Participation Expansion and Program Promotion
Our Vision:
Hoosier Trails Council's programs will make a life-changing difference with youth of all backgrounds and communities.
Hoosier Trails Council Strategic Objectives and Goals
Objective 1: Identify best practices and implement techniques of growing membership recruitment and retention of members.
Strategies to Achieve the Objective:
1. Increase the retention of Webelos through the enhancement of council-delivered Webelos programming and by building stronger transition techniques.
2. Train local units in the implementation of local marketing plans that institute the 7 Points of Contact philosophy.
3. Supplement local marketing efforts by generating Scouting awareness initiatives.
4. Develop membership growth tracking tools that highlight areas of growth opportunity and monitor progress toward goals.
5. Organize council and district volunteers to support and implement a culture of growth and membership expansion.
6. Enhance parental participation by helping local units recruit and train leaders.
7. Enhance retention by focusing on the delivery of high-quality programs and customer satisfaction.
8. Expand community partnerships that sponsor local units.
Specific Goals:
1. Annually expand the number of traditional units within the council by at least 2%. [Annually]
2. Conduct Join Scouts Recruitment Training several times each year to help local units develop their own recruitment and marketing strategies. This training will also assist in the successful recruitment of parents to serve local units. [Annually]
3. Measure success through market share of participants, based upon an annual gain of 1% over the course of this plan. [Annually]
4. Recruit and empower a Council Membership Committee to further the impact we have on youth development. [April 2011]
5. Construct a Council Marketing Plan that creates heightened awareness of Scouting's programs. [December 2011]
6. Design a Webelos-to-Scout transition strategy that improves communication between units and tracks each Scout's journey from Bear to Tenderfoot. [January 2012]
7. By [June 2012] create a volunteer on-line training resource center at the Council Service Center and Camp Maumee to help units recruit and rapidly train leaders.
8. Review progress seeking opportunities for continued improvement and set specific goals for the next year of the plan. [Annually]
Objective 2: Increase awareness of Scouting programs by broadening our marketing efforts.
Strategies to Achieve the Objective:
1. Develop an active Council Marketing Committee that supports districts through resource development and open two-way communication.
2. Generate awareness resources that help to tell our story, i.e. annual reports, donor touch pieces, capital campaign materials, camp promotion resources, etc.
3. Identify potential marketing resources that will further our mission.
4. Effectively communicate the outcomes of our programs to the community.
5. Position programs to appeal to today's youth.
Specific Goals:
1. Institute a direct mail plan that focuses on donor-centered information and donor expansion. [January 2011]
2. Annually compile a high-quality Annual Report, starting in [February 2011]
3. Develop a strategy that clearly defines programmatic outcome measurements. [February 2011]
4. Recruit and empower a Council Marketing Committee to further the impact we have on youth development. [October 2011]
5. Create a summer camp promotion video that will be used during unit visits and online. [November 2011]
6. Review progress seeking opportunities for continued improvement and set specific goals for the next year of the plan. [Annually]
