Recruiting Resources

Becoming a new leader can be a daunting process. There are a ton of new things to learn and processes to go through.

Because of that, we have put out this guide to help you through recruiting new people for your unit. Providing a year-round, quality Scouting program should be the goal of every Scouting unit. That can only be accomplished if each Pack and Troop continues to grow their numbers

Use the resources below to help your recruitment.

Why is this important?

Recruiting new youth and families to your Unit is important for many reasons. Each year, families move in and out of your neighborhood. As families move up from your Unit or age out of the program or move away with their families, you will notice your Dens or Patrols getting smaller. What would this mean in a couple years with more families aging out of the program?

Recruiting not only brings in new families to replace families that have moved out of the Unit, but it also helps to broaden the horizon for your potential program. New families can bring new experiences to help provide excellent programming for your youth. Work with your District Membership Team or District Executive to talk more about a recruiting plan for your Unit so you can provide the best program!

How to do a Join Night

Scheduling a Join Night is one of the best ways to recruit new families to your Unit! Each Unit has a unique program and can utilize your families and leaders to help keep these events fun and productive.

Work with your District Executive or Membership Team to schedule a Join Night. Keep the following things in mind when looking to schedule Join Nights

Schedule on a different night from our regular Unit meeting night
Include Den Leaders and other parents to help break up the set up and activities
Invite your Principal and Teachers to attend and support, they may not, but they would love the invite
Work to schedule this event on a Tuesday or Thursday, these days are historically better for families to attend
Coordinate with your Elementary School Principal to schedule the Join Night at the Elementary School, your new families will be more comfortable with this location for the first night
Utilize social media, fliers and other forms of invitation to ensure every youth gets an invite from that school
Make the join night clear, concise and relevant
- Make a program schedule that you can hand out to new families
- Explain the uniform process and strongly encourage families to get at least the shirt within the next few Unit meetings
- Briefly explain your Unit meetings

Refer a Friend

Are all of your Scout’s friends apart of your Unit? Scouts have the most fun when they have their friends with them. Your Unit can incentivize inviting friends to meetings and having them join. Every Scout that recruits a friend can earn a Recruiter patch that can be proudly worn on their uniform. Your unit can host a new friend event to encourage your Scout’s friends to join. Make this event fun and engaging for youth AND adults. Make sure you give ample time to plan and prepare the program. Also make sure that there is enough time for new families to put this event on their calendar.

Beascout.org

Your Unit has a contact page that is hosted at www.beascout.org and is updated with contact information each year. This contact page is search engine for families looking for Scout Units in their neighborhood. They can type in their zip code and pull up the following information (that is editable by Unit leadership) –

Unit Leader contact information
Meeting location
Meeting time and date
Charter Organization location

More information can be uploaded and edited from the Unit leadership to include pack website or social media information. The website will send requests to the Unit Leader and District Executive to give joining information to potential new families. Work with your District Executive to make sure your beascout.org page is up to date and that you have the ability to edit that information.