UPDATED BELOW:
My daughter, Hailey, has been in Girl Scouts for years. I was never a big fan of Girl Scouts but I am a giant supporter of my kid and if she likes Girl Scouts then we will be at every damn meeting while I huddle in the corner of the room, smiling at the other mothers while unsuccessfully pretending my social anxiety disorder isn’t completely obvious to everyone.
And, for the most part, it’s quite lovely. Except for twice. One of those things I’m still working on and will write about soon because I can’t do it without screaming a lot. The other can’t wait because girl scout cookies go on sale tomorrow and I have serious reservations.
I contacted the CEO who told me to email the social media team, but so far I have no good answers so I’m just going to put this letter on my blog and maybe it will cause someone in head office to say, “This lady is 18 kinds of wrong. Let’s straighten her out right now, and make sure that we answer people when they badger us because they might be psychopaths with blogs.” Or maybe it will cause someone in the head office to say, “YES. YOU ARE EXACTLY RIGHT AND WE CAN DO BETTER.” Or maybe they’ll say, “Your daughter is kicked out of Girl Scouts. Good luck starting your own club, loser.” And that would be unfortunate but I’ve promised Hailey that if it does happen I will help her create the “What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club” and she was mollified.
Now, enough preamble…here’s the letter:
Hi there. My name is Jenny Lawson and I’m having some issues I can’t seem to get answers to.
My daughter is 10 and has loved Girl Scouts for years but there are a few issues we have concerning cookie sales and I’ve been unable to get a straight answer from anyone I’ve contacted. Two issues:
1. I’ve read on the Girl Scouts website that the current pension deficit issue will cause most local councils to see a 40% increase in pension expenses starting the day girl scout cookies go on sale, and a 62% increase over the next three years. According to the girl scout.org site “For many Girl Scout councils, this means that the pension expense will suck up money that would normally go toward operating expenses such as staff salaries and benefits, camp maintenance, outreach programs for at-risk girls, scholarship support for low-income girls, and general programming.”
I know you’re currently trying to get congress to grant legislation to help you but I haven’t heard of any progress on that, so I’m under the impression that as it stands, cookie sales that previously went to scholarships and camp maintenance will now be used to pay pension debt. I’m reading of many historic camps that are being closed or sold. It’s a concern for many reasons, but particularly because the girls in our troop were always able to say that cookie sales help at-risk girls and support community camps. We haven’t been able to get any verbiage to respond to people who will ask why girl scout camps are being sold and whether the councils will be able to support scholarships as they have in the past.
2. The digital cookie sales that will allow girl scouts to sell online starting this year: From what I’ve read online, if my daughter sells a box of cookies to her nana online, her nana will be charged $4 for the cookies and $11.25 for shipping. So of the $15+ sale for one box of cookies my daughters troop will see about 60 cents. Is that right? Was that the most competitive shipping price available? Were there other bids?
Also, I’ve heard there is a handling fee of $1.25 if you pay online but have the girl scout deliver the cookies to you. Why is that, when the girls offer free personal delivery when ordering in person? (I’ve also seen it called a “credit card fee” for girl scout delivery, but that number seems incredibly high if it’s a processing fee, and credit card surcharge fees are illegal in our state.) Does the girl scout troop get the delivery fee? Do people who buy boxes online but donate them to the official Girl Scout charity have to pay those fees as well?
I hate to be nit-picky but it seems like an extremely questionable business model and my daughter has been taught by the Girl Scouts to ask questions when you think something is wrong, and to make good financial decisions, so that’s why we’re asking you for a real response so we can make a decision on whether her time is best spent selling cookies, or doing something with a greater return to her community.
Hailey is currently working toward her Bronze Award, focusing on the Girl Scouts Journey which concentrates on stopping harmful gender stereotypes, and one of the inequities we’ve discussed ourselves is that, on average, women often accept and are paid less than their male counterparts. We looked at the breakdowns and agreed that this years cookie sales program undervalues her contribution, but we also thought it was important to voice our concerns, to work hard to make sure we understood the reasoning and facts, and to try to make this organization a stronger one by asking the hard questions. I hope that you’ll be able to answer us before cookies go on sale.
As always, good luck.
~ Jenny Lawson
UPDATED (day 2): First off, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Secondly, thanks for the great feedback. It’s both relieving and disconcerting to see that so many of us have the same concerns, but I think that’s a really helpful thing for the Girl Scouts to know. The good news is that last night the Girl Scouts twitter account said they’d touch base with us after the holidays, and this morning the CEO (Anna M. Chávez) DMed me to say they’d follow up with us tomorrow. Hopefully they’ll have a good response explaining the details, or expounding on how they plan to improve in either deed, transparency or communications. It’s not ideal, but it’s a step in a good direction and hopefully one that will make the organization stronger.
Also, Hailey has decided to pass on the online sales thing this year, but my sweet daughter will probably be one of those excited young girl scouts manning a cookie booth outside a grocery story because she loves being an extrovert (I suspect she was switched at birth) so please keep in mind that the little girls asking for sales are not privy to -or responsible for- all of these complicated issues and should never be yelled at for their excitement. It’s fine to say “Sure, I love Do-Si-Dos” or “No, thanks” but yelling at small children isn’t really kosher. I know I probably don’t have to say this out loud for any regular reader with common sense, but just in case this gets to someone who isn’t a regular, please remember that children are children and are affected by your interactions.
If you’ve read my book you’ll know that already because my dedication page reads:
In other words, that shit sticks, so be nice to small children. That’s just basic human decency.
I’ll keep you posted on what I hear. Also, Hailey was extremely excited to hear how many of you were interested in the Doctor Who/Zombie/Night Vale Club. She’s designing a logo right now. No dues. Requirements: Be kind to one another. And always carry a towel. (We just finished The HitchHikers Guide to the Galaxy. ‘Nuff said.)
PS. Some of you are saying that the shipping is for a case at a time and that you can’t order less than 6 boxes at a time, but I just checked it myself and was able to place an order for one box of cookies. It was $11.25 shipping. Also, it looks like if you choose to have your local girl scout deliver it or if you donate the cookies to the USO you’ll be paying a “handling fee” for online orders.
Here’s the breakdown:
UPDATED (Day 3): So, I don’t know what to tell you. I was told the Girl Scouts would follow up with us today, but when I sent a tweet reminding them that we were promised a response, the Girl Scouts twitter account (very sweetly) said their Chief Digital Cookie Lead had sent me an email this morning. I searched everywhere but turns out she sent an email to some random woman whose email is nothing like mine. I asked their twitter person to just forward it to my email but they said the Digital Cookie Lead would have to do that and “she’s out of the office on holiday but should follow up soon.”
My response to them:
“I appreciate the thought. Honestly though, I’m so disappointed. Hundreds of people who are involved in Girl Scouts are on my blog asking for answers and no one representing the Girl Scouts has responded to any of our concerns, and more keep arising.
At this point I have to assume that the lack of a good answer is our answer and that’s very disheartening.
Also, I realize you personally are not the entire Girl Scout Organization and your hands are probably tied yourself, but if you have the ability to pass this up to someone who will listen it would be nice to know that these concerns are at least known. Responsive and effective communications, transparency, and dialogue are so important.
Also, as a suggestion: Perhaps next year the online sales program should not be launched on the same week that the Digital Cookie Lead responsible for it is off on holiday.
I wish you good luck and I hope that these issues can be resolved in the future. I know you’ll agree that our girls deserve that.”
If any real response ever comes I’ll pass it on here. Until then I’ll be buying Thin Mints because I like the cookies and love to see happy kids giddy over making a sale, but not necessarily because I think its a good investment in the girls.
UPDATED (Day 5): Just got an email from the Girl Scout Social Media team. It answers a few questions very well, is vague on others, ignores some altogether, and a few of the answers seem questionable, but frankly I’m just happy to see that someone is paying attention and responding. I’ve also invited them to come here to respond to your questions. Thanks for hanging in there, you guys. And thanks for pushing for answers. At least a few of them are here, and that feels like a small victory for all of us. :
Response from the Girl Scouts Social Media Account (January 5th):
Dear Jenny,
Thanks for reaching out to express your concerns and apologies in the delay in repsonse over the holiday.
As you know, the Girl Scout mission is to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. It is a shared goal of our movement to maximize the dollars available to serve girls.
Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) made great effort over the past year working nationally with councils on two separate relief efforts to ease the financial burden stemming from the liability in the National Girl Scout Council Retirement Plan.
In April 2014, we were able to announce that GSUSA had officially signed an agreement with the IRS as fiduciary of the Council Pension Plan to extend the amortization period by more than four years. President Obama also signed into law H.R. 4275, a relief package unanimously passed by Congress that will smooth out council contributions over the next three years by allowing council pension plans to go back under the Pension Protection Act. Girl Scout councils and supporters nationwide united to contact over 100 Congressional offices, and wrote over 1,000 letters. The legislative support for the movement is truly historic—in fact, only 0.3 percent of Senate bills (three other bills) had such a high level of support. In addition to relief efforts, GSUSA included $1M in its Fiscal Year 2015 budget for pension assistance to councils participating in the National Girl Scout Council Retirement Plan.
To share a bit about our movement’s structure, each of the 112 Girl Scout councils have their own nonprofit status, budgets, operating models, camps, programmatic offerings, and cookie selling periods. Financial decisions such as whether or not to sell or close a camp based on usage, costs, and other camp property, are made by each local council.
The Girl Scout Cookie Program has been providing girls with educational and confidence-building experiences since the first recorded cookie sale in 1917. In keeping with tradition, the revenue from cookie sales will continue to benefit individual girl scouts. While a council may at times tap cookie money for core expenses like programming or staffing, the primary beneficiary is the girls, who decide how to spend their troop cookie money to reinvest in their communities and to have new learning experiences.
As Digital Cookie is a brand new initiative, we can understand that people need to become more familiar with the ins and outs. Shipping costs are in line with established industry standards from reputable companies, and comparable to what customers would pay to ship cookies. With time, we hope that the scale of sales through this part of the program will drive down the costs of shipping and handling.
We would like to assure you that Girl Scouts is committed to bringing girls a dynamic, exciting, and, most of all, FUN Girl Scout experience—one they cannot get anywhere else.
Thanks again for seeking clarification. We’re working to update our website and hope this note has addressed your concerns. Best wishes to your daughter, we hope she has a ah-mazing year with her troop!
And so there we are. What have we learned? We learned that the pension issue could have been answered a month ago when our troop first sent letters asking what it meant and then I wouldn’t have written this post in the first place. But I did, and it was good because looking at the comments you can see real issues…some that we can change and others that we can’t. We know that often the issues we think we struggle with alone are actually far-reaching, and are worthy of addressing. We’ve learned that a large corporation cannot be all things to all people, and that the success of your troop depends almost entirely on the skills and choices of your specific troop, leaders, volunteers and local council. We’ve learned that no one really knows entirely what is going on. (I suspect we already knew that.)
But the thing I learned the most through all of this is that the woman who started the girl scouts was a bad-ass who looked like she would kill you and eat you if you messed with her or her girls.
There wasn’t a commercial cookie program when she was around (aside from sporadic bake sales of homemade cookies) and I suspect if she was around now she’d be asking a lot of these same questions, and pointing to her 1917 quote on the importance of “Thriftiness” being taught to girl scouts:
“The most valuable thing we have in this life is time, and most girls are apt to be rather stupid about getting the most out of it….Money is a very useful thing to have.” ~ Juliette Gordon Low
Of course, this was a woman who found out that her dead husband willed all of his money to his mistress and she was like, “Aw, HELL NO. LAWYER UP, Y’ALL, BECAUSE THIS BULLSHIT WILL NOT STAND.” (I’m paraphrasing. BTW…she won that half million dollar lawsuit, against the advice of friends who advised her to not make waves.)
But there’s another quote from her that probably fits better here, even though it’s a bit poignant for this sort of irreverent blog.
Juliette Gordon Low on Girl Scouting:
“I realize that each year it has changed and grown until I know that,
a decade from now, what I might say of it would seem like an echo of
what has been instead of what is.
The work of today is the history of tomorrow, and we are its makers.”
This might not be what Juliette had in mind when she starting Girl Scouts, but I’d like to think that our work today to ask the hard questions and fight the good fight would have earned a small nod from her. And possibly a raised eyebrow at all the cursing.
Probably both.
Dear Jenny and Haley:
YOU GO, GIRLS.
Signed,
Someone who only hacked a couple years in the Girl Scouts before saying “the hell with this” because the 4-H club in her town had a better camp anyway
The post office will deliver for WAY less than $11.25. I work in the mail order industry. Girl Scout cookie volume is much greater than the product we sell – and we pay $5.35 for a package the size of GS cookies. The Girl Scouts better get on the phone and ask for Commercial Plus Pricing. And that $5.90 can go to the kids who can’t pay for camp. Done.
I got kicked out of cub scouts, so you don’t want my advice.
Right on. These are exactly the kinds of questions that should be asked of any organization and its fundraising. Bravo for raising it.
My daughters recently dropped out of Girl Scouts. I too was very concerned by how little funds went directly to the Troop that was responsible for selling the cookies. I understand that the Troops need to have Council oversight, but really, just how are the services provided by Council or even National? I was a Troop leader for two years, and they were the most frustrating years of my life. Our Council was useless to put it kindly.
Send it Jenny. You are spot on. If the Girls Scouts mission isn’t to help every girl’s transition to adulthood, regardless of ethnicity, social status, sexual orientation, etc, then it has outlived its usefulness.
You are parenting right. And I am kind of glad my kid isn’t doing Girl Scouts any more because the online cookie thing is baffling to me, too, but without a kid directly involved I didn’t feel compelled to address it directly to GS. I hope you get an answer.
But I’d be lying if I didn’t also want to learn more about this What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club, because MAN is that relevant to my…children’s interests. Yes. The interests of my children.
Good questions, I can’t wait to see what the GS say.
Nicely stated. And not craxy at all. good job.
Who knew that thin mints were so political? Does that mean if Hailey were to sell boxes and boxes of them while standing outside a gym or Weight Watchers meeting, that the money would be going towards the fat cats retiring other than the well placed and industrial young scouts? That’s just wrong. Although I guess it’s teaching youth the value of staying in a job long enough that you can retire on cookies.
Get ’em, Jenny.
(I almost said, “post a link to your kid’s online sales”, but then I decided that would be weird. So I didn’t.)
Good luck! 🙂
$11.25 for shipping?!? That’s freakin’ highway robbery! I can’t wait to see their response!
Bravo to you. That’s way too much overhead for an organization that’s ostensibly to help young women.
This is why my daughter quit girl scouts this year. My friend and troop leader just couldn’t justify continuing this charade any more. It’s obvious that someone is lining their pockets with the money from the cookies. I hope you get an answer from them.
I’m a Girl Scout leader in Ohio, I have’t heard any of this stuff (which doesn’t mean it’s not happening here too, our council pretty much blows concerning any type of communication). I’ll keep my fingers crossed you get some answers, and quickly. Dealing with any of the Girl Scouts that aren’t in volunteer positions have always been a pain in the ass, in my experience. Good luck!
This is a great letter Jenny- I read about the closing of a number of camps a year or so ago- it seemed like alot of the money is being used for things other than helping the girls- like .. office space in pricey locations. Sad, because so many girls benefit greatly from Scouts.
👍
AMEN! Unfortunately, in many places Girl Scouts has become all about the Council and not about the girls. You want to up your frustration level by a bazillion? Try being a GS freaking Leader. I was yelled at, condescended to, disrespected and abused–and none of that came from the girls or their parents. And frequently, when I asked Council-wide or state-wide questions about policy, I’d get really snide responses that dodged the question.
