General Studies (GS-5)
Recruiting and Retaining
Membership
Lenny Niman
Scott Valcourt
March 24, 2007
Every Unit should want their membership to grow. This course will provide resources, tips, and
techniques to use to increase your membership and help you retain the ones you've got.
Today’s Goals
• What leadership positions are in the room
(Den Leader, Cubmaster, Scoutmaster,
Troop Committee…)? How long have you
been in Scouting?
• What do you want to learn from class?
• Who are your Learning Guides today?
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Recruitment and retention are the keys to
success for the Boy Scouts of America as
the organization works toward a greater
impact on the values of America's young
people.
Source: http://www.scouting.org/media/reports/1999/unitgrowth.html
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Which is More Important?
• Recruiting New Scouts?
• Recruiting Former Scouts?
• Retaining Existing Scouts?
• It depends…
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General Studies (GS-5)
Retaining and Recruiting
Membership
Lenny Niman
Scott Valcourt
March 24, 2007
Every Unit should want their membership to grow. This course will provide resources, tips, and
techniques to use to increase your membership and help you retain the ones you've got.
General Scouting Retention
• Adapt the program to the needs and
interests of your Scouts
• Plan a Year-Round Program
• Help Scout parents to understand how
valuable Scouting is to a boy
– www.ScoutParents.org
– www.Scouting.org
• Make it Fun!
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Boy Scout Retention
• Largest youth organization in the US, with
over 110 million youth served since 1910
• Generational gathering
• Use the Order of the Arrow resources
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Did You Know…
• Most boys who drop out of Cub Scouting
do so in May, June, and September?
– Families are busy after school is over and
Packs without a summer program become
easy targets for “activity trimming”.
• Dens that meet more often have higher
retention rates?
– 21.1 percent of boys who dropped Cub
Scouting were in a den that met less than two
times per month.
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Why Cub Scouts Leave
The Boy Scouts of America asked the parents of a number of boys who
dropped out of Cub Scouts, why they did so.
Scout Meetings Became Boring – 44%
Poor or Disorganized Leadership – 43%
Too busy with Other Things – 35%
Not Enough Outdoor Activities – 22%
Not Enough Challenge – 19%
Want to Focus More on Sports – 17%
Base: 194 parents of boys who dropped out of Cub Scouts
Percentages indicate the number of parents who said the item had a "major" or
"somewhat of an" influence on the decision to drop out.
Source: National Cub Scout Retention Survey, June 2001
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Cub Scout Retention
• Cub Scouting versus Sports
– Only 17 percent of boys wanted to focus more on sports.
• Boring Meetings
– Top Factor
– Meetings need to be full of activities – New things
– Challenging outdoor activities – Year Round
– Use the Order of the Arrow and Troop resources
– Program Helps and Program Planning do the trick
• Training Pays
– New leaders need immediate training
– Mentoring
– Fast Start training and follow up with position-specific training
– Pack Trainer
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General Scouting Recruitment
• Ask! Invite them to participate!
– Target population
• Make it interactive!
• Get it outdoors!
• Be visible in the community
• Plan a Year-Round Program
• Make it Fun!
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Ideas
• Supermarkets – Everybody goes there
– Displays, posters, handouts
• Community visibility events
– Scouting for Food
– National Good Turn – like 2003-2004
– Parades
• Religious Education Classes
– Flyers, presentations
• Event Sign-up Nights at Schools
– Sports have them, why not Scouts?
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Cub Scout Recruitment
• Focus on the Family
• Emphasize fun, friendships, quality time
with son, lifelong learning, character
development and … FUN!
• Deliver the program as promised quickly
• Webelos Transition – start early in second
year
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Webelos-to-Scout Transition
• A cooperative effort between the Pack and
the Troop to keep boys in Scouts
• Transition leadership is a shared effort
• Joint activities are crucial to success
• Webelos Dens are as important to the
future of the Troop as the Tiger Cub
groups are to the future of the Pack
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Webelos-to-Scout Transition:
What makes it easy?
• All Boy Scout Rank requirements are
included in Arrow of Light
• Activity badges are like merit badges
• Both have outdoor programs
• The Den Chief
• Cooperation of Scoutmasters and
Webelos Den Leaders
• Same uniform
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Boy Scout Specific Recruitment
• September – 11 year old recruitment
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Venturing Recruitment and
Retention
• Boy Scout Opportunities
• Camping, Canoeing, Hinds Island
• Order of the Arrow
• Be Visible in the Community
• Integrate Venturing with Cub and Boy
Scout Activities
• Support the Young People to Make it Fun!
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Adult Recruitment
• Ask parents to be involved with their boys
– Expect them to want to volunteer
– Don’t Assume a “no” answer when asking
• Have a positive attitude
• Be Specific – Create Specific Jobs
– Start with small jobs
• Express Gratitude
– Show appreciation for what was done in a
sincere way
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Adult Recruitment
• Busy people make the best leaders
– Time Management Skills
• Communication
– Calendar, Email List, Website, Phone Tree
• Training – Early and Often
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Family Talent Survey
• Subject Experts
• Webelos Activity
Pin Leaders
• Merit Badge
Counselors
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Key Points
• Program
• Parents
• Visibility
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References
• www.scoutparents.org
• www.scouting.org
• www.pinetreebsa.org
• www.yorkdistrict.org/university07.html
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Contacts
Lenny Niman Scott Valcourt
lniman55@hotmail.com sav@acm.org
Good Scouting!
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