[9] Edgar M. Robinson and Lee F. Hanmer became interested in the nascent BSA and convinced Boyce to turn the program over to the YMCA for development in April 1910.

"[13] The current mission statement of the BSA is "to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.

[19][20] On behalf of Scouting America, Paul Sleman, Colin H. Livingstone, Ernest S. Martin, and James E. West successfully lobbied Congress for a federal charter, which President Woodrow Wilson signed on June 15, 1916.

The federal incorporation was originally construed primarily as an honor; however, it does grant the chartered organization some special privileges and rights, including freedom from antitrust and monopoly regulation and complete control over the organization's symbols and insignia, [23] though it neither implies nor accords Congress any special control over the BSA, which remains free to function independently.

[42] At the same meeting, it also stated that "[t]he recognition of God as the ruling and leading power in the universe and the grateful acknowledgement of His favors and blessings are necessary to the best type of citizenship and are wholesome precepts in the education of the growing members"[42].

The MOU also specifically includes within Unitarian Universalist chartered troops humanism as an acceptable form of spirituality as well as Earth-centered religions.

[47][48] However, in July 2012, at the culmination of a review started in 2010, an 11-person committee convened by the BSA reached a "unanimous consensus" recommending retaining the current policy.

[68] On July 27, 2015, the Boy Scouts of America National Executive Board voted to lift the organization's blanket ban on openly gay leaders and employees.

Local chartering organizations are still permitted to set their own standards based on religious principle for selecting the adult volunteers for their unit.

"On my honor, I will do my best, to do my duty, to God and my country, and to obey the Scout Law, to help other people at all times, to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight."

-Scout Oath "A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent."

[80] The BSA pursues these aims through an informal education system called the Scout method, with variations that are designed to be appropriate for the age and maturity of each membership division.

[82] Scouts interact with adult leaders who act as role models and mentors, but they are expected to plan their own activities within the troop and to participate in community service.

[84] Venturers associate and work directly with adults advisors, but the crew is led by elected youth officers who are given opportunities to learn and apply leadership skills.

[104] COPE, which stands for Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience, is a program that consists of a series of tests of strength, agility, coordination, and problem-solving, individually and within groups.

The Outdoor Adventure Division oversees four high adventure bases: Northern Tier (Minnesota, Manitoba, and Ontario), Philmont Scout Ranch (New Mexico), Sea Base (Florida, US Virgin Islands, and Bahamas), and Summit Bechtel Reserve (West Virginia), over one hundred separate camps and reservations specifically dedicated to scouts, and other special programs such as the Order of the Arrow.

It sells equipment and supplies through National Scout Shops, local council trading posts, authorized independent resellers, and online at ScoutShop.org.

For administrative purposes, the BSA is divided into sixteen National Service Territories (NSTs) including international areas for scouts with parents serving outside the US.

The BSA council provides the leader training, inter-unit activities, camping programs, volunteer and professional support, and insurance coverage.

Units also create their own activities (such as monthly camping trips, outings, or service projects), and most meet weekly at the place of the chartered organization for youth to learn basic skill development and practice leadership in small groups known as dens and patrols.

"[129] The National Council is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and is funded from private donations, membership dues, corporate sponsors, and special events with total revenues of $237 million.

[133] Prominent Americans in diverse walks of life, from filmmaker Steven Spielberg (who helped launch a merit badge in cinematography) to adventurer Steve Fossett to U.S. presidents, were BSA members as youths.

[137][138] The pinewood derby—a wood car racing event for Cub Scouts—has been declared "a celebrated rite of spring" and was named part of "America's 100 Best" by Reader's Digest.

"[144] Mayor of New York City and business tycoon Michael Bloomberg, said that the BSA's Scout Law required of all Boy Scouts—a Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent—are "all the American values ... Americans have quaintly simplistic ways and direct ways of phrasing things ...

Examples of this include the "Order of the Straight Arrow", portrayed in the King of the Hill cartoon series, and the "Indian Guides" depicted in the 1995 Chevy Chase film, Man of the House.

[153] In 2022, the Boy Scouts of America agreed to pay an additional $2.4 billion into the fund as part of a bankruptcy settlement with payments beginning in September 2023.

[156][157] On October 19, 2012, the Boy Scouts of America were forced by court order to release over 20,000 pages of documentation on 1200 alleged child sexual abuse cases within the organization from between 1965 and 1985.

[164] In addition, the organization spent millions of dollars to contest and settle lawsuits arising from sexual misconduct by BSA volunteers and employees dating back to the 1960s.

In 2018, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—the largest charter organization supporting BSA—cut ties with the BSA, substantially contributing to a net loss of nearly a million scouts and leaders.

The decision was made partly in response to BSA membership policy changes, such as allowing girls, openly gay, and transgender people to participate in the organization.