That aside, I’m extremely proud of the girls I worked with, and the women who led our troop with me.
You are very correct to be concerned about closing camps, where the money is going, lack of scholarships, and that outrageous shipping fee. I hope you’ll keep us posted if you get any answers!
mb
Hi Jenny! I have always had the exact same questions, and the same dilemma. But I’m an extremist, and will spite the heck out of people by marching through the forest without a path. What I do for the girls is skip the cookies, and the calories, and made a donation check to the troop for $249. If it were $250, it would go to their head council, and they would take a cut, and then the troop would get it. That way I paid money that would have 100% of the money directly benefit the troop I was helping without the ‘cut a bit here’, and ‘a cut for this there’.
Those are all excellent and valid questions to be asking, and ones that the Girl Scouts should answer. In fact they should have been addressed prior to your asking them, so that you didn’t need to. Perhaps other people who have daughters in Girl Scouts who share your concerns could also send letters reiterating your points?
Finally, I would like to join the What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club. This sounds like an organization that will have some valuable life skills to impart to its members. Will there be badges / patches to earn? Can we earn them online via distance learning? Is being able to build our own sonic screwdriver (with wood setting, obviously) a prerequisite to admission into the Prep Club? Or is this a skill that will be taught?
All valid questions. I’m less likely to buy the cookies if it’s not going to the camps and such. I hope you get some answers soon.
I’m really glad you’re asking these questions. I was in Girl Scouts for a very long time and as I got older, I found that the people above my troop leaders were not always 100% honest with us and did not really care for questions like these. The organization should definitely be made aware that it’s in their best interest to be transparent with their members. Go Jenny!
See??? This is exactly why I was a goddamn campfire girl
Genius. Pure genius. As a Girl Scout leader, I have over the years had less and less faith that GSUSA has their poop in a group (and I had very little faith in that to begin with), so I doubt you’ll get a sensical answer. I think pertinent questions they should have answered on that page were, “How did you not see this coming?” and “Why do you still participate in pensions when corporation after corporation after corporation (I’m looking at you USPS and the city of Detroit) have proven that pensions are not the fiscally responsible way to fund retirement plans?” Maybe you could do a questions, part 2?
I too have issues with the Girl Scout program as I’ve tried to get my disabled daughter involved and not one group in our area will accept her. I paid her dues and waited for her “new leader” to contact us. Never happened so I started calling. I was told my the rep for my area that unfortunately they can not force a group to accept a scout but my daughter is more than welcome to go at it alone. Asked what that meant for her and the ladies response was she can sell cookies. So basically my daughter can earn money for them but will not be able to participate it actual Girl Scouts. I asked for my money back and they refused to refund it. They also wouldn’t answer any calls or emails after that. My daughter is now a girls scout in a group 1 and half hours away because there was a group that was willing to take her. Vent done…
I really hope you get an answer. I’d like to know the answer to these questions too. Also you’re an amazing parent 😀
You are using your power for good. These ARE outstanding questions, ones which (as the single mom of a boy who already rejected Boy Scouts) I never knew existed. I look forward to hearing the response, and to asking friends whose daughters are in GS if they were aware of these issues.
You are amazing. Thank you for taking the time to investigate this issue and attempt to get an answer. I appreciate your commitment to your daughter and to all the girls helped by the Girl Scouts.
Well said! I look forward to hearing their response.
glad my name is not Girl Scouts today…
60 cents per box of cookies? I thought it was 30 cents.
PERFECT! This is exactly what needs to be asked all over the place. I have been brought into the manager’s office for not being bubbly or warm enough ( I just really fucking love sass. Deal.) When I asked if it was because I’m a woman and cited male coworkers as ALL not being bubbly whatsoever, the issue was immediately dropped.
Awesome! I am a girl scout leader and I have the exact same concerns as you have stated. I do hope someone can answer these questions for us both. I will forward this to our Northern California council and see if I can get a response.
I think these questions are wonderful & hope they re-evaluate their plans to be more beneficial to the girls they serve. Maybe her efforts would be better utilized through the charitable works you have created. Happy New Year!!
I’ll order from Haley – and pay my own damn shipping! Can I do that, Jenny L?
Perhaps the Cookie Age is coming to a close? I know it’s tradition and everything but if it isn’t effective fundraising and even worse seems pointless to the girls, why bother? (I hope the Girl Scout Hit Squad don’t firebomb my house for saying that.)
Fantastic. I want to hug you. Good for both of you for asking the hard questions. Too often major organizations manage to sneak their plans past our noses and it thrills me to see you sticking your nose right in their business. Please keep us updated and please keep being awesome ~ both of you!
Hell yes. Love it, Jenny & Hailey!
Thanks for writing this letter, Jenny. My daughter will also begin selling cookies soon. Her troop leader let us know that “there are a lot of changes that we need to know about”. I’ve always known that the percentage of profit that troops make from cookie sales is ridiculously low, but given that it’s one of the only ways that a troop makes money, I’ve always bought (and now, sold) cookies to support the scouts. However, if what you’ve written is true, and I’m sure it is, I don’t know how much time I will be spending helping my daughter peddle Thin Mints this year!!! I’m going to see if I can share your blog entry with my troop peeps. Thanks again.
This is fucking awesome. Thank you, thank you!
As a proud former Girl Scout, it hurts my heart to see the organization making such confusing decisions that, as you pointed out, seem to directly contradict the organization’s values. I applaud you for asking the tough questions and for teaching your daughter to do the same. Hopefully this can be resolved!
I am a leader and my own daughters opt out of the cookie business for many reasons including this one. It makes me sad that an organization that my girls love ( thus my leadership) tries to market this fundraiser as an opportunity to learn entrepreneurial skills when we see only 60 cents at the troop level. I am patiently waiting for the day when they’ve had enough and we can move on to bigger and brighter things.
We did GS from 2nd to 9th grade. Cookie sales are really bizarre. The council also forbids outside fundraising as they want GS to focus on cookie sales!! I always hated cookie sales and think that an overhaul is needed. Good luck, Jenny!
Please get on the Boyscouts as well. My son is a cubscout and I swear he makes more money just asking for donations rather than selling the overpriced Boyscout Popcorn. When I ask why he needs to sell it, I’m told it will help him “build character”. His parents are both smartasses. The kid already has it in spades. Just saying!
My daughter and I would like to join the What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club. Is there an age limit? My daughter is 24. However, she does have her own transportation that seats 7, so field trips to Dr. Who marathons are covered.
Please let us know ASAP. I will need time to sew uniforms, as the only ones I can find in a size to fit a 24 year old, are simultaneously and inexplicably both too high and too low-cut, and sold by a girl’s uniform store called The Love Pantry. Go figure. Anyway, I think it’s best if we design our own.
Mu oldest just became a Faisy this past year as she was finally old enough to be a Girl Scout and was trying to figure out the digital cookie sales myself. After reading this, am truly not wasting my time. I am big on doing most online, but this certainly isn’t worth it. Thanks seriously and you definitely said a mouthful here!
Don’t know why you cant get a straight answer to what seems to be perfectly reasonable questions. $11= for postage. That’s about £9.00 UK
Sorry that with the additional costs, I’d ne telling mu grandkids, who attend cubs here would ne told to bake me some on their next visit. Off course we would discuss, like you have with H the reason why we weren’t happy to pay out.
Keep the pressure up these q’s need an answer.
Great letter! This is crazy. I was able to go to camp one year because of my cookie sales. There’s no way I would have been able to attend otherwise. I then worked at the camp as a teenager. Great memories. Hate to think other girls will miss out on the experience of going to camp and/or being a camp counselor. Thanks for bringing this to everyone’s attention, Jenny & Hailey!
As a lifetime Girl Scout member with her Gold Award. I’m embarrassed about the cookie crap and the financial mess. I truly hope you and your daughter stay with the Girl Scouts despite stupid shit like this, ’cause scouting is damn fun. I obviously learned how to cuss like a sailor while learning sailing, know how to start a fire with twigs and a rock, and have moves MacGyver couldn’t pull off. All those mad skills would be awesome in the zombie apocalypse wars, just saying.
Definitely good questions that we were wondering as well. My daughter, Krysta, is a Cadet level Girl Scout and last year we choose to forgo cookie sales because the scholarships were less helpful to low income families of girls than previous years. It seems though we work harder to get less each year and that is sad. I hope your letter reaches the right people.
Even with your “Knock Knock Motherfucker” mentality, you are able to present a completely AWESOME & LOGICAL piece to the Girl Scouts of America. I was shocked at the information you presented about their financial fiasco. Seems like the online buying is nothing short of “TicketMaster Trickery” – sell the item at retail and jack up the prices for shipping and convenience fees.
Good luck with your letter. Looking forward to their response. Keep us posted!!
Me again. I’m glad to see that everyone else has as much trouble with their council as I do. Now, if GSUSA said they were going to spend that money on straightening out councils, I’d pimp those cookies like Suge Knight on a weed bender.
(And yes, I’ve been treated poorly by my council as well. I got a stern “talking to” and a “letter in my file” because I allegedly was disparaging someone under my breath at a leader meeting. To which I responded, “You must be mistaken. I do all of my disparaging of total strangers way above my breath. If I was being mean, you would have heard it.” Then like a year ago, they had the nerve to tell me that I was more than welcome at leader meetings, and should attend them regularly. I was all like, “Really? Why would I willingly and voluntarily subject myself to being accused of things I didn’t do just to find out that you’re implementing policies that are stupid, meaningless, and don’t actually solve any problems?” Needless to day, I still don’t go. Makes it easier to claim ignorance when ignoring said stupid policies…..)
Sorry for the digression.
Please let us know when/if you get a reply! Thanks for raising awareness about this. I never would have known!
I’m a long time leader for GS and I cannot agree with you more about the pension issues.
As far as shipping costs are concerned, this isn’t being handled at the National level (from what I’ve been told). A person at your local level needs to select the cookies and ship them. People from our local GS office went to the post office and showed us pictures of actual shipping costs. The costs using online ordering are close to actual shipping costs, then handling for the staff member’s time. As far as the costs for online and having a Girl Scout deliver or the additional cost if the customer wants to order cookies for Soldiers (Operation Gratitude we call it), I find them outrageous!
I’m going to do what I always do, ship the cookies myself.
Yeah, it is pretty much a racket, and a poorly run one at that. I haven’t bought GS cookies in a few years, instead sometimes I’ll drop a dollar in their jar when they’re outside the grocery store. I have two sons, and lord knows the boy scouts have their problems, but fundraising was at least local without so many large corporate leeches siphoning off their cuts. I’ll be curious to see what response you get, if any.
I’m a former Girl Scout (all the years I could be one) and GS leader and GS cookie mom (the person with all the cookies in her living room..and dining room…and hallway). I like many of the values that GS teaches girls, but I don’t need to eat cookies. Instead, when a GS wants to sell me cookies, I happily donate money directly to her troop. The girls get my money for their programs and outings, and I remain cookie-free. I know that leaves the council (and therefore the camps) out, so it’s not a perfect solution, but it seems fair to the girl who gave me the sales pitch.
Extremely low return of funds to the troop level was why I, as a troop leader back in the now ancient times of the 1980s, did not put heavy focus on cookie sales as a fundraiser.
We did sell cookies but our focus was booth sales skills and learning to market those cookies in person and handle cash the kind of things one can use later on in life.
Our real fundraiser was running the 4-H snack Bar at the local fair! The 4-H owned the building and ran it during other events but were too busy during fair time to be there…we made BANK!
Took the entire troop Whale watching, to the state capitol and then to Washington D.C. this way over the years and learned a lot in the process.
Cookies are traditional and have a small place at the table, I look forward to hearing the reply to your letter as I have asked these sorts questions for years myself.
The entire mail order shipping fee is counter productive IMO.
We recently left Girl Scouts due to some questionable practices from our local troop leaders. I’m very interested to know how this issue ends up!
Thanks, Jenny, for bringing this up. Even before recent changes, only a minor portion of the money went to Girl Scout activities; most of it goes to the companies that make and distribute the cookies. Although I loved selling cookies when I was a kid, and was the cookie mom for my daughter’s troop, the further along my kids got in school, the more baffled I became as to why we let companies use our kids as their unpaid sales forces. Kids are asked to sell everything under the sun so that a few cents can go to a school or activity. The ones who really benefit from this practice are the adults running the companies–not our kids.
I’ve been a Girl Scout leader for years- we camped every year- here’s an older article for those unfamiliar with the situation.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/12/why-are-girl-scout-camps-being-closed.html
So sad:(
You are fabulous, darling. Fabulous.
There’s no way you can look at the face of the little Girl Scout standing at your door trying to sell you cookies and say, “Sorry, I don’t want to fund the pensions at headquarters.” This has long been troublesome — too much money goes somewhere else and not enough is spent at home. Please let us know what kind of response you receive (if any). BTW, I got a traffic ticket for making a left turn I wasn’t supposed to make and had to pay a fine of $128. Only $12 of that fine stayed in our community, the rest went to the state, so my little city can’t even cover the policeman’s pay if he has to go to court over the ticket. Or his pay for sitting at the corner waiting for traffic villains like me. Which is why no one pays attention to speed limits any more. Which is a whole nother problem. Happy new year!
THIS is why I was in boy scouts. (Well, not really!)
Well, sort of. My Dad was a troop leader back in Nova Scotia, and my brother was a boy scout. SO, I was allowed to tag along to all the meetings, participate in all the stuff, even went to a jamboree (not that I remember it).
Mom TRIED to get me in girl scouts after that, but it was baking and girly stuff, not camping and rough housing, so, I quit after about 2 months. LOL
Boy scouts was MUCH more fun (for me.)
I hope you get an answer, those are great questions, I have 2 girl scouts and was a former leader and the council we are in chose not to do online sales, maybe that is because of the crazy shipping costs or something. But would love to hear there response 🙂
My daughter was a Girl Scout and attended Girl Scout summer camp. I was her troop leader, and cookie mom. I hated cookie sale time. I hated cookie sales with unbridled passion. The only reason I continued was because I knew that the cookie sale money went toward camp maintenance and scholarships. The time that my daughter spent at camp, the joy she spoke of, the challenges she dealt with, the awesome examples set by camp counselors, made it all worth it to me. We have not been in Girl Scouts for several years. I had no idea the camps were suffering. That fact saddens me. I hope your letter gets a real response. Girl Scouts, Girl Scout Volunteers (Troop Leaders, etc.) and Girl Scout Camps Rule! GSA sucks.
I don’t really know much about the Girl Scouts other than I like the cookies but there is no way in hell I would pay $15 dollars for a box.
I want in on the “What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club” because that sounds awesome.
This is all kinds of awesome. And opens my eyes a bit: just assumed monies went to the girl’s programs, not pensions. Rethinking the cookie order.
I hope you get some fucking answers.
As a former Girl Scout and 12 year leader (for 4 of those years with two troops), I’ve come to believe that a very large portion of GS decisions are not well thought through, and that the biggest push is for numbers over quality. Numbers of scouts, numbers of dollars. When my now 24 year old daughter was 10, selling 1000 boxes of cookies earned her about two free weeks of (already reasonably priced) camp, plus money for the troop to pay for activities, camping, badges, Abe trips to savannah and New York. 5 years later, camp prices nearly doubled (so they could offer scholarships to underprivileged girls – a worthy goal) and cookies got you way less toward camp, and though cookie prices went up twice, the troop portion (and council portion) went down. About this time, programming was changed based on asking non-GSs what they wanted out of scouts, rather than focusing on what current Scouts wanted). All so that they could attract new girls. My oldest made it through Seniors, but with the changes, my youngest stopped after 6th grade. While it was hard after the years of commitment, I let her.
