BSA 2013 National Membership Study - Executive Summary
released 4/19/2013, key excerpts below ...
61% of scouters favored the current policy, 34 % oppose it.
61% of Boy Scout parents supported the current policy, while 50% of Cub Scout parents backed it (45% of Cub Scout parents opposed it).
51% of major donors support the current policy while 33% oppose it. But a majority of Fortune 500 companies want to see the policy changed.
The summary of findings said a policy change would cost the Scouts a minimum of 100,000 to 350,000 (13.5%) members. “It is believed any gain in membership because of a change to the membership policy related to youth and adults would be in the range of 10,000 to 20,000 (<1%) youth.”
BSA has been in a negative growth slope since 1973. The new Membership Standard adopted on 5/23/2013 to allow openly homosexual youth, but no adults, will add to the membership decline but not dramatically. It may take a year, i.e., early 2015, before BSA releases its annual membership statistics before we can judge how BSA membership has been affected.