Recruiter Award

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The Recruiter Awards are probably one of the most important patches in your scout unit. Scout to Scout "word of mouth" referrals is certainly the most effective way attract and retain new members.


Peer to Peer Referral Program

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Encourage the youth to earn and display this patch. Look for opportunities at each awards ceremony to recognize this scout. It will motivate other scouts to do likewise. See this section for 20+ tips to have a great peer-to-peer referral program:

Look for ways to recognize your recruiters at court of honor and award ceremony. Just one award can motivate many more recruiters to get started!


  1. A Scout is Friendly - Share a Scoutmaster / Cubleader minute about being a friend.
  2. Class B Shirts - Encourage Scouts and Leaders to Wear the Class B shirts - especially before Back To School Night or any School Festival. Also wear other souvenir scouting shirts - (I frequently get positive feedback when I wear mine out in public.)
  3. Invite A Friend - Every scouting activity flyer should include a reminder to the scouts to bring a friend. Fun activities is their opportunity to make a positive impression. By far the single most effective recruitment tool is a word of month referral youth-to-youth or parent-to-parent. Scouting holds weekly, monthly annual activities that are fun. All activity announcements sent to families by phone, mail, flyer, text, etc should always carry a note to Invite a Friend.
  4. Serve your Neighbors - encourage scouts to look for frequent opportunities to serve their neighbors. (Matt 5:14-16)
  5. Scouting Posters for the Home - Encourage scouting families to hang scouting posters in the home.
  6. Digital Device Background - encourage youth and adults to have a scouting theme backdrop for their phone, reader, computer or other digital device.
  7. Scouts on YouTube - Share Scout theme videos - in social media, Youtube, facebook, twitter.
  8. Make New Friends - A Scout is Friendly - as often as possible. Look for someone who needs a friend.
  9. ScoutShop Bumber Sticker -
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  10. Custom Troop Bumber Sticker - place on scout vehicles, trailers, camp gear, school binders, etc, etc, etc, and more.
  11. Benefits of Scouting - Prepare a summary recap handout of the many benefits of Scouting.
  12. Unit Newsletter - monthly, quarterly or annual. Emphasize fun and adventure and outdoors and service.
  13. Frequent Field Trips - every scout outting is a unique opportunity to interact with the general population and to show your unit brand.
  14. Use Scouting Lingo - Get friends to ask you about what those words mean.
  15. Room Decor - Hang a mini-Scout Law or Timeless Values Poster in your workplace or office cubicle.
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  16. Visitor Attendance Log: Each unit should keep a visitor attendance log. Some units may award a year end prize or family membership discount to the top 1-3 recruiters of the year.
  17. Pass-A-Long Card: A simple 3x5 type invite card. Front side is a colorful invite and the backside has contact information for the troop, troop website, BeAScout.org, etc. (See example to the right.)
  18. Recycle that Boys Life: Drop off your old Boys Life magazines at the waiting room for your local medical, dental, vehicle care, or other lobby.

Founder's Bar

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Worn by all youths and adults whose names are on a new-unit charter or who join the new unit before it recharters for the first time; members of veteran units still in operation who were on the original charter may also wear the bar.

Founder’s Bar is worn directly under the unit number.

Council Recruitment Awards

Many of the local BSA Councils have their own recruiter awards with qualifications similar to that of above. Some patches include rockers or arcs for additional recruitments.

See Also