I say hooray to you and Hailey for voicing your concerns!
FIFTEEN dollars a box after shipping costs? WTF. Apparently the girl scouts need to hook up with Amazon Prime. Good for you on writing that letter (and asking extremely well thought out questions). I hope you get some answers that aren’t from a form letter.
I wondered this years ago. Oh the smack down! Personally I left, never let my daughter get involved as the group here, well eww gross, and no one Ever has answers! Girl Scouts king long ago lost it’s luster. I feel now they are simply trying to float what looks like a hedge fund under a good name. Kinda like Goodwill…look up there ‘creds’. Just sayin
I remember when the cookies were only $1 per box, had more than a dozen cookies in said box and tasted better. I agree with your questions and hope you get some answers for your concerns.
Dear Jenny,
You are my HERO. Also, when you create Haley’s club, can I get in on that? Because that sounds amazing.
Stay strong Hailey and Jenny!! You’re doing the right thing!
-Becky
That’s a fine letter. All of the questions are entirely reasonable things to be asking, and all are well-framed. I hope the answers you receive in return are of equal quality.
I don’t know what their answer will be, but because I work for an online business, I can tell you that, yes, the $1.25 is probably a credit card processing fee, and yes, shipping is generally way more expensive than people think (because many online retailers “hide” the cost of shipping in the cost of the product, which they clearly cannot do with Girl Scout Cookies).
Please be sure to give us an update if you receive a response. I didn’t realize that the troops received such a small percentage of sales. This reminds me of one of those big breast cancer charities that only gives 20% (approximately) out of it’s huge budget to actual research.
Anyway, one of the Girl Scout cookie factories is in my town. I always wondered if it wouldn’t be possible to break into the factory and get the cookies weeks in advance. Not that I condone crime of course…
I hand them twenty bucks and make them promise to keep me away from the cookies. Especially Do-si-dos. They’re crack to me.
I don’t know how your council and baker are running online sales this year, but ours (another texas council), you are only allowed to buy online in 6 box intervals or an 8 box variety pack. So shipping isn’t 11.25 for a single box its for 6 boxes, or slightly more for the 8box, 12 box. I’ve never heard of the 1.25 fee but that seems silly to me. If the troop has a way to take credit cards it is a much better option to take manual orders an deliver to your customers as you normally would. Your troop leader or cookie parent should be able to answer these questions for you or send you to the correct person within your service unit or council to be informed. As a mom I feel you pain on making sure the girls are informed on the proceeds f the sale as well as ensuring that the money goes where it should.
Good luck 🙂 feel free to email me maybe we can track down some anSwers
My son and I were wondering if we could join the “What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club” or at least start an Inland Northwestern U.S. Chapter? We even have All Hail the Glow Cloud Tshirts and know all the Doctor Who episodes from the ninth doctor on…
I’m glad you wrote that – I hope you’ll get some answers and share them with us! They closed our Red Rock camping facility a couple years ago, and our Cookieland camp ground is underused, falling into disrepair. I was not aware of the extortionally high shipping cost of online cookie sales – SOMEONE (not the Post Office) is making some big bux off that because shipping a whole case of cookies would barely cost that much, let alone a box. I’m glad now that Becca did not go back to Girl Scouts this year — sounds like it’s becoming a corporate scam rather than what it was intended to be. 🙁 BOOOOOOOO.
And for anyone talking about Amazon’s shipping practices, please keep in mind that they are the largest online retailer and can get huge discounts on shipping due to the sheer volume of items they are shipping. These discounts are not available to a smaller retailer or a non-profit organization like the Girl Scouts.
You are right on!
Well stated, and I hope they see at least some light and you two get some answers.
But even if they do and you do, can you please make your own club too? My daughter and I both want to join.
~Amanda
The cookies are made with horrible ingredients. Don’t buy them. Don’t eat them.
I am with you all the way on this one. You do not sound crazy. I can’t wait to hear what they have to say…
Also, both my daughter and I were hoping to join the Dr. Who/Zombiepocalypse club. We will happily pay dues. I think taxidermy should be worth at least 3 types of badges.
Another GS leader here, and I just posted your questions to our local Council’s Facebook page. Hoping for some good answers to your great questions. I believe in the GS mission, and that’s why I have been involved for 15 years as a leader (I trudge through because my girls love it), but often struggle with the regulations, requirements, practices, bureaucracy and, quite simply, nonsense.
Well done! You’re setting such an awesome example for your daughter by taking these people to task. Not everyone knows about what’s happening. The funds should be going towards the troop and hiding the fact that they aren’t is underhanded and deceitful. That letter is fantastic!
Definitely makes me re-think buying cookies, not that I need them anyway.
I absolutely recommend 4-H. It’s not just about showing animals and cooking. I learned a lot of skills that still help me today. Not that Girl Scouts doesn’t do the same, I just don’t have any experience with them personally.
This and other GS related insanity is why we switched over to 4 H, where I became a co-leader. It is a whole hell of a lot less hassle and the leaders are treated like intelligent and rational adults . Plus we have more options of how to run and host clubs. Also, I have a boy and a girl. GS meant I had to drive one child to a thing one night and then find a thing for the other kid another night. The hell with that. Everyone is welcome at 4 H and we can do carpentry together and quilting together and archery together and there is none of this Badge bullshit or any worry that a kid who is gay will be told they can’t join in and do fun stuff too. I like things that are Inclusive, and to be treated like a functioning adult with her own mind. 4 H FTW .
Love this. I was in scouts through HS, and spent most of my summers first as a camper, then a junior counselor, and finally a counselor. I was also the only GS in my high school, so cookie selling was quite easy because I just sold to my classmates. It was a great experience, but even then they had started closing camps in my area, and I could see that “my” camp needed some serious upgrading. I hadn’t realized how dire the situation is now – all I’ve noticed is the incredible increase in the prices we the consumer are paying for the cookies (in 1999 I was selling them for $2.50 per box; now they’re something like $4, even without shipping). As an adult, I also realize just how much the boy scouts focus on the outdoors skills and how little exposure I had to them as a girl scout. There’s so many good things about the organization, but there’s also a great deal of room for improvement in all areas…
So good. I needed to hear this for my own self/situation. I’m well past the age and interest of being in girl scouts, but I had this sudden sense of urgency to get involved, and I can’t even eat the cookies due to a gluten intolerance, but even I was like “LOWER THE PRICE OF THE DAMN COOKIES!” May justice prevail and the odds be ever in your favor.
Yeah, what if people just donated without buying cookies?
Or tell the people buying the cookies that the girls only get 60c.
Thank you for not only asking these questions but making the rest of us aware of these (potential) issues as well. If so little will actually be going to programmes for girls, I’ll not be getting any. That shipping cost is extreme. I know my sister-in-law paid less than that to ship cookies from my nieces to us in Canada. Someone is racking up “handling” fees on top of the real shipping costs.
Excellent questions. Though there is an important third question that needs to be asked:
Good for you!!! Girl Scouts has become greedy in my opinion. My daughter recently quit because, at her Bronze awards ceremony, they spent about fifteen minutes giving out all of the bronze/silver/gold awards. Then we sat through an HOUR of awards and back patting for adults who worked for the council. She was upset that they didn’t make nearly as big of a deal that the girls did amazing things for their community as they did because people (some of whom got paid like it was their job or something) helped run the council. When did Scouts stop being about the GIRLS and start becoming about bragging for your volunteer work or doing your damn JOB!? There was much more lead up to our decision to leave, much of it including cookie sales and many things like those you mentioned, but that was the last straw. It’s becoming more of a business than they’ll admit, and they’re no longer focusing on doing good for the girls, at least not at the council level in the two towns we’ve participated in. It’s sad…
$11.25 for shipping on a box of cookies?! Please tell me that’s a flat rate whether I order 1 box or, like, a truckload. Seriously, I just ordered a 400lb infrared sauna on Amazon and my shipping is exactly $0. If they can ship me a 400lb sauna for nothing, I’m sure they can figure out a way to ship cookies for $5 or so.
I had no idea the camps were suffering, and honestly, that flatly sucks because I had some of the best times of my life at GS camp (all paid for with those sweet, sweet cookie sales)! Also, $11.25 shipping? I’ve paid less to ship a 100lb box of stuff across country (and most of it arrived intact!); if you don’t get a good answer, I will HAPPILY join your Dr. Zombie McNightvale club. If we role play? Dibs on Cecil.
I now feel a lot less guilt about not trying very hard to sell Girl Scout Cookies when I was a Brownie 30 years ago. Thanks for the free therapy!
Also, we shipped 25 boxes of cookies last year for just over $18. So they’re raping you on shipping for sure!
I think unfortunately that when the Girl Scouts connected with Nestle, they lost some credibility with me. A corporation with very little values should not be endorsed by an organization that is supposed to be all about helping young women develop their own values. Thank you Jenny for seeing the importance here and bringing it up despite the fact that it isn’t what anyone wants to think about–we all want to embrace scouts & the history of what it means to us as individuals. But, if nobody is willing to hold these groups accountable, our kids will be a part of things we wouldn’t be proud of.
Wait, what? PENSIONS??? Funded by cookies??? And what good is closing camps going to do, when you don’t have enough places for potential future GS to go to? Then there will be no more kids getting into GS if there’s no place to do things, and consequently, no more kids to operate cookie sales to fund the pensions. Maybe they should re-think their pension investment plan.
Well-written letter. Hope you get some answers.
I want to know how much revenue goes directly to the BOY SCOUTS when they sell items for their organization. Because that could further support gender inequality arguments. I’d also like to know why they have to dip in to the cookie money when I can’t walk down an aisle at the grocery store without finding some Girl Scout endorsed product. I call shenanigans.
was the song 867 written about you ?
I’ve already got about 20 issues with the cookie sales and I wasn’t even aware of the two you listed. May officially opt out this year.
I imagine they’ll all be out of the office until Monday. Can’t wait to hear the response you get. Keep us informed! (Here in NJ we don’t have our “cookie mom” meeting until 1/6 and the selling starts after that. I haven’t even been able to get anyone to be our cookie mom with begging. Stuck with the job myself. UGH!)
Totally sign me up for the What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club because that sounds awesome. Fundraising opportunities would be much cooler too. Hope you get the answers you’re looking for and keep us updated!
Well now I’m having a moral dilemma. Based on everything I learned just now, I don’t feel like buying cookies is a worthwhile cause. By on the other hand…. They’re just so good and over been waiting all year for them!
First world problems for sure.
Excellent letter Jenny, way to educate others in your quest for answers!
Can I join/help with the What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club? I’m good with crafting.
And this is one of the many reasons that it saddens me that Spiral Scouts doesn’t have more of a membership.
Jenny,
Awesome job reaching out to them. It sucks that this is the only way you can reach out to them and, hopefully, get a response. My husband and I have been discussing Girl Scouts because of our daughter and we can’t in good faith support them with the methods they’re employing to do business. Now, don’t get me wrong, if a little girl comes up to our door and wants us to buy cookies, we will 100% support her. But unless they get their act together, we will not be joining the Girl Scout family.
Much love to you and your family for being such an amazing voice!
Hello! I am Elizabeth (Betsy) from the Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana. I am a Member-Volunteer and Trainer there. I am also the founder of the Outdoor Journey Project. We are wanting more official Outdoor Program back in Girl Scouting. About your posting: you may want to write directly to the GSUSA National Board and CEO also because they might not see this Open Letter. I hope you get some answers this way or another way. I liked the idea of using the USPS instead of another shipping service and saving money. I also hope we can all wrap our minds around the debt problem we may have soon nationally and in some councils too. I will bookmark this to come back again.
(I sent a link to the CEO and told her I’d love to have her feedback. Thanks! ~ Jenny)
That’s a wonderfully written letter and I do hope you get some real answers.
I’m glad I’m not the only one with council issues. Both my girls were in the GS and I was cookie mom for 8 years. The last year of service, I had a huge problem with one of the girl’s in the troop’s sales and got NO support from our local council. After many ignored emails and phone calls I basically told them that they were a bunch of pimps, whoring out the girls to pay for their admin costs. That finally got a reply,but their answer was pretty much “too bad,so sad.” The troop leader was wonderful, but I pulled my kid out shortly after.
You, as always, rock! I don’t do GS cookies on principle – as explained in your concerns. I tell the cookie sellers that I do not support the cookies but I give them a cash donation. Even $1 is more than they would get from a box of cookies, even if I was inclined to buy them. Happy New Year, Jenny!!! Thanks for being you, you anxiety ridden, depressed angel compatriot, you!
After dealing with with Boy Scouts for 12 plus years, I have found the best way to support the local troops was to donate money directly to the Troop. I always felt the same way about popcorn sales. It’s a scam. The councils can’t take donated money away from the troops. If you don’t feel comfortable with that, pay for a scout’s dues for a year who can’t do so themselves or buy equipment they may need and “donate” that. The councils for both boy and girl scouts have got to start listening or soon there won’t be any kids left who will join and their jobs will just disappear. Imagine that.
I wonder if this is why Camp Fire Girls pretty much doesn’t exist any more.
I do hope you get some answers – FWIW, it sounded like a perfectly rational, polite, and sane letter to me.
I just sent a message to the national headquarters suggesting they get on this. Here’s what I told them: “Hi! I hope someone from your media team is online tonight or tomorrow – The Bloggess has noted some problems with the online cookie sales and other sales and I HIGHLY recommend that someone contact her. Have you seen some of her other successful media campaigns? The Girls Scouts definitely wants to have a positive experience with her followers. Her current blog post is below – it is also posted to her Facebook website…and for the record, I’m a lifetime Girl Scout (with a Gold Award under my belt) and I think she’s got some really valid points here.” I hope you hear back from someone soon…and I hope it ends positively as I am a lifetime GS and I do believe the organization is one of the best leadership organizations for girls in the world…
WAIT!!! Pension fund???? You mean there are people in that organization who get pensions? Hardly anyone gets a pension these days. (The company where my husband works stopped funding its pension plan 6 or 7 years ago.) When did the Girl Scouts get so big that the people at the top get to rake in pensions?
I was kicked out of girl scouts as a teen, ostensibly for “not having the proper girl scout attitude.” I guess nothing has changed after all these years because I still don’t have the proper girl scout attitude. It’s like the people at the top of that organiztion are pimping all those little girls, getting them to sell cookies and pay dues so that they can sit behind desks, make all the rules, and collect their salaries AND pensions.
I think all those little girls would do far better if they joined your “What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club.”
Jennifer, and direct donation of $30 or more goes to council; the troop isn’t allowed to keep it.
If this helps (found on the Girl Scout website FAQs):
How can I be sure that Girl Scout Cookie Program revenue supports the local Girl Scouts in my community?
All of the revenue earned from cookie activities—every penny after paying the baker—stays with the local Girl Scout council. Each council determines its own revenue structure depending on its cookie cost, local retail price, and the amount that is shared with participating troops and groups. On average, Girl Scout council net revenue is approximately 65–75 percent of the local retail price, and the amount that is shared with participating Girl Scout troops and groups, referred to as troop proceeds, is approximately 10–20 percent of the local retail price. Cookie program revenue is a critical source of funding for local Girl Scout councils, and it is often what makes it possible to serve girls in hard-to-serve areas, and maintain camps and properties.
