Rechartering

It’s that magical time of year! The air is crisp, the leaves are changing colors, and it’s time for your unit to recharter.  There are a number of changes to the rechartering process for this year, so I would ask that you please take the time to read this email and review the online documents fully.  We’ll do our best to cover everything, but please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions and/or concerns.

Contents of this Page

• Recharter System Basics
• Recharter Timeline
• 2023 Membership Fees
• Login Instructions for Recharter System
• Subsidized Fee Instructions (Lunch Letter / Husky Card program)
• Support Documents
• Where to go for Help

Recharter System Basics

• The recharter system is OPEN. When you login to Internet Advancement, you’ll see the “Recharter” Tool on the left side starting then.
• As I mentioned, the recharter system is different this year. You no longer need an access code to login.  The entire recharter process is done through the BSA Internet Advancement System.

Click here for the full recharter instructions

• The people who automatically have access to process your unit’s recharter are your:
  • Unit Leader (Cubmaster, Scoutmaster, Crew Advisor or Skipper)
  • Committee Chair
  • Chartered Organization Representative

• If the leader who is processing your recharter does not hold one of these positions, he or she will need to be made a “Key 3 Delegate” in my.scouting.

Click here for instructions on assigning a Key 3 Delegate in my.scouting

• If you’d like to view a video presentation of the recharter system and how to navigate, please visit the National BSA Recharter page by clicking here.
• Instead of submitting paper applications to the Council office at the end of the recharter process, you will be asked to upload them into the recharter system.
• BIG NOTE: The Annual Charter Agreement is a separate document that must be done on paper outside of the recharter system. Your unit’s recharter CANNOT be processed until that form is received.  We will send out separate instructions with a copy of that document when it becomes available.  Please do not use an old version of the annual charter agreement form as it is no longer valid.

Recharter Timeline

These dates have been set to allow you to submit your recharter in a timely and reasonably stress-free way.

Now through October 31:

• Contact all adults whose Youth Protection Training is expired or expiring before 1/01/2023 and have them renew. 
• Keep copies of their training certificates so you can submit with your recharter
• Contact registered families to determine who will be renewing their membership for 2023 and start collecting fees.
• Collect Free/Reduced Lunch Letters or CT Husky benefits cards for any family that qualifies – a copy is needed in order to apply the reduced membership fee.
• Login to the recharter system ASAP to ensure that your account works properly.
• Collect applications for any youth or adults who are not currently on your roster.

November 1-15:

• Complete data entry in the rechartering system.
• Gather signatures on the Annual Charter Agreement form.
• Ensure all families have paid their membership fees for 2022 and the funds have been deposited in your unit’s bank account.

November 15: Your online recharter is complete and submitted electronically.  Payment can be made via e-check through the recharter system, or by paper check to the Council office.

November 16-30:

• Collect and gather any remaining paperwork that needs to be submitted.
• Unit Key 3 fills out the Journey to Excellence Scorecard – click here to download your scorecard
• Annual Charter Agreement and Journey to Excellence Scorecard are scanned and uploaded using instructions provided (those instructions will be distributed in the next couple of weeks)
• Schedule an appointment with your Unit Commissioner or the Council office if you have paperwork that needs to be submitted (anything not uploaded into the recharter system)

December 1: Go enjoy your holidays! You’re done on time and don’t have to worry about rechartering again until next year.

2023-24 Membership Fees

The membership fees beginning August 1, 2023:

Youth Members

$80 National membership fee ($5 increase)

$69 Connecticut Rivers Council fee (no change)

$149 Total base annual fee

$25 First Time Joining Fee (no change)

$15 Scout Life subscription (optional and no change)

Adult Leaders

$60 National membership fee ($12 increase to cover enhanced background checks)

$12 Connecticut Rivers Council fee (no change)

Merit Badge Counselors

$25 National membership fee (this new fee is only for those who are not already registered in Scouting and offsets some of the cost of background checks)

• Because our merit badge counselor renewal process will be completed prior to August 1st, this fee will only affect new counselors registering after August 1st. The fee will affect existing counselors not registered elsewhere in Scouting on the July 1, 2024 renewal.

