2021 Friends of Scouting Materials for Board Members making Asks
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2021 Friends of Scouting Materials
for Board Members making Asks
Thank you for your efforts to support the continued growth and success of the
units, districts, and board of the Transatlantic Council (TAC).
By making a gift to Friends of Scouting, you are investing your treasure in a
character and leadership program that will impact so many for the rest of their
lives.
By also volunteering your time to invite others to invest in Friends of Scouting,
you are demonstrating your commitment to help other people at all times.
Thank you for sharing the TAC story with others and inviting them to invest in
the program and services that TAC delivers every week--when youth of great
promise interact with adults of great character.
As you know, Friends of Scouting (FOS) is the local fundraising appeal that TAC
runs every year to fund operating programs and services. Volunteers and
parents at the unit level, district committees and commissioners at the district
level, and board members at the council level are the Scouters who drive the
success of this appeal.
USAG Brussels, Unit 28100, Box 24 APO AE 09714
Leuvensesteenweg 13, 1932 St-Stevens-Woluwe, Belgium
www.tac-bsa.orgIn the 2021 FOS appeal, we are encouraging all board members, advisory council
members, honorary board members, and council members at large to make
their gift no later than the January 2021 board meeting.
For those in units, we are expecting that units can facilitate a unit FOS
presentation or I-C-5 ask sometime in January or February.
Our collective commitment is to raise $240,000 in Friends of Scouting by 28
February 2021. Here are the goals that help us get to that overall FOS goal.
DISTRICTS/COUNCIL 2021 GOAL
Barbarossa $8,000
Charlemagne $12,000
Edelweiss $17,000
Horizon $5,000
Mayflower $25,000
Mediterranean $4,000
Flags over Normandy $35,000
Community $44,000
Executive Board $90,000
In this guide are materials to help you in your efforts as a Friends of Scouting
volunteer. It includes sections on:
● 2021 FOS Giving Levels and Recognition
● FOS Ask Email to Board Member
● FOS Ask Telephone Script to Board Member
● TAC Highlights
● Questions & Answers about TAC and FOS
2Friends of Scouting is crucial to the success of units and districts in TAC.
As TAC meets or exceeds its FOS goal of $240,000, we can continue to grow our
programs and services in 2021.
To support each Scout, TAC spends much more each year than it receives at
registration. The Council is serving more youth, in many more countries, with
fewer staff than ever before. You can inspire the families in a TAC unit or
volunteers at the district or council level to ensure TAC’s success.
We warmly encourage you and others to consider making a significant gift of
$240 to support 1 Scout, $480 to support 2 Scouts, or a Leadership gift of $960
to support 4 Scouts. Or reach further as you explore a Normandy gift of $1200
to support 5 Scouts or a Visionary gift of $2400 to support 10 Scouts.
Scouting in TAC is like living in the pages of Boys’ Life magazine. With your help,
you can keep it that way.
We look forward to working with you and supporting your efforts.
Yours in Scouting,
Scott Eversman Dean Menegas
Vice President Development Council President
32021 FOS Giving Levels and Recognition
4FOS Ask Email to Executive Board and
Advisory Council Members
Dear Fellow TAC Executive Board/Advisory Council Member,
One of our privileges as Board and Advisory Council members is to lead from the
front in TAC’s Friends of Scouting (FoS) annual giving campaign. The Overseas
Council Fee collected by TAC at registration covers only 14% of TAC’s total cost
of operations; FoS is critical to making up the difference.
For the FoS 2021 campaign, we’ve set an ambitious Council goal of $240,000.
For us to get there, the Board/Advisory Council will need to lead from the front
again. TAC needs your treasure, as well as your time and talent, in order to
excel. Plus, we must inspire families at every Court of Honor and Blue & Gold
Banquet this January or February, to join us in ensuring TAC’s excellence.
Our triple goal for the FOS 2021 Board/Advisory Council campaign is:
(a) 50% or more contributing a Leadership gift of $960 or more, and
(b) 100% Participation (at or above $100), and
(c) hitting our Board/Advisory Council campaign target of $90,000
Every Board/Advisory Council member needs a TAC branded travel mug. It’s
yours for a Leadership gift of $960. Think of the high value you and your family
have obtained from Scouting, and how it continues enriching your lives.