Girl Scout troops and groups must pool their proceeds to pay for program supplies, activities, and group travel. Girl Scouts may not earn proceeds as individuals; however, Girl Scout councils offer a wide variety of recognition items, program- and store-related credits, and travel experiences that girls are eligible to earn individually based on their sales. All troop proceeds and other rewards earned through participation in the Girl Scout Cookie Program must be used to enhance each girl’s Girl Scout experience.
Does any of the money from cookie sales go to Girl Scouts of the USA (the national Girl Scout organization)?
Girl Scouts of the USA is paid a royalty by its licensed bakers for use of Girl Scout trademarks based on gross annual sales. Girl Scout councils do not provide any portion of their cookie revenue to Girl Scouts of the USA, and no other revenue from cookie sales goes to Girl Scouts of the USA.
Girl Scouts of the USA provides contractual services and approves all program, marketing, and sales materials developed by the bakers. GSUSA also provides coordination and training for national media activities, safety standards for girls and volunteers, our world-renowned girl-leadership program, and full support during cookie season.
(That’s all fairly accurate, I think. The local girl scout councils get most of the profit. The big national girl scout offices make money with royalties and licensing. The issue is that starting tomorrow the majority of local girl scout councils will have to start paying for the pension deficit and so a lot of the money they might have been able to spend on community projects, camps, scholarships will be sucked up by pension fees. The troops receive a small amount, but I think most girls were fine with this because they thought the larger portion was going to help other girls, but I’m not sure that’s a valid assumption anymore. ~ Jenny)
This is my first year as a Daisy Scout leader, and I had no idea this was going on. We start selling cookies in Northern California on 2/1, and I really hope to get these questions answered before then. Please keep us posted!
Now I wish there had been a “What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club”. It sounds like a lot more fun than Boy Scouts ever was.
Oh way to go girls! Get those answers! My daughter decided to quit Girl Scouts for cookie reasons (Well, this was one of the many we discussed). Try to NOT sell cookies and see what Council says! That was rough, She had just completed her Bronze, and both her brothers are Eagle Scouts. The decision was tough, but between cookie sales and some moral issues she had with the Girl Scouts, we both quit.
Are they trying to deter people from buying cookies online with that shipping price? Like they half assed it because they don’t really want to do it but are trying to pretend to care about being able to sell on line. (I would not buy online if I was going to be gouged that much on shipping. It’s ridiculous.) I hope you get some answers.
I had no idea the GS were so corrupt..that’s exactly what this sounds like. I wasn’t a GS and I will make sure my granddaughters don’t become GSs either. How terrible. Fund your pension plan another way instead of child/slave labor. How dare they??
I was a Field Director for the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital and while every council is different, their main priority is keeping the camps well-maintained as well as programming for the girls. Cookie sales does help with salaries, but also contributes to financial aid for any girl looking to join a troop (includes dues, uniform sash/vest, books, field trips) and full financial aid for girls who want to attend a camp but can’t afford it. Some Councils have had to make decisions to sell property to keep afloat, but it’s not due of pensions — which I hadn’t heard of nor was a part of.
I love that you’re asking questions, deciding what’s best for Hailey and your family (a lot of families opt out of sales), and kicking a little green butt when needed. Good luck with your Bronze Award, Hailey!
(Thanks! And I love that you commented because I think this is the main problem I have. The council have always been focused on doing great things for girls and maintaining camps but so few people are aware of the changes starting tomorrow regarding council budgets and deficit issues. If people don’t know about what the changes will mean then we aren’t making good decisions about how we spend our money. I don’t even understand fully but I know enough from the Girl Scouts website that there is a problem. It’s disheartening but maybe it will lead to change or to some good answers. ~ Jenny)
Do they not sell the calendars anymore? I always encouraged my girls to sell the crap out of those because we got 50% of the cost. Not as exciting for the girls because there are not all the crap prizes but for a 3.50 pocket calendar we would receive 1.75 of that. We would have to sell 7 boxes of Cookies to earn the same money. I was a 1000 box seller when I was a kid to go to camp. But even our troop knew we were being exploited. Juliet Gordon Lowe would be appalled.
(We don’t sell them here, but it sounds like it was a good deal. Less fattening, at least. ~ Jenny)
Boy Scout Popcorn gave about 35-38% back to the pack/troop. Y’all are getting shafted.
I was really looking forward to using the online shopping option because all of our family live far away, but $11.25 for shipping?? That is crazy. I simply can’t ask that of them.
I’m very glad you’re sending this.
But at least it’s not BSA. The GSA may be doing stupid things with money but at least they’re not a morally bankrupt organization that promotes (mandates) intolerance.
By all means, let the GSA weasel out of its commitment to the people who accepted lower wages in exchange for a solid pension. The girls need to learn early that they can lie with impunity & that commitments are meaningless when you can get lawmakers to change the rules.
Preach! Thank you for addressing this!
I am on the board of a non-profit formed to try to save a 70 year old GS camp when the council decided to sell it to developers. We succeeded! #camplittlenotch
But most camps just go away, and take with them the opportunity for girls to have that amazing camping experience that builds confidence and lifetime friendships. GS corporate structure needs a huge overhaul, and they need to put the scouting back into Girl Scout!
Thank you!
Website development & maintenance, credit card processing, and package handling & shipping services are all handled by outside entities (NOT the Girl Scout ) and those services cost money. So, when you purchase online, the customer takes on the responsibility of incurring the extra costs so that it doesn’t come out of the girl’s incentives or troop’s/service unit’s portion of the sale. Girl Scout cookies sales has always been and still is encouraged to be a face-to-face interaction (thus no extra fees). However, there are some people who are not able to order in person from a girl (such as home-bound & rural customers or simply customers who live in towns without Girl Scouts). These generous folks are willing to pay the little extra to have the cookies delivered directly to their home while helping a Girl Scout earn money for their Girl Scouting experience. If you are selling to grandma, then call her on the phone to get her order and ship them to her directly with a hand-written thank you note; don’t make her go through the on-line ordering system and extra fees.
i wish to join your Doctor Who club. We can sell Jammie Dodgers and Jelly Babies. Everyone wears a fez to meetings.
It seems the Girl Scout council has been working on their ‘Lets fuck up the Girl Scouts” badge.
And the fact that the CEO referred you elsewhere is scandalous.
Back in the day cookies were $1.00 per box and the troop kept 50 cents!!! The leaders and local council were all volunteers and considered this a fundraiser…FOR US !!!
I am so glad you are taking them to task Jenny.
I am sad.
Happy New Year.
Please update us if you get a response. I have always been a big supporter of the girl scouts (even though I was kicked out of the brownies after 1 meeting). However, if they can’t provide a satisfactory answer about the closing of camps and the loss of scholarships, I will not be buying cookies and I will be sure my family doesn’t buy as well.
okay I read this it seems she going about her complaint in all the wrong ways. first if you have a problem you go to the leader. if that does not work you go to the council of your troop, ours is warren county. there you are given in our case to cc and karen. cc is over leaders and girls, and karen is over cookies. if that does not work then you go to our president she is over the whole council. I have never had any problems that karen or mrs. beckey could not fix. not sure about the cookies shipping online being that much I will ask Karen. It is due to weight and where you are shipping. The cookies are $4.00 here in warren county but higher in other areas. so not sure where she is that cookies are only 4, because we are the cheapest. There is no fee from what I can see. Also they have a full answer and question that she has not read. bottom line is this women seems to be angry with out really talking to any of the people in charge of her area.
Girl Scout Cookies | Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.girlscouts.org
Girl scouts since 1985 and leader/ former cookie chair
(Your comment confused the hell out of me but I’m going to respond since you say you’re the former cookie chair. We’ve contacted our cookie manager, our council, Girl Scouts, the CEO, etc. but I haven’t had anyone address the pension issue. Now I’m sending an open letter to anyone who wants to respond because I want an answer before cookies go on sale for us tomorrow. Also, cookies are lots of different prices depending on where you are. They are $3.50 in some parts of Texas. They are $5 in other parts of America. Please remind me what we’re fighting about. ~ Jenny)
I agree that you and every scout parent should ask these questions and you should get answers. I’m concerned that thousands of people will read these questions and, as often happens on the Internet, use them as a source of misinformation and jump to conclusions, which will spin into outrage, and then the memes will begin. So, I hope the answers are clear and get well disemminated so the misinformation getting out there is minimized. I already see comments along the lines of “Girl Scouts is too greedy” which have no factual basis. There is no call for rage against GSUSA unless and until it has been shown they’ve done something wrong.
As for me, I am a scout leader, but I am just a volunteer and have no authority or information anyone else wouldn’t have. As for the pension question, I have no info or comment. About the cookie questions, I have been told a few things that might put perspective on this. Caveat- this is heresay, take this with a grain of salt!
Shipping charge: Council is not profiting from shipping. The cookies will be shipped from the baker. The baker is charging a handling fee to pay for the manpower to sort, box, label, etc., as well as for the boxing supplies. Add to that the actual postage. I can’t say whether $10 or $11 for one box is excessive or not, but I can say that the situation is not as simple as putting a stamp on a box of cookies and dropping it in the mailbox, so obviously it will be more expensive than that would be.
Order fees: Every box ordered (and therefore paid for) online will include an extra fee. This is the credit card fee. If someone orders cookies from your girl online, but chooses in person delivery, they must pay for them online with their credit card, and pay that online processing credit card fee. Council does not profit from this fee, it goes to the website people to pay the banking fees. If someone doesn’t want to pay this fee, they don’t need to use the website, they can call or email the scout their order directly, then pay cash in person when she delivers.
This is the first year for online cookie sales nationwide. All of us are new to it, and there will be questions and problems to iron out. But no one expects online orders to account for a large share of the cookie sales. Girls will still sell the majority of their cookies in person, as usual. The vision for online sales is to allow a convenient method of selling to out-of-town friends and relatives. Online sales by girls are not open to the public. So the idea isn’t to be super affordable. Just convenient.
Does any of this help answer some questions?
(Fabulous comment. My daughter loves the girl scouts and I’m there at every meeting and sometimes even lead them. Next month I’ll be sleeping on the floor of NASA for a Girl Scout lock-in. The troop is phenomenal and the girls are amazing. That’s why I want the organization to be as upstanding and respected as the girls in it. I tried multiple ways to get an answer behind the scenes because I want the Girl Scouts to succeed and don’t want to give any opportunity to hamper that, but I think it’s important to ask tough questions and this is my only other option. If it was anything else I would had written about it without trying to get answers that made sense first. I believe we have to hold our organizations to the same accountability we hold our girls and we do a disservice to them by not. I agree completely though that the Girl Scouts can be amazing and I’ll admit that I was not a fan at all until I started watching her troop and seeing the amazing work the girls do for each other and for their community. Those girls changed my mind about the organization. I just want the organization to be worthy of the girls and I think we can do better. Thanks again for your comment! It was really lovely. ~ Jenny)
I’m a troop leader for a multilevel group and my biggest beef with this is that if our troop decides that cookie sales aren’t in our best interest we are not allowed to conduct any other fundraising. At least in our council.
I was Cookie Mom of my daughter’s troop for 2 years about 12 years ago. Never again. The troop leader and treasurer hid the money one year and absconded with it the next year and I had the local council harassing me for the money until I proved to them that I had turned the cookie money over to the bitc—uhhh the treasurer. I love and adore Thin Mints but what GSA is doing now is so very wrong on all levels.
I loved your letter. It was awesome….instead of cookies it would be easier to just ask for donations to go to camp. All the $ would go to the girls and I wouldn’t eat cookies.
I was a cookie mom for years. The girl’s troop earns $.35 off each $4 box of cookies. You are better off giving the kid $4 in cash and skipping the whole charade of “fundraising.” It’s a sham.
I want to support the GGs but I can’t buy the cookies. Have you read the ingredients. Yikes! Chocolaty coating??? The chocolate mint cookies contain no chocolate. Scary. Is there a way to donate directly to the GGs or by virtual cookies that are actually pictures of kittens and goats?
Good for you! That is a wonderful letter! And if you start the doctor who club I have two members just waiting for the word go!
I was a Girl Scout, earned my Gold, and later became a leader. That lasted 3 years. My troop was great until one girl joined and her mother decided she was going to be the top in cookie sales (mother, not daughter) and then tell me how to spend “her” money. I resigned at the end of that year. I never received any support from my council. I will buy at least a box of cookies from every girl who comes to my door, but I will not buy from the parents or online.
Thank you!! I am a GS leader and am so conflicted about cookie sales. Due to some health issues, my daughter can’t eat the cookies and so I’m certainly not making her sell them. I was curious how I could just donate directly to the troop. I so wish we could do our own fundraiser but it’s not allowed. So sad.
Wait, so… Girl Scout cookie sales are going towards paying the pensions of former GS Council employees?
I don’t have a daughter (but love GS cookies and was a GS myself) … is this a known thing?
Should there be a boycott? Maybe a kickstarter for troop expenses instead?
(Not a fan of boycotts and the troops aren’t hurting for money. Most parents pay all the expenses and such. Most troops, like my daughters, sell because they think it’s fun and they like the idea of helping their community. The main issue is that as I understand it a portion of the money that used to go for at-risk girls, scholarships, camp maintenance, community stuff will now be going to pay off a pension deficit issue. I don’t know the details. That’s what I was hoping to get. ~ Jenny)
Ok ugh. First off, this really gives me pause. I’m a leader for my daughter’s troop here in Chicago. And I will start by saying that please, please do not hate the GS’s because they really are great for a lot of girls who don’t have people in their lives to teach them community, acceptance, friendship and some other skills. For instance the other leader and I have made it our mission this yr with our 3rd graders to teach acceptance/friendship because we were hearing of too many little cliques amongst their grade and too many girls left out or treated horribly. Now we have a HUGE troop because no other parents can take one on so we have all these girls. So far our efforts are paying off. A couple girls who have socialization issues/were ostracised are now being more accepted by the other girls & they’re treating them kindly. Girl Scouts isn’t ALL about money & cookies.
On to the cookies: Now I was under the idea that they were making closer to .75 cents per box these days. Now that doesn’t seem like a lot, no, but when you have a troop like ours we end up with a lot of money because some of girls are selling a couple hundred boxes or so. We do see a decent amount and we use it for special activities for our troop.
As to the pension/cutting programs issue, this is the first I’m hearing of this. I just sent a link to your letter to my head leader to see if she’s heard of this as well. If this is true than what’s her name, the head GS lady is going to have a LOT to answer to. And you’re right, it’s unacceptable.
But the dislike of the GS’s in general bothers me. I see so much good that was done over the years for these kids and so much good that can still be done, I don’t think this issue will go away quietly after this gets more press.
Fabulous letter, really. As much as I like eating Girl Scout cookies, the troupes get far too little money for the work they do to sell them. Not to mention, wide disparities in how troupes are run means that many troupes will never see a campground. I left the scouts as a kidlet because, after seeing all the wicked cool stuff my brother did in Boy Scouts, I was frustrated that all we did in Girl Scouts was sell cookies.
I hope the What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocalypse-Happened Prep Club will be co-ed. I know both of my kids will want to join.
Excellent questions!
I was an avid Girl Scout Leader, supporter, cookie coordinator, camp leader, Caddie trainer…..I walked away from the organization when I was faced (quite rudely, by a council employee…whose pension I am now supposed to provide for by buying cookies?!?!?!) with the realization that the organization has shifted its focus from “what can we do for the girls”, to, “what can the girls do for us” I’m OUT.
