District Membership Committee
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Some have said that the "Recruiter" patch is the most important patch in scouting. If true than that would make membership recruiting the most important committee in your scout district or council. Here are a few tips for building an effective committee
Committee Duties:
What are some important recruitment duties for the District / Council Committee?
- Scouting Tools : "Invitation Manager": Every day new leads / applications come in via the "BeAScout" website. Monitor these new leads at least weekly to make sure each lead is assigned to an appropriate but active unit.
- School Tracking Pipeline1 - Track primary recruitment channel for each unit
- Cub Scouts - Assigned Schools
- Boy Scouts - Linked Packs / Middle Schools
- Venturing - Recruitment Plan / District Events
- Sea Scouts - Recruitment Plan / District Events
- Track Major Community Events - Watch for opportunities to sponsor a community scouting booth.
- Local Home School and Charter Schools forums
- Community Social Media Groups.
- Facebook Community Groups
- NextDoor Community Groups
- Promote Local Scouting Success Stories - Completed Eagle Service Projects / Camporees / Service Awards and more. Connect with local media.
- Commissioner Service - Helping Units Grow - Assess, Plan, Act.
- District Recruitment Plan - Email Me : maintour@yahoo.com to swap ideas for district membership plans.
- Building a strong relationship with major chartering partners in the community thru service and recognition.
- Training at Roundtable and Scouting University on Recruitment Activities.
- Create a Community Website:
- Create a Community Activity Page (ie: ScoutHut) - Family Activity Groups : Service helping families have fun.
- Create a Community Duty To God page - recognize all local faith-based organizations
- Create a Youth Scholarship Page : - Service: Help youth prepare for a college and a career
- Support Community Service Projects - Eagle Scout Projects -
- Contribute an article to your monthly district/council/local unit newsletters.
- Share a recruitment moment at each District Roundtable.
- Share the benefits of scouting.
Community Events
- Community 5K Run - This event could get lots of attendance, hand out bsa t-shirts and other take home souvenirs. Collect $40 from each participant and you just knocked a big chunk out of our District FOS quota also!
- Ten Commandments Hike - a popular scouting activity of the Duty to God Adventure category where it's primary importance is to teach youth about the meaning of Duty to God in the Scout Oath. It is most frequently organized at the district level. Usually takes place jointly with local churches at the town center. Great high-visibility joint community event.
- Flag Day - usually gets good publicity in the local news each year. - Memorial Day, Flag Day, Veterans Day. Or other significant patriotic holiday.
- Local History Events -
- Local Parades. -
- County Fairs and Super Community Events.
Roundtable Moments
- Pack 24 Recruitment Secrets - Pack 24 Scouting Volunteer Membership Recruiting Success Stories - (Fall 2010) - 4 Minute YouTube - Great for District Roundtable presentation
- Monthly Raffle - Scouting bumper sticker / license plate frame/ join scouting yard signs / mug or old souvenir memorabilia
- Recruitment Training Breakout - This should be a major session of District Roundtable, several times a year, especially in the early summer months.
- New Unit Moment - A brief roundtable big rock is to review with the membership new units being formed in the area.
- Preview New Recruiting Videos - a fun big rock item for Roundtable.
Roundtable Midway
Every month - sample recruitment poster / station
Special Interest Scouting
The 2020 changeover for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from institutional participation to individual participation was a good case study to handle a large group transition. Here are some council/district success stories related to that event.
- LDS Transition Letter
- Saints & Scouts
- LDS Scouters
- Vision 2020 LDS Scouters
- Vanguard Scouting - New international LDS scouting organization created in Feb 2020 to represent LDS in scouting worldwide
Other Special interest scouting
- SDIC Scouting for Youth with Disabilities - Note that frequently disabilities restrict opportunities for individual achievement in other youth and sport programs, but scouting the motto is "Everyone Do Your Best".
- San Diego Catholic Committee on Scouting - Delivering Catholic Youth Ministry Through Scouting Programs
- SDIC Venturing - Joint activities for Venturing units.
Youth Service Organizations
Contact any of the following organizations about doing a joint community expo day to help raise awareness about scouting programs for youth in your community:
- Kiwanis Club - Mission Statement: "At the Kiwanis Children's Fund, our mission is to develop resources that transform the goodwill and vision of Kiwanians into programs that serve the children of the world." - This means they frequently sponsor and support scouting units in the local community.
- Lions Club Internations - "To empower volunteers to serve their communities, meet humanitarian needs, encourage peace and promote international understanding through Lions clubs."
- Rotary Club - "... to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through its fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders."
- Civitan Internation - "... an organization of volunteer service clubs around the world, dedicated to helping people in their own communities."
- Moose Lodge -
- Order of Elks - "To inculcate the principles of Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love and Fidelity; to recognize a belief in God; to promote the welfare and enhance the happiness of its Members; to quicken the spirit of American patriotism; to cultivate good fellowship..."
- Optimist Club - "By providing hope and positive vision, Optimists bring out the best in youth, our communities and ourselves. Optimist International will be recognized worldwide as the premier volunteer organization that values all children and helps them develop to their full potential."
- Veterans Groups:' -
- Your Charter Organizations:
- Local Church Groups: Most communities have a local church partnership program that includes efforts to outreach and serve local youth.
- Local Government Agency: - Many cities and counties have a special agency to assist in promoting after-school youth programs.
Community Service
A community service project can be a great way to get a lot of local attention. Small town newspapers are always looking for feel-good community interest stories to publish. Examples:
- "260 Boy Scouts to Service Project during Camporee for local Church" - NCDailyStar.com
Community Social Media
There are lots of ways to spread the good message of scouting - Don't forget your hashtages "We are Looking for young people who want to serve our community:" "#BeAScout, #CaliforniaScouts, #SaintsAndScouts, #DoAGoodTurnDaily, #BePrepared,"
- Post comments with BSA links in the comments section of Facebook Posts
- Post comments with BSA links in the comments section of YouTube
- Post comments with BSA links in the comments section of Facebook Videos
Eagle Board of Reviews & Recognition
A rare opportunities for district / councils to meet directly with scout families is at Eagle Board of Reviews and District/Council Eagle Recognition Events. Do you have a plan to retain both the adults and youth in the scouting program?
- Introduction to Venturing & Sea Scouts
- Junior Scoutmasters and Den Chiefs
- Order of the Arrow
- Staff at Scout Camp
- Adults - Committee and Commissioner Service
- "Friends of Scouting" - Lifetime registration.
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