2026 Recruitment Contest: Unit Joining Events
Units are invited to participate in a new incentive opportunity focused on growing Scouting by reaching new families.
Between now and October 31, 2026, Units that hold five Scouting Joining Events and recruit at least two more new youth members than they did in 2025 will be entered into a drawing for a program‑appropriate incentive.
Your five events are designed to introduce non‑Scouting youth and families to Scouting and provide an opportunity to invite them to join.
Rules about the contest and events:
- One of your five joining events must be a Join Scouting Night (JSN)
- Other four joining events must come from the categories below
- Joining events are to recruit new, non-Scout members to join Scouting
- Cannot be a fundraiser
- Needs to have a table or be able to greet everyone in attendance and promote joining Scouting
- Should not be a standard unit meeting (too in-depth about Scouting, need introduction)
- Must complete all five events by Saturday, October 31, 2026
- Must submit the competition form by Monday, November 2, 2026
Mandatory Event:
One Join Scouting Night (JSN) event, preferably at a school.
A Join Scouting Night event is an event hosted by the unit that is designed to introduce non‑Scouting youth and families to Scouting and provide an opportunity to invite them to join.
Host Four Additional Recruitment Initiatives from this List:
- Join Scouting Night (JSN) (at school preferred)
- Fun “Bring a Buddy” Unit Meeting
- Join Scouting “Try-Before-You-Buy” activities event
- Table at School Event
- Open House
- Back to School Night
- PTA Event (Community Night, Science Fair, Movie Night, etc.)
- Table at Charter Organization Event
- Examples: Church Fair, Open House, Trunk-or-Treat, etc.
- Table at Neighborhood/Community Event
- Examples: National Night Out, Fall Festival, Popsicles on the Playground, etc.
- Table at Festival/Fair
- Service Project at School/Charter Org/Community Space
- New Scout Family/Parent Interest Meeting
- Parents only or include kids and host activities/stations
Most of the events listed above are intended to be completed once. However, events that can reasonably be repeated may be completed multiple times if they support your unit’s recruitment efforts.
If your unit is considering an activity and you’re unsure whether it qualifies under one of the event categories listed above, please contact your District Executive for clarification.
When Should We Submit Our Contest Entry?
Each unit’s contest entry must be submitted by Monday, November 2, 2026.
You may submit your entry earlier than November 2, 2026 as long as all five of your events have already been completed.
All five of your recruitment events must be completed by Saturday, October 31, 2026.
Who Should Submit Our Unit's Events?
Only one submission by each unit will be accepted. It is up to the unit to determine who should be completing the entry by November 2, 2026.
Ideally it would be someone of the unit’s Key-3, their recruitment chair, or someone else delegated to assist completing the entry.
