New for Fall Recruitment: Online Registration

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The BSA has established a new Online Registration for adults and youth. You can see an overview video of how the system works below. The video describes it as “Coming Soon.” It is already activated in Crossroads of America Council.

 

This system has many advantages:

  1. You never run out of paper forms.
  2. Your applicant will be immediately notified whether data on one of the screens is incomplete, avoiding the need to circulate the form around twice to fill in missing information or signatures.
  3. There is no physical application that needs to be delivered or sent.
  4. Necessary signators traveling out of town can fulfill their obligations from anywhere in the world.
  5. Your applicant can pay their BSA membership dues online with a credit card.

The current weaknesses in the system are being able to find where to access the website to start.

  1. You must access this from the http://www.BeAScout.org.
  2. From the main page, the applicant needs to navigate to your unit.
  3. On the unit page, the applicant needs to correctly choose “Cub,” “Scout,” “Venturing,” or “Volunteering.” Picking a program puts the applicant in “Youth” status. Adults must pick the “Volunteering” choice, then select a unit.
  4. You can pick the links for your unit and save them for placement on your webpage or emails. This means that you can circumvent some of the problems above.
  5. The system does not collect your unit’s dues or added costs (like local council insurance). It merely establishes the applicant as a member of the BSA through your unit. I have even used it to promote an existing volunteer to a new position without having to pay dues again.

I have used this system successfully twice. I have not dealt with Youth Protection Training in either case because they were existing volunteers. I cannot offer much feedback on that issue yet.

Online Volunteer application
Sample of Volunteer Application

Please begin using this system immediately, especially before recruiting season and rechartering. The more information that is properly registered in the system before October 1st, the smoother your rechartering will proceed.

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This entry was posted in News, Policies and Procedures, Rechartering, Recruitment.