Since we are questioning GS cookie sales, I would like to know why there are different prices for different areas of the U.S. My friend, who lives in the NorthEast, her daughter’s troop was selling cookies for .50 more a box than we were selling here down south. Why?
This is why our troop stopped selling cookies. You are better off finding out ways to raise troop funds.
What Anne said in #78. You can’t buy single boxes of cookies (as I understand it). They are sold in multiple boxes (and you can’t even request different KINDS of boxes!) so the shipping prices are high. The shipping prices are ALREADY high though and (as an aside) FedEx and UPS rates are going up. When I tried to ship 5 boxes of cookies up north last year, the shipping was WAY more than $12 and that was in one of those USPS priority “all you can fit” boxes. Shipping sucks.
I have no idea what pensions have to do with it though. And our camp ROCKS down here in Orange County, California. 🙂 However I have some of the same problems with council and other Moms that everyone else does… but that’s just a fact of human life. 🙂 I’m a leader, for the record, although I was a reluctant one at first but darn if I don’t love my girls! I’m a terrible crafter though…
(So I couldn’t buy one box of each kind of girl scout cookies online? You have to buy a case? This is exactly what bothers me. Why isn’t this online and available somewhere so we could know the facts? It’s the confusion and vagueness that makes it seem questionable. ~ Jenny)
Allthosethings: NO there should NOT be a boycott!! Only some councils start sales tomorrow, others get to wait one or two months. If you boycott now you are harming some troops, but not others, and you are not touching GSUSA because they do not benefit from cookie sales! If everyone boycotted cookie sales tomorrow then the only thing that would do is SHUT DOWN COUNCILS IN POOR AREAS!! Don’t do that!!
OK – I promise to buy lots of cookies from the GS in front of my Ralphs!
This issue with the pensions has been going on for years as groups SUE the scouts to stop sales of camps, some of them historic and very high value. The GS claim they sell the camps because they aren’t performing well while those same under performing camps have wait lists for spots. The folks at HQ and council offices refuse to discuss the issue, without lawyers involved so sadly, no one is going to answer you. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to get media to cover it and no one will touch the issue, again, because of their lawyers. Some troops across the country have tried boycotts but they don’t get much traction. I tell people to skip buying the cookies and give $20 to the troop leader for the girls.
They replied to me online and said that they would be in touch when business hours resume…I hope that works for everyone for now…
My 3 daughters are TOTALLY IN for the “What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club”
I think I am done buying girl scout cookies. Bravo to you and Hailey for asking the hard questions. I am avidly awaiting the GSA response.
You go Jenny! All these should be transparent! I am a Cubmaster for Boy Scouts and we have the same problem with popcorn. I always tell the families that better yet, if someone doesn’t want to buy popcorn (or cookies) could they make a small donation instead? Then that money stays right in the group and council never sees it (oops did I say that outloud?)
Who knew they got pensions?
Go Girl Scouts! I was in it until 8th grade when it was no longer cool.
Our Cub Scouts receive 70 cents of every dollar raised that comes back to the council, district, and pack from our popcorn sales. It has paid for various activities my son has participated in over the past four years as a Cub Scout. I was a Girl Scout working in my Silver award when I had to quit due to school activities and work. I’m sad to see how little money from cookie sales comes back to the troops. I hope you get some answers Jenny! I loved GS horse back camp and hate to see camps like the one I attended being closed. My nieces are GS members and I support their fundraisers. However, I may just start giving them the money directly.
And here’s a little background on the CEO’s outrageous spending and salary along with the story of her $65,000 toilet. And in case you’ve never pulled up your local council’s 501C tax reports online (which you can do) every council director makes about $120,000 a year. And there are 112 councils in the country. http://nypost.com/2013/06/09/shes-milking-the-scouts/
If I order something online and pay that much for shipping, I kind of expect it to be beamed directly to my house…
Jenny
Well said as I too had same concerns. Having been to 2 leader meetings, having 3 of my 4 girls attend camp, I question where the funds go. Obviously, these staff members are overpaid because our area GS didn’t offer any exciting programs and I found the camp to be run down. As I saw cost of cookies rise as the troop gets such a small portion. ..I gave my money directly to the troop so they got 100% vs several days walking house to house yo sell over 100 boxes gaining $40. I know it is supposed to teach being strong independent young ladies but I can teach my girls that in a much better productive way. There’s a reason why most girls only stay in GS for 2 or 3 years. Maybe they need to review all their programs and look at why and how boy scouts tend to stay in longer and are more successful. I always hear from friends who have boys that they at least stay in til 13 or 15. My girls were out by age 8. Sad.
Skip the Thin Mints and try these. At least they aren’t pretending that your purchase is doing something other than funding a corporation.
http://www.keebler.com/productdetail.aspx?category=cookies&pid=KIC-1124@EN_US
Great letter Jenny. Let us know if you get any answers – even bad ones.
To Danielle/#25 – Years ago I had the exact same problem with the Boy Scouts for my son who had disabilities. We turned elsewhere. Good luck with the group your daughter is in.
I had someone tell me she wouldn’t buy cookies fro me years ago because they supported abortion. I was 9 and had no clue what she was talking about ( I digress- this is for the lady who said no one could say no -just saying ;0).
That said, I’m a leader of 10 years with 2 scouts ( 2 troops) and we are not bothering to sell cookies this year. It’s just too much trouble and work to justify the time and effort. I’d trace it back to when they started messing with the dates and started before Christmas, then moved to New Years . Like everyone in the world doesn’t start a budget AND a diet on New Year’s Day. It makes me sad as I was a scout many moons ago and am disappointed at the bureaucracy. Good for you for supporting your daughter. And I’d sign up for the Dr who group too, sounds like a blast!
Can I link to this on my facebook page? I plan on supporting a friend’s daughters by buying cookies, however, I do not like the idea of my money going to benefit someone else’s wallet. If an organization cannot be transparent with their money and its allocations, then that is a BIG problem. Also, the fact that the CEO just blew you off and referred you to someone else with your valid questions reeks of shadiness.
I work for a large GS Council myself – my team of 3 council employees oversees about 1000 registered Girls plus leaders. We are a small piece of a large council. I haven’t heard anything about pensions or deficits. I also don’t think I have anything but a 401K program which I doubt anyone would/should have a problem with. We struggle all the time to try and help our volunteers and girls succeed with just the 3 of us – we are understaffed in my opinion. I hope you get the answers you are looking for, but I certainly don’t think things are as dire and shady as they seem – at least not where I am.
I was in Girl Scouts and then…things happened….and I got kicked out. The important thing is: nobody died.
you go girl!!
I have tried to order badges for my troop, and not only is shipping sloooow it’s expensive too. If I had the same shipping model for my business I would be out of business.
When GS got in bed with Planned Parenthood, I was done with Girl Scouts.
My friend and I skipped girl scouts and started our own Camp Fire Kids Group. They even let us adjust awards to fit the needs of the kids, including the special needs kids like my daughter.
Now about your possible Dr. Who/Zombie etc….. Can it be for grown ups, I mean kids, I mean everyone, instead?
You Rock Jenny! Thanks for standing up to the cookie pushers. They aren’t getting their fair cut.
It has become a corporate entity that has lost focus on their mission.
As for the shipping, I would assume $5.35 is shipping cost and the rest is “processing” fees… Or additional revenue for the OR they contracted out fulfilment….
I love this letter!!
I haven’t heard about the first issue but our troop is also having a heard time endorsing the online sales. Those prices are not right!
This just makes me sad. I had a great time as a scout, but even back in the 80s I think a huge part of my experience was because my FATHER was my troop leader. Oh, it was scandalous back then! Anyway, he’s an Eagle Scout himself so he dragged my Cadet troop camping all the time. He found that the state would give you a patch for camping in 4 or 5 state parks in one year, so we earned that sucker. As a senior scout we joined up with one of those last remaining Mounted Girl Scout troops and had a blast. Sadly, the council decided they didn’t want the liability of girls on horses and disbanded them some time after I got out. The group is still going, just not as scouts anymore.
I was quietly thankful that I have boys.
This one won’t win me any points, but…in the ’80s I said something similar. Got bitched at nine ways to Sunday. This here is a bad business model. Moreover, this shit of online sales…selling the cookie sales was once about teaching girls lessons of social interaction, teamwork, self presentation, business…now? Have your parents scrounge up sales and in the meantime the home office can’t run its affairs and never bothered to expand and modernize so it is broke. Yea, those diabetic comas you sell were meant to support the camps and scholarships for at risk girls. So, sorry kids but we can’t be bothered to move our business model with the times so go sell cookies to pay our pensions would ya? Bull shit. Just bull shit.
I have a troop of low income girls. We need the money from cookie sales. If you have a problem, you should deal with it directly with Council, not hurt the rest of us. Sorry to disagree with you, but it is hard enough to stand out in the cold in front of grocery stores every year selling cookies, please don’t make it harder on us!
My daughter also has a disability and was kicked out of Girl Scouts after her leader physically assaulted her and the council blamed it on my daughter having a disability. I’d have sued but GSUSA and GSCNC have deeper pockets than I do.
Okay, so let me get this right: The Girl Scouts are using child labor to fund their own retirements. Who the hell in this country gets a pension who isn’t part of a union (and not always them, either)???
I feel the exact same way about GS. Both my daughters are in, but I was never thrilled with the scouts myself. If you decide to make that Dr. Who troop, my oldest daughter will love to join. She has the dress and all!!
I love you. Thank you for giving voice that I, as a leader, and I, as a gs mother have been asking for ever. And if they kick Haley out, check out venturing in a few years.
$11.25??? In a world where Amazon can get a sofa bed to me the same day I order it for $4.99…there has to be a better way to do this, Girl Scouts!!
Sign me up for “What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club”.
Yess !!!!! ! have 5 daughters. All have spent time as a Girl Scout. In our area over the last 17 years In have watched almost all our camps close but yet 2 very high class Girl Scout Headquarters be built. At one point 4 of my daughters were members in the same troop. There is no way we could meet the sales “quota”. When they went before the local counsel to petition for approval for their project they were told they need to sell x amount of cookies or no approval would come……… only 1 of my girls are still involved….. but not with any love for the organization.
We have lost our respect for the organization. I know many good women who still try to cling to the original ways and meaning of the club so they can pass it on . I have the greatest respect for them . Sadly i feel they are fighting a loosing battle.
So sad…
Well said Jenny.
I hope your letter goes viral.
It is past time for your message to be addressed.
Every year’s cookie sale devalues the girls’ contributions. I didn’t fully realize ’til my girls were older (and keeping their share of their cookie sales in their “personal accounts”) how little the troops profit from cookies and how much of the sales price goes to council. I’m a big believer in Girl Scouting — I’m a former leader and cookie mom, and both of my daughters sold enough cookies in their last year of Seniors to pay for lifetime memberships — but some of GSUSA’s recent decisions have had me scratching my head. (Girl Scout Barbie is dressed in a Junior uniform why? Because 6th grade girls have boobs? Really, GSUSA??)
I personally can’t wait to hear their response….
so glad i’m not the only person writing letters to the ceo of council. anxious to see what comes back. good on ya!
Apparently the pension problem has been an ongoing issue the GSA has been trying to tackle since the collapse of the economy in 2007 and an unfortunate choice in freeze their pension under the old rules in 2010 that ended up hurting them by not allowing them to take advantage of the pension relief available in 2012. This is an article going into the details from a pension fund web site so it’s a bit technical. http://www.pionline.com/article/20130429/PRINT/304299976/girl-scouts-ask-congress-for-a-do-over-on-pension-plan-exemption So there does not seem to be anything nefarious about this, just continuing fallout from the Great Recession and a very bad decision to be exempted from the new pension plan rules until 2017. I am assuming that they are just running out of options. They did go 7 years before turning to cookie sales – I will give them that much. I received my First Class (Gold) award in 1979 and spent 3 summers as a GS camp counselor in the early 1980’s (insert me singing the Camp Winacka song here). I still support Girl Scouts and hope they can resolve these issues soon. But, I too will be waiting to hear what they have to say on these questions – there needs to be clarity!
You go, Jenny! (And Hailey — You should be proud of your mom :))
I hope that the powers-that-be at the Girl Scout Headquarters do read your letter and do not consider you a psychopath with a blog, because you bring up some excellent points about screwed-up business models. Actually, the fact that you even had to write such a letter to point out to the Girl Scouts’ CEOs concerning this fucked up business model makes me feel kinda stabby, because it is a f’d up business model that is a poor excuse for ‘creating an example for modern girls.’ Who are the Girl Scouts trying to kid? Sounds like making the almighty dollar to feed into the system to create more money for the system is their f-ing priority, rather than spending the money serving at-risk girls with resources — and that sucks. It sucks that they’d insist on such a mis-representation.
I shouldn’t be surprised…but I am.
Their priorities suck right there.
Kudos to you, Jenny, for writing this letter and asking the questions. This is important stuff. I hope that you get a response from them.
http://nypost.com/2013/06/09/shes-milking-the-scouts
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/12/why-are-girl-scout-camps-being-closed.html
Some very interesting information regarding GSUSA’s finances, the pension issues, the camp sales, and the council consolidation in those two articles…
I’ve been making my own cookies for years. Low salt Ritz crackers, Ghirardelli dipping chocolate and a drop of peppermint extract. Yum!
And PS: Your creation of an alternate club choice sounds awesome.
And the cookies are more expensive as well. Sooooo not worth it.
I looked to buy from a friend’s daughter who lives out of state and when I saw the delivery charge I changed my mind. I love the cookies and the mission, but I can’t get behind the hidden costs. And I feel bad, because it’s the little girls who have to suffer because of the giant corporation.
Jenny,
I rarely post comments. I am a big fan of yours and can’t wait for the second book. When I first read this post, I did not give it much deep thought to question your reasoning. Instead, I sent the link to a friend who I thought would appreciate your feisty letter and your attempt to get answers to some valid question.
By friend responded, but made me see why your letter is focused on some of the wrong things. I think someone from the organization should respond to you and explain things. But, well, let me borrow some of my friend’s comments.
• If the GS promised their employees pensions, they have a contractual obligation that probably legally supersedes any obligation to keep camps open. In terms of budgeting, therefore, they have to put money to pensions first. If they need to raise additional money for the camps, then they should, and that should be the focus of the criticism, not “Why are you paying pensions if you can’t keep camps open?” That’s dumb. Also, the blogger admits that she has heard the GS is pursuing funding for this. Why not ask for details on that instead of framing an accusation?
• Camps are important but not all scouts go to camps. Regular activities (weekly meetings and local events) are {also} important.
• Anyone who shops or sells online knows how expensive shipping is. $11.25 is high but not unheard of. Could the Girl Scouts approach a shipping company and get a better deal? Possibly, but they need serious bulk orders to do that. And this is the first year of online orders, so they probably can’t justify bulk discounts on shipping yet and they’re probably still figuring out the whole online order thing (which I can assure anyone is MUCH harder than it looks). Finally, shipping cost could also include the cost of packaging, printing labels, and labor. That is perfectly reasonable. In other words, shipping might be $8 but they are charging an additional $3.25 for their supply-side costs.
• $1.25 is normal for an online credit card transaction fee.
