Eagle proposal and application guide

For unit leaders: your signature means you reviewed it

Our role as adult leaders is mentorship, not just signing forms. When we receive a proposal or application with your signature, we assume you have already reviewed and approved it. Someone other than the Scout should check it for completeness and accuracy before it is sent.

Filling in every required field correctly is a skill that will serve your Scout in job searches, college applications, and loans. Help them learn to do it right the first time.

Saving and sending the proposal

Download the current workbook and save it to your computer before filling it in. Filling it in inside a web browser can lose your answers. Type directly into the form rather than writing by hand.

The workbook has three parts: the Proposal (what the Scout wants to do), the Plan (how they'll do it), and the Report (what actually happened). Only the proposal pages are submitted for approval, plus the fundraising application if needed.

Save only the proposal pages as a PDF

• Windows: choose File, then Print. Select "Microsoft Print to PDF," enter the proposal page range under Pages, and set sizing to Actual Size.
• Mac: choose File, then Print. Enter the page range, then choose PDF, Save as PDF.

Step through the preview to make sure every proposal page is included. Long answers can push the proposal onto an extra page. If you're including the fundraising application, add its page to the range.

Name the file with the Scout's last name, a T, and the troop number. Derek Smith in Troop 447 would be SmithT447.

The signature page must be scanned, not photographed, to a PDF with all four signatures, and sent separately.

The proposal, page by page

Treat the proposal like a bid for a job: the committee is the client. Give enough information to show the Scout understands the project and is up to it. Be complete but concise. Fill in every box, and if something doesn't apply, say so. Empty boxes look like something was forgotten.

1. Cover page

   Use the Scout's full legal name, not a nickname. We use it to match official records. Give the project a descriptive title, like "Garden and Shed Restoration at Clove Lakes Park," not "Brian's Eagle Project."

2. Contact information

   Include contact details for the Scout and every leader and organization listed. The Scout's member ID matters, since it connects the project to official records. If the unit has no Eagle coach, write "None."

3. Project description and benefit

   Describe the project in complete sentences, naming the beneficiary and what will be accomplished. Two or three low-resolution photos help the committee picture it; large photos can make the file too big to email. Explain the benefit, when the project will happen, and how long it will take.

4. Giving leadership, materials, and supplies

   Leadership: how many people will help, where they'll come from, and the Scout's biggest leadership challenge. Materials become part of the finished project, like lumber, screws, and paint. Supplies get used up, like gloves, paper towels, and food. A clear idea is enough; we don't need every detail.

5. Tools, other needs, and permits

   List the tools and aids needed. Under other needs, describe anything unique, such as coordinating with a licensed contractor; don't leave it blank. Note any permits, permissions, or code sign-offs and who is responsible for them.

6. Cost estimate, phases, and logistics

   List costs even if the beneficiary provides the materials. If the form doesn't total them, we'll add the lines ourselves. Outline the project's phases, however many it really has, and explain how people, materials, and equipment get where they're needed on time.

7. Safety and next steps

   Identify hazards, like power tools, poison ivy, wasps, trenches, or water, and how each will be handled, including age-appropriate tool use under the Guide to Safe Scouting. Then outline the next planning steps if the proposal is approved.

8. Signatures

   Four signatures are needed before the Scout can begin the plan: the Scout (after reading the statement), the unit leader, a committee representative, and the beneficiary, who confirms receiving "Navigating the Eagle Scout Service Project." The fifth signature, from the district, is needed before any work begins.

9. Fundraising application

   Greater New York Councils requires it only when the Scout plans to raise $500 or more from outside their own family, such as crowdfunding, store donations, or bake sales. Submit it with the proposal. No fundraising may happen until both are approved.

After you submit

Our Eagle coordinator first checks the package against this guide. Mistakes and omissions send it back to the unit leader. Complete packages go to the Project Review Committee, whose members include technical, contracting, and business professionals.

Approval typically takes three to five days when everything is in order and the proposal is clear. Some proposals have gone back to their units five or six times because concerns weren't fully addressed.

Once approved, the Scout develops the detailed plan with their unit leaders and Eagle coach. All three workbook sections must be complete and signed by the time of the Eagle application.

Eagle application checklist

Walk your Scout through the application before signing. Council compares every date against official records, and any discrepancy sends the whole package back.

1. Use the current form

   Generate the January 2026 application in Scoutbook Plus, or download the current fillable PDF and save it before filling it in.

2. Match the official record exactly

   The Scout's name must appear exactly as in official records. Every rank and merit badge date must match to the day. Attach an advancement report from Scoutbook; unit tools like Troopmaster aren't official records.

3. Check the date the Scout joined

   All ranks and merit badges, including Scout rank, must be dated after the date the Scout joined Scouts BSA.

4. Check merit badges against Star and Life

   The badges counted toward Star and Life must be dated on or before those ranks. List the unit of membership for each badge.

5. List four references accurately

   Give accurate, individual contact information for each reference. Not everyone can share the same address and phone number. Parents and other relatives are strongly discouraged as references, and the current unit leader and committee chair aren't eligible.

6. Confirm leadership positions

   Read the requirement; positions accepted for Eagle differ from Star and Life. List only service after the Life board of review. All positions and time must be recorded in Scoutbook, or GNYC will return the application.

7. Fill in the name boxes

   Complete the Scout's name at the top of page 2, exactly as on page 1.

8. Include the statement of ambitions

   This is the Scout's chance to tell the board, in their own words, who they are beyond dates and records: how they live Scout spirit at home, school, in their faith, and in their neighborhood, and what they plan for the future.

9. Review together, then sign

   The Scout, unit leader, and committee chair review the full package, including the workbook, before anyone signs. Signing means you agree with everything on the application.