Cub Scout Recruiting Letter

[scouts-a-lot]

Does anyone out there have a letter that you mail to prospective Cub Scouts and their parents in your area? If so what kind of response did you get?

 

I have never sent one and would like to see what effect it has on recruiting.

[Basementdweller]

yes and for every 20 you send you may get a visit.

[Scoutfish]

We havn't used a letter yet. We talked about it,, but we had 120 cub scouts at our last recharter, so we are going to tone down a bit .

 

But when we discussed the possibility of using a letter, we talked about doing a "grid mailing"

 

You might call it something else, but the object is the same. What is is - is this: You pick a neighborhood, distict, area, etc... and then tell the post master of a post office that you want to do a mass mailing ( cart-sort /current resident)then they will eithetr give you actual available address numbers in use or available to use.( chance you send letters to un occupied houses, or vacation homes).

 

I have no idea what the cost is. My company does it for customer roundup.

[scouts-a-lot]

I have a directory of the kids in my school but need a couple of example letters to craft mine.

[DenZero]

What I did was personally address the letter to the boy, inviting him and his family to an upcoming event or events such as pack meetings, picnics, etc. I then went on to explain about the pack, and about Cub Scouts in general. I enclosed the letters in a large envelope with a miniature copy of Boys Life and a recruiting brochure (I got these from the district exec.) with stickers with pack contact info on each. All this stuff required extra postage, but increased the chance of being looked at. I sent these to all the first and second grade boys at our school for two years in a row. I didn't send letters to boys that I knew were in other packs or had older brothers in other packs (though the other pack did send recruiting letters to the boys in our pack a couple years earlier). I think I received one response, but wasnt able to sign up the boy, as there were no other boys his age in the pack.

 

It might be worth trying if you dont have many families in the pack, but it will be ignored in favor of a direct invitation from one of the boys classmates or buddies. So the best way for a pack to grow is to already be bigger than the other packs in the area, and have the ability to engage in word of mouth recruiting.

 

Here is one of the letters we used:

 

----------------------------------------------------

 

Dear Your name,

 

I would like to invite you to join Cub Scout Pack XXXX. Cub Scouts participate in many fun activities such as crafts, games, building and racing model cars, carving pumpkins, hiking, camping and much more.

Our next activities are:

 

First Pack Meeting of the school year. Sept. 11 (Thursday) 7:00 PM at XXXXXX. This meeting will be an introduction to Cub Scouts for boys and their parents. Boat kits will be passed out.

 

Raingutter Regatta. We build wooden toy boats from kits and will then race them on Sunday September 14 at 1:00 PM at XXXXXX Park. Please contact us in advance, and we can get you a boat kit to bring and race. If you can't get one ahead of time, we'll have some at the race if you want to try putting it together in a hurry. It's best to enter the park from XXXX St.. We plan to serve hot dogs and snacks.

 

Cub Scout Pack XXXX has been providing activities for boys at XXXXX School since 194X.

Pack meetings are held at XXXXX, which has graciously sponsored the pack and Boy Scout Troop XXXX for many years.

 

Pack XXXX is small, friendly and family-oriented, and ready to welcome new members. Visitors and siblings are welcome at all pack events, and are invited to join in our activities.

 

This year we will be doing some joint activities with other packs in the area, including soap box derby, bicycle rodeo and some combined camping dates.

 

Cub Scouting provides the opportunity to have fun while developing new skills in crafts, games, outdoor activities, field trips, camping etc.

 

Cub Scouting is for boys in first grade through fifth grade. (Boys entering sixth grade and up are invited to join the Boy Scouts).

 

If you know of anyone else who would be interested in Cub Scouting, please pass this on to friends, relatives, neighbors, etc. If you know of former scouts or others who could help us with activities and events, we are looking for adult volunteers to help us plan events.

Please email to XXXXX, or call XXXXX at XXXX

 

For a schedule of upcoming events, visit our web page at www.packXXXX.org.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

XXXXX XXXXX

Cubmaster, Pack XXXX

 

 

[scouts-a-lot]

Thanks that is just what I am looking for.

[raisinemright]

We never used a letter but had great success last year with a flyer. When I designedit, I used a statement I heard Rush Limbaugh make and tweaked it for Scouts. The recruiting theme was "Developing Leaders in a World of Followers." At one of our recruiting events, I mentioned the theme and actually got applause form the parents, and a whole bunch of kids joined and many of their parents jumped in as leaders too.

[MarinesWife]

We do a flyer and take them to the school to be handed out (district approval first). I find out how many boys are in classes 1-4 or whatever and then take them in.

 

IN the spring I gave them 175 flyers for grades K-2 and we signed up 5 boys.

 

I look at it as a way to get our name out there, maybe get some interest going. I'm always hearing, "We didn't know there was Cub Scouts here!"