Dear Scouting family,

We received the following very important message from our national council and wanted to share it with you in its entirety. 

BSA’s emergence from bankruptcy represents a pivotal milestone in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA)’s financial restructuring case and solidifies a path forward for survivors and the Scouting movement.

To preserve its mission, the BSA has had to take some extraordinary steps over the past three years to reposition the organization for the future. The BSA has streamlined its professional staff and volunteer structure, reducing costs throughout the movement while maintaining essential services to support the local councils who were critical partners during the bankruptcy.

To position Scouting for the future, the BSA will be required to increase the national annual membership fees for both youth and adults. This has been a difficult decision that involved the engagement of key stakeholders, but is essential to building a strong, safe, and vibrant Scouting program for our nation’s youth.

Effective August 1, 2023, the BSA will implement the following national membership fees which were approved by the National Executive Committee:

• $80 for Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Venturing and Sea Scouting participants ($5 increase)
• $60 for all adult volunteers ($15 increase to provide general liability insurance and enhanced background checks) 
• $25 one-time joining fee for new program participants in Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Venturing and Sea Scouting (Not prorated and no change in fee)
• $30 for Scoutreach (Not prorated)
• $25 for Merit Badge Counselors (New Fee applies only for Merit Badge Counselors not already registered as leaders)
• $50 for Exploring participants Youth & Adult ($5 increase)
• $100 for a unit charter/affiliation fee (no change in fee)
• $15 for Scout Life magazine

New Annual Membership Fee Process Announced – BSA Will No Longer Prorate Fees for New Members beginning August 1, 2023

Beginning August 1, 2023, all new youth and adult members who join Scouting will be enrolled in a 12-month membership cycle and BSA will cease prorating fees. Both youth and adults will pay the full annual membership fee and will renew their membership on the anniversary date of joining Scouting. All proration of membership fees will be eliminated. Each registered member of the BSA will receive an email notice with a registration renewal link beginning 60 days before the anniversary date they joined Scouting. Unit leaders will receive a copy of the email and should stay engaged in the membership renewal process just like rechartering.

It is important to note, existing members will renew their membership during their normal registration/recharter cycle through March 2024. Moving forward all members will renew on their anniversary date.

• Existing members’ Anniversary date will be their unit recharter month.
• New members’ Anniversary date will be the month they joined.

This new process will help streamline the rechartering and membership renewal process for units and councils. Additional information on this membership renewal process will be forthcoming in the very near future.

Rules and Regulations – Local Council Annual Registration or Program Fees

Under the Rules and Regulations of the BSA, a local council may charge an annual registration or program fee to youth members, adult program participants and Scouters whose primary registration is with the council in an amount not to exceed the amount of the applicable individual registration fee for their position established by the Executive Committee. In the new Annual Membership fee structure, a local council may charge a maximum of $80 per youth and $60 per adult.

What does the National Membership Fee cover?

The national membership fee helps cover the cost of essential services to the local council and units. Services include expanded liability insurance for those participating in approved Scouting activities, enhanced criminal background checks, a variety of program resources, youth protection and leader-specific training, and the development of intellectual property for national, council, and unit programs. As BSA moves forward, the organization will continue to look at the membership fee structure and how we deliver the Scouting program for future generations.

Across the country and in each of our communities, we know that Scouting remains one of the most valuable investments we can make in youth today so they can become the leaders we will turn to tomorrow. Our dedicated volunteers, staff, and Scouting families make this possible. Thank you for continuing to support one of the most valuable opportunities available to young people today.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is driving the youth and adult membership fee increase?

• General Liability Insurance costs to protect volunteer leaders, staff, charter organizations, units, and youth.
• BSA restructuring costs.
• Enhanced Criminal Background check processes and investments in Youth protection and safety programs.

What steps has the National Service Center taken to manage costs?

• Completed a new staff structure and streamlined both the professional workforce and the volunteer structure, while maintaining essential services.
• Reduced the National staff workforce to support essential services.
• Reduced expenses throughout the National organization.

What is the new membership fee for youth and adults? Will the fees go up again?

• The new adult membership fee is $60, and the youth membership fee is $80 annually.
• The BSA will continue to evaluate the membership fees and keep our councils and unit leaders informed of any further changes to the fee structure.

What benefits and services are provided to the local council with the new fee?

