The Northeast Georgia Council

The Boy Scouts of America have a history of 91 years of helping to shape and mold the values and character of youth. The movement continues to help strengthen youth, families and communities through comprehensive program levels for its members. The extensive nature of Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, and Venturing programs allows the movement to address the six critical elements of healthy youth development.

Six Critical Elements of Healthy Youth Development *

1. Strong personal values and character.
2. Positive sense of self-worth and usefulness.
3. Caring and nurturing relationships with parents, other adults and peers.
4. A desire to learn.
5. Productive/creative use of time
6. Social adeptness

Endowments

The Endowment is an amount of money that is invested to produce income for the Northeast Georgia Council. It is managed in such a way that the principal is never diminished - a gift to the endowment will support Scouting forever! Many people like to make a gift to the endowment in honor of a significant Scouting event or to honor a special person.
Funds in the Northeast Georgia Council Endowment are professionally managed by professional investment consultants with oversight from the Council Trustees.

The National BSA Endowment Recognition Awards

Encouraging gifts to BSA local council endowment funds is one of Scouting’s highest priorities. It is one of the best ways to ensure that your council can continue to offer the outstanding programs it now has and also grow to meet the needs of the youth and communities it serves. In its gratitude for such support, the BSA nationally offers three distinct recognition awards. These awards are presented by the local council to donors who support Scouting’s financial future with gifts to their local council endowment funds. Those national recognitions are:

The James E. West Fellowship

James E. West was the first Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America, and he served in that position for more than three decades. The West Fellowship award is available for gifts of $1,000 and up in cash or marketable securities to a council endowment fund. The gift must be in addition to - and not replace or diminish - the donor’s annual Friends of Scouting support. Many individuals and corporations make these gifts either on behalf of someone else - such as in honor of an Eagle Scout, Silver Beaver recipient, a retirement, a special accomplishment, or anniversary - or in memory of a special individual. If an institution is truly "the lengthened shadow of one man," it is more than fitting that the BSA honor James E. West’s major contributions to Scouting in such a significant way.

The 1910 Society

Founded in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America has grown into something larger and more significant than anyone anticipated. We honor that special date by presenting the 1910 Society award to donors who make gifts of $25,000 or more to their council endowments. These gifts can be in the form of cash, securities, land, five-year pledges, or other property suitable for a council endowment fund or easily converted to cash. Recognition in the 1910 Society honors four very special individuals who shaped modern-day Scouting:

1. Ernest Thompson Seton, nationally known artist and naturalist, author of the first official American Scout handbook and many other books important to Scouting;
   Seton Level: $25,000 minimum gift
2. Daniel Carter Beard, first chairman of the National Court of Honor; national Scout commissioner, and author of many well-known books and stories for youth;
   Beard Level: $100,000 minimum gift
3. Theodore Roosevelt, first Chief Scout Citizen, first vice president of the BSA, and U.S. President;
   Roosevelt Level: $500,000 minimum gift
4. Waite Phillips, one of the BSA’s first benefactors and donor to the BSA of almost 130,000 acres of land in New Mexico which became Philmont Scout Ranch;
   Phillips Level: $1,000,000 minimum gift
   Phillips Silver Level: $5,000,000 minimum gift
   Phillips Gold Level: $10,000,000 minimum gift

The Founders Circle

The Founders Circle is intended to recognize deferred gifts designated for council endowment funds. With deferred giving (also called planned giving) so widely and effectively used by so many donors, the BSA wants to recognize the importance of such major gifts. Donors are recognized for gift commitments of $100,000 or more. Unlike the other endowment recognition awards, a donor may qualify for membership with gifts made through:

• Charitable bequests in a will or codicil
• Charitable trusts, such as unitrusts, annuity trusts, and lead trusts
• BSA Gift Annuities or BSA Pooled Income Fund gifts
• Life insurance/retirement plan designations
• Other deferred gifts approved by the local council

There are four levels of membership within the Founders Circle:

• Bronze $100,000 minimum gift commitment
• Silver $250,000 minimum gift commitment
• Gold $500,000 minimum gift commitment
• Platinum $1,000,000 minimum gift commitment

The early founders of the BSA had the vision and commitment to make Scouting the number one youth organization in the world. In that spirit, we honor the modern-day visionaries who qualify for the Founders Circle in their commitment to perpetuate the visions and beliefs of those founders.

For More Information

If you would like to find out more about our gift recognition programs or about Scouting’ endowment campaign, contact your local council or your regional endowment counsel. You may want to visit our finance and gift planning Web site on the Internet; the address is www.fsd.org. Or you may call our toll-free BSA finance hot line: 1-800-BSA-INFO. The application for our national endowment recognition awards is available in this PDF file. Other documents include:
What is an Endowment fact sheet
Heritage Society Commitment form
Codicil to Last Will and Testament
You will need Acrobat® Reader to view and print these forms. This free software may be downloaded from Adobe.

Thank you for your interest in and support of our great Scouting movement.

Also see the Financial Support in the Northeast Georgia Council page for more information and to find out how you can help.

* Variable derived from work compiled by the Search Institute and Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development