Eagle1993

Unbelievable....

Any talk about the future of the BSA must begin with the financial situation it is in. Unlike most bankruptcies, BSA doesn't leave it nearly debt free and in stable financial shape. They entered bankruptcy with nearly $300M in cash and $180M endowment. The endowment is gone and cash is at $25M. They also added to their debt right before the bankruptcy ... and exited with all of that debt $222M of secured debt (I believe on their HA bases) and $364M of debt on Summit. So, $25M of cash on hand and $586M of debt. Let's say that loan is 4% and 30 years ... that is $34M a year in debt payments starting back up. Or ... $34 per every scout per year. At $80 per scout in National Fees, removing $34 for debt and likely $50 for insurance doesn't leaves any room to pay anyone at National. They need to refill their endowment and find a way to reduce that debt fast. Growing membership will be important, but $80 per scout won't get them out of this hole fast enough.

They paid Mosby over $500K per year (full C&B).

I'm sure Sea Scouts/Venturing cost money at National. There is some amount of insurance, some attention form leadership, etc. If numbers keep dropping there will be a risk vs return point where BSA feels it is no longer worth the risk/cost of supporting the programs. BSA gets about $1M of revenue a year from them (from fees)... much of that probably goes to insurance. So in terms of fees., the number of members left provide little revenue to offset any cost. If they get a lot of donations backing these programs, they will last. If donors don't care much about these programs... My guess they are at risk. So donations will really be key to keep them around long term. I really think the future of the BSA will be based on donors. What do individual and corporate donors want to see in a scouting program. Looking forward to our new AI offerings ...

Our Troop will likely hit around 24 scouts by the end of the year. 5 years ago we were 84 and had 53 attend summer camp. 12 of my 24 age out by 2025, so we really need to see more Cubs crossing over soon. Two other Troops in my area have shuttered and one went from 70-80 to 8. I fear we are headed to a future of BSA having 90% of members in Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA limited to a small barely supported group maintaining a tradition.

I bet we do see overall growth Jan to Jan by the end of the year (the would need to add at least 11,902 more scouts). However, rechartering impact probably won't be officially counted until March. Expect the revised Cub and Scouts BSA to show declines there. I think in Jan 2023 we showed 3% overall growth which was nearly completely wiped away by March. Personally I think the March to March numbers are most accurate (however, that will change going forward with rolling renewals).

The full year membership + increasing council fees are a concern. I know our Council is pouring everything into Cub Scouts (almost ignoring Scouts BSA outside of Merit Badge clinics). Hopefully that works as the Scout BSA Troops are really starting to suffer from the lean Cub Scout years.

Any updates on how recruiting looks this fall? I seem to remember seeing a lot of updates last fall, in terms of major growth of Cub Scouts, but haven't seen the same updates this one. Curious if anyone has seen Cub Scouts continuing to grow and any turn around in Scouts BSA.

That research was likely before the addition of Lions. I just met a pack yesterday and they are desperate to transition AOLs ASAP. Kids and parents are burnt out, limited interest left in Cub Scouts. Pack leaders said if transition waits until May we may only see one kid. Ive seen transitions diminished over the last 3 years. Some of that is COVID but Pack leaders are telling me burn out it hitting during 4th grade. I'm not sure if the new program is better, but retention is currently really bad, not sure it can get worse.

CFL was the summer camp our Troop went to for several years. Our old camp site was hidden in a clearing that has been buldozed to the ground and replaced with RV pads. I was told There was a former scout, from Texas, that offered the council the same amount that was offered by the third party. The former scout only request was to keep it as a scout camp. The council decided it wasn't in their best interest as it was far from their home location and it was a lot of work and expense to maintain. My council sold one of their remaining camps... Only one left. These camp sales are wearing me down.

I found this interview more promising than Mosby. Travel sports, social media and online gaming are major changes to what youth do and how they interact. BSA has been slow to recognize this and hopefully Krone can find a way to break through. I think BSA also needs to understand that there are pressures on the volunteer model. Stay at home moms and the 40 hour work week are not common. Finding ways to lower burden and burnout on/of volunteers will also be critical to success. looking forward to a fireside chat or town hall soon!