Or you may be motivated by the Visionary level of giving at $2,400. And the
recognition of two Flags over Normandy—one for your family and one to
present to a friend.
Please follow the Cub Scout motto and “Do Your Best”, focusing on each of the
three words: you should Do something; Your best might be different from
someone else’s; your Best means stretching to do as much as you possibly can,
even if it hurts a bit.
5Please make $960 – not $0 – the starting point of your consideration; you might
go lower or higher from that starting point, but we ask that those that can
pledge at least that much, do so; and those that can pledge even more, do so.
We are not familiar with your financial circumstances, but we expect that your
Best is more than $0. Your Best may be $240 (One Scout), $480 (Two Scouts),
$960 (Leadership), $1,200 (Normandy), or $2,400 (Visionary), or – like many
Board members last year – even more than that.
The contributions need not all come from you personally. You are encouraged
to raise from family, friends and others who are inspired by your service.
You may be among those few Board/Advisory Council members who are just not
able to support TAC financially in a meaningful way at this point in their lives,
due to their age/career/family circumstances, but who make great contributions
every year in both time and talent that boost our membership and program,
which in turn leads to stronger council finances. If so, please Do Your Best to
raise significant financial contributions from others who would not normally
have contributed. And in any case, Participation from you is key, because to hit
100%, we literally cannot succeed without you.
Here is the link to our online donation platform for the Board campaign; you can
pay now, or specify a pledge now and pay later:
https://donations.scouting.org/#/council/802/appeal/3513
If you want to give to your District campaign in addition to, or instead of, the
Board campaign, that’s fine too; the links are here:
https://donations.scouting.org/#/council/802/appeals
Does your employer possibly have a corporate matching program for your gift?
Please be sure to enquire and use it.
Together, we will make 2021 TAC’s best year ever. Many thanks for everything
you do for our Council!
Yours in Scouting,
Scott Eversman Dean Menegas
Vice President Development Council President
6FOS Ask Telephone Script
to Board Member
Hello, this is _____________________________ (your name).
I am a fellow board member with Transatlantic Council, Boy Scouts of America.
I wanted to take just a few minutes to update you on TAC Scouting and ask for
your help.
Is this a good time to talk?
[If yes, continue your conversation. If no, ask when would be a good time to
talk and return the call at that time.]
Awesome. As you may know, TAC Scouting is going strong once again this year.
And we are looking forward to even brighter Scouting in the New Year 2021.
We serve over 5,000 youth members and 2,000 adult volunteers across Europe,
Africa, Middle East, and Central Asia.
We offer unparalleled Scouting in many venues:
• Summer camps in Switzerland and Croatia
• Incredible Wood Badge and National Youth Leadership Trainings
• Klondike Derby at Kandersteg International Scout Centre
• Scouters Annual Conference—training and Silver Beaver presentations
• Historic Trails across Europe
• Top-class virtual programs, like our SpecTACular Summer-Palooza online
camp that served over 500 Cubs and Scouts
One of the opportunities that we have as board members is to support these
programs and ensure the success of Scouting in TAC.
Each year, we conduct an annual Friends of Scouting appeal with those who
directly are engaged in TAC Scouting. Board and Advisory Council members are
invited to lead in this effort.
7Our overall goal is to raise $240,000 in Friends of Scouting—with $90,000
coming from board members.
We are inviting board members to consider either a year end gift now in
December or to make a commitment by the January 2020 board meeting.
I have made my gift to the 2021 Friends of Scouting appeal and would like to
invite you to make yours.
We would like to invite you to consider a gift of $________to the 2021 Friends
of Scouting appeal. [Suggest the amount indicated in the 2021 Board Member
Ask and Prospects document. This indicates what FOS gift the board member
made in previous years and suggests a 2021 FOS gift amount.]
[Pause to let the board member respond to what you just said. See if they have
any questions. Refer to the TAC Highlights and the Questions and Answers
sections of this document as needed.]
