Relationships

Building and maintaining a strong relationship with your schools is critical for us to have an effective Scout recruitment effort.  In an effort to enhance our relationship with schools and secure school access, a meeting with the school principal or other leadership should be conducted to strengthen and foster support for recruitment efforts prior to the start of the new school year.

• Meet with Principal/Superintendent
• Table at Meet the Teacher/Back to School Night
• Secure date/time for School Talk at your school(s)
• Approval for flier distribution (paper/electronic)
• Approval for yard sign and poster placement
• Approval for Scout uniform day
• Promotion via: school newsletter, email blasts, building marquee, morning/afternoon announcements
• Gain commitment for BSA Adopt-A-School

Marketing

Families today are overwhelmed with advertising and marketing messages. To ensure families receive top-of-mind awareness, various promotion methods will need to be utilized.

The Council has partnered with a marketing firm to manage social media marketing and the creation of Google ads to drive families to a customized landing page to introduce them to the Scouting program and assist them with the online registration and enrollment process.

In-School Promotion

• Host a table “Meet the Teacher” or “Back to School” night passing out information and flyers promoting the Join Night event
• Hang posters in the school and yard signs in carpool lanes as well as other high traffic locations in the area
• Distribute flyers paper and electronic and hang posters in school
• Spread the word about through emails directed toward school families
• Distribute join night event fliers with every K-5th grader the week before
• Conduct school talks the day before or day of the Join Night
• PTA/PTO or school social media channel announcements
• Have your Scouts wear their uniform to school
• Videos on in-school video networks
• Send personalized invitations, emails, and make phone calls to prospective families
• Promotion via: school newsletter, email blasts, building marquee, morning/afternoon announcements

BeAScout

You only have one chance to make a first impression, and BeAScout.org is frequently the first point of contact between a unit and a prospective family. Therefore, it is imperative for units to update their BeAScout profile to reflect the most current information.

Your unit profile can only be accessed by the
Cubmaster/Scoutmaster, Committee Chair, and Chartered Org. Rep. Additional leaders can be granted access as alternate contacts within the unit profile.

• Update unit contact (phone/email), website, meeting location information
• Turn on Fields to Display on Unit Pin
• Ensure ’Apply Online’ is turned on

Social Media

Our most important marketers are those of you who interact with Scouts and potential Scouts every day: Unit Leaders and Parents. Social media can help you with recruiting and communication. That means for many those personalized experiences are going to start with online engagement.

• Post Join Night event details on social media channels i.e. Facebook, Instagram, etc.
• Submit Join Night event details to council for Facebook geofencing promotion (need 3 weeks prior notice)
• Encourage families to share Join Night event frequently on social media

Scout Talks

Scout talks can make a huge difference when signing up new Scouts! In schools that provide access – doing Scout talks is the way to go. A Scout Talk is simply a visit to each classroom (or lunchroom/assembly) designed to get the boys and girls excited about Scouting. School talks and access is a major contributor to successful Join Nights.

• Secure date/time for School Talk at your school(s)

Out-of-School Promotion

When school access is limited, several methods can be helpful for promoting Join Night events outside of the school setting. These tactics should also be employed in tandem with in-school promotions when they are allowed.

• Utilize websites such as NextDoor and Hulafrog to promote Join Night event
• Distribute door hangers and conduct door-to-door invitations
• Utilize recruit-a-friend and other peer-to-peer recruiting initiatives
• Utilize parent-to-parent promotion
• Use press releases where applicable
• Distribute Fliers and conduct Scout talks at after-school programs or churches in the community
• Promote via church and community websites, calendars, and bulletins
• Utilize billboards, posters, and yard signs in the community (businesses, churches, etc.)
• Have a presence at community fairs, parades, and other events utilizing the mobile BB and Archery ranges On Target with Scouting (https://scoutingwire.org/marketing-and-membership-hub/councils/on-target-scouting/)

Execution

Packs with an excellent track record of recruiting and retaining members have one thing in common – they are prepared to receive Scouts into their program. A pack is prepared to receive new youth when the leaders have:

• A program calendar and budget for the next year with input from youth and families. A unit fundraising plan in place to keep costs low.
• Prepared a well-planned Join Night meeting that promotes the benefits of Scouting.
• A succession plan to determine the leadership positions that need to be filled and a plan for recruiting parents to fill those vacancies.
• Ask existing leaders to be new leader mentors to give support, information and encouragement.
• Develop a plan to contact each of the families after the Join Night to remind them about the parent orientation meeting.
• Scheduled unit meetings (i.e. den or troop) to start immediately. Follow up with families for youth that didn’t attend the first meeting.
• Invite families to participate in a fun outdoor activity within 30 days of joining.
• Building a strong relationship with your Pack’s school is important. A meeting with the school leadership will strengthen relationships and foster support for recruitment.