Anyway, that is my two cents, which you can add to my payment for thin mints. 🙂
(All good points, but you can’t have any of my Thin Mints BECAUSE THEY’RE MINE! Kidding. You can have one. Please mail me $16. In answer to your responses:
Pensions owed to people should be paid. That’s just basic ethics and I support that. What I question is whether girl scouts are told that the previous way of cookie sales benefiting camps and scholarships might change (as of today) because the money used for those things may now be sucked away because the council is forced to start paying off pension debt. It’s a legit debt and one that needs to be paid, but not really one I’m interested in my child working to pay off. And I didn’t say that the Girl Scouts is pursing funding. They’re asking for a (second) change in legislation to let them have more time to pay it off the debt that came about in 2008. I’ve asked if there have been any changes in congress that will let them put off paying that debt but I haven’t received any info.
Camps are important, but not mandatory. But if the Girl Scouts are selling off historic camps while the young girls are telling people to buy cookies to support the camps then that seems questionable. Granted, less sales mean probably even fewer camps but the issue I have is one of transparency. I’ve read that less girls use the camps, but I also know that I’ve been to all the girl scout meetings for years and the curriculum doesn’t push camping like it once did so I’m not surprised. Even the “Girl Scout Barbie” they licensed last year wasn’t doing anything camp related. She was selling cookies. In hot pink capris and high-heeled boots.
$11.25 might be legit but I want to know if they got competitive bids. Transparency (especially in light of the fact that their financial situation might be impacting our girls) is so important here. They’re a multi-million dollar corporation so I would have expected that they could have negotiated a better rate. Maybe there’s something else involved I don’t know though. Maybe they’re packing them with cold packs so they don’t melt. Maybe they contacted all shipping companies and all of them gave insanely high rates. Full transparency and communication would answer this one.
Regarding the credit card fee, I’ll defer to you because I don’t know. Looking online it seems like it should be less but perhaps there are additional banking fees involved. It might be totally legitimate, but I’d really love to see a breakdown from them of what they’re being charged. Again, transparency is key in trust and will help our girls selling cookies when they are asked these questions. If my daughter wasn’t the one out doing the labor for this stuff I wouldn’t care so much about making sure that these decisions are fiscally sound, well-reported and explained. I will say though that I’ve read that a card surcharge of more than 4% is illegal, and also credit card surcharges are illegal in several states, including mine (Texas). Maybe that’s something different?
Again, excellent comment and thanks! ~ Jenny)
I went to the National GS site FAQs section. Answered copied here…One hundred percent of the net revenue raised through the Girl Scout Cookie Program stays with the local council and troops. Girl Scout troops set goals on how to spend their proceeds on program-related activities, such as paying their own way to a community event or museum, or funding other programmatic outings. Girl Scout troops may also choose to use proceeds to purchase materials for a Take Action/Service project to benefit the community.
(For me this is not a real answer. The girl scout website states that the local council is the one paying for the pension deficit issue starting tomorrow. Unless your council is part of the very small percentage that has not opted in for the pension program then they are changing the way that money is spent. Yes, the profits go to the council and -in small part- the troop, but the local council will start paying money for the pension deficit problems which I fear will take away money that would go for for the things they previously paid for starting tomorrow. ~ Jenny)
When you start your “What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club” let us know. My daughter and I are interested ^_^
Okay, I re-read that several times and what they are changing just seems wrong to me. Like math that doesn’t add up. I hope you get answers.
E
I agree with your outrage. With the troops only seeing $.60 a box and being asked to sell the product our troop leader took it to the kids and parents a few years ago. Instead of selling cookies girls asked for donations. Parents/family/friends donated the $ they would have spent buying cookies from our troop. 100% of that money was used by the troop to directly help our commodity. The girls felt like they had done more for the people they were helping by going above and beyond than they did schlepping cookies in front of stores. I hope you get some answers. I’m interested to see where this leads.
It is truly outrageous that the majority of money from these cookie sales go to possibly pay stuffed shirt pensions. Most of which I am sure are overpaid. These girls work hard on these cookie sales and I tell you it sucks to sit in the freezing cold outside of your neighborhood grocery store selling cookies and yiur group only gets about 10-20% from it. I am interested to see what response you get. Keep us posted.
I love that you are asking the questions. I’ve been asked to support many cookie sales across the country for my friends’ daughters but I was blown away by the fees and opted to just donate to their troops.
And then there is this… http://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/business/2014/12/30/girl-scouts-plan-new-facility/21053155/
I love that you are involved in what interests your daughter. I hope you get the answers to your questions, being a Gold Award recipient myself, I would also like to know what you find out. Good luck!
As a former Girl Svout Council employee… I can say that current cookie sales shouldn’t have to pay for our pension. Girl Scout employees’ pensions should have been funded at the time each of the employees were working. Did the national organization not do this or have they habitually dipped into that fund for remodeling executive restrooms, hefty salaries, etc. I am a lifetime member of Girl Scouts and believe that the program has much to offer girl of today. My camping experiences shaped who I am and gave me immeasurable skills. The organization can do better than it currently seemed to be doing.
I believe the problem is the ever increasing cost of the crack or heroin or whatever it is they put in the Tagalongs to make them so completely addictive. Seriously, I know smokers who quit cold-turkey but can’t go a season without at least one box of Do-Si-Dos. Whatever it is they put in the cookies is what should be investigated here. Oh sure, they blame pensions but I bet its really the Columbian cartels raising prices plus hush money to the CIA or SHIELD or the Food Channel or something. Fortunately, I believe sales in the now marijuana-legal states should probably cover pretty much any shortfall. Just saying.
To the person who compared GS cookies to “diabetic comas”: Cookies (of any type) do not cause diabetes or cause diabetic comas, nor does consuming any sugary product. This is one of those false myths we in the Type 1 diabetic community keep trying to dispel.
Thanks, and now back to the issue at hand.
Thank you for writing this… I was Girl Scout, earned my Silver Award. Went to camp every summer. Learned all about independence, leadership, friendship and so many other countless life lessons. Great Trail Girl Scout Camp was sectioned off and auctioned off on December 13, 2014. Because the local Council decided, it was too expensive to keep open. I no longer purchase Girl Scout cookies for this very reason. Because the national board needs to get their shit together and get back to basics.
Some years ago, I hate to think of how many, I worked for a company that rewarded its employees that volunteered at non-profits by providing 500.00 to the local organization (my daughter’s girl scout troop) and double that amount for the organization (the area council). When I called to get the tax id number for the council, they demanded to receive not only the 1000.00 coming their way but the 500.00 earmarked for our troop. I was completely dumbfounded. It wasn’t enough that they were receiving money, just because I volunteered for our troop, but those greedy a-holes wanted to take the money out of the pockets of our girls. That was it for me. Girl Scouts has a great message, and I’m impressed that they have moved along with the times and recognize that girl come in all shapes, sizes and identities, but I cannot abide paid employees putting themselves above the very girls they are charged to support.
I hope you get a satisfactory answer, but I do not believe that girls are really being served by this organization any longer, it has become a greedy corporation who lost touch with its mission a long, long time ago.
My niece is in GS. I frickin’ hide during selling season because my sis becomes a psychotic monster who sends out multiple facebook and emails. The cookies get smaller and fewer in the box while being more expensive, not that I EVER see the cookies I buy. Psycho-sis hoards the thin mints and pretends she gave them to me. Last count she owes me 6 boxes.
I’d ignore the issue of the cost of ordering online. Girls previously weren’t permitted to sell on line at all, but some families cheated and other girls complained it was unfair. This year’s online system is meant to provide an option for people who insist on it, but it is not seriously intended as a way for cookies to be sold in any significant numbers. They want girls to sell face to face, not have their parents set up a website to do it for them.
Part of the different cost of cookies is that there are actually two different bakers. Keebler makes the awesome ones under the name “Little Brownie Bakers.” Burry/FFV makes the less-than-awesome ones under the name “ABC Bakers.” The perennial cookies are basically the same with both bakeries, though the names are different (Samoas vs. Caramel DeLites, for instance). The cookies that rotate in and out every couple years vary with the different bakers, so your council may not sell the same cookies the council across the river sells. Keebler/Little Brownie cookies cost more. Each council has to decide if they can eat the difference in costs, especially since they have to be priced in even multiples of 25 or 50 cents for little brains to multiply in their heads. Thin Mints account for a disproportionate amount of sales, and both bakeries follow the same recipe for them, AFAIK.
As far as pension costs, I have no information on that at all. I haven’t had any bad experiences with staff at my council, but just let me say that I was surprised to hear there were enough actual paid employees (rather than well-meaning volunteers) for pension costs to even be an issue.
I was a troop leader about a decade ago and that’s probably the same amount per box that we got for the troop back then. I don’t even know how much of my personal money I spent or personal craft supplies were used for troop meetings/outings. But it was more than we made on cookies.
My friend Gretchen has been asking these same questions and fighting this same battle. They just sold a really great girl scout camp here that was used every year. It was a great get away for the girls, but they had to pay pensions too.
Meanwhile, the head of the GS organization makes almost 1/2 million dollars.
I really hope your letter results in you getting some straight answers. I worked at a local Camp Fire office and found working with the National Offices was a really frustrating part of the job and that was without any cookie sales!
I will say that knowing how little money actually stays with the troop it may be easier for me to keep my “less sugar” resolution and skip the cookies and just donate some money to a local troop instead.
Have a wonderful New Year Jenny!!!
I love that this letter exists. Brava to you and Haley!
Dear Girl Scouts,
This could be the single best marketing tool a family has ever given you. They are practically engaging in the type of make-over the Girl Scouts desperately need and are also showing what powerful girls (who become powerful women) do when they hit a roadblock. Also, they even told you they were living up to
Your values.
Dear Jenny & Hailey,
As always, my heroes! (Or sheroes)
Why do they need pensions?
Great letter asking all of the right questions. Instead of buying cookies so the profits can go to the GS pension fund, what if people would write the troop a check for $6? The $6 is what the troop would get from the sale of the 10 boxes of cookies.
You go girl! If I read this right, they are charging $1.25 per box of cookies online as a credit card fee? If that’s right then they are being overcharged like mad. It should be $1.25 per ORDER not box. When you do a credit card order then they are charged that fee per order. Or that’s how every business I’ve ever worked for does it. So if they are saying its for every box, you are getting screwed six ways from Sunday on your online orders. No credit card company I know of charges that kind of fee per item in an order. It’s charged for the total order. Sounds like maybe there’s some shady shit going on there.
BTW, I wish the company that I worked for 25 fucking years hadn’t lost our pension because I’d love to be able to retire!
This was an interesting read … I hope you get some answers.
As a child in the 70’s I always wanted to be a Girl Scout. I watched parts of their Brownie troop meetings from across the cafeteria as I waited for the late bus to take me home from school on Mondays. I vowed as an 8-10 year old that when I was a mom, that my daughters would be allowed to participate in Girl Scouts if they desired it.
In the mid 90’s my oldest daughter came home from school one fall day and said … Mommy, this lady came to school today and told me about a new club that girls can join and we can eat s’mores and go camping. Can I join? I said YES!! We went to the information meeting and I somehow was recruited as a troop leader.
I was an ACTIVE troop leader from October 1995 until this past September (2014) … 19 years as a troop leader with 4 daughter in Girl Scouts. I have gone through MANY different organizational changes and 3 councils (MN, FL & SC) and a merger into a 4th council. I have experienced … a crazy co-leader who stole our profits from our first cookie sales, 12 precious Brownies who as adults still keep in touch with my 3 adult daughters, 3 years as VOLUNTEER GS Summer Camp director (the best 3 summers of our lives), 2 years with a troop that consisted of only my 3 older daughters, 6 years of leading a multi-level troop with up to 32 girls, helping a total of 9 girls earn their bronze award and 4 earn their silver awards, helped 1 girl work hard on her gold award but she was turned down 3 different times, 2 years with a drug addicted mom that caused major drama, having a service unit cookie manager steal over $17,000 of cookie profit, 5 years as a service unit encampment director, I served on countless council committees (including a cookie policy committee), many MANY different program changes, an amazing amount of DRAMA (99% of the drama was between parents and/or council staff members), a grandmother who threaten to come to my house and “teach me a lesson” because I would not permit her to say the F word in front of the girls, … and sooooo much more. I kept sticking it out and trudging along until this past year when my 14 year old daughter said “Mom, I don’t want to be a part of Girl Scouts any more, I don’t respect the organization and what they stand for … because it is definitely not girls, girls are not a top priority in Girl Scouts. 🙁
Also, I don’t know if it has changed, but back when I had a troop, if your troop didn’t sell cookies you couldn’t participate in/hold alternative fundraising events like car washes and the like.
Thank you so much for writing this! I’m a former Girl Scout (Brownie through Cadette) who attended GS Camp Comstock in Ithaca NY every year from the time I was 8. Some of the best memories I have of my childhood are those 12 days a year spent in the woods and in/on Cayuga Lake. I grew up extremely poor and, although I hustled my butt off to sell those cookies, I was a scholarship camper. Every skill I could bring to the “What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club” was learned at Girl Scout camp.
I’ve always bought what (others say) is a ridiculous amount of cookies (40 boxes isn’t too many, right?) because I wanted to support other girls like me who needed the escape and the fun of summer camp, as well as the confidence that learning outdoor skills brings. Now, I’m finding out that only a small percentage of the cookie sales are given to the troops, GSUSA is closing camps, councils have been merged and re-districted — and the individual Scouts and their troops are seeing few, if any, benefits of their hard work? It saddens me.
I’m just going to start giving cash to the troop leaders I know to spend as they see fit on their Scouts and troop activities, rather than buying cookies. Or well, buying as many.
Girl scout cookie sales, imo, belong in the past…the same past where grandma’s rubbed bourbon on teething baby’s gums, you could buy a bottle of cough syrup with heroin listed as an ingredient, and smoking was recommended by your doctor… We have skyrocketing childhood obesity, and our children are asked to sell a product that barely qualifies as food and just fuels the overweight epidemic… All that aside, the way the sales are set up teaches our girls to devalue their work. They are not getting paid for their hard work if they keep mere cents on each box, and the whole set up is like patriarchy- shouldn’t we encourage our girls to find novel ways to raise funds on THEIR own…wouldn’t that, you know, teach them how valuable, smart, and creative they truly are in their own right? Instead, we have them line up like good little workers, taking orders from above…
Can you get a badge for showing your daughter that asking questions is a very good thing?
Lea
Former Girl Scout and leader who snuck white gas in to get campfire started in drenching wet rain forest but don’t tell them that.
I started out as a Girl Scout in the late 60s and stayed in until I was a sophomore in high school and it was a wonderful experience. When I graduated I went back as a troop co-leader with my younger sister’s troop . More good times lol. Please remember this was when the girl in Girl Scouts mattered. A long break from scouting and then I had a daughter. So in 2000 I jumped back in as a Daisy leader. Stayed her leader until her sophomore year. I also served as the Service Unit manager in both Illinois and then Southeastern Wisconsin, which was a thankless volunteer position that was the equivalent of an unpaid full time job. I started questioning the council positions and policies around 2009, asking for explanations as to why the organization was running more like a corporation, focused on their “brand” and leaving the girls scattered along the way. Definitely time to move on to the Dr Who model which will actually promote leadership and life skills and pride in their organization. I commend your commitment to your daughter and your parenting skills. Warm wishes for a wonderful New Year!!
I read this to my kids and they heard nothing after “What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club.”
I’m torn – I want to support your Girl Scout effort, but I’d also like to see the What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club happen. Can I do both?