• Expanded GLIP protections for Chartered Organizations and volunteers.
• Enhanced Criminal Background checks.
• Investments in BSA safety resources and training.
• The employment of a new Youth Protection Executive and support staff.
• The National Council provides the following essential services to councils:
  • The use of BSA Intellectual Property – Youth Safety, Cub Scouts, Scouts, BSA, Venturing, Camp Standards, Training and Program development etc.
  • Legal
  • Human Resources
  • Information Technology – Rechartering, Scout Book
  • Accounting Resources
  • Council Services Support
  • Membership & Marketing Support
  • Crisis Communications and support
  • Safety & Membership Standards Support
  • A variety of training support for youth and adult leaders
  • Health Insurance & Benefits

What benefits and services are provided to the unit with the registration fee?

• Expanded General Liability Insurance protections for the chartered organization and unit leaders in the event of an incident.
• Program research and development including, Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Venturing and Exploring.
• Access to Youth Protection Training, Incident Reporting and Scouts First Helpline: 1-   844-Scouts1.
• Access to leadership specific training for adult leaders.
• Investments in program literature and resource development.
• Ability to purchase Uniforms, Insignia and Recognition for youth and Adults.
• Provides access to Membership, Marketing, and Brand Center resources.
• Provides important technology support including Scout Book, on-line registration, on-line advancement, and rechartering, My. Scouting, BeAScout, and BSA Brand Center for digital assets.
• Access to the four BSA High Adventure Properties including Philmont Scout Ranch, Florida Sea Base, Northern Tier High Adventure Base, and the Summit Bechtel Reserve.

Mayflower Council understands that you may have more questions, and we will welcome them at our Summer Membership Roundtable Series taking place in the coming months. You can register by clicking the date for July 11 and August 16.

What Does Mayflower Council Do For Units & Scout Families?

To help unit leaders, the council maintains a service center with administrative staff to:

• Assist with online registrations, Scout Life subscriptions, and initiate special requests to the National Service Center and other organizations.
• Maintain a supply of literature, insignia, forms, certificates, etc., needed by the leader to carry on the unit’s program.
• Keep records of advancement, membership, training, etc. necessary to unit operation.
• Publish a weekly newsletter to keep leaders informed of the latest local and national Scouting news, coming events, etc.
• Produce notices, minutes, agendas, etc., for district and council committees that are developing programs for leader and unit benefit.
• Handle inquiries and visitors to our service center for information related to unit operation and Scouting procedures.
• Provide a myriad of forms, applications, certificates and literature helpful in the unit program.
• Produce district and council calendars and schedules, programs, kits and special aids to assist leaders and their committees.
• Manage reservations for long-term camping, short-term camps, camporees, jamborees, high adventure bases, training courses, meetings, annual council and district meetings, troop leader and den leader events.

To protect the unit leader, the council:

• Maintains a liability policy for the protection of all leaders and chartered organizations.
• Maintains accident and sickness insurance policy for all registered youth and leaders.
• Screens requests for services and money earning proposals, guarding against improper use of Scouting for commercialism and exploitation.
• Has staff members available on what is practically an around-the-clock, around-the-calendar basis to meet any emergency.
• Manages and processes Criminal Offender Records Inquiry (CORI) checks
• Provides assistance with any Youth Protection issues that may arise.

To help the leader develop unit program, the council provides without charge:

• Program helps, calendar of activities, meetings and special events.
• Awards, such as ribbons, certificates, recruiting awards, etc.
• Recruitment supplies including posters, fliers, digital targeted advertising and other materials.
• Sample ceremonies, parent’s night program outlines, training aids, etc.
• Source materials and personnel.
• Materials, books, pamphlets, folders, videos and special helps from the National Council and cooperating organizations.

In the field of camping and outdoor activities, the council:

• Maintains three Scout camps, with a total of 1,500 acres, for year-round camping and Cub Scout family outdoor events. Our Scout camps serve as year-round activities, camping and training centers.
• Offers units the use of equipment for short-term, weekend, and year-round camping.
• Covers costs of camp improvement, repairs, replacement, maintenance, insurance and administration. These and other charges are not paid for by Scout’s fees.
• Employs full-time camp rangers for the protection of the Scout camps and the convenience of units using facilities. They keep these facilities ready and available for unit and family use.
• Provides campers’ early-bird savings discounts, unit leaders’ guidebook, camp videos, literature and other aids to help units with their program.
• Provides scholarships or “camperships” for Scouts who need some financial help to have a summer camp experience.
• Offers units and individual youth access to high-adventure bases like Philmont Scout Ranch, Northern Tier and Sea Base, national jamborees, field days, camporees and other special events. These would not exist without the council giving leadership and coordination.

