Units (packs, troops, crews, ships and posts) are delivering a wicked awesome program to Scouts! In fact, we are doing so well that the Narragansett Council is recognized by the BSA as a “Gold Council” in the BSA’s Journey to Excellence (JTE) quality standards for 2018.
JTE consists of 18 criteria that measures our work (at the unit, district and council levels) in program, membership, leadership, and financial stewardship. Depending on performance, councils can be rated as “not rated–falling below minimum standards”, Bronze, Silver, or Gold. 2018 is our second year in a row to be rated as Gold.
The areas that Scouting in Narragansett Council are excelling include:
- youth retention,
- % of Scouts BSA going to summer camp,
- unit retention,
- commissioner service to our units, and
- % of our unit leaders that are fully trained for their position.
Of course, there are areas that we could improve at. Those include:
- % of Scouts advancing,
- growing our endowment fund, and
- community service hours (Are units reporting all of the community service provided by their Scouts? I suspect a lot of the good work being done by Scouts and leaders is not being reported!)
“I believe Scouting is one of the most beneficial programs available for youths today. It has provided great opportunities for our son and he enjoys participating and learning from Scouting. Thank you.”
Scouts BSA Parent, Voice of the Scout, Narragansett Council, 2018
In addition, the Narragansett Council was recently given GuideStar’s highest rating of transparency, Platinum. GuideStar is the world’s largest source of information on nonprofit organizations and we maintain a full profile there so that people interested in donating to us have the information they need. Learn more at www.GuideStar.org.
Key goals in 2019
- Getting ALL Scouts to summer camp programs because that’s where the adventure of Scouting is delivered: Day Camp, Family Camp, Camp Yawgoog, National Youth Leadership Training and more
- Webelos to Scout Transition: getting every Arrow of Light Webelos to cross over and join a Scout troop because that’s where Scouts take a deep dive into leadership, citizenship, community service and more
- Helping troops successfully recruit new Scouts this spring through a coordinated peer-to-peer or “bring a friend” campaign
- Improving our communication with you through increased focus on our emails, social media, roundtables, website, and new monthly “Scouting Thrives” webcast.
- Successfully launch the new Scouts BSA program in February with new Scout troops for girls–11 new girl troops are off the ground and running already!
- Implement a successful Family Friends of Scouting campaign this spring to invite Scouting families to financially support Scouting in the Narragansett Council
See our council’s 2019-2020 Game Plan here.
How can we help your unit THRIVE? Let me know in the comments below.
