Rechartering
Introduction
This information has been provided to familiarize unit leaders with the Online or Internet Rechartering process that our council started using in 2005. The Online or Internet Rechartering process is optional. Units can use the traditional method of obtaining a conventional rechartering packet from the local council service center and doing things manually. However, the Online or Internet Rechartering process has several significant benefits and our council is asking all units with Internet capability to use this online method. Online or Internet Rechartering is only for charter renewal (i.e., rechartering). New charters must be established through the Council Service Center. Online or Internet Rechartering is for tranditional units only such as Packs, Troops, Teams, Crews, and Ships. Learning For Life units should contact the Council Service Center. The choices menu (in the left frame of this page) provides additional information, as well as an interactive how-to tutorial.If you have any questions, please contact either your unit commissioner or district commissioner, who have received training on this tool.
Benefits
There are two key benefits from using Internet Rechartering:
- More accurate member data.
- Renewals are validated against BSA membership rules before submission.
These benefits are two sides of the same coin. When the unit does data entry for charter renewal this leads to more accurate member data (because a unit member is entering the information) and ensures data integrity. The council will need to double-check and reconcile the submitted Internet Rechartering data before posting it to the council in ScoutNET PAS (Program Administration System).
The Online or Internet Rechartering system has two computer requirements:
- The user must have Intenet access using a 56KB or faster modem.
- The system is designed for the Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher web browser. Other broswers (e.g., Mozilla Firefox or Netscape) may work, but there is no support or online help for the other browsers.
Internet Rechartering Process Timing
| Timing | Activities |
|---|---|
| Preparation | The council prepares a unit charter renewal kit for each unit due to reregister, including a letter outlining the use of the new optional Internet Rechartering system, the council's Web site address, and the unit's unique access code. |
| At Least 90 Days Before Renewal Date | The district executive visits the head of the chartered, organization to renew the Scouting relationship and to discuss the current state of the unit. |
| 60 Days Before Renewal Date | The unit commissioner and unit committee conduct a membership inventory of youth and adults. Visits are made to inactive members. The charter review date is set, and all unit adults are urged to attend. |
| 60-45 Days Before Renewal Date | Units choosing to renew their charters online will visit the local council's Web site, complete the steps through the submittal process, and print a revised charter renewal application. To assist in this process, there is a report available to council employees with membership reporting capabilities entitled Commissioner's Status Report. This report provides the commissioner with the renewal status of each unit, including the date of first login, the current stage of the process completed, and date submitted. Two other reports that are available are the New Members Added Report and the Members Not Renewed Report. Both of these reports are designed to provide information to the district in an effort to follow up with new youth and dropped youth identified through the renewal process. |
| 45 Days Before Renewal Date | The commissioner and unit committee chairman conduct the charter renewal meeting with the unit per the standard charter renewal process. Additional changes may be made to the application. The renewal application with appropriate signatures, applications for new youth and adults, appropriate fees, Quality Unit recognition qualifications, and commitments for the coming year are all completed at this meeting. All forms and fees are then delivered to the council office or to the district's charter renewal turn-in meeting |
| Following the Renewal Meeting | The council's registrar receives the charter renewal application, new youth and adult applications, and appropriate fees following the charter renewal meeting. If the unit has renewed its charter using the Internet, the registrar selects the unit's on-hold recharter batch from the PAS program. All changes that were made by the unit, including new members, dropped members, and editing of member data are reflected in the on-hold batch. The registrar reviews the recharter information and posts the batch to create the new charter for the unit. |
| 30 Days After Renewal Date | The commissioner makes a formal presentation of the new charter and membership certificates at an appropriate gathering of the chartered organization. |