Boy Scouts - Guide to Year-round Recruitment

Additional Resources for growing your troop:

A steady flow of youth into a Boy Scout troop is essential to maintaining the troop's health. New Scouts bring energy and enthusiasm to the troop program.

To avoid the pitfall of shrinking membership, a troop should add at least 10 new Scouts every year. Having a year-round growth plan in place will help attract new Scouts.

The first step for any recruitment effort is to appoint an assistant Scoutmaster or Troop committee member to serve as the troop membership chair. This person will develop and implement a year-round growth plan that incorporates all methods of recruitment; working closely with Cub Scout packs in the community, the district membership committee, and the unit commissioner.

The three primary methods of recruiting new Scouts into your troop are:

• Graduating Webelos Scouts from local Cub Scout packs into your troops

• By hosting a troop open house for 6th graders or members of your charter organization

• Developing a boy-to-boy recruitment plan such as bring a friend night.

All these and many more ideas should be part of your troop's program calendar. Without new members, your troop program will become stale and less effective. By introducing new members on a constant basis, your troop's program will experience an influx of new members, new parent volunteers, and new ideas. Help your troop stay healthy by recruiting new members.

• Troop Membership Tools
  Each Scoutmaster received a Troop Membership Tools DVD that  teaches the younger boys how to recruit their friends, overcome common objections that their friends may have about joining their troop, discusses how the troop leaders can ensure a successful Webelos to Scout Transition, and how to conduct a successful The Boy Scout Troop Open House.  If you haven't seen it, you should.  It's good!

• The Scout Zone website
  Prospective Boy Scouts can learn about exciting Scouting opportunities. Parents can learn how Scouting teaches value, citizenship, and leadership.  Your Scouts can send an E-card invitation to their friends inviting them to learn about Scouting and to invite them to your troop meeting.

• Scout Zone Business Cards
  Your Scouts can hand out personalized business card invitations to their friends inviting them to a Troop event or meeting. 

  • Download Business Card Template (Word doc)

  • right click on link and "save as"

  • works with Avery 8371 Business Card stock

Scouts can earn the new Centennial Recruiter patch by recruiting just one new Boy Scout!

Troop Membership Tools DVD

• Scout Zone Music Video

• What Parents Say

• Recruit a Friend

• Troop Open House

• Webelos to Scout Transition

Troop / Scout Zone Business Cards