Chartered Organization Resources

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Photo: U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Savannah District/Flickr

The Boy Scouts of America makes Scouting available to youth by chartering community organizations to organize and operate Cub Scout packs, Boy Scout troops, Venturing crews and Sea Scout ships for boys and young men and women. These chartered organizations manage the units and control the program of activities to support their goals and objectives. When community organizations establish a new unit, they must take these three important actions to ensure a quality Scouting program: select leadership, provide a meeting place, and promote a good program. Each chartering organization needs to identify one person to be the Chartered Organization Representative, which is the liaison between the congregation and the Scout unit(s) at the church.

The United Church of Christ is one of many national chartering partners of the BSA, meaning that we have an official relationship with them and encourage the growth of Scouting in our congregations. There are over 1,000 units chartered to UCC congregations representing over 35,000 Scouts, making the UCC one of the ten largest national chartering partners of the BSA.

Responsibilities of a Chartered Organization

Every year, the unit charter must be renewed between the Chartered Organization and the BSA. During this renewal, the chartering organization removes any youth and adults who are no longer active in the unit, and also signs the Annual Charter Agreement. This document explains what each organization agrees to do as part of the agreement. The responsibilities of the Chartering Organization are as follows:

Chartered Organization Representative

The chartered organization representative (COR) is appointed by the head of the chartered organization, heads up the “Scouting Department” in the organization, and is a voting member of the BSA council representing the chartered organization. The COR also is a member of the district committee and liaison between the organization’s Scouting units and the resources available to these units through the district and council volunteer and professional resources. An effective chartered organization representative can help make a real difference in the lives of youth. Responsibilities of the COR include:

The Chartered Organization Representative should also ask their local Scout office for information on when they can undergo specialized training for the position of COR. This training is made available by the BSA National office, and is run locally on a schedule determined by the council. This training will ensure your COR fully understands everything there is to know about his or her position in Scouting, and will cover topics such as an overview of the BSA and its programs, more detailed information on the charter concept in Scouting, specific information on their rights and responsibilities as a COR, and how to recruit adult leaders when vacancies arise.

Responsibilities of the Boy Scouts of America

As mentioned in an earlier section, the Boy Scouts of America also has certain responsibilities it must uphold as part of the Annual Charter Agreement. Specifically, the BSA agrees to:

In addition to the responsibilities outlined in the Annual Charter Agreement, you should know that there are a few other things you should expect from your local Boy Scout council. If these aren’t being met, request to speak to the Scout Executive (CEO / Executive Director of the local council) about it.

There are a number of meetings you should know about. Many of them are meetings that your Chartered Organization Representative (more details on that position below) should be attending.

Finally, the council is expected to provide every unit with a Unit Commissioner. These volunteers act as a friend, mentor, and coach to the leaders of your unit. They also help keep the unit informed of upcoming district and council events, changes in policies, and serve as a link between the unit and the council. If you don’t yet have a Unit Commissioner assigned to your unit, contact your District Executive and ask to speak to him/her and the District Commissioner about it.