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Retreat Application
This form is both a financial and marketing tool. With 2 adult
Scouters assisting with registration the morning of the event, one can accept the registrations while
another types information or updates an excel spreadsheet into a computer. Logging dollars helps
finalize the report made to the council and the information on Scout Rank, etc can assist with
marketing efforts. Eg. If a scout is a Webelos II, you could invite him to be on staff next
year or save the postage on mailing a Cub Scout flyer to his house next year.
This registration form can be easily revised for the next retreat in the cycle.
Retreat Survey
This can be the single most important tool to the future
success of your event because it provides clues to the effectiveness of your promotional
efforts, it provides constructive suggestions to the program and it allows a soft sell
approach to obtaining volunteers for next years event.
Retreat Timetable
Our strategy is to finalize preliminary details
approx 9 months before the retreat weekend OR in time to promote the retreat at our
annual Awards Sunday. Our goal is to generate interest, accept retreat registrations,
and give the patch to early registrants. This creates word of mouth that often results
in additional registrations (see Milestone 1).
- Milestone 1 - Set the date/location, verify the theme, review program, submit
budget, order the patch and prepare flyers to promote the retreat at other Scouting functions.
- Milestone 2 - Identify/recruit adults who can manage the
historical re-enactment, conduct the Facilitator Training, guitarist/song leader and event registration.
- Milestone 3 - Begin initial promotion of event so the
leadership of Cub Packs can include it in their annual planning sessions during the summer (May).
(For Example: send initial retreat announcement by email to unit leadership or known contact).
Ensure CCS and diocesan website has correct information for the event and verify the links work.
- Milestone 4 - Identify/recruit adults who can manage the
historical re-enactment, conduct the Facilitator Training, and event registration.
- Milestone 5 - Promote retreat at District Roundtables.
Identify a few core adults who could assist as Facilitators.
- Milestone 6 - Begin receiving inquiries, registrations,
and answering questions. Begin coordinated marketing campaign (coordinated media "blitz" within a
2 week period about 4-6 weeks before event)
- Milestone 7 - Send Retreat Newsletters to all registrants and
to those who contacted you with questions. Send Staff copies of scripts, answer any questions
with regard to staff responsibilities, and purchase any supplies required.
- Milestone 8 - Obtain latest copy of registrations from
council office. Re-check staff for any changes. Ensure camp reservations.
- Milestone 9 - Solicit Scouters from families camping
overnight Friday night for help as Facilitators. Re-Enactment practice Friday evening and
last instructions for staff. Saturday - have fun inspiring youth.
Our Annual Timeline
- March - Milestone 1
- April - Milestone 2
- May - Milestone 3 and 4 (usually in conjunction with Awards Sunday)
- August - Milestone 3, 4 and 5
- August/September - Milestone 6
- September - Milestone 7
- Day Before Event (1st weekend in October) - Milestone 8
- Event - Milestone 9
Articles for ...
When you add a promotional release to the retreat registration, it is
a tool which allows multiple forms of promotion and gives the ability to reach a wider audience.
Pictures always catch the eye of the reader and they can help sell your audience before reading
the article.
Promotional CD
It takes a "leap of faith" for a newcomer to drive
100 miles to an event without a real concept for what to expect. "Newcomer" because our event is
virtually the first Cub Scout Council event after many Packs are organized during the Fall. By overcoming
this uncertainty, we formulated the concept of a cub retreat in the minds of our newcomers and ensured a
consistent participation as we marketed directly to this audience.
- 1998 Inaugural Retreat Video. Our Inaugural Video was used for 3-4 years
afterwards and was provided as a "giveaway" to promote the retreat. In marketing terms, it branded our
event so people knew what to expect, knew what their scouts would get out of the program and what parents
would get out of the program. We received fewer phone calls with questions, "What is a Catholic Cub
Scout Retreat?" as many of these parents are new to Scouting.
- Promotional CD
- With improved technology, we can take digital
pictures, load them onto computer, and copy them to powerpoint slides. Since we already know the
program, we could have text already written and paste the appropriate pictures into the powerpoint
slides. Presto - a free giveaway and a promotional tool at the same time.
Event Budget
The following is an actual budget. Your traditional budget or policies may
vary but at least this can be used as a guide. We had a pizza place lined up to supplement our lunch
for our Inaugural Retreat since it was the first time and we were unsure on "walk up" signees. As we found out,
our coordinated promotional campaign assured an inaugural attendance that ensured we would be over budget.
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Sample Budget
- Tip: The afternoon snack was a good break, the cubs were getting hungry
and it was a nice touch for the small price of providing some apples or oranges.
Competitive Advantage
Several pages ago, we conducted a comparison that seemed to explain
why many potential attendees choose other programs over ours. Our Exit Surveys told us what our
strengths were, we used some of the ideas from the surveys to create competitive advantages over other
events and we imitated a few programs that proved successful at the diocesan level.
| Sports, Other Scouting, etc |
Catholic Cub Scout Retreat |
| 3 hour window for local event |
Opportunity for family to camp when we combined Cub and
Boy Scout Retreats. |
| short distance to soccer field |
100 miles. Emphasize our program features (see below) that cannot be
equaled by any other |
| low cost (over length of season) |
create perception that fee is undervalued. We conducted fund
raiser before 1998 Inaugural retreat so we could produce and giveaway a free VHS video |
Public School, Catholic School, or
Unit Sponsor Event |
cannot compete if required attendance.
However, our fees allowed the flexibility for 1 or 2 overnight camping experiences with optional programs for those
who couldn't make the entire weekend. This flexibility in fee schedule accounts for 10-15% of attendance.
We had some families who worked morning shift so they could leave and attend our event in time for afternoon,
evening and Sunday morning program features. |
| no equivalent to 7 Patch Cross |
7 Patch Cross actually incentivized both Scouts and Scouters |
| no equivalent |
Living Rosary using glow sticks. |
| no equivalent |
our fund raiser allowed us to offer a FREE Video to every family that
guaranteed each Scout was represented. With today's technology, a CD is easier to produce and
would not require a separate fund raiser. |
| Human Nature ... easier to stay at home with local program |
create inspiration with unique concept that appeals to Scout and Scouter. When
we combined the 7 patch cross, a free video and mailing event patch to early registrants, we overcame all
other competition. |
| no equivalent |
We bought white cloth to symbolize the sacrament of Baptism
and found a volunteer who would sew it into "neckerchief" size giveaways for every attendee. Some
bought an extra patch to sew it onto their new "neckerchief." |
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