Re: FOS presentation- URGENT!!
(no name) ((no email))
Sat, 2 Jan 1999 17:36:00 -0600
I wrote this to Larry earlier; it's amazing what you cannot find
and what you DO find! For instance, I found eight German
certificates of thanks, two old photos, and a box of old Scouts-L
postings on paper going back to 1990!
Once I find the rest of this stuff I couldn't find for Larry, I'll
post it on the Leaders' Online website so that we won't have to go
through this again. Shame on those that gave Larry such little
time to be prepared for this IMPORTANT part of our program!!
"Lawrence E. Faust" <lfaust@atlantic.net> wrote frantically and
asked:
>Last Thursday, our DE informed me of a FOS presentation that
>needs to be made tonight at 6:00p.m. For whatever reason, the DE
>was unable to attend(holidays, whatever, etc). He handed me a
>packet of brochures & stickers and then hit the high road.
>
>Contacted our District Commissioner to see if he could do it.
>He called the contact person, who informed him that the DE had
>known about the presentation for at least 1 month. As the DC's
>plans for this afternoon/evening are in flux at this point, he
>doesn't know if he can do it. Despite his vast Scouting
>experience, he has never done a FOS presentation before. Neither
>have I.
>
>Is there a script or something similar (hints, tips,
>highlights, etc.) that we can use?
Hope you're still at home...
Sorry for the long delay....I've torn my officeroom up trying to
find a copy of my actual SME/FOS presentation (with
slides)...they've got to be down in Kentucky with the other stuff
in the boxes...
but...
I do have my Parapro Handbook here and here's some things that will
help you to make a good presentation:
*Introduce yourself clearly and state your volunteer position
within the BSA; spend a little time explaining what you do. It's
important you explain to your audience that you're not a BSA
employee but a volunteer, family member, father, etc. In other
words, establish a rapport early with them. Remember that you're
going to be asking them for their MONEY, an important commodity!
*Explain why you are there. Not "just to talk with you about
SME/FOS" but rather to "explain why the Takeany Council, Boy Scouts
of America NEEDS THEIR SUPPORT", and how that like with any other
major activity or event, "money talks" louder than any other aspect
of support. Use examples from local newspapers, events that
highlight what Scouting has done for youth in your community.
Downplay negative aspects of youth life today in favor of more
positive things. Remember that you're asking them to give their
money toward something they cannot "SEE" nor "TOUCH" and that's
Scouting....and it's potential for good in the community.
*Give positive examples of how Scouting works, within families,
within the community. Don't go "nationalist" here; the idea is
that Scouting works on a local level and that giving money toward
the SME/FOS program is a LOCAL INVESTMENT.
*Also give examples of where the money goes. Be prepared with
either a copy of your Council's breakdown of how the money is
raised and spent or be prepared to defend those questions on where
the money is raised and where it goes. Remember that your
presentation should emphasize the positive good - so stay away
from discussions on "how much better the camping operation is this
year over last" and the "lack of DE support to my unit"; rather
emphasize that "We operate a sterling camping operation called Camp
Lake-in-the-Woods, which takes in (number) of campers each summer
and which is open year-round to Scouting units and organizations
supporting Scouting...." and "Our Council employs a small staff of
(number) which supports me and all other volunteers in our area.
They provide the backbone of support which eventually comes down to
supporting every youth member in the Council's Scouting programs."
*Finally, don't be afraid to ask for a specific amount. Many
people understand that Scouting, like anything else, isn't free and
the small costs associated with uniforming and activities fees are
a tip of the iceberg. Give them a figure based on your Council's
or District's SME/FOS Family goals; for instance "Fourty-Two
dollars from each family present here this evening will support our
District's Scouting program for a year. It will bring about a
level of support which will allow us to provide additional support
and programming to youth whom are not yet Scouts and will help me
to train (or coach) additional Scouting volunteers to do an
effective job working with youth".
*Be honest. Remember again, you're asking for THEIR MONEY to
support Scouting. If you don't know the answer to a specific
question, before you get a committment from them, try to get the
answer or offer to stop by in person with the answer to their
question. They will feel more confident in giving you the money
you're asking for.
Hope that this helps out, Larry....and please accept my apologies
for not getting this to you sooner....and let me know how the
presentation goes!
-------
There were a couple other things which I didn't explain to Larry
because he didn't have enough time to find this out in advance
which the Handbook talks about:
*Sometimes, a "tag-team" approach is necessary. Bring along
another Scouter from that unit or community familiar with the
people present and with the target audience. This could be the
unit's Commissioner or leader, a member of the unit's Committee, or
some other Scouter or community member. While you're explaining
what the Council does for its youth, your "tag member" can explain
in more detail what that means for the youth in that specific unit
or community. This works effectively especially when you are
visiting a unit for the first time and people are not familiar with
*you*.
*Don't forget that your Council's end of year stats plays an
important role in convincing people to support you. Don't be
afraid to throw out numbers of campers attending summer camp last
year and how much of an increase that was over the previous year;
how many Eagle Scouts or Arrow of Light receipients were honored
last year and the increase over the previous year; what your
Council has done to protect the environment, to prevent crime and
endangerment, and talk about national programs like the BSA's (new)
Youth Protection Program and other emphasis. The point here is
that you need to provide as many positive examples of how Scouting
is working in their communities and how with additional monies from
those present, Scouting can continue to offer that level or a
higher level of support and programming.
(there are a couple other notes here for professionals dealing with
prompt reporting of SME/FOS funds and how to handle them which
don't have any "play" here.)
Somewhere around here, I've got two scripts I've used sucessfully
to help raise monies (one of the things I'm frequently asked to do
when asked to speak someplace!)...it's either here somewhere or
down in Kentucky in the storage shed. As soon as I find it, I'll
post a followup and post them as well as posting them to the
Leaders' Online (tm) website.
Again Larry, I hope that this information helps out somewhat and
I'm sorry that I couldn't get it to you faster!
Settummanque!
(c) 1998 Mike Walton ("no such thing as strong coffee,...") blkeagle@mninter.net
http://mninter.net/~blkeagle Burnsville, MN 55306-7130 (612) 435-3085
privately at kyblkeagle@aol.com or waltonm@server.kaiserslautern.army.mil
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