To Serve All Youth with Relevant Programs to Prepare them for Life

With 11,731 adult volunteers giving leadership to programs that serve 25,091 registered youth members across 63 counties and the City of St. Louis, the impact of Scouting is profound. To maintain and expand this impact, the Board Strategic Planning Committee gathered feedback from volunteers, staff, community partners, and families we serve. Feedback came through surveys, listening sessions, camp leaders’ meetings, Help Desk and customer support requests, social media commentary, and many other sources. Through that process, they learned there is a collective desire and need to achieve four goals:

GREATER RELEVANCE TO TODAY’S YOUTH | ELEVATED IDENTITY IN THE REGION | STRENGTHENED LONG-TERM VIABILITY | KEY PARTNER IN THE ECOSYSTEM OF YOUTH-SERVING ORGANIZATIONS

Strategic Priority #1: Optimized “Core” (Quality Program for All Scouts)

Value Statement: Ensure that every Scout has a quality experience.
Success Measure: Ensure that more than 80% of units achieve a rating of A or B as determined by metric-based standards for an optimal unit.
2024 Key Initiatives
- Develop a member engagement monitoring dashboard that supports efforts to solicit member feedback, facilitate engagement, and react to disengagement.
- Ensure customers across entire council have access to the same services and support available at brick-and-mortar service centers by enhancing e-commerce opportunities and making all online/website experiences more user friendly.
- Create and execute a Scouts BSA marketing and recruitment campaign, focusing on engaging youth aged 10 to 13, with the goal of increasing Scouts BSA membership.
- Utilize data-driven insights to evaluate, support, and enhance the health and performance of units and their ability to serve and retain youth members.

Strategic Priority #2: Reimagined Programming for New Audiences

Value Statement: Serve the community by utilizing our program resources.
Success Measure: Increase property usage with 1,000 non-Scout members participating in weekday programs at council camps.
2024 Key Initiatives
- Expand Discovery Base at Beaumont to serve more schools and students.
- Engage the council marketing team to craft compelling content aimed at attracting participants of Discovery Base at Beaumont to join Scouting.
- Utilize the STEM trailer on weekdays by serving outside groups at camps or off-site.
- Introduce diverse program enhancements to camp facilities that appeal to and encourage participation from external groups.

Strategic Priority #3: Elevated Local Branding, Awareness, and Community Impact

Value Statement: Champion the positive impact of Scouting locally.
Success Measure: Increase Organic Reach on STL Branding Facebook page by 100,000 and STL Branding Instagram page to 342,000.
2024 Key Initiatives
- Facilitate an environment for a natural grass-roots campaign to promote Scouting.
- Tailor marketing message to four key markets.
- Highlight our impact.
- Research Scouting as a collaborator for youth social issues.

Strategic Priority #4: Next Level Engagement of Our People (Volunteers, Board, and Staff)

Value Statement: Achieve optimum engagement of our people to ensure continuity.
Success Measure: Through training and development, engage all key district volunteers, council volunteers, and staff to ensure succession planning and defined roles.
2024 Key Initiatives
- Implement an individual development plan for all employees and conduct engagement surveys.
- Build on our data collection methods to support monitoring the effectiveness of newly implemented individual development plans and surveys, with the intent to achieve optimum engagement of our people to ensure continuity.
- Fill key district and council volunteer positions and introduce an improved onboarding process.
- Launch a marketing campaign to advertise the key benefits of volunteering and volunteer incentives.
- Leverage technology through implementation of a progressive web application.

Strategic Priority #5: Capacity Building to Support Long-Term Sustainability

Value Statement: Increase revenue to serve all youth with relevant and innovative programs for future generations.
Success Measure: Increase revenue by $500,000 by Dec. 31, 2024.
2024 Key Initiatives
- Launch a comprehensive major gifts/endowment campaign.
- Assess current programs, activities, and facilities to determine the most impactful operating model that also provides financial viability.
- Develop new revenue models with significant impact on the organization’s financials.

2023 Successes

85% of Scouting units achieved a health rating of A or B, exceeding the goal of 80%
Female membership increased by 24%
Discovery Base at Beaumont was launched and served 266 students from area schools
Mobile STEM trailer was booked for 13 weekday programs and funding was secured for a new STEM vehicle to serve the central Illinois region
Garnered 22,000 unique (new) visitors to stlbsa.org, exceeding the goal of 12,000
Marketing strategy highlighting the benefits of volunteering was launched in November
Individual staff development plans were presented in December
Test launch of a new progressive web app (PWA) was approved
District nominating committee process was revised