Cub Scout Lions & Tigers

With many Packs not able to meet or recruit in person due to COVID, an entire grade level missed out on the opportunity to join Scouts. While all youth are encouraged to join Cub Scouts. It will not be surprised to see the majority of new youth being K and 1st graders.

A few additional tips and tricks will help recruit and engage new families.

• Participate in Kindergarten roundup
• Meet with the school K and 1st grade teachers
• Spread the word about through emails directed toward school families, with an emphasis on K and 1st grade
• Send personalized invitations, emails, and make personal phone calls to prospective families
• Host an event such as an ice cream social for the K and 1st grade families

Planning Your Join Night

1. Get help
2. Set goals
3. Get trained 
4. Reserve you spot
5. Grab their attention
6. Organize volunteers
7. Scouting is Fun!

Engagement

New Family Engagement is a three-step process which includes: Join Nights, Parent Orientation Meetings and Welcome Events.  This section will assist you with the planning this process.

Join Nights

For units that recruit from multiple elementary schools, every school should have their own unique Join Night event for the convenience of the families that attend that school.  These Join Night events will be conducted utilizing one of two methods.

Table Station Model for Cub Scouts

Units will hold a come-and-go type Joining Night, which are strictly sign-up events. At this sign-up night, the unit will provide basic information about what Scouting offers youth and families using a table station model.

The table station model is designed for today’s busy on-the-go parents that are rushing from one event or sport to the next. This joining night method allows for a parent to show up and register their son or daughter in Scouting in less than 30 minutes.  The important thing in this model is to get the family’s attention and let them see what Scouting is all about.

Join Night Stations: Station 1: Welcome and Sign In , Station 2: What We Do, Station 3: Registration (complete applications), Station 4: Check Out, Station 5: Questions and Answers

Presentation Model for Scouts BSA

“Join Nights” have been a keystone for recruiting for years, and for good reason: They work! Join nights give parents and youth an opportunity to get to know Scouting at a personal level, face-to-face. The presentation model lasts about 35-45 minutes and gives an overview of Scouting to parents while the new potential Scouts are outside or in another location for an activity. 

Parents meet unit leadership, applications are filled out, questions are answered, interest is built, and parents see how Scouting is for families like theirs – no matter what that family may look like.

After the Join Night

Turn in applications, money, and a copy of the sign-in sheet: Unit leaders and the New Member Coordinator should review and complete applications.

Applications, registration fees and a copy of the attendance roster are to be turned in to your District Executive within 48 hours.

Welcome your new families: Do not wait. Invite all families to first unit events the very next week. These meetings are the ONLY chance to make a great first impression, have fun, and involve new parents in the life of the Scout Unit. Leaders should make welcome phone calls and send welcome email messages with meeting dates, location, pack calendars, and any other important information.

Follow up with families who did not sign up: This is where the sign-in sheet comes in handy. Check your applications against the sign-in sheet and call those families that did not join. Address any concerns and offer to drop an application by their home and invite them to the first meeting to see Scouting for themselves.

Parent Orientation

Welcoming new volunteers into your Pack is vital for its success – invite all parents to a special meeting (Parent Orientation) within a week of the Join Night. This is where the existing Unit leadership can get to know the new parents – and welcome them to new volunteer roles in your team.

We all are busy, but we are big believers that we make time for what’s important to us. Scouting isn’t like soccer or baseball where we’re on the sidelines cheering our children on. Scouting is hands on.

Whether it’s helping them learn how to tie knots, showing them how to use a hammer, or teaching them how to  cook their own breakfast, parents will need to be involved.

Use the following information for a parent orientation meeting to give your Unit the best start for a new year of Scouting and make sure your new parents are fully informed and excited to join in.

Welcome Events/Activities

Units are encouraged to schedule their own events to welcome new families – i.e. movie night, camp out, lock-in, carnival, water bottle rocket events, ice cream social, etc.  These should be family-friendly activities.

Units should also focus on assuring that all new Scouts have the opportunity to earn their Bobcat or Scout Rank within the first 60 days following enrollment.  These advancement driven activities create recognition opportunities and are a great way to engage Scouts and families in the program.