How to Choose an Eagle Project

For a service project to qualify as an Eagle Scout service project, the Scout, while a Life Scout, must plan, develop, and give leadership to others in a service project benefiting any religious institution, school, or community. These projects, of course, must conform to the wishes and regulations of those for whom the project is undertaken.

The Eagle Scout service project provides the opportunity for the Eagle Scout candidate to demonstrate the leadership skills he has learned in Scouting. He does the project outside the sphere of Scouting.

As a demonstration of leadership, the Scout must plan the work, organize the personnel needed, and direct the project to its completion.
Eagle Scout projects should be about service to others. Guidelines to follow include:

• An Eagle Scout project involving council property or other BSA activities is not acceptable.
• An Eagle Scout project may not be performed for a business.
• An Eagle Scout project may not be of a commercial nature.
• An Eagle Scout project may not be a fund-raiser.
• Fund-raising is permitted only for securing materials needed to carry out the project.
• Donors to Eagle Scout projects must be made aware of what entity is benefiting from the project, and that it clearly is not the Boy
  Scouts of America.
• Any funds raised for an Eagle Scout project that are not used for the purchase of project materials must be returned to the donor.
• Routine labor, a job or service normally rendered, should not be considered.

There is no minimum number of hours that must be spent on carrying out the project. The amount of time spent must be sufficient for the Scout to clearly demonstrate leadership skills.

Using the Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project Workbook, the candidate must select his Eagle service project and have the project concept approved by his unit leader, and the benefactor of the project and the plan must be reviewed and approved by these people as well as the unit committee and a member of the district advancement committee. The project cannot be started until all four approval signatures for project plan are in the booklet

The workbook, which comes in several forms, must be used without alteration or editing, by the Scout when going through the process of conceiving and carrying out the project This Project Workbook is sent to leaders of new Life Scouts in booklet form, and can also be downloaded from the council website in .PDF and .rtf formats. When using the .rtf (rich text format), it is imperative that the Scout only use this version as a template for the written portions of the workbook, and be sure to use the other versions of the workbook as tools for following the process correctly. It is also important to be sure that the .rtf write up include at least part of the project concept, plan, and project write up on the same page as the approval signatures (on pages 6, 7, and 9 of the printed booklet). District advancement committee members may have difficulties approving the project if plan or concept details do not appear on the same page as approval signatures.