Changing Charter Organization

[bigbeard]

Posted this earlier today, haven't seen it. Pre-apologies if it doubles up.

 

Our Troop was noticed by a VIP of a local sportsman club during a campout/service project this weekend. The Troop the club sponsors currently has mostly faded away, and he offered the oportunity to us. The organizations is very youth and outdoors oriented.

 

Our current CO, a Neighborhood Association, is of the "sign here once a year" variety. We do not meet in their facility except for monthly Committee, we pay our own recharter, and receive no financial support. If we went away tomorrow, I doubt they would notice.

 

Has anyone out there changed CO's or have a reference on the proceedure? The longer-serving adults in the Troop have concerns about keeping the Unit number (we are turning 25 years old this year). I'm familiar with some of the other "ownership" issues, but could use all the advice I can get.

 

Thanks

[Grey Fox]

I would advise you to, first of all, speak with your District Executive (DE) as they are actively involved in chartering units etc. You are looking at transferring your unit to another CO (this has been done in the past and the unit has kept it's number and tenure "in Scouting" not necesssarily with the CO) not reform as a new unit with a new CO.

This happens many times, for many different reasons (ie Church remodeling and can't accomodate a unit for a long period of time, Community organization grows out of step with Scouting, etc) Your DE should be able to "smooth the waters" so to speak with the current CO, although it sound like they truly won't be upset if you find another "home" elsewhere. The DE can also investigate and determine if the "proposed new CO" really qualifies as a CO in the eyes of the Council. Good Luck.

[eisely]

Grey Fox offers good advice. I have seen chartered partners changed at the behest of a unit and it was not a big deal. If done politely, the old CO might even let you continue to use their facility for committee meetings. I would sugggest you learn more about the sportsmen's club. Meet with them and find out more about their philosophies and goals. If their prior troop faded, there may be more to the situation than meets the eye.

[NJCubScouter]

Grey Fox said:

 

The DE can also investigate and determine if the "proposed new CO" really qualifies as a CO in the eyes of the Council.

 

I agree. The fact that it is a "sportsman's club" raises my eyebrows a bit. The primary activity of a "sportsman's club" is hunting. While I have nothing against hunting, it is not a BSA-approved youth activity. Of course, learning how to handle a hunting weapon and target shooting ARE approved BSA activities and there are related merit badges, which members of the club could be helpful with. So the council could see it as a good CO, or not. Their history with their prior (actually, still current if I read the post correctly) unit could also have some bearing.

 

And although I don't want to make this a debate, I do think that the "sign here once a year" variety of CO has both pros and cons. That is basically what I have with my Cub pack, although it is somewhat complicated by the fact that the CO is a parent-teacher organization, and the IH is a parent of one of the boys in the pack. She has basically decided to leave the running of the unit to the leaders, which I see as a blessing. "Assistance" and "support" usually comes with a price, and potentially that price can be that someone within the CO decides that he/she knows how to do things better than the unit leaders, and sometimes better than the BSA itself. I think you need to know what the price is, or could be, before you make a move.

[bigbeard]

Thanks for the advice. Am awaiting a DE response.

 

Hunting is the primary focus of the club, but they are active in a number of areas, including Scouting. In fact, they recently hosted a Support Scouting dinner at their hall, attended by all the District wheels, and made a most generous donation.

 

NJ, good point about potential prices/agendas. I'll keep that in mind during discussions.

 

Thanks again.

[ScouterPaul]

bigbeard

Everyone has given you good advice. We recently changed CO February of this year. The church that we were with was limited on space and wasn't willing to sponsor the Troop that we started up. Our DE was quite active in our search. We were fortunate to join a church that welcomed us with open arms.

 

Sounds like you are aware of the ownership issue. We had to change unit numbers which in the long run was a small price to pay. Our DE was able to obtain all of the funds that were in the Pack's checking account.

 

In our situation it was the right move for us to make. Hopefully everything will work for you all.