Membership Retention in Scout Troops
W o r l d S c i e n s s t i f e i r c g C n o Membership Retention in Scout Troops Liam Morland Online Course Developer Distance Education, University of Waterloo, Canada (Rersearch, experiences) 1 Introduction The headline of Scouts Canada’s annual report exclaimed in big letters “Membership is Climbing! ”. The report went on to praise the exciting programme Scouts Canada offers and to thank Scouters and others for making it all happen. That was in 1996, when membership rose to 231,042 members, an increase of 1% (Scouts Canada 1996:17). It was the first year of membership growth since 1981, but it was also the last. As of 2007, membership was 99,573. The 57% decline between 1996 and 2007 is not the full story. At the height of membership in 1965, Scouts Canada had 321,608 members consisting of 288,084 young people and 33,524 adults. At this time, the Beaver section did not exist; young people had to be eight years old before they could join. With Beavers removed for a proper comparison, 2007 youth membership was 52,674, a decline of 82% since 1965. This membership decline, both long-term and in recent years, is a pressing concern for Scouts Canada. Since Scouting is a non-formal educational movement for young people, fewer members means that Scouts Canada is further from achieving its mission. On a practical level, Scouts Canada spent $139 per youth member on staff salaries and benefits during 2006/2007 (Scouts Canada 2007:4).
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