FYI, here are the levels of giving
I would like to send you a follow-up email with the links to our secure TAC
online giving platform. You can make your gift to the Board Member appeal or
to any of the appeals in the six districts. Or both if you would like.
You can pay at the time of making your online gift. Or you can make an online
Friends of Scouting commitment to be paid later at your convenience.
8May we count on your Friends of Scouting support by the January board
meeting?
[Wait for a response. Thank them for their time today and FOS investment.]
9TAC Highlights 2019-2020
PROGRAM
50 countries served
6500 youth served
2400 adult volunteers supported
100 Eagle Scout ranks awarded
130 Arrow of Light ranks earned
Girls in the BSA: 153 girls in 19 new Scouts BSA troops; 347 girls in 43 Cub Scout
packs
Normandy Council Camporee in France, marking the 75th anniversary of D-Day
• 2768 attendees in 2019
• Camporee returns in April 2022
• Attendance included BSA National Chair and BSA Northeast Region
Board
• Scouts from 20 BSA councils, and from the French, United Kingdom
and Canadian Scout associations
• Omaha Beach campfire, with Eagle Court of Honor, Webelos 2
Crossing-Over Ceremony, Order of the Arrow call-out, and 1785
attending the Messengers of Peace Dinner
Camp Avantura BSA program debut in 2019 – Scouts BSA summer camp on the
Adriatic coast of Croatia
• 2 weeks of camp, serving 292 Scouts and 88 Scouters in 2019
• Serious watersports program: sailboats, motorboats,
paddleboards, kayaks
• National BSA certification received
10Camp Alpine program expansion – Scouts BSA summer camp at Kandersteg
International Scouting Center (KISC) in the Swiss Alps
• 2 weeks of camp, serving 291 Scouts and 86 Scouters
• Over 900 Scouts from other nations camping at KISC during first
week of Camp Alpine
• National BSA certification received: “very organized and well run”
SpecTACular Summer Palooza online camp program for Cub Scouts and Scouts
• 4 weeks of camp in June and July 2020
• Serving over 500 Cubs and Scouts
• From TAC and 50 councils in 24 US states and Puerto Rico
• 120 merit badge courses
Cub Scout Family Camp: 113 Cubs in 12 packs took part in 2019
Cub Scout Day Camp: 138 Cubs in 19 packs took part in 2019
Wood Badge 100th anniversary course – at Gilwell Park, the global home of
Wood Badge in 2019
National Youth Leader Training at Gilwell Park in 2019
TAC at the World Scout Jamboree: 18 Scouters served (including 5 current Board
members); 17 youth in 2019
Launch of TAC Sea Scouts and TAC virtual Sea Scout Ship
District Camporees on location: marking the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany;
marking WW2 “Operation Market Garden” in the Netherlands
Launch of TAC Sustainability Mission in 2020
Launch of Lone Scout Troop/Pack/Crew 802, gathering together Lone Scouts
from all over TAC into single units
11Order of the Arrow: Black Eagle Lodge elects first female youth, holds 9 Lodge
activities and service projects in 5 countries (Germany, France, United Kingdom,
Croatia, Switzerland)
The BSA’s largest Cub Scout Pack is a TAC unit in Saudi Arabia
The BSA’s largest District is TAC’s Horizon District: covering Africa, the Middle
East, Central Asia, Romania, Ukraine and the Russian Federation
COMMUNICATIONS
Creation of professional videos for introduction to TAC and for FOS
Launch of TAC LinkedIn page
Launch of new edition TAC Historic Trails Guides:
• 18 trails in 8 countries
• Nationally approved by Boy Scouts of America in 2020
Updating of TAC website https://tac-bsa.org/
TAC prominently featured, by name, in “BSA Around the World” interactive map
on homepage of 2018 BSA Annual Report: https://ar2018.scouting.org/bsa-
annual-report-2018-home/
World Scouting came to the BSA, and the BSA itself Scouted around the world –
mainly through TAC
ADMINISTRATION
Professional staff traveled to 9 TAC countries in 2019, in service of units and
districts: Germany, France, United Kingdom, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy,
Switzerland, Czech Republic, Croatia
Reorganization of TAC headquarters staff--to better support program, finance
and development, and supply
12Relocation of TAC Program Supply Center in Belgium, to speed service
Transition to new council membership fee calculation and payment methods
Visit of BSA Chief Scout Executive to TAC headquarters in October 2019
