For those Scout volunteers looking to identify, recruit and re-engage Scouting alumni, $500 or $2,000 could go a long way.
Through its new grant programs, Scouting Alumni & Friends is offering free money to help councils boost their engagement with alumni. This means councils can strengthen this vital segment of the community without cutting into other parts of their budget.
(Scouting Alumni & Friends, blog readers might recall, is the new name of the Scouting Alumni Association. It’s a reminder that the group is open to anyone who wants to help further Scouting’s mission — even those who were never in Scouting as young people.)
There are two types of grants — one for new or emerging alumni committees and another for more established ones. Applying for a grant is easy.
The deadline for submitting an application to receive a 2018 grant is Dec. 31, 2017. Recipients will be announced in March 2018, and the grant must be used in that calendar year.
Two types of grants
Recruitment grants
Who: These are designed for new or emerging council Scouting Alumni committees.
What: They may be used to establish a Scouting Alumni committee or develop a new recruitment program. Successful applicants will use the grant to recruit former Scouts and Scouters or other interested community members to Scouting.
How much: There will be a total of eight (8) such grants with a $500 cap.
Innovation grants
Who: These are designed for more mature council Alumni committees.
What: They provide a low-risk laboratory to test new ways to engage alumni. The purpose is to develop and test more innovative ways of identifying and recruiting Scouting alumni who are not currently involved in Scouting.
How much: There will be a total of four (4) grants of this type not to exceed $2,000 each.
How the grants might be used
Here are some examples of how a council alumni committee might use a grant. Of course, this is an incomplete list.
- Developing an online presence for alumni communication
- Designing and producing an alumni patch or reunion souvenir
- Using direct mail to reconnect with individuals without an email address
- Connecting Star/Life Scouts to 20-something Eagle Scout mentors
- Holding a camp alumni reunion that includes an improvement project
- Establishing a young professionals network
- Holding a merit badge university at a local college
- Involving trade organizations to hold merit badge clinic(s)
How to apply
Applications for Recruitment and Innovation grants are now online. The application asks easy-to-answer questions and outlines a straightforward follow-up process that includes submitting photographs, testimonials and member statistics. Successful grantees will share their results and the lessons they learned with other councils and alumni committees.
Application for Recruitment grant: 2017 SA&F Recruitment Grant Application
Application for Innovation grant: 2017 SA&F Innovation Grant Application
The Recruitment and Innovation grant cycles will run concurrently.
- Dec. 31, 2017: Grant submission deadline
- January and February 2018: Rating and selection
- March 2018: Announcement of grant recipients
Where to ask questions and learn more
Questions should be directed to:
- Mike Movius, Vice Chair Awards & Recognition [email protected] or
- Ian Romaine, Vice Chair Finance [email protected]
Visit Scouting Alumni & Friends at ScoutingAlumni.org to learn more, and be sure to like their Facebook page for more great info.
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