Following are some recommendations for Technology that can make organizing, managing, and communicated with your Pack, Troop, organization easier. These might overlap with recommendations from National.

 

Create a Free Web Site with Google Sites.

It is free and easy to use! The Page for www.pack673.org was created in a weekend. This gets you a free web site like https://sites.google.com/view/pack673bellevuewa. If you complete #5 below, you can get a custom domain which is easier for folks to remember. You can then ask Scouting America to point “Be a Scout” to your site. Hopefully someone in your Pack will work or know enough IT to do this for you.

 

Create a Free Email For Inquiries, Questions, etc. with Google Mail

Free, easy to use, gives you 15Gb of free storage (see #3), and you may already be using Google Sites. Having a Pack or Troop email is better than a personal email as folks turn over in the Pack every so many years.

 

Store documents, pictures, etc. for Free on Home – Google Drive

With your free email address, you get 15Gb of storage. Having a single location to store documents helps with year to year and Leadership transitions. Keep track of annual planning documents, Den meetings, how to set up events like the Blue and Gold banquet\PWD\Raingutter Regatta, Summer Program, pictures for the web site, Flyers, etc. all on Google Drive.

 

Use ScoutBook for their free meeting attendance, bulk signoff of requirements, calendar management, and payments

ScoutBook has been adding new features that might help make managing your Pack, Troop, etc. easier and is free!

 

Use Home | BAND for Free Calendar, Chat, and Communication

Band is free and easy to use. Texting and email is nice but can get complicated with Parents and Scouts joining and leaving the Pack. If you have every had to add someone new to a text thread, you understand the pain involved.

 

Check out Troop Web Host for managing communication, calendars, RSVP, payments, more.

This site is used by many of our local units. It requires syncing with Scoutbook for best results. It helps manage communication, calendars, RSVP, payments, and much more.

Other sites exist as well like TroopTrack.

 

(Optional – not free) Register a Domain

Once you have a web site, you can register a proper domain with a company like Squarespace — Account Dashboard. This is not free but does give you a friendly web site to share with potential Parents. Registering and pointing to your Google Site does take a little more IT knowhow. See Registering Squarespace domains – Squarespace Help Center  for more information.

 

(Optional – not free) Use a password management system

For accounts that need a password this allows passwords to be stored in one place and not passed around via email. This takes a little more work to set up, but really helps safeguard things. Pack 673 is moving to Password Manager & Extended Access Management | 1Password | 1Password.