What is the Boy Scouts California pledge?

First, the basics: Friends of Scouting is your council’s annual giving campaign. In most councils, Friends of Scouting (or FOS) represents the council’s largest source of income.

During the campaign, a volunteer will visit your pack meeting or troop court of honor to explain the campaign and make an appeal for your support. You’ll be asked to make a tax-deductible pledge to your local council.

The natural next question is: Why should I give money to my local council? Many councils answer this with what’s called “The Iceberg Analogy.”

The Iceberg Analogy

The thinking here is that Scouts and volunteers see only 20 percent of what councils provide to members. There’s a whole lot more beneath the surface.

What do councils provide? In other words: What’s beneath the surface?

• Volunteer and staff training
• Insurance coverage to protect volunteers, chartered organizations, staff members and properties
• Support staff for registration, publications and other program support
• Camp promotion for Cub Scout day camps, Boy Scout summer camps, high-adventure bases and more
• Camp rangers to keep the council camps up-to-date and ready for Scouts and families
• Camp equipment, like tents, cooking equipment, camp vehicles, building repairs, canoes, equipment replacement and repair, and general upkeep of council camps
• Recognitions for leaders who complete training, volunteer for special projects and help in many Scouting roles
• Professional staff to work with volunteers to organize new units, manage fundraising programs, conduct training, assist membership recruitment, provide counsel and direct support for district, camps and programs
• Administrative needs, including postage, computers and links to the National BSA computer system, copy machines, folding machines and a printing shop
• Service centers to provide additional support to volunteers
• Audio-visual supplies used in training, at camps and in volunteer meetings
• Postage to mail materials to leaders, parents and youth members
• A council website to keep you informed
• Reference publications and resources, including program planning kits and to camping cookbooks
• Camp scholarships, uniforms and registration fees for disadvantaged young people

As you can see, there’s more happening at your council than the average volunteer sees. And it can’t happen without the support of volunteers like you.

Stretching from Playa Vista to Edwards Air Force Base, the WLACC is a great representation of California as a whole. When creating the 2016 Friends of Scouting Council Shoulder Patch we looked for a symbol that would instantly represent the abundant diversity of our great Council. Luckily for us our great State of California had already come up with an image highlighting our Southern California culture from land to sea.

For $260 you can sponsor the membership of one Scout for a year. It is a great investment in our kids and the community we live in.