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 significant 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.

Click here for an electronic copy of the Endowment Application Form

For more information, please contact the Finance Department at 405-840-1114 or email Last.FrontierCouncil@Scouting.org