In educational and relationship building programs, the council provides the leader with:

• A library of videos, digital projectors and screens for use in training and promotional programs.
• Informal and formal training courses with most of the cost of literature and materials, etc., and all the staff time included in the council budget.
• Monthly roundtables for the benefit of leaders, committee persons, assistants, and den leaders, providing materials, staff and other costs.
• Scouter’s Key, training awards, Den Leader’s Training Award, Silver Beaver, District Award of Merit and other Scouter recognitions.
• A merit badge counselor corps in more than 130 subjects.
• A variety of advancement forms and certificates without charge.

Providing the unit with district and council activities and service, the council:

• Plans and conducts various types of activities in which units participate such as Freeze Out/Klondike Derby, Pinewood Derby and Scouting for Food.
• Organizes camporees, Cub Scout day camps, jamborees, high-adventure trips, absorbing some overhead costs to keep participants’ expenses to a minimum.
• Works with various community groups to arrange for Scout participation in civic affairs and Good Turn projects.
• Recruits and trains a corps of commissioners for assisting with unit program and maintaining standards.

To assist leaders, the council employs a trained full-time staff who counsel, guide and inspire:

• Through person-to-person counseling on unit relationships, administrative and operational challenges.
• Through guidance of all committees, commissioners, roundtables, meetings, conferences, courses, district and council activities in the development of programs that directly benefit leaders and units.
• Through contacts with the community resources (clubs, churches, government, etc.), secure help for all units that they alone could not obtain. The use of parks, recreational areas, use of buildings for special events, picnic areas, campsites, and meeting facilities are a few examples.

As part of our ongoing commitment to abuse prevention, the BSA is updating the adult supervision requirements for overnight activities.

In this workshop, we will discuss:

• Enhancements to the minimum “two deep leadership” requirements.
• The definition of an adult fee required position.
• Limited exceptions for Cub Scout Parents and Guardians.
• Scenarios and examples.
• Required date for policy adoption.

Dear Mayflower Families,

Thank you for your commitment to Scouting. We truly appreciate you being part of our council and an essential part of your local unit.

We know how important it is for a Scout (and a family) to be “thrifty.” Our non-profit organization looks to model that point of the Scout Law in everything we do. Moreover, like many, our leadership group felt the need to tighten the Scout belt over the last few years, to stem the tide of rising post-pandemic costs and inflation.

The Mayflower Council also works constantly to raise the bar and expand our program while remaining focused on ensuring its safety and high caliber. In order to maintain our commitment to quality, innovation, and safety, we will soon implement our first activities fee increase since 2021.

Effective August 1, the activity fee will increase from $36 to $48 per youth member. While we never like to raise our fees, we hope that this nominal increase — just an extra dollar per month — doesn’t burden your family too significantly.

We believe our program costs remain reasonable, especially considering the scope, quality, and safety of the Mayflower Council mission. But if this increase (or other circumstances) creates an unnecessary financial hurdle, please click here to learn about our financial aid opportunities.

Finally, if you have any questions about this or any other aspect of Scouting in the Mayflower Council, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Yours in Scouting,

Ian Johnson
Council President

Rich Carlson
Council Commissioner

Bryan Feather
Scout Executive / CEO

Congratulation to the following units that completed their unit recharter on time this year (by November 15). Completing their unit’s charter renewal by November 15 allowed our staff to review and reach back out to them if there were issues. Their charters will be the first ones to post in January.

• Crew 355 Newton
• Pack 36 Randolph
• Pack 41 Marlborough
• Pack 47 Plymouth
• Pack 59 Whitman
• Pack 140 Wellesley
• Pack 355 Newton
• Pack 4480 Kingston
• Troop 1 BT Stow
• Troop 17 BT Brockton
• Troop 42 BT Easton
• Troop 51 BT Manomet
• Troop 64 BT Plymouth
• Troop 88 BT Bridgewater
• Troop 99 BT Franklin
• Troop 100 BT Westboro
• Troop 126 BT Franklin
• Troop 355 GT Newton
• Troop 355 BT Newton

Our council’s Membership & Unit Service Team is committed to helping all of our units recharter by December 31. If your unit needs assistance don’t hesitate to contact us.