Executive Board meetings in Wiesbaden, Germany (Barbarossa District); Gilwell
Park, United Kingdom (Mayflower District); Milan, Italy (Mediterranean District);
Amsterdam, Netherlands (Charlemagne District)
Active launch of Safe Scouting committee
Active launch of Conservation committee; first Leave No Trace Trainers course
Active launch of TAC Scouting Alumni and Friends committee
Active launch of Budget committee
Reshaping of International committee
DEVELOPMENT
First Eric Cooley Memorial Campership awards made for financial support of
TAC summer campers
Normandy fundraising dinner raised $26,000 with Flags Over Normandy
Full Friends of Scouting fundraising package delivered for every TAC unit
Online donation platform improvement and expansion—with links for each
district, TAC board, Camperships, and Flags over Normandy
Reshaping of Scout-a-thon unit fundraising program to enable units to keep
100% of net profits, earn free prizes for youth, and completely online.
13Questions & Answers
about Transatlantic Council (TAC)
and Friends of Scouting (FOS)
What is TAC (Transatlantic Council)?
Boy Scouts of America is divided into 261 local councils. All but two of them are
in the USA. Transatlantic Council (TAC) is the organizing structure for over 200
BSA units in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia. TAC is made up of
six districts, and each district contains around 20-50 packs, troops and crews.
What does TAC do?
TAC delivers top-quality BSA experiences, with unique geographic opportunities,
to open the outdoors, teach skills, encourage service, develop leaders, and instill
values to youth across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia. It
serves every US military installation in Europe, along with dozens of
international schools, diplomatic centers, and major American corporate
communities. It provides a continuous path to the rank of Eagle Scout for youth
on the move. TAC has even been appointed a Custodian of Omaha Beach by the
French government.
What is Friends of Scouting (FOS)?
Friends of Scouting (FOS) is the local fundraising appeal that every BSA council
runs, every year, to help fund its own annual operating budget.
14What does TAC do with the funds raised in FOS?
➢ Programs and activities for your Scout (Participant charges for events are
set at break-even for direct costs only. Indirect costs are not covered by
participants)
➢ Employment investments for TAC professional staff and their travel costs
to visit with local units and support district and council events
➢ Employment investments for TAC administrative staff
➢ Council office expenses and the Program Supply Center mail-order
operations
➢ Insurance coverage to protect volunteers, chartered organizations, and
staff—both accident and liability
➢ Communications costs—cell phone, internet access, website development
Why doesn’t the money come from the Boy Scouts of America (BSA)?
No money comes from the National BSA council. Like all councils, TAC must be
self-sustaining. Unless TAC is self-sufficient, there is no TAC. Every BSA council
has an annual Friends of Scouting appeal.
Do all FOS contributions to TAC stay with TAC?
Yes! All FOS and other financial contributions to TAC always stay with TAC, to
support TAC’s core mission. None of that money goes to the National BSA
council. Contributions to TAC support TAC’s own Scouts, and TAC’s own
operating costs and liabilities – not the costs and liabilities of the National BSA.
TAC is its own separately-incorporated 501(c)3 charitable organization, distinct
from the National BSA.
15Don’t I already pay for this at registration?
Only a small part. Part of what you pay at registration is a BSA national fee, part
is to cover your own unit’s costs, and part is an “Overseas Council Fee” to TAC.
But, to support each Scout, TAC spends on average around $240 – which is far
more than it receives at registration.
How often does TAC ask for money?
➢ The Friends of Scouting appeal takes place each December, January and
February--covering a key portion of that year’s operating budget
➢ Camp and event fees are set at break-even for direct costs only
➢ TAC sometimes solicits major gifts of $5,000 and up from a small number
of generous contributors, inside and outside the council, to support its
long-term growth and stability
Why can’t TAC just spend less?
