The Boy Scouts of America (BSA), which in recent years has been rocked by declining participation, a coronavirus pandemic that limited in-person gatherings, sexual abuse litigation and Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring for the national organization, is being rebranded. As of February 8, 2025, the Irving, Texas-based national organization will be known as Scouting America.
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That date coincides with the 115th anniversary of the organization’s founding. The rebranding is being supported by marketing and public relations agency FleishmanHillard. The New York City-based agency has worked with the BSA intermittently for years, and was reportedly brought on as agency of record, with a mandate to focus on the rebrand, in November 2023. Financial details of the arrangement were not available.
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“Though our name will be new, our mission remains unchanged: we are committed to teaching young people to be Prepared. For Life,” President and CEO Roger A. Krone said via a statement. “This will be a simple but very important evolution as we seek to ensure that everyone feels welcome in Scouting.”
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The name change also represents a break with the nonprofit’s troubled recent past. In 2020, the national organization filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the face of widespread allegations of sexual abuse of members. The bankruptcy proceedings did not include several hundred local BSA entities, which are separate, independent 501(c)(3) organizations.
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Participation in the BSA has been waning for several years due to several factors. According to the organization’s annual report for 2018 – the first year girls were accepted into the organization – the “BSA Family” consisted of slightly more than 1.23 million Cub Scouts and 789,784 Boy Scouts. As of its 2023 annual report, participation had dropped to 574,365 Cub Scouts and 392,275 “Scouts BSA.”
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"...a rebrand alone is probably not enough to cure a nonprofit’s woes. As the report authors caution, “Many nonprofits that experienced the greatest benefits from rebranding had other variables in motion, too — like a new strategic plan, or a staff committed to moving forward with branding and communications changes.”
