Welcome! This forum has a treasure trove of great info – Scouters helping Scouters! Just a heads up, though - all content, information, and opinions shared on this forum are those of the author, not the BSA.
We have a linked troop here in town. Consequently we need to deliver the same electronic communications to both troops most of the time.
There needs to be a way to sent communications to both troops at the same time. I have this fear that information will not be delivered and a scout will miss out on something due to an silly error. Having to send to one, and then duplicate the message is silly in 2019. We should be well past that with technology.
It is hard enough as an adult to keep track of this, now figure into the equation that it is a youth making the communication.
True , but it’s not just linked troops ( I am part of one) but packs …crews that may do joint activities. Joint fund raising comes in mind with our two troops and pack.
Expanding on @Matt.Johnson’s answer, when an adult account creates a calendar entry, the first step is to choose which part of the unit the event applies to. Choices depend on what the account has access to. A den admin can only choose their den. A pack admin can choose the pack, or any den or any combination of dens. A troop admin can choose the troop or a patrol or any combination of patrols. If the adult account is a unit admin in more than one unit, they can choose from all units they are part of.
However, if other folks will be editing the calendar event, they must have privileges to all calendars that are affected. A one-den admin can not edit an event for two dens. A one-troop admin can not edit the event if it is for two troops. The admin must be an admin for all units in a joint event.
I believe the unit Outdoor Activities Coordinator also has calendar permissions. I do not have experience with this position and its combination between units.
I think that I put this in the wrong forum now that I am looking at this. Calendar events are not the issue. Messaging (emails) to multiple units is the issue. There should be a way to message one or all of any units that you are link to in one step.
Method 1. Is there a mail program/server that will eliminate duplicate addresses in email sent to two mailing group lists with overlaying members? If yes, you can use that type of server and maintain separate lists for each unit, and email to two email group addresses.
Method 2: Set up four email address groups:
a. unit-1-only addresses
b. unit-2-only addresses
c. joint addresses (e.g. troop committee)
d. all addresses group which includes the three group address for unit-1-only, unit-2-only, and joint
Method 3: my.Scouting Announcements tool?
I suspect this tool currently designed for units that are not linked.
Email addresses can be downloaded from my.Scouting “Member Manager” for registered Scouts and Scouters. I do not know if non-registered parents can be linked to unit(s) or not.
There is a my.scouting Announcements tool & a my.Scouting Calendar tool (separate from Scoutbook). I have not used them.
my.Scouting Tools FAQs, September 2016
Q: What is Announcements and Calendar?
A: Both are tools Key 3s can use to post announcements and events specific to unit, district or council.
Q: Can I send out a calendar event or an announcement without clicking the Format Invitation button?
A: No, you have to format your invitation before sending it out to your unit or district.
Q: In the Calendar tool, when I schedule an event and select “Send Invitations”, how are people being notified?
A: The scheduled event will automatically appear in the member’s calendar in their My Organization Dashboard. Email notification will be in a future release.
Q: Why don’t I see an event I posted that occurs 6 months later?
A: Currently, the Calendar tool shows events posted within a two-month period. However, members in your organization are able to see events posted later than the two-month period in their My Organization Dashboard.
I’ll bring this thread back to the top. I work with two linked units (boys troop and girls troop) and find myself sending multiple emails on a regular basis. Whether it be for campout logistics, fundraising activities, etc… It becomes a real hassle to copy/paste emails multiple times to ensure everyone receives the communication. Would really like to see Scoutbook updated to streamline this effort.
The BSA has stated previously that these are different units so Scoutbook will not be updated to allow them to be managed as one, this includes sending messages.
If you use the Feature Assistant Extension for Chrome and Firefox, there is an option on the Send Message screen to “Keep message content to Send to another unit”. Turning this option on will preserve the text after you send one message so you can simply select the other unit and send the same text again.
Thank you for the quick reply. Although the BSA’s position is clear based on the separate unit designation, the practical application of how Scoutbook is used by Committees seems to be a miss. Especially, when you consider the approved BSA unit structure to have a shared Committee across multiple units and the growing number of female units across the country. There are practical applications that would warrant this use. Perhaps it’s a permission that could be limited to Committee/admins only. At any rate, the position is clear, and the inconvenience is on the units to manage. Thanks again for the quick reply.
