You believe in Scouts Canada and would like to see membership and involvement increase, and most certainly, you endorse Scouts Canada membership drives. But what commitment have you made to personally increase membership and involvement? Take this brief quiz to determine what you can do to foster increased membership. Respond to each statement with "often," "sometimes," or "rarely" to denote how frequently you practice the following:
1. I make a least one telephone call each month to prospective members inviting them to become involved.
2. I offer newsletters or publication subscriptions to prospective members.
3. When a member becomes involved, I make sure he or she receives thanks and recognition from our group/district/region and Scouts Canada.
4. I bring prospective members to meetings and social gatherings
5. I keep membership materials convenient and distribute them whenever the opportunity arises.
6. I educate prospective members about Scouting benefits and services and explain how to obtain them.
7. I offer ideas and advice on recruitment and retention to the membership committee.
8. I offer my own informal orientation to members I recruit.
9. I keep a record of the members’ skills and talents.
10. I introduce new members at meetings.
11. I maintain contact with new members and make sure their Scouting experiences are positive ones. When I find a member who has leadership potential, I act as his or her mentor.
12. I ask the advice of new and prospective members on Scouting issues.
13. I keep my ears open for successful membership development activities of other organizations.
If you put just six of these activities into practice on a regular basis, you are doing a tremendous service to your group, and you many already be quite successful in identifying and involving new members.
If you practice these activities only rarely, pick a half dozen that you can make part of your everyday routine, and you will enlist the involvement and enthusiasm of your peers.