There has been a rollout recently of price increases for National BSA Registration effective August 1, 2022.  Key increases being $75  for the annual Youth Fee (up from $72) and $45 for the annual Adult Leader fee (up from $42) plus the Unit Fee up to $100 (up from $75).

The increased national membership fees for the BSA are as follows effective August 1, 2022:

• $75 for Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Venturing and Sea Scouts participants (plus see below about a $25 New Member Joining Fee)
• For those tracking budgets, that's up from $72 from 8/1/21 through 7/31/22 and $66 earlier in 2021.
• $45 for adult volunteers.
• Up from $42 from 8/1/21 through 7/31/22.
• $45 for Exploring participants.
• Same as 2022.  
• $30 for council-paid memberships - Youth and Adult.  Many Southern Crescent Units are considered "Council-paid" based on the level of members needing financial assistance
• That $30 is  unchanged.
• $100 for a unit charter fee.
• That's up from $75 in 2022.

See this District page for more including Charter Renewal preparation.  These amounts are baked into the Generic Pack Budget found at this Planning Page and this Finances Page.

Who: All Pack Leaders, all Pack Parents who want more Pack Leaders and Families, and all Troops helping Packs because those Cub Scouts will be tomorrow's Scouts in our Scouts BSA Troop
When: Wednesday, July 13 at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Nancy's Pizza, 3360 Shelby LN Suite 1030 East Point, GA 30344
Cost: Free!
What: Food, Fun, Fellowship and the Future:  Recruiting New Families into Cub Scouting

• Sharing Ideas about Successful Recruiting to make Cub Scouting more Fun for All
• Updates on what’s new and coordination with District Professionals and Volunteers

Register to attend in the Calendar Entry for this event.

Hello Scout Leaders – Especially Key 3 Leaders and Key 3 Delegates (and those who want to be):  Online Registration is Easier for All.  Most new Youth and Leaders now “register” online – and it is faster and easier than ever.  For one thing, the BSA will collect any registration fee and new member fee, freeing up the Unit to only collect pack program fees (or “dues”) until charter renewal for the upcoming calendar year.  You can also coordinate with families and other Units to “transfer” registration and set up “multiple” registrations in more than one unit – with no paper required! 

• This is a great time to update your BeAScout pin and the Online Registration for your unit. 
• Especially because you probably want to adjust your 2022-23 pack program fees (or “dues”) and messaging to reflect the announcement of BSA fee increases that started to roll out in June 2022, with the key increases effective August 1, 2022 being $75 annual Youth Fee (up from $72) and $45 annual Adult Leader fee (up from $42) plus Unit Fee of $100 (up from $75) – see this District page for more.
• You can see the steps at www.atlantabsa.org/updateBeAScoutpin, and find examples for how to complete your “BeAScout.org” profile and tailor automatic emails that generate when someone interacts with BeAScout.org and submits an online Application.
• Because if you write these automatic emails well, it will help attract new Scouts and families to your unit and make their onboarding easier. 
• But wait – there’s more!  Unit to Unit transfers, like crossover from a Pack to a Troop, can be done completely online, with no new paper!  See this for more. 

To help you with these messages, we’ve got some ideas for input by your Unit Key 3 Leaders or Key 3 Delegates (they have the access to do updates) in three spots: 

1)      Unit Pin Blurb.  In My.Scouting == > Organization Manager == > Unit Pin, there is expanded space for “Additional Unit Information” (now 500 characters), and anyone seeing your online “BeAScout.org” profile will see this.  We’ve posted a document with some options at www.atlantabsa.org/updateBeAScoutpin.  Tailor that to fit your Unit. 

2)      Fee Email.  Second, in My.Scouting == > Organization Manager == > Settings, there is an option to click a box called “Include Fees/Fee Explanations”, and enter “Fee Amount”.  That “Fee Amount” needs to be an amount that excludes the 2022 prorated BSA National fee that will be collected directly in Online Registration.  

