First in a series
While it is easy to refer to the age-old idea of “Money, Membership, and Manpower” that has been the charge of every District Executive in the BSA, there is actually great truth in this adage that can be used. I’ll focus on these three elements and explore each one and how each element provides an avenue of service for APO Eagles.
Money- BSA Councils require money to deliver the Scouting program to the communities that they serve. This money can come in a few different forms such as: Friends of Scouting gifts, Capital Campaign Gifts, Gifts-in-kind, Bequests, and restricted gifts. While each of these are important to the functioning of a Council, it is the work behind the gift that is what is needed. This work, in the BSA and other organizations, is called Prospect and Evaluation (P&E for short). In this work, potential donors are identified and evaluated for the likelihood of their support, what they would be likely to support, and who should make the ask (ie. Who can that prospect not say “No” to.). The real work for fundraising and supporting the BSA falls on the P&E committees to help identify potential donors and provide some strategies on how to approach the candidate and who can approach the candidate. For the money form of support,
APO Eagles can do these things:
- Make a Friends of Scouting Gift
- Develop a list of potential donors from their own friends and family circle
- Develop a list of potential donors/supporters from their business circle
- Volunteer with the District Executive or Development Director to serve on P&E Committees
- Volunteer to make FoS presentations in the community and champion the cause
Regardless of how an APO Eagle decides to support their local Council and District, one of the best things they can do is to help Scouting grow its community support base. Without support of the community, Scouting will not be successful.