System Maintenance – Saturday, November 5, 2022 – from 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM

The My.Scouting and Scoutbook systems will be down this Saturday beginning at 9:00 AM for a system upgrade. All features will be offline during this time. This includes all My.Scouting tools, the training site, Online Registration, Internet Rechartering and Advancement along with Scoutbook.

Now available! Updates have been made to the national registration system that allows us to accept adult applications online. Now your unit can skip the paper and use a much more efficient and secure method to register adults.

In compliance with Massachusetts law, our council’s policy is to ensure that adult volunteers have the required Criminal Offender Records Information (CORI) before registering with the BSA and working with youth. This process is separate from the online registration system and should be completed before registering, just like submitting hard-copy adult applications.

The unit (chartered org. rep. or assigned delegate) approves online adult applications. Please watch the video below for review. If a volunteer is approved by the unit but doesn’t have the required CORI completed, we will suspend registration until the CORI has been verified. The applicant and unit key-3 will be notified if registration is suspended.

With this in mind, online adult applications are live and effective January 1, 2023: adult applications are to be completed and submitted using the BSA Online Registration System.

Please be aware that online registration is not currently available for youth-to-adult transfers. Paper applications are still needed for this function, but you can email the electronic version of the adult application to membership@mayflowerbsa.org.

We know that some will recognize this as another significant change to their routines. However, we all know that a Scout is Brave (and Cheerful).

Please contact the Membership & Unit Service Team if you have any questions or join us during any of our upcoming Live Office Hours, where we can answer all your questions.

The attached user guide is for for parents and/or volunteers to transfer between councils using the online registration system. This allows you to login and transfer from one council to another, and once the application is approved and the overnight sync is run all the training and advancement records for the member will follow.

Help your old LEGO bricks find a new purpose!

The Mayflower Council is looking at giving your unused LEGO collection a second life; assisting with new youth recruiting. We will be launching a LEGO Pinewood Derby activity as part of our new member recruiting efforts at community fairs, farmer’s and artisan markets, and other community events so that a whole new generation of youth and can experience the thrill of a Pinewood Derby and the the joy of building with LEGO while finding out about Scouting’s life-long values.

To make a donation, simply round up any loose LEGO pieces and place them into a cardboard box or zipper top bag. We are accepting loose LEGO bricks and Minifigures. They do not need to be full sets. We are unable to accept donations of DUPLO and Technic elements.

Donations can be dropped of at one of the following locations:

• Council Service Center, 83 Cedar Street, Milford, Massachusetts.
• Adventure Day Camp, 129 Hudson Road, Bolton, Massachusetts. (while camp is in session)
• Camp Resolute, 75 Hudson Road, Bolton, Massachusetts (while camp is in session)
• Camp Squanto, 200 Cuttersfield Road, Plymouth, Massachusetts. (while camp is in session)

If you have unwanted LEGO bricks lying around (and hurting your feet) we’ll take them!

Have questions regarding donating LEGO bricks to this worthwhile initiative contact Jack Colamaria or Rick Riopelle.

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has worked to keep the membership fee as low as possible. As you know, costs continue to rise, and the annual fee must be increased to address the fiscal realities we face to deliver a safe and quality Scouting program.

To ensure we have the resources to fulfill the promise of Scouting, the following national membership fee structure will take effect August 1, 2022.

• $75 for Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Venturing and Sea Scouts participants
• $45 for Exploring participants
• $45 for all adult volunteers (includes cost of background check)
• $100 for a unit charter/affiliation fee
• $25 one-time joining fee for new program participants in Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Venturing and Sea Scouts (Not pro-rated)
• $15 for Scout Life magazine; this is the first price increase since 2005

The Mayflower Council Activity Fee will remain at $36 per youth member.

The national membership fee helps cover the cost of essential services, including program resources, liability insurance for those participating in approved Scouting activities, criminal background checks, youth protection, and the development of intellectual property for national, council, and unit programs. As we move forward, we will continue to look at the membership fee structure and how we deliver the Scouting program for future generations.

Online registration remains the preferred method of transferring youth and will become the way to register new youth beginning August 1.

Thank you for your understanding, together we will continue to provide a great Scouting program for our families.