• When someone expresses interest – before they actually register – they’ll get an email from the BSA something like: “We're excited you're interested in building an adventure with Pack ___ chartered by ____ in Atlanta Area Council. … The online application charges only for national membership fees of up to $75 for youth on an annual basis prorated for the remaining months in this calendar year, plus a new member joining fee of $25 for new youth, prorated based on the date of applications …. This unit has additional fees of $___ for program items.”  So the “Fee Amount” you enter will go in that “additional fees of $___ for program items” space in the automatic email.  

• And you can explain the Fee Amount in a free form comment box under “Explanations for additional fees that your unit charges. This information will be emailed to applicants.”  We’ve posted a document with some options at www.atlantabsa.org/updateBeAScoutpin.  Tailor to fit your Unit’s pack program fees and budget and fundraising, and either update your Website to reflect further detail (and your Unit’s budget) or create a handout that you can easily email to describe how your Unit handles this. 

3)      Welcome Email.  Third, right below the Fee Email box, in My.Scouting == > Organization Manager == > Settings, you can check the box for “Welcome Emails” that launch when an Online Application is submitted.  In the free form comment box under it, you can write a brief welcome email.  The site has some good tips, including using links to any website/social media pages for your unit.  We’ve posted a document with some options at the bottom of www.atlantabsa.org/updateBeAScoutpin.  

Edit away, click “save” and let Scouts and families know how you play the game of Scouting so that they want to join you!  For more, see www.atlantabsa.org/updateBeAScoutpin.

Highlights of the most recent District News were these (click links for information): Recruiting Step Three: Recruiting Adult Leaders ... Training Invitation to all Cub Scout Leaders (and Bring Your Parents Who Should Be Leaders) ... Live Video Album Released -- Cub Leader Training ... and from the prior week:  Recruiting Step One: Make a Calendar of Fun Activities - Your Pack Program ... Recruiting Step Two: Get The Word Out – Promote Your Pack Program With Media, Flyers and More ... July Cub Scout Summer Camp Options -- GO! ...  Opt In, Opt Out ... Email webmaster@southfultonscouting.com if you need a reminder about the login.

Got a Calendar of Fun Activities for your Pack and Dens?  Good.  Sharing and Promoting Your Pack Program?  Great.  Next Step: be on the lookout for leaders.  You’ll need the essential roles of Den Leaders, Assistants and Committee Members of course, but you’ll also want many different roles and small jobs so that every parent has a path to helping.  The best Packs and Dens create a culture of collective leadership, one where Every Parent Helps and through this process you turn parents into helpers and helpers into leaders. 

To help with this step, see www.atlantabsa.org/RecruitingLeaders.  There are many ideas there about how to create a culture that leads parents to answer “yes” when asked to help, from planning a menu of jobs and setting expectations to ways to ask for help to succession planning and more.  No one tool works for all – but all tools work for some.  Pick ones you like. 

For more, see www.atlantabsa.org/RecruitingLeaders.

Dear Cub Scout Leaders:  We are very excited that you are a Cub Scout Leader.  We are sure you will find this to be a very rewarding use of your time as you teach and lead our youth and engage them in such a FUN program. 

We invite you to join us for a few hours of Cub Scout Leader Training – and to bring some parent/leader prospects with you, because you can do more and better with more and better trained parents!  When you and other leaders and parent/leader prospects spend a few hours at Cub Scout Leader Training we will help you and your Pack team to become the BEST Cub Leaders you can be! We will explain the program, help you find resources, show you how to have FUN, help with the ‘how do I’ questions, and you will be able to network with other Cub Leaders.  We promise that these few hours are worth your time.

We invite you to join us on any one of these trainings – and to bring your parent/leader prospects with you!  You may also view a recording of a Zoom  version of this training recorded in May 2022.

Cub Leader Position Specific Trainings – spring and summer dates (so far) are listed below, and for more and to register, see https://www.atlantabsa.org/cub-leader-training

• Sunday, July 10, 9:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. at Bert Adams Scout Camp/Ashley Training Center
• Sunday, July 17, 9:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. at Bert Adams Scout Camp/Ashley Training Center

Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation (BALOO) – For more and to register, see https://www.atlantabsa.org/baloo. This training is to help orient leaders with camping in the great outdoors.  It is fun and rewarding.

• September 17-18 -- in Alpharetta
• October 8-9 – Allatoona Aquatics Base