How each local council is funded will vary and when mergers happen bad decisions can get spread. Camping used to be on undeveloped land with low maintenance costs. Now with buildings, pools, and whatever else the modern program may want or need, the expenses have gone up as have state health requirements for keeping the camp open. All of this takes money at the local council level and if the local council does not raise the money there will probably be another merger. The pension issue sounds nasty. I don’t know about GUSA, but in the BSA, all the professionals come from the same group. You are hired at the bottom and move up the ladder between councils. No lateral entries from other non-profits are allowed. That just makes the situation worse.
Of course, if it was a fully volunteer situation, it would probably be even worse. Good luck.
I hope this fact gets a lot of publicity. It’s been this way for a long time. I have been donating money to the troops, not buying cookies.
FYI…it’s latish on New Years Eve so I’ve been drinking but I should note that the Girl Scouts twitter account just said they’d touch base with me about my concerns after the holidays. Hopefully they’ll have a good response explaining the situation or expounding on how they plan to improve in either deed or improved communications. It’s not ideal but it’s something, and that’s a step in a good direction.
Also, Hailey has decided to pass on the online sales thing this year, but my sweet daughter will probably be one of those excited young girl scouts manning a cookie booth outside a grocery story because she loves being an extrovert (I suspect she was switched at birth) so please keep in mind that the little girls asking for sales are not privy or responsible for all of these complicated issues and should never be yelled at for their excitement. It’s fine to say “Sure, I love Do-Si-Dos” or “no, thanks” but yelling at small children isn’t really kosher. I know I probably don’t have to say this out loud for any regular reader with common sense, but just in case this gets to someone who isn’t a regular, remember that children are children and are affected by your interactions.
If you’ve read my book you’ll know that already because I dedicated it to every single person who has ever helped me “except for that guy who yelled at me at Kmart for being ‘too rowdy’. You, sir, are an asshole.” In other words, that shit sticks, so be nice to small children. That’s just basic human kindness.
This is the issue that made us leave Girl Scouts. It’s sickening. (And I was a lifelong girl scout and a former assistant leader. I’m done. DONE.)
Pensions versus supporting at risk girls. I’m dumb-founded. Silly me, after all these years of volunteering and buying cookies and popcorn and lord knows what else I had no idea that we were funding pensions in scouting.
Thank you for delivering a blinding flash of the obvious. I will research and take action.
Thanks Jenny and Hailey.
Campfire USA. It’s for both boys and girls, and 66% of the price of the candy goes to the program, and all kids who sell get credit towards camp or an activity, depending on how much they sale. Last year, my 8 year old earned 60 dollars towards camp by selling in front of a store for three weekends. They are the most inclusive club. My son’s group is has kids aged 5 to 12, about twenty kids, and we do lots of things together and also divide up by groups, so they are with their own age group, but have the opportunity to be a tribe where the older kids look out for the younger and the younger kids look up to the older. We have mostly boys, with maybe 5 out of 20 are girls. One girl used to be in Girl Scouts but prefers our group because we do more cool things instead of just girly things. There are alternatives out there!
As a Girl Scout leader for 13 years, I can say I have seen it all (I am pretty sure). I agree with all of your questions and in fact, they DO reflect the ideas of Girl Scouting and what it was founded on…. there is nothing wrong with asking constructive questions and you absolutely deserve and the girls deserve proper answers. I have participated in cookie sales for all 13 of those years, and the money that we made did allow for us to travel, to go to camp, to help with service projects, and to financially be able to support ourselves. I can only speak from my experiences of course, but warts and all, scouting has been a wonderful experience for myself and my daughter. Many things can be frustrating (word) but we have usually been able to get proper answers.
I would really hate for people to become negative about a program that definitely does good things based on this. Check in with Charitynavigator.org and Charitywatch.org to get more info. GSUSA is consistently rated as a 4 star or A rated charity because of their transparency and because on average over 90% of their income goes straight back into the program itself, not admin costs.
All of that being said, something smells fishy over in your neck of the woods. You have a right to some darn good answers, and quickly at that!
Best of luck!
Sadly, very little of the cookie sales have ever directly benefited the girls. That’s why my troop found a different fundraiser back in the day (mid-90’s.)
I grew up a Girl Scout and my mom was our fearless leader for 12 years. It taught me so much and helped shape who I am today. That being said, I have watched the organization become almost unrecognizable. All but one of the camps I grew up at are gone and the ideals seem to have shifted dramarically. I still keep in close touch with girls from my troop. They have all grown up to be great women. I love your letter and hopefully it will start a bery necessary conversation about Girl Scouting. I hope that for Haley and all the other girls that can have as an enriching and super fun experience as I had.
I always find that truth is the best option. I really shouldn’t have gluten. So I tell them that. Everyone is nice about it and no one is hurt by it.
E
Your post here is already on page 2 when I Googled “girl scout cookies pension”. I’m very curious to know if an answer comes to your open letter and what that answer is. I might not get cookies this year if it’s not helping out the girls…
We already don’t buy anything from the Boy Scouts, it’d be a shame to add the Girl Scouts to that as well.
Hello again. This is Elizabeth (Betsy) from the GS of Kentuckiana. I am a volunteer and trainer there. I don’t think Girl Scout employees having pensions is wrong. The people have paid into them over the years. What happened to cause a problem with them (I have read) is that the council mergers (cutting the number of councils in half) brought with it MANY more people retiring because there were no jobs for them anymore. This may have been a side-effect nobody saw. But camps should not be sold to cover this. I believe we need to try to save as many Girl Scout camps as we can. The cookie money should go towards the camps, and for Scouterships for girls and to help underprivileged girls as well.
And we need our Girl Scout camps! Selling them is NOT the answer. The girls deserve these great places for great outdoor program. Many people agree that It is a bad financial decision to sell camps that Girl Scout girls need, because how are they going to be replaced after that? There are some articles you may want to read to get some more background about the possible debt problem coming. Here is a link to some Girl Scout Take Action groups: http://outdoor-journey.com/take_action.html. This page has articles that are very good, that explain where some of the changes to Girl Scouting happened too: http://outdoor-journey.com/gs_camp_ideas_articles.html.
I believe Girl Scouts is still the best organization for girls out there. But we do need to talk about these issues and try to come up with creative solutions to them. AND we need more official outdoor program and badges added back too.
I would also say, don’t stop buying cookies! Troops need the income from selling them. That’s my two cents. Join us and Take Action for the Girl Scout girls. Good conversation…
For girls, there is also Job’s Daughters, although the only way to get accepted is to be verifiably related to a (male) member of a Masonic Lodge. My youngest daughter (11) is in a Bethel. (her older sisters are not interested). The Bethel does all kinds of fundraisers, but the money is noted as going to the girls that earn it (such as from cookie sales or car washes) or to the Bethel to fund activities (cake or pie auctions at the Lodge – the guys bid high). Admittedly, they don’t earn badges, but they do have ritual to memorize, summer camps at the Masonic camp property, Jobie Weekend with all kinds of fun competitions (my daughter won Best in State in Category for deviled quail eggs last year!), sleepovers, other outings…and as far as I can tell, nobody is profiting, profiteering, or being paid pensions. We have grandma-ladies in the Bethel, long “aged out”, who are still involved 60 or more years after they wore their robes. I’m very slowly being won over, and I’m really not a ‘get involved’ sort of person.
I have 16 and 17 year old scouts. I would have quit long ago except I have a great group of volunteers who put on day camp and my girls love day camp. But the national organization is really frustrating. You go girl.
As a former Girl Scout Leader AND former Cookie Mom, I have one thing to say: Go on with yer bad self, girl (in my best white girl voice). I hope someone gives you answers, I’ll be watching!!
I actually jumped in & had to take over a troop of 1st graders after the leader switched to Boyscouts. Our troop had 25 girls, very strong, different, and amazing girls. I never wanted to be a GS Leader, but the crew was a float without any caption. Another mother and myself registered and received all the piper training (17 hrs 1st year), plus age level training & CPR/1st Aid every year. This doesn’t include personal time spent getting ready for badge work and meetings and planning trips. We were a active little group and happy together for 7 years, with girls from Brownies, 3rd grade to Ambassadors, high schoolers. I always dreaded Cookie Sales each January! I made the it entirely clear to the girls that I did not care if they only sold 1 box as long as they walked up, talked to that person, exchanged cookies for money and used their manners. If I heard they were having their parents leave a form at work and not doing any of the selling it didn’t count! There was no lesson learnt! We had cookie training each year, games to teach exchange of money, knowledge of their products every cookie, the details of how cookies sales began in 1918 just after she began the association, to help Julliette Lowe fund the Girl Scouts. Even though I told those girls they didn’t have to sell to raise funds, or win prizes, our Troop sold the most cookies every year, they girls had learnt a lesson in life, they knew their product, they knew if we sold well they received 30% of the sale, and they had learnt to enjoy talking and engaging people, doing business. As much as I dreaded the insanity of January GS Cookie Sales, I know that each of our girls learnt a little something about themselves and about how to talk to people, and about doing business, sales which all will help them in their future lives. I see them all now grown up beautiful and talented in so many different ways, but each and everyone of them are a leader, a planner, a motivator, and I still love the precious hugs!
Cause the moms in the back of the room maybe dragging thru just one meeting, but I have a disorder which makes it hard to be in front of groups, to lead, to organize a large group! But I stepped up and with a few really good moms I sat on the floor in the circle and did the friendship squeeze and sang Hermie the Wormie, and listened to heartfelt stories from little girls struggles. I did give my time to prepare, to train, and to spend time down on the floor every week for 7 years with those sweet 25 girls.
The Girl Scouts want a taxpayer bailout? For the amount they sell their crack cookies, they should all get Mercedes to tool around and deliver the damn things! What morons are running that crap anyway… oh wait, people who get pensions apparently. Get with the real world, suck it up and get a 401K and suffer with the rest of us peon scum!
My husband and I use Square Register to complete credit card transactions for our business. We are charged 2.75% for each transaction. For a $4.00 box of cookies, the credit card fee would be 11 cents. I’m calling BS on Girl Scouts credit card fee.
If they were to actually kick her out, you can always go with Camp Fire. I LOVED my years as a Camp Fire Girl and their long standing inclusiveness policy is a wonderful tradition. There’s a whole handful of councils in TX too http://campfire.org/councils/directory/TX
I hope against hope you get some kind of answer! I have a daughter in Girl Scouts, and am a troop leader, and I’m not important enough to warrant a response from the Girl Scouts when I express a concern by email. I’ve pointed out the specific and general grossness of their partnership with Mattel and Barbie, as well as expressed some real concerns about the lousy customer service for the fall fund raiser. I consistently get silence in response. I hope your larger forum draws an honest response.
Several girls in our church joined up with a group called American Heritage Girls, as a more conservative option. My Sis-in-law was a Campfire Girl. GSA is not the only option out there.
All I remember from my limited experience with Girl Scouts of America was horrid. We never went to camp, we never did great cookie sales, I had troop leaders move away (and that killed the troop… had that happen twice!), and I had one troop that the girls were so rude and said they hated me and I cried after every meeting. I got the Bridge to Juniors, and quit, because it meant nothing to me. I still have pins and patches… but I never felt good about my time in the GSA.
I have friends who are involved like crazy in GSA, and lead and sell cookies and do everything they can, because it helps their daughters. I know people who have left GSA, because they believed it did NOT help their daughters. I think the decision has to be made for the best scenario for the individual girls. I gave up my involvement of my own accord, and my parents supported that decision wholeheartedly. As, I suspect, they would have supported a choice to stay and tough it out.
I hope you get real answers, not the run around. Good for you, asking the real and tough questions.
Wow! I am a former Girl Scout, turned first year Daisy leader, and have to say I am new at this, so I haven’t encountered the beastly side of council issues, yet. However, I have to say, there seems to be a lot of hatred toward the organization — mainly in responses (whether it’s from someone questioning ties to Planned Parenthood or questioning where cookie funds are really going). It was my understanding that GSUSA is trying to “get back to basics,” because of the outcry over closed campsites, loss of volunteers and (most significantly) fewer girls joining.
I have to say that we have finished (and survived) Fall Nut Sales, and our troop has a comfortable cushion in our account, with which we plan on paying for field trips and badges. Cookie Sales should bring in a much bigger profit for our troop (I’ve been told), and we are counting on this to pay for camp in the spring, as well as our other events (trips and activities). I don’t want to be myopic, and not question where the rest of the funds are going, but let’s face it: no one likes to do fundraising — and if you did follow the money for any organization, you’d find that you’re paying for something you don’t agree with. Also, I honestly find information like this to be harmful to the kids who are about to get out there to pound pavement and try to sell these cookies. There’s a lot of good within this organization, and I hate to throw the baby out with the bath water.
Our troop of primarily kindergarteners has completed several community service projects, and we plan on heading into outdoor adventures as soon as it warms up! On top of it, these are little girls from very diverse backgrounds (from children with significant disabilities to GSUSA scholarship recipients). I feel that my Daisy and I have been immensely blessed to be part of the Girl Scouts, and I do hope the CEO responds & I hope that some of this is misinformation.
Thank you for sharing!
(I can tell you that I am a very firm supporter of Planned Parenthood but the girl Scouts are not involved with them. Personally, I’d be fine if they were because Planned Parenthood helped me when I was a teenager but I’ve done the research and there isn’t a real connection. ~ Jenny)
I just want to say as a person who has been a girl scout for 32 years (since I was 5) there’s a discrepancy in how this is being represented.
About half the cost of a box of cookies (which is different council to council and as someone else said based on which bakery is used) goes to pay for the cookies their packaging etc. That leaves around $2.00 a box about a third of which has typically gone to the troops (older troops can chose not receive incentives and instead receive about 20-30 cents more a box) the rest has paid for incentives (patches prizes camperships etc), scouting programs for girls in at risk populations (including camp experiences, FREE camp experiences for low income inner city kids who might otherwise never see a camp) and lastly administrative costs.
This whole pensions thing is a BRAND NEW issue and is totally new to me (I haven’t been active troop leader for about 5 years b/c I went back to school ((but I was a leader and a Service Unit Manager even though I don’t have kids!)) so I’m slightly out of the loop) and probably varies from council to council.
I know a lot of councils sold off camps when there was the big council merge right before I stopped being a troop leader because the newly formed councils often had redundant camps (our new merged council has two camps about 5 miles apart!). And by redundant I mean there wasn’t the demand for the camps. I spent the summers of 2011 and 2012 working at a GSUSA camp* as a way to stay involved while in school and our numbers were very low, 1/3-1/2 of the camp was often unused each week/session.
Council to council things can be very different but I have never heard of troop fund-raisers not being allowed. When I was a teen scout we did a TON of fundraising outside of cookies for our travel fund! I’ve been a scout/leader in 5 different councils including councils on both coasts.
Girl Scouting is still a great program for young women (and young men, boys can be registered members too btw) but they’re dealing with a financial crisis, one that sounds very similar to what the United States Post Office has been dealing with actually. No one plans to have a financial crisis and I hope they can resolve it without damaging a program that provides so much to so many.
*The paid staff at GSUSA camps is not there for the money. I worked 22 hour days(on call while sleeping) every day we were in session (usually 5+ days a week) for less than $1250.00 a month(before taxes) as a member of the administrative staff. Counselors make less.
I’m glad Scott commented — what he shared is also what I’ve learned from volunteer leaders, and it’s plausible to me. The 2008 crash ruined a lot of people’s retirements, and I actually give the GS organization credit for keeping their promises to long-retired employees instead of dumping them. Whether it’s sustainable or not is another issue. It’s our first year selling cookies and I’m interested to see how it goes, we’ll see how I feel in 6 months.
