - 101,243 Learning for Life - 145,463 CO's - 80,756 My council does not seem to publish any numbers. If you are lucky enough to hear one of the chosen professionals (the great unwashed and holy) they seem to determine success by money raised. Also they all seem to be getting promoted. I guess that means more cash for them. Never see them and not sure how they positively impact the program, but I digress. So how many Cubs / Scouts BSA / Ventures / Explorers are there now (or end of 2021). I guess that is a state secret

One observation is that our local soccer / baseball / basketball youth sports leagues do not do any marketing, but seem to have a bunch of participants. Honestly the best marketing is word of mouth, youth having a positive experience, inviting their friends. Our troop runs an Instagram account with 1,000 followers and a Facebook page with close to 500 followers. Not sure this translates to youth joining. This does give us a positive image in the area. For the Scouts it does give them a platform to show their friends what they do in the Troop. For the BSA we do face image headwinds after several years of lawyer ads asking if YOU were abused by the BSA. That is a tough one, and while probably not front and center for families, it is in the back of their minds. Overall it would be good to have some central marketing and (dare I say) brand awareness. Focus on what we do well. In our council we seem to have waaaay more council staff working on raising money than raising awareness. That may be the root of the issue. Volunteers and "pros" have a different idea of what Scouting is about. Is it a program (volunteer mindset) or a cash cow (pro mindset).

@ScoutcrafterHave you read Lord of the Flies by William Golding? The patrols should sort of work like that. Though I would suggest to try to avoid the Scouts dropping boulders on the other Scout's heads. Truly the SCOUTS run (or should run) the program. In the case of the new / crossover Scouts it is tough to have one them be the patrol leader due to lack of experience. In our unit the crossovers are in the new scout patrol / program and older scouts from the troop are their "patrol leaders" for the spring and their first campout. First meeting in the fall they get rolled into the regular patrols. The bestest new scout gets to keep the replica of Piggy's glasses to start fires with. SPL keeps the conch

Which will then become ALL dens are coed (who doesn't like families right??), which will then morph to "piloting" coed troops (and there already are they are just separate on paper), and then ALL troops will be coed and it will not be an option to be single gender, because that's not inclusive. Should just get on with it and let it shake out

If only Summit had squirreled away some of the +/- $750 million ( yes they squandered that much) spent on the Disney Scouting Land into some T-Bills or interest bearing bonds, maybe they could afford staff. That balloon payment looming is not paying for itself

Not really digging the Council Fee option in the hand dandy graphic.

For my council you cannot find the information. Any stakeholders report just note Scouts at camp. Most of this is extolling the wonders of all the fundraising they do. Fully 25% of the staff employed are involved in fundraising. Ask how the council is doing, you will get fundraising numbers

No more silent swimming or stalking. Good times. Also enjoyed the start a fire with no more than 2 matches and then cook a meal on said fire with no utensils We also had to hike uphill both ways to the camp, in the snow, carrying a canvas tent

@Cecille25 To be clear Your son was at the camporee with his troop He was wearing a troop shirt that was pink This troop shirt is from the same troop he (your son) is a member of at this time The SM and ASM for the troop (your son's troop) harassed him for wearing a pink troop shirt The adults involved are the SM and ASM for the troop that produced the pink shirt Everyone involved is in the same troop (your son's troop)

This is always the question, doe we raise money in order to have Scouting, or do we have Scouting in order to be able to raise money. I am in a large council and largest part of the professional staff is fundraising, development, etc. Yes During the challenge with the Chartered Organizations (UMC) the BSA did nothing. Our council did nothing. Basically they don't care about the units. They would much prefer to not even have actual units out doing things. Much easier and less messy just to have some photos of Scouts doing things. All that is needed is a some cub packs (they're always cute) and some Troops to generate an Eagle or two to trot out. Then all is good, donors are happy, and the cache of "Scouting" pays off. There was an event for a troop and the council field director (one of many middle management types in the council) who told everyone that he knows Scouting was strong and growing due to the amount of money raised at the council dinner. That's the metric for success, cash. Not units, not participants, not nights camping...it's cash Hardest number to find is how many actual Scouts (Cubs / Scouts BSA / etc) is the council serving

As has been noted, the challenge is the Council / District feels the units are there to support them, not the way it should be; the Council and District supporting the units. In our unit we have asked the question, what value does the council actually bring to our unit on a regular basis. There are the normal answers DE support (we never see the DE), ability to bring Scouting to the under served (that seems like a good cause until you really dive in and see what that actually is) In recent years there was the pandemic and the Council offered little to no input or advice, during the bankruptcy there has been zero communications on what is going on, with the issue with Methodist Churches as continuing chartered partners no guidance or support, when the registration basically doubled there was not real input or details on why. We are a large council, staff of close to 70, and the marketing and support is non-existent. An impossible task would be to find out how many ACTUAL youth are in the Cubs / Scouts / Explorers. That data is nowhere. I was at a celebration of a troop's long tenure a couple of weeks back. They had a Field Director there, and he spoke and was talking about how he knew Scouting was strong. I expected some details on new units, youth involvement growth, nights camping....nope...indicator was about how much money was raised in X hours at a big council dinner. That's your metric, money being raised. You owe them nothing and you were generous to make a donation. DE deserves no further thoughts on your part.