The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.

To drive Scouting’s mission are the four functions of the Black Swamp Area Council and it’s 4 districts and Exploring division are membership, program, unit service and development. 

The four functions are integral to the success of Scouting in our service area.  Membership, consists of recruiting new members and families to join Scouting along with ensuring there are enough opportunities and locations of Scout units for families to join.  The program is all about fun stuff, advancement, community service, activities, camping and training.  The Commissioner staff help to deliver the unit service to help coach and guide our Scout Units.  The last piece of the puzzle is development, the unique way the Boy Scouts of America operate is that the national registration fee is paid at recharter and when a new scout of leader joins, goes directly to support the national council.  The registration fees pay for program development, liability insurance, youth protection training, Scoutbook to name a few.  In tune the local council must generate the income to operate to support the units and our camps in our service area.  In this model, all fundraising dollars stay local. 

The impact of Scouting on the youth that we serve is at the unit level along with programs and events.  To ensure that our units and the Scouts are being deliver a quality Scouting experience, the Black Swamp Area council has adopted strategic objectives for 2023, that are focused upon membership, volunteers, development, product sales to support unit treasuries, camping/program and unit service.  Currently we only have a one-year plan as we move past the pandemic and the national council bankruptcy comes to a conclusion.  We have a vision by the end of this year to create a 3-year strategic plan to cover 2024-2026.  A copy of the current strategic action plan can be found at this link: 2023 strategic action plan