Coordinating Fall Recruiting & the Popcorn Sale

[SeattlePioneer 144]

Our pack charges $5/month for pack membership. If a family joins in April, they pay $45 for the balance of the year. If they join in September --- $20.

 

We participate in the popcorn sale as a pack. Participation is optional for each family. If a family wishes to pay $60 cash for the next years pack membership they can do so. If a family sells $200 in popcorn, they get the pack membership for free.

 

Popcorn sold in excess of $200 gives the family a Scout Account credit of 25% of the additional amount of popcorn sold. Scout accounts funds can be used for any Scouting purpose, including uniforms, Cub Scout Day Camp, Pack activities and Friends of Scouting contributions if desired.

 

Scout accounts are kept as separate accounts in the Pack Quicken account records. Any amount earned from the popcorn sale is added to the account, and any charges reduce the balance. As Treasurer, I find this easy and simple to do.

 

Most families in the pack earn at least the membership by selling popcorn, but those who don't want to bother with popcorn sales are free to do so.

 

Our pack recruiting night will be September 12th, and we have a combination hike and popcorn sale scheduled for September 22nd so that newly recruited families have both a fun outing and experience with the popcorn sale right away.

 

That way those new families get the experience needed to use the popcorn sale to fund their Scouting program right away.

 

So we aim for a recruiting program that brings new families right into the heart of the pack program immediately. This also will include a reception for new parents at our September 24th parent meeting.

 

It's very common for newly recruited families to be left twisting in the wind for weeks or months before they begin to understand the Cub Scout and Pack programs. We aim to avoid that problem and issue.

 

What plans is your pack making to get started effectively with the new school year?

[CCbytrickery 10]

We don't give our Scouts the funds from the Popcorn sales. We use the funds to cover costs for Pack meeting activities (Mad Science, zoo or reptile visits, etc--last year we had the 501st Squadron**), cover partial costs of camping (so instead of it being $25 a person for the weekend, we charge $12), belt loops/pins/etc.. Our pack dues range from $45-55, depending on scout level, but include a book, necker, and t-shirt. we have a good retention rate (last year we did lose 14 Tigers out of 28, 3 Wolves out of 18, 2 Bears out of 12 and 2 Webelos-out of 36--we figured out the problem with the Tigers too late, the DL was not prepared, late to every meeting, and no one brought it our attention...I was running popcorn last year as well, and I just wasn't paying attention to everything as well as I should have been).

 

We don't have our pack recruiting date yet (we have to coordinate with the school and the council, but it's always before mid September).

 

Our start up Schedule is set like this:

 

August, welcome back meeting. We do a potluck (pack provides main course, dens are assigned other dishes--sides, desserts, etc). Do a slide show of the previous year, talk about the summer activities, etc. We hand out any belt loops/pins/etc that were earned over the summer, and all the returning boys receive their book and necker. (New boys receive their book and necker when the parent pays for the BSA registration; Pack dues are set to be paid the next month, to give the parents a bit of help financially.) Paperwork filled out and turned in, t-shirt orders are taken, etc.

 

The next week, we start den meetings.

 

We do our recruiting, and have a program prepared for the parents so they know what they are looking at. We then hold a parents meeting the week after recruiting, to get the parents involved in the program--sign up for spots on activities, commitee open positions, etc; and it gives the new boys a chance to meet the old boys and their leaders without a parent to run interference.

 

A week later, we jump into popcorn. Hooray.

 

We do a 1 night campout in early October--introduce new scouts to our pack camping rules and routine. Our Webelos run a Bobcat activity, so that the new boys can get their Bobcats and start working on their level.

 

 

** http://www.501st.com/index.php

[SeattlePioneer 144]

Hello CCbytrickery,

 

 

Sounds like you shape your program with similar motives, but the details differ somewhat.

 

I make our first meeting of the school year an exciting competition for both new boys and current Cub Scouts. My theory is that "recruiting" existing Cub Scouts to the new program for the new year will help retention.

 

Too often I hear of packs who get things off to a very slow start, concentrating early meetings on collecting dues for the next year and organizing new dens. How boring and tedious is that?

 

Start with a bang and with a FUN activity is my approach.

 

 

[ScoutNut 147]

Our "official" sign-up night is in August just after school starts. We do this night for brand new sign-ups only. Den/Pack leaders explain their respective programs to the new families. Our "old" Scouts have never really left, and most have been active with us over the summer months so there is no need to "re-recruit" them. We hold it in the School/Parish Hall on a Friday evening. However, we keep recruiting by word of mouth all year long.

 

Most of the den's start their regular meetings right after the Labor Day holiday.

 

The Pack will hold a Popcorn Kick-off meeting/party in early September to get the forms/info out to all the families, and get sign-ups for Show/Sell Booth Sales. We do not do Scout Accounts. However, we do a number of Pack incentives, on top of the council ones. We do not charge any Pack dues. Our Pack popcorn sale funds our program for the entire year. We like to keep the cost per family as low as possible.

 

Our September Pack meeting (at the end of the month) is a welcome for any new members, awards ceremony for any completed Bobcats, Tiger Totems, summer awards, and any things completed during the month of September. We always include fun gathering activities, and a fun game/song for everyone (including parents and siblings) to participate in. The game/song is usually popcorn related to go along with our popcorn sale update/encouragement.

 

 

 

[SeattlePioneer 144]

Sounds like a great program, Scout Nut.

 

Many of the families in our pack sell the $200 in popcorn to get their pack membership paid. A few find it simpler to pay the $60 fee. I prefer giving families that option myself.

 

A number of families sell quite a bit of popcorn, probably motivated by the 25% of sales going to Scout Accounts. That is available to pay for uniforms, activity fees, day camp --- Friends of Scouting --- any Scouting related cost.

 

Families who wish to can pay for ALL their Scouting costs through the popcorn sale.

 

The key for me is to enable newly recruited families to experience the popcorn sale and to use it to fund their Scout expenses should they wish to do so. A lot of packs are dilatory and new families don't participate.

 

We have a reasonably active pack during the summer, but by including current Scouts in an exciting activity that also doubles as a recruiting night, we create more excitement and take no chances in keeping existing families participating.

 

That's my theory, anyway.

 

Sounds like we have similar goals for getting things started in the fall and recruiting new families. I'm always glad to hear about new ways and means of doing that --- thank you.

 

My main reason for starting this thread was to get pack leaders who DON'T deal effectively with such issues some ideas to consider for this fall.(This message has been edited by seattlepioneer)

[ScoutNut 147]

We do not tie our recruiting and our popcorn sale together at the same event.

 

Recruiting is a year long activity. Our sign-up night is just that, a sign-up night for new families who we have recruited and have not yet registered. They pay their National registration $ to, and get Pack info, fliers on upcoming Pack activities, and their den Handbook, from the CM, and ACM. Their den leaders give them den specific info. We hold it as early as possible in the school year so that the dens can get into their den meetings right away if they want.

 

The popcorn sale is for everyone, and is what makes it possible for us to not charge any Pack dues, and to give our Scouts as much as we do. We hold our popcorn kickoff party for everyone (old and new) right before the Council Show/Sell sale starts.