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Disagreements between chartering organizations


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I'm a venture youth, recently the Board of Directors of the non-profit 'A' that charters the venture crew I am a member of had decided that I will be unable to participate if I continue to work with another non-profit 'B' and their venture crew. Their reasoning is that because of a disagreement between the two boards, the board of 'A' has been trying to kill off 'B' which would also mean that the Crew 'B' charters would disappear. Some members 'A' including myself had sought this as an opportunity to do our good turn and help 'B' revitalize their crew. The main purpose for 'A' and 'B' is to organize units as a key component of their own vision; the core principles of each organization are also similar and non-conflicting.

 

My questions are as follows: Can the chartering organization act hostile in this manner? Can they limit a youth's participation based upon their participation elsewhere in scouting? If I understand correctly the CO also must also be supportive of scouting as a whole, but they have been acting in a way that is not beneficial to scouting.

 

Thank you for any help.

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The core principles of most religious denominations are similar and and non-conflicting. It's the other "stuff" that make the fight like cats and dogs and as the old joke goes "I pushed him of the bridge". To answer your question. They can probably get away with it because the only recourse council has ultimately is to pull a charter and that is not likely.

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First, terminology: you are a venturer or a venturing youth in a venturing crew. "Venture" is not in the glossary! Keep that straight and your as good as an expert! ... A venturer may be registered in as many crews (and, if a boy, one troop) as he or she can manage. Indeed, venturers have been known to have boundary issues. That does not make you immune from inter-Nicene conflict. You need to do your best to listen to the representatives from both boards and decide where you fit in in all of this. Does your council have a venturing officers association? I ask because the VOA advisor might be a great resource in this situation.

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Did I catch that right - Group A is trying to force Group B to close down because they don't like what they're doing? That would be like the Boy Scouts trying to shut the Girl Scouts down because they have differing policies. I don't think I'd want to have any involvement with Group A if that's the case.

 

To answer your questions:

 

Can the chartering organization act hostile in this manner? Yeah, hey can - should they is another story. The BSA isn't really in the position to do anything about it other than revoke their charter vor a venturing crew but that wouldn't stop their acting towards another non-profit in a hostile manner - again, this raises the question of "do I want to be involved with an organization like that?"

 

Can they limit a youth's participation based upon their participation elsewhere in scouting? The simple answer is yes they can. The complex answer is the chartering organization owns the unit - they can make rules about who can participate in their unit - if it's a church, they can limit it to just members of the church. They can also decide not to allow individuals to be part of their units - if they decide that participating in another unit is detrimental to their program, then they can certainly say that you have to choose.

 

Being the contrarian I am, I would choose B and take every other member of the Ventureing Crew from A with if I could - build up B and let A end up with a folded unit.

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Most adults do not understand how scouting works. They also cause 95% of all drama for a unit. The CO can make any restriction they want, because they own the unit. Your best bet would be to fold the crew B into your own.

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I would like to discourage following the advise of scouters who make snap judgements over the internet. That is why you should seek out adults in your district and in the charter organizations and try to understand all of the issues.

 

The reason is simply this: even if you are a very young venturer, in four years, you will likely be a (more-or-less) responsible adult -- possibly contributing to some of the decisions these organizations make. Having objective boots-on-the-ground advisors to help you sift through the smoke being blown around will be essential to your success.

 

In choosing to put your shoulder behind "A" or "B", it seems clear that somebody will be bothered by whatever decision you make. But, people might restrain their words and actions if you've taken the time to listen to everyone first-hand before making your decision.

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