Scouts Who Qualify for Free/Reduced School lunch and/or Connecticut Husky Benefits

$24 total fee

• The council will pay the $25 joining fee for these Scouts, the $24 is comprehensive

Largest Change – Membership Fees Will No Longer Be Prorated After August 1st

Beginning August 1, 2023, all new youth and adult members who join Scouting will be enrolled in a 12-month membership cycle. Both youth and adults will pay the full annual membership fee and will renew their membership on the anniversary date of joining Scouting.

Put simply, Scouting members will be asked to pay for one year of Scouting when they join, and they will renew their membership at the conclusion of those 12 months.

For currently registered Scouts and leaders, they will renew their membership at recharter this year (November 1st), and that will be their annual renewal date.

You may be asking yourself what this means for rechartering going forward. Great question! For this Fall, Unit Charter Renewal will look like it has the last few years. For Fall, 2024, the process will look different and should be largely simplified. As we learn more, we promise to keep you informed.

Join Us For a Webinar to Explain and Discuss the Changes

If you have questions, or concerns, or would like to learn more about these changes, please plan to join Assistant Scout Executive Kevin McClelland for a webinar.

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

7:00 PM

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81528688977?pwd=ME1Id2d2ODcrQlhjeHFzTzdCMU5xZz09

Thank you for taking the time to read this. While costs are on the rise everywhere, we are glad that we can keep our Council fees flat next year and continue to provide the subsidized membership fees for Husky/Lunch Letter Scouts.  This ability is a direct result of the continued support of donors, as well as our units participating in popcorn sales, district & council programs, and utilizing our camp facilities. Thank you!

Subsidized Fee Instructions

The Connecticut Rivers Council is pleased to offer membership fee assistance to families that qualify for free or reduced lunch and/or CT Husky benefits.  The recharter system does not have a means to mark those Scouts and apply the reduced fee, so we have to handle them a little differently.

• The annual fee for Scouts who qualify for the assistance is $24.
• In order to receive the reduced fee, your unit must submit a copy of the Scout’s free/reduced lunch letter, or a copy of the Scout’s CT Husky benefits card.
• There are two options for your unit to handle the fees:

1. If you would like to pay electronically via the recharter system, you will pay the full fee for these Scouts, and the overpayment will be refunded to your unit’s Scout Shop account. This is not recommended.
2. The preferred option is to pay offline. This will allow us to calculate the appropriate fees so there is no overpayment.

Support Documents

Internet Rechartering Instructions – this document provides step-by-step guidance on navigating the entire rechartering system.

Internet Rechartering FAQs – answers to the most frequently asked questions about the internet rechartering system.

Internet Rechartering Instructional Video – a video version of the system instructions.

How to Assign your Recharter Processor the Key 3 Delegate Role

BSA Liability Insurance Info for Chartered Organizations – please share this document with your Chartered Organization if they have any questions regarding insurance coverage.

Chartered Organization Insurance Brochure

Where to Go for Help

We hope that you find the recharter system easy to navigate.  Just in case you run into any issues not covered here, we have several people who can help:

• Your Unit and District Commissioners
• For Units in Leaders of the Revolution Chip Goss – eugene.goss@scouting.org
• For Units in the Charter Oak District – Ricki Ann Levesque  rickianne.levesque@scouting.org
• For Units in the Western District – Lucas Blinn  lucas.blinn@scouting.org
• For Units in the Southeastern District Johncoleman2@Scouting.org 
• Alex Cantor Alex.cantor@scouting,org
•  Kevin McClelland kevin.mcclelland@scouting.org
• Council Office – 860-913-2700

If you need some in-depth assistance, please feel free to schedule a Zoom meeting with Kevin by clicking here.

Thanks for all the great stuff you’re doing to bring Scouting to our communities.  Let’s knock out this recharter and get back to the fun stuf