Greater Niagara Frontier Council – Buffalo, New York
Fund Development
Strong direct fundraising through multiyear giving that allows the council to begin the year with more than half of its fundraising goals met. Worked with endowment committee to focus on planned giving resulting in significant new commitments to the endowment fund.
Team Development
Through promotions and new hires, we have developed a diverse team in which all the field staff work together to achieve success. Our successes in Cub Scout membership growth were due to the team’s ability to work together across district boundaries ensuring team success. This attitude has been contagious across the council and has been noted by key council and district volunteer leadership.
Program Emphasis
Working through the Council Activities committee to develop new weekend programs at camps to increase utilization of existing facilities and to improve Cub Scout retention. Program attendance has seen significant increase in participation with Program Family Camping offerings in spring and fall.
Budget Building and Fiscal Management
Working through a volunteer committee, the budget is developed with volunteer involvement allowing key stakeholders a better understanding of their budgets and stronger buy-in to the process and the need to keep each budget balanced. Each month the current budget is reviewed by a committee led by the council treasurer. This keeps key members of the Executive committee well informed about progress with the budget, increasing oversight and transparency. Through this process, we have increased unrestricted net assets from $67,094 in 2011 to $344,864 in 2018.
Membership Development
Working through a team of volunteers and staff developed and implemented fall roundup plan that resulted in recruitment of 1,055 Cubs in 2018 an increase of 7.9% over 2017. Year round recruitment of Cubs increased by 16.5% compared to 2017.
We started 12 new Cub Scout Packs in 2018, the second highest total of all councils in the Northeast Region.
Led partnership emphasis with predominantly African-American Churches and community organizations that resulted in ten new Cub Scout packs and an increase of Cub Scout membership of 55% in the City of Buffalo.
Working with the marketing committee we have used a series of focus groups made up of Cub Scout leaders to improve our recruitment campaigns. The information gathered has helped us be more action oriented with recruitment and has strengthened the ties between the council and units.
Circle Ten Council – Dallas, Texas
Membership Development
Working with VP of Membership and VP of Program and a team of district and council leaders developed a strategic plan built around strong program to improve retention coupled with increased recruitment. Developed quarterly goals and tracking mechanism to improve communication and accountability to Executive Board.
District Operations
Strengthened district operations through redistricting and active recruiting of committee members and commissioners. The council had districts that ranged from 135 units and 5,000 youth to 28 units and 850 youth. There was a need to balance the disparity for committees, commissioner staffs and district executives. We moved very smoothly through the process by letting the plan develop from the ground up by using a very diverse group of stakeholders from each old district make the plans for the new ones. The nineteen districts were reorganized into twenty-three new ones with nearly every district undergoing changes.
Camp Redevelopment
Working with key board members and council volunteers we began the complete redevelopment of Clements Scout Ranch with new restroom and shower facilities and a new dining hall. We built a new dining hall for Camp James Ray and new restroom and shower facilities for Camp Constantin. I had responsibility for supervision of the construction of these projects.
Russell Etzenhouser 