The David Thuis Blog

Eagle Scout projects make a visible difference in the community, but they aren’t cheap to complete.

So that’s why Lowe’s, the home-improvement giant with more than 1,700 stores, has teamed up with the BSA and local Scout councils to give selected Eagle Scout candidates $100 grants for their projects.

The grant program debuted in 2012 to great success. Last year, more than 3,000 Life Scouts received $100 each toward their Eagle projects. That’s a generous gift of $300,000 from the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation.

Well, there’s good news for future Eagles and their parents. The BSA announced this week that the grant program will continue beginning this month. And it’s grown, as well. This time, Lowe’s is offering 3,600 grants to deserving Eagle projects.

In 2012, councils received and distributed the cards. This time, however, things will run a little differently.

For 2013-2014, $100 Discover gift card grants will be mailed directly to Eagle Scout candidates instead of to councils.

Local councils select the Scouts to receive the cards, and then, through a council-designated volunteer, follow up to see that participating Scouts submit their required reports.

Local councils will not receive the cards and will have no responsibility to record or distribute them. Each council may reserve as many as 25 gift cards by sending a message to lowes.grant@scouting.org, notifying the BSA National Advancement Team of the council’s intent to participate.

This notification of participation must include the council name, Scout executive’s or staff designee’s name, the name and email address of one council-designated follow-up volunteer, and the number of Scout-recipients the council is confident can be identified.

Upon receipt of a notification of participation that includes all of the information mentioned above, the Advancement Team will send a link to the council’s designated follow-up volunteer that will allow electronic submission of the names and addresses of the Scouts who are to receive the gift cards.

As the Scout-recipients are submitted the advancement team will send the gift cards directly to the Scouts.

To learn more and make sure your council takes Lowe’s up on this incredible offer, please visit the new Lowe’s project website at www.scouting.org/trailtoeagle.

If after your visit to the site, you need more information, email lowes.grant@scouting.org.