I hope so too. However, there is a pretty big difference in running an organization where most of your "employees" are volunteers, you are not measured in OM% and you are not selling products to the government. His only connection to scouting seems to be from his youth. I don't see any connection to running non-profits or youth organizations. Roger has no Twitter (x) account that I could find, no social media presence, etc. In terms of accomplishments, one of the biggest he listed as winning the DoD EHR contract with Cerner. That has been a disaster that has led to congressional hearings. Nearly all of his income came from running a company that is able to manage government contracts. Nothing wrong with that ... but I really struggle to see how this translates into BSA leadership. I fully agree. Hopefully he starts reaching out to scouts/volunteers ... listens to feedback and takes action, etc. Mosby was absent these last few years, hopefully Mr. Krone can improve.

Why, why, why do we hire retired leaders? My guess this is more about getting ties into industry for donations than an leader who really wants to learn how scouting is done today, what parents/society/youth need and making necessary changes.

Very strict. They won't even let you stay in base camp. If you go, come in several pounds under. There are stories of adults who traveled, gained a pound or two and went over and then were sent off site after weigh in.

If it is overnight that won't be an option. The option is to register as a leader or don't have your kid attend. Very similar to GSUSA.

Thanks! I remember it was listed but couldn't find it in the various plan documents. I wonder if the trust has to report monthly updates regarding their accounts/expenses. I haven't seen it in the docket.

I wonder if certain insurers would be willing to post that bond on their behalf. If they can get the stay, I think there is a decent chance the plan is thrown out in June. It now may be worth that bond payment from them...

Coming Sept 6 https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/scouts-honor-netflix-trailer-debut-boy-scouts-child-sexual-abuse-cover-up-1234806388/ https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/scouts-honor-trailer-previews-netflix-165444814.html

Hope you are correct. Questions... 1) Most of the $ comes from insurance companies and little has been paid. What percentage of the billions committed has been paid? I wonder how it will be moot if the powder is still dry. 2) It is clear the Supreme Court is now questioning non consensual non debtor releases. This is a change and one would think appellants will highlight this change in their appeals. Could that cause insurance companies to slow role the process? The big question is if non debtor releases are unconstitutional, doesn't that open up COs and Local Councils to lawsuits even if the plan is approved?

Volunteers are the life blood of the program. Too often, the same volunteers are asked for more and more support over and over. If you look who has the least free time to volunteer, it is parents. They are busy working to earn enough money to support their family, save for retirement, pay off mortgages and college loans etc. They are also the ones who typically coach their kids little league games and serve as unit leaders. Councils should focus on past scouts (18-30 year olds) and empty nest past scouters (55+) for the core of district/council leadership. Instead, I am typically called multiple times a year to volunteer for district positions. I simply cannot dedicate enough time. I mentioned the idea of using NESA lists and was told that wasn't a great option.

It absolutely can. I look at the UK Scouts Association... They have far more scouts per capital, were growing pre COVID (and have started to rebound), have a large waiting list of scouts and a transparent/reasonable sized board with great focus on what youth need today. Or... We could go the way of Scouts Canada. I work with several Canadians... most don't realize scouting exist anymore. I think major action is needed to save scouts, but so far only see deck chairs being rearranged.

For BSA sake and the sake of the victims of abuse, I hope this plan can remain intact. However, I still struggle seeing bankruptcy abused in various ways (shell companies being created by J&J or non debtors like the Slackers avoiding the full weight of their horrible actions). I think it is clearly time the SC weighs in on non debtor releases. They continue to expand. Given the courts conservative leaning, one could guess that they may not agree as Congress has never authorized non debtor releases (outside of asbestos) and it is clearly not in the constitution. However, this is not a typical right vs left issue so who knows where the 9 members will fall. This could make some odd bedfellows. I really hope the plan remains intact. If it doesn't, I see a decade of council and charter org lawsuits and bankruptcy with primarily lawyers getting rich.

This is interesting. Supreme Court put the Purdue Pharma plan on hold ato hear arguments about allowing non debtor releases. One wonders if this could give a bit of fuel to the appeals against the BSA plan. https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/10/politics/supreme-court-purdue-pharma-opioid-settlement/index.html

They saw this coming and were not prepared... https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/08/09/south-korea-scout-jamboree-heatwave-preparations/

Fully agree. YPT barriers to abuse are not international, if the setup prevents those barriers then BSA should have identified that early. Just one of many examples.