Endowment Gifts and Recognitions

A strong endowment is one of the best ways to ensure that a Scout council can continue to offer outstanding programs and also can grow to meet the needs of the youth and community it serves.

In gratitude for support of local council endowment funds, the BSA nationally offers three distinctive 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. The national endowment recognitions are:

Alabama-Florida Council Centennial Society

In addition to the three distinct recognitions offered nationally, the Alabama-Florida Council also would like to honor donors who make any endowment investment by offered membership into the Centennial Society.  Members may join the Centennial Society by giving a gift of any amount to the endowment fund.  Acceptable gifts are:

• Gifts of Cash

• Stocks

• Bonds

• Lead trusts

• Appreciated assets with can readily be converted to cash

• A pledge (all pledges must be paid in full within five years from the pledge date)

The James E. West Fellowship

The James E. West Fellowship Award is a national recognition for individuals who contribute $1,000 or more in cash or securities to the Alabama-Florida Council's permanent endowment trust fund. Organizations or individuals may contribute monies toward a fellowship in honor of someone else: an Eagle Scout, a Silver Beaver recipient, council president or special loved ones including non-Scouters, youth or adults. Monies contributed to the Endowment Fund through the James E. West Fellowship are never spent; only the interest is used to further the programs and outreach of the Alabama-Florida Council.

The award named after the first Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America who exemplified Ralph Waldo Emerson's observation that "an institution is the lengthened shadow of one man." Scouting today is the "lengthened shadow" of more than three decades of the farseeing and dedicated leadership of Dr. James E. West.

Those who are recognized by the James E. West Fellowship Award will cast their own "lengthened shadow" as they help ensure the Scouting legacy for future generations of young people and create the financial stability of the program in the twenty-first century for your council.

Form of Recognition: The James E. West Fellowship Award is an attractive certificate personalized with the donor's name, date of gift, and council name; a distinctive lapel pin or charm; and an exclusive square knot to be worn on the scout uniform. Donors also receive an invitation to a special members-only reception at the Boy Scout National Annual Meeting.

James E. West Fellowship Members

The 1910 Society

A special national recognition program known as The 1910 Society was created to encourage significant gifts to council endowment funds. This support is vital to the financial stability of councils, and will ensure our Scouting legacy for future generations of young Americans.

To qualify as a member of The 1910 Society, an individual donor, company, or organization must contribute $25,000 or more to the local council endowment fund. Recognition will be given for gifts of cash, stock, bonds, lead trusts, or other assets that could be readily converted to cash. The gift to endowment may be in the form of a pledge, but the pledge must be paid within five years of the pledge date.

The 1910 Society was named for the year in which the early, visionary leaders of Scouting founded the Boy Scouts of America.

Members receive a leather-bound edition of the Boy Scout Handbook with their name embossed in gold on the cover, an attractive personalized parchment certificate and a distinctive lapel pin or charm. They also receive invitations to special members-only events and receptions at National Meetings and Jamborees.

The 1910 Society Members

The Founders Circle

The Founders Circle recognizes deferred gifts designated for the Alabama – Florida Council's Endowment Fund. Donors are recognized for gift commitments with a minimum value of $100,000 made through:

• Bequest in a will or codicil

• Charitable trusts, such as unitrusts, annuity trusts, and lead trusts.

• BSA Gifts Annuities or BSA Pooled Income Fund gifts

• Life insurance / retirement plan designation

• Other deferred gifts approved by the local council

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.

If you are interested in making an endowment gift, please contact the Scout Executive at (334) 792-7882.