Over the past decade, TAC’s budget and staff have each been cut several times.
Support in recent years from the US Department of Defense has been cut by
more than half. During that time, TAC’s geographic coverage has expanded
greatly, and it is now one of the fastest growing councils in the BSA in
membership outreach.
TAC now has only eight staff – among the smallest team of any BSA council – to
serve over 5,000 youth in 50 countries. There is nowhere left to cut. In fact, TAC
should really be investing more than it currently does.
TAC is a model of good fiscal governance. It carries no debt and owns no
property. A vast majority of its investments go to support program.
16What would my Scout lose if TAC did not exist?
All district and all council programs, facilities, support and networks would
disappear. Your unit would stand alone, using the national programs. There is no
unit support structure from the National BSA Council. You would lose the
following:
Camps and events, run by the district and council for your Scouts:
➢ Normandy Camporees on Omaha Beach in France every 3 years, famed
throughout the BSA
➢ Unique BSA summer camps in the Swiss Alps (Camp Alpine) and on the
Adriatic Sea in Croatia (Camp Avantura BSA)
➢ Camp equipment like tents, cooking equipment, rental of camp vehicles,
canoes, equipment replacement and repair, and general upkeep of
council camps
➢ Spring and Fall Camporees (district)
➢ Merit Badge Universities (district)
➢ Klondike Derbies (council)
➢ Cub Scout day camps and family camps
➢ Order of the Arrow programs
➢ BSA National Scout Jamboree and World Scout Jamboree contingents
Five council professionals and three administrative staff to support your unit:
➢ Full-time experienced BSA professionals, living in Europe and travelling all
around the council, giving direct support to your unit leaders
➢ Administrative staff dedicated to servicing only TAC units, not the entire
BSA
➢ Program Supply Center in Europe for uniforms, handbooks, badges and
awards
➢ Support for your Eagle Scout candidates
17➢ Guidance in the detailed operating methods of Scouting
➢ Among the few professionals in the BSA who understand and can deal
with the challenges of supporting a BSA program outside the USA
Hundreds of volunteers, organized by the council, who support your unit:
➢ Executive Board Members supporting programs, finances, legal and
regulatory services, fundraising, membership outreach, and connections
with BSA National programs and services
➢ Commissioner service structure, supporting local registration,
advancement, program building, charter renewal, and administration
➢ Roundtables of unit leaders in the district, coming together face to face or
online to share ideas and support
➢ Merit badge counselors, helping your unit offer more merit badges than
its own leaders can provide
➢ Support for your Eagle Scout candidates
Leadership training for your Scouts and their leaders:
➢ National Youth Leader Training program
➢ Adult leader position-specific training
➢ Adult leader advanced “Wood Badge” training
Do the senior volunteers lead the way?
Yes! Volunteers on the TAC Executive Board collectively pledged over $73,000
for each of the 2018, 2019, and 2020 Friend of Scouting appeals. One out of
two TAC Board members gave $1,000 or more. This financial support is in
addition to the great amounts of time and skills that they contribute. They
understand what is at stake and hope that every family in the council will follow
their lead.
18How much should I contribute?
Your gift has tremendous impact. Please consider these suggested giving levels:
How can I pay?
It couldn’t be easier!
➢ Online by credit card on the TAC website
➢ Online with a pledge (to be paid later) on the TAC website
➢ Check (payable to Transatlantic Council, BSA)
➢ Bank transfer (details upon request)
All gifts are charged in US dollars. You don’t need a US dollar account, if you pay
by credit card or online.
Some companies, possibly including yours, will match their employees’
charitable contributions. Be sure to check. If they match, you’ll increase your
impact.
Some companies also make charitable contributions based on the number of
hours one volunteers for a nonprofit. So be sure to check on that giving
opportunity as well.
19All gifts to TAC are tax deductible in the US. UK leadership-level gifts of $1,000
or more can also be made tax deductible in the UK (details upon request).
What are the recognition gifts, and how will they be distributed?
Upon confirmation of your Friends of Scouting gift or pledge, TAC will ship the
recognition item to you.
20You can also read
