annual report

[Lisabob]

I'm working on an annual report to give to our CO and the troop committee and ASMs/SM. I don't want it to get too long, but I do want to provide an overview of what we've done, what our strengths are, and where we may want to try to do even better next year. Nobody in the troop seems to have done this before. (Honestly I'm not sure how (or if?) they have evaluated their program in the past! But I digress...) So I'm working from scratch. Here are the main categories I have right now. What would you add? 

 

Membership - continuing scouts, new scouts, drop-outs, and age-outs, by rank and time in the troop

Rank Advancement - how many and for which rank/ # of boys showing no advancement in the last year, by rank

Service to Community - # of participants, # of hours, and nature of projects

Youth Leadership - PORs and Training

Camping - # of outings, # of nights, # of youth & adult participants

Adult leadership - # of registered leaders by category (cmte/ASM), # of fully trained leaders by category

Fundraisers - nature of fundraisers, who benefits (troop/scout), amount raised, purpose to which the money is put

 

Lisa'bob

[John-in-KC]

Three other things:

 

Facilities: I know, especially considering the CO thread, but they need to be in the loop in sharing thanks to wherever you're actually housed (BTW, in my youth we were chartered by a local Kiwanis, but met at the local jr high).

 

Property: What you have, what may need replacing...

 

Plans: "Big picture" of where the Troop wants to be a year from now.

[Eamonn]

Lisabob,

You asked:

"What would you add?"

I'd include the Scout Oath and Law along with the vision and mission statement.

My thinking is that it never hurts!!

I'd also add some long term and short term goals.

I'd talk with the Troop members adult and youth, trying to if nothing else get them thinking.

Every now and then I find myself hung up on a topic or idea.

Right now I'm really into the idea that we are only passing through.

The Scouts we have in the units will not be there forever and the adults will in time for one reason or another be gone.

While we spent most of our time serving the Scouts we have today, I think we have some sort of a responsibility to ensure that the unit will be there long after we have gone.

In order to make this happen we need to ensure that the CO really feels that they have ownership of the unit.

Maybe you might want to add a wish list.

The more money that the CO has in the unit the more they should feel that they own it!!

I also have a very mean streak. I think I'd be tempted to add something about how many District Committee meetings Troop Committee meetings the COR attended and make mention of the fact that he or she did or didn't attend the Council Executive Board Annual Meeting. If he or she is attending I'd praise the heck out of him. If not, I'd make it known that the Unit is feeling let down by this lack of representation.

But this is just me and my evil twin!!

Eamonn.

[KC9DDI]

One idea: perhaps request that your SPL and other key youth leaders participate in preparing this report. This would have a number of positive effects: the youth leaders may become more aware of the troop's strengths and weaknesses, the youths' perspectives and input would be included in the report, and the Committee and CO would get to see that the youth are developing leadership, communication, critical thinking, etc skills. You might have the youth write a cover letter, or "year-in-review" document, in which they summarize the past year's activities, while the adults complete the report with specific numbers and other details. Also, if you plan on giving an oral report to the committee and/or CO, you might consider asking the SPL to handle some of the presentation.

[infoscouter]

Pictures! I realize you're seeking brevity, but really, what shows the unit in action better than pictures? We're adding pictures to our CO report next year.

 

 

[Beavah]

Full financials. Not just fundraisers, but an easy-to-read formal statement of revenues AND expenses. Include information on capital gear (tents, stoves) and wear-and-tear (depreciation) that will eventually to lead to replacement.

 

Quotes from parents and boys about their view of scouting and the troop.

 

 

 

 

[CA_Scouter]

OK, this seems very focused on ACHIEVEMENT, ADVANCEMENT, MONEY, etc... quantifiable items that a business would like to show to their auditors....

 

How about a section for:

 

Did the Scouts have fun?

 

 

I'm not trying to be difficult, but one of the things I like about Scouts is that I DON'T treat it like a business, but I gauge the success of our program by the look in my Scouts eyes....

 

I would focus more on Info and Beav... pictures and quotes from the Scouts... how better to show the success of your program?

 

 

 

 

 

[John-in-KC]

It might be worth asking the Lions themselves: What would you like to know about your Scout Troop???

[Its Me]

 

Injuries/accidents:

 

If zero kids were hurt on campouts and events then great the report shows 0. If one kid sprained an ankle while hiking or one had a posion ivy attack during a clean up, maybe a deeep cut during a skills training event, what ever occured, report it.

 

 

[ASM416]

Maybe you were already thinking of this......

 

 

You could include in your service hours the total "person" hours. For example, 24 scouts participated in an 8 hour service project for a total of 192 hours. I think it gives a better idea of how much service you really give. You can also do this with camping days and nights.

 

I also like many of the other ideas. I think having a thorough report is better than a brief report. Maybe even consider a presentation (power point?) with any pictures, videos and newspaper clippings.

[Lisabob]

You guys are great. Thanks for all of the suggestions; I am incorporating many of them into the report. Eamonn, I'd not have guessed that you had that evil twin lurking back there! But I like it...

 

Lisa