I hope someone gives you answers and I hope you share them all with us. I’m really interested to see how their PR spins all of this into a positive thing. I applaud you for this letter and I think that your daughter is a very, very lucky girl for having someone like you as a mother. Hope someone answers you soon! Best of luck!
I had a similar issue when my boys were in cub scouts. I wrote a letter and got such a douche-baggery response from the people that run the Cradle of Liberty section of the scouts that I continued with scouts for another year just to be a dick to them in person.
What a crock. My early experiences in GS helped make me a headstrong feminist early; but not to GS’s praise. GS was so lame compared to what i saw the boys doing in the BS, that i quit.
It looks like GS has succumbed to the fate of many organizations that start out with good intentions and excellent goals: it becomes about maintaining itself as an entity and the lofty goals are only a pretense.
Go get ’em, Jenny and Hailey!
It’s been many years since I worked for a girl scout council (mid 90s). I was an “executive” and had no pension (was very thankful to have health benefits while working for a non-profit organization), so I’m a little unclear as to where all the $$$ are going for “pensions”. Maybe to the national organization staff?
I too had issues as to how much of the cookie sale funded overall operations and how much pressure was put on troops and individual girls to sell, sell, SELL cookies.
The council I worked for was very good about initiating and funding many innovative programs, including sports programs and troops in at-risk areas, as well as a prison programs for girls whose mothers were incarcerated.
I chose to leave the organization for several reasons, but always hoped it would continue to be a positive opportunity for young women and get beyond the funding issues.
The ties with the United Way were also always a bit of a slippery slope – I had to do a lot of UW fundraising for the small bit of money we received from them and it always felt…well, icky, for lack of a better word.
BUT since many lovely young ladies contributed to my salary back in the day, even though I can’t stand to sight or smell of a box of girl scout cookies (my office was full of them, all year) I always buy a box from the lovely young ladies selling them when I encounter them.
I’ve long given them cash because 1. i can’t eat the cookies and 2. they get so little $$ from the cookies that it’s laughable.
Bless you, you wonderful woman for supporting Hailey in her scouting. Enjoy your New Years, and I really hope that Hailey(and her troop) learns the 5 skills of the cookie business; which is what the program is supposed to be about anyways. The focus for my troop is always on teaching Goal Setting, Decision Making, Business Ethics, People Skills, and Money Handling. I’ve been a leader for five years and my second favorite part of the year is when my girls get together and set a troop goal, and we all brainstorm on how to reach it. My favorite part is when we get to go on that horseback riding trip or stay overnight at the children’s museum, completely paid for with proceeds from cookie sales.
My own daughter earns enough for camp every year through cookie sales and our troop typically donates proceeds to whichever cause is tugging at their heartstrings that year. Last year, they adopted a shelter bunny(they even picked the most aggressive unlovable rabbit at the shelter cause they were afraid no one else would, and named him “Happy” in hopes of influencing his personality) and the year before they shopped for and donated toys to a local group of foster kids(this was inspired by an evening where my older scouts volunteered serving food to homeless and learning that kids can be homeless too. Later that night my daughter was sleeping on her floor and I asked her why, “I wanted to know how it felt to not have a bed to sleep in”.) That is why I am a leader, and I also support my scouts. It’s not about the council, is about my girls(daughters and scouts).
I know there is much to be improved in the Girl Scout organization, but the way I see it, I(and my daughters) can do more working from within, than by looking on from the outside.
My daughter would totally join your Dr Who/night vale/zombie apocalypse prep club. I’d volunteer, too.
You don’t have to buy cookies. Donations are always welcome. The girls are supposed to be selling them for a troop goal and a personal goal. We raised our funds so we could go to Schlitterbahn and do other events. We also knew that part of the funds we raised went toward maintaining Camp Texlake and the clubhouse in Austin. I was a brownie through cadet and my daughter was a brownie to girl scout. We were a “low-income” troop and these sales helped us go to camps etc. But we were always thrilled for donations as we stood there freezing our butts off. There’s tons of good things about GS, but it is made up of people, and sometimes people are flawed. Fix what’s wrong. You don’t fix a leaking roof by burning down the house. If it bothers people to support a council that’s not meeting expectations, change the council. Otherwise buy a box of Cookies from the girls out there selling them and donate the price of a box to the troop. Get involved there are never enough volunteers.
I really think folks should consider that the Girl Scouts has professional needs and that the folks who get pensions have been serving girls and helping them as their job. I imagine they earnednthere pensions. Who do you think organizes units, recruits girls, and keeps track of all of the paper work? Not to mention recruits the under served youth and then maintains the camps. The camp rangers get pensions from the cookie sales also.
If you work for any company that has a retirement program and youth think it is good for the employees, why wouldn’t you want the nonprofit executives at the girl scouts to have a well funded one? It sounds like it is necessary and not just some money grab.
As I like to say in an old-timey movie accent: “What a racket.”
I don’t have kids but would happily join and be a leader for the What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club.
Comment 235 – It’s why we love you, Jenny! Thank you.
My girls have decided that it’s bad that Girl Scouts are supposed to be “Honest and Fair”, but an 11-16% return on cookie sales is NOT fair when council gets 50%. And THEN they instituted a “mystery shopper” program for cookie booth sales with a 12 point list! No…just no. Boy Scout troops, by the way, get a minimum of 30% of their popcorn sales…so how does GSUSA live with themselves for “paying” the girls 1/2 of what the boys get?
And I, also, have had less than stellar interactions with GS council people. Condescending, rude, and just overall unprofessional behavior.
This right here is the best possible thing that you could do for Hailey, whether it causes a fuss or not. It’s well thought out, full of actual facts and research, and hella tactful. But it also looks at stuff head on and just plain asks the question. You did good, Mama. Hope you get a useful, sane answer. (Not a GS fan either, so am expecting that you will get boolsheet rather than sanity in response. But gonna put on my Pollyanna hat and hope for the best.)
I left GS after my parent’s divorced and the GS leaders made me feel weird. (I am going to assume it’s because my Mom had to go to work and could no longer help out) I was also my daughter’s GS leader for four years because I was guilt-ed into it by another Mother. I personally think there is no reason at this day and age to keep the girls and boys separate. I have also hated cookie sales. No matter how hard some girls worked selling cookies, there were always the girls whose parents did all the selling for them at their places of employment, and those girls got more ‘rewards’ for doing little to no work at all. Stupid.
I was never a Girl Scout, and I don’t have kids…but I sincerely wish I could go back in time and have a mom who cared as much as you do – about people in general and her kid in particular. You rock.
I know absolutely nothing about Girl Scouts or the cookie sale fundraiser ( other than that the tagalongs are the best), but I do know good parenting when I see it. Bravo…..way to teach her to question things, not only in her head, but out loud to the people who seem to be making decisions that don’t make sense. Just like this, girls need to be taught not to blindly go along with or accept things they might disagree with. I think this is doing her a great service by modeling a polite but firm stance of needing to know more before participating.
Stacy
The Girl Scouts own one of the most outstandingly successful fundraisers of all time. It is the ONLY fundraiser out there where people will say, “I need my Thin Mint fix; who’s got a Girl Scout?” No one else sells anything that is so actively desired.
Given that, I have been baffled for years by the apparent clusterfuck that is the GSUSA.
The Boy Scouts in my area a few years ago bought a defunct building and renovated it into sort of a Boy Scout rec center with a ropes course and a climbing wall. They’re doing fine, financially, despite the fact that no one particularly wants Boy Scout popcorn.
There is something deeply screwy with Girl Scout financials, and reading their web site (which I did a year or two ago, thinking about this) did not make me feel any more enlightened.
Excellent letter; be sure to send it.
Unless things have changed in the few years since my girls graduated, roughly $1 goes to the baker, roughly $0.60 goes to the troop, and the rest stays in the local council to provide scholarships, camp fees, etc. No money goes to National. As I said, though, things may have changed.
Signed,
former Girl Scout (6 years) and former Girl Scout leader (13 years, with five girls going through the entire program)
Apparently the $11.25 shipping fee is flat rate, because I ordered 4 boxes of cookies and was charged the same $11.25 for shipping. My bet is that they are using a flat rate to encourage people to buy more at a time to make it “worth it.”
Also, Jenny, we should be nice to large children, too. All children, really.
Are the cookies now being sold through cafepress, b/c that sounds like they’re kind of outrageous shipping prices.
I am addicted to thin mints and quite fond of do-si-dos. But I don’t need them and probably shouldn’t eat them. Seriously how little of the fundraising money goes to the organization doing the fundraising is a shame. Yet with school activities it is requirement for lettering. In my kids elementary school I got so sick of the fundraisers that I finally asked, can I just write a check and then you get it all and I skip the guilt? Win-win. My favorite fundraiser they ever did was a jog-a-thon. Parents and friends pledged a fixed amount or amount per lap, kids ran around, teh school kept all the money. Winning all around.
We tried to join Girl Scouts once. They took our registration fees (including mine as an adult leader), and then we never heard from them again. No “show up, here’s your troop!” No “contact us so we can figure out where you belong since you’ve already paid your money!” And no response when we asked what to do next. NOTHING.
Oh, we got weekly emails about how much they needed our financial support and pleas to send more money their way, but we figured since they couldn’t be bothered to actually put us in a program we’d already paid for they could just go @#$% themselves.
Thin Mints are pretty tasty, though.
OMG thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for taking up this issue!!
I’ve been saying this for YEARS. I won’t buy the cookies any more because they are ridiculously priced and the money just simply does not come back to the troop girls doing all the work. (And like you pointed out, the girls wouldn’t mind if the money went to support another girl, one who couldn’t otherwise attend an event.) I had NO idea online prices were that high.
That letter is amazingly assertive. I hope you read it over with Hailey and she realizes what a good job you guys are doing by tackling this head-on??
People are free to spend $15 on 10 cookies if they so desire, but they need to know EXACTLY where that money is going, instead of the “it’s for the children” answer I always seem to get. And employees DO need salaries and the pensions they were promised. But then let’s be honest about that – the girls are selling a product to pay the administrators. Ok, fine. But then how are we going to support the girls who can’t go to camp this year?
Bravo!!!
As for pensions, there are lots of oak trees to bunk up with the Keebler elves who must be in cahoots with GS anyway. I say donate directly to a troop, create a scholarship in the name of all Bloggessians/Strangelings.
Will the What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club girls be selling unicorns? Because I’ll pay any shipping price for that.
I had my daughters stop selling cookies because of how little money they bring into the troop. Plus I hated having to deliver them. I was a scout leader, and I sold cookies and did booth sales, but refused to sell cookies otherwise. It is a nightmare for all involved, from picking up to sorting to finding out someone doesn’t want their cookies after a 3 month wait. Our troop only saw $0.40 for each box that were selling at $4.00 a box. It wasn’t worth it, and our other fundraising options through our council were worse. The boxes are smaller with less cookies and cost more every year, and with all the “branding” that Corporate Girl Scouts are doing, you don’t have to wait or crave Girl Scout cookies because you can get Thin Mint Chocolate Quik, Nestle Thin Mint, Samoa, or Tagalong candy bars, any day of the week and the list keeps going.
I doubt that anything good will come out of their response as they don’t see the leaders and girls leaving for other activities in droves. They are only going to try to (as my husband put it) “Polish a turd”, which will still leave their response a giant turd. Thanks for calling them out on this! May it bring about a revolution. *girl scout salute ~humming “The Hanging Tree”
boy scout popcorn sales = same issues. whoever received 38% back to the troop–congrats. the cost of the popcorn is OUTRAGEOUS and the fundraiser is not to support troops but to pay for councils.
Check out the Girl Scouts CEO and other exec’s salary. Use the web site charity navigator. There is something wrong with a not-for-profit that relies heavily on volunteers on the bottom end but pays six figure salaries to executives. And this is applies to many not-for-profits.
This has been an ongoing problem for a while; maybe not specifically the pension issue, but the amount of money GS get from the sale of a box of cookies. Our Fall Product Sale (and btw Girl Scout candy is adorable and delicious people! I had no idea!) included online sales of photo books and cards with a huge handling fee and then they ALSO charged a huge shipping fee on top of that. I was so angry. So the huge shipping fees for cookies do not at all surprise me. Our council is not participating in online sales this year thankfully. It’s kind of ironic that a company whose stated goal is to teach girls leadership and business skills is so awful at running a decent business model. Still… I LOVE the girls. Girl Scouts gives me a framework as a leader to provide a lot of cool experiences to the girls. I thought about doing Campfire or something else but GS just really has the branding like whoa. I think we’ll just include some badges from Campfire … and BSUSA…. and anywhere else that makes sense for my girls! As for people saying GS are too “girly,” that is ONE troop. Each troop is different depending on the girls in the troop. 🙂 It is supposed to be girl led.
Any other leaders out there, make sure you find out your council rules for opting out of sales. In our council if you do not participate in both fall product sale AND the cookie sale, your troop cannot run any other fundraisers. You can always just buy a few boxes of cookies for yourself and boom, participation, kwim?
My outrage is that I’m pressured into buying crap cookies (“You can choose to have them donated to the [whatever group] instead”) with a net fund raising efficacy of something like 13% ($0.60/$4.00 * 100), and I can’t make a direct to-the-troop contribution on the spot, so have to “Scrooge” the poor little girl doing the soliciting, even though I give to the troop treasury later on.
You are awesome!!!!! Could you please write a letter to lego next, asking them why there’s only one female in a box with 6 people (so, the other five are male). I’m pretty sure that’s not the actual male/female percentage in society and my daughter would really like to play with regular (read- non lego friends) legos while still being able to pretend she is a girl cop (or bad-guy, or firewoman, or whatever).
Good luck. I made the same case 15+ years ago after my girls had broken 1K cookie boxes. We didn’t even next $100.00 for our troop. After that I was like “face it, we do fine with dues. Sell to people you want and if you haven’t gotten a cool cookie patch, let me know. I did soem creative math but not one of my girls ever felt they were lacking in badges/tryits. Yes I was leader AND cookie mom for 6 years straight. And just for MORE fun? I’m a druidic pagan. So no one in my troop had to say the Gd word if they weren’t comfortanble with that. I got sick of high school when I was in high school. GSA at the “pension incurring level” is pretty much an extension of high school. Think about that…a *life long Girl Scout….yeah. I rarely admit to even having been an adult GS (leader). I got sucked in for my kids too….I have no idea where those sashes are even now!
If an actual Girl Scout comes to my door to sell cookies, I donate to their troop (and tell her she can’t use it to pay off the box her dad ate). I figure they make pennies on the box, and a direct $5-10 can do better for the troop. Who knows if that is where the money ends up, but I don’t need the cookies.
I grew up in Idaho and the Scouts were pretty much run by the Mormon church. I liked to get the science badges and nerd stuff and that was my second mistake, first was not being Mormon. Then when they would do girlie stuff they would never let me participate… I finally called my troop leader a bitch…. At 8 years old and got dismissed from scouts. I’m sure it can be a great program but leadership can blow. Still, it’s fun to tell people I got kicked out of grill scouts for calling my leader a bitch… Makes me feel all gangsta.b
A lot of the pension questions a covered at http://m.pionline.com/article/20130429/PRINT/304299976/girl-scouts-ask-congress-for-a-do-over-on-pension-plan-exemption
I can’t speak to the revenue share, but as for the salaries, just because the GSA is in the business of helping people doesn’t mean that those in charge shouldn’t hey paid. I see lots of amazement that people running what in the corporate would would be large field offices are making $120k and that the CEO of a massively complex national organization makes more. Really? Those salaries are below market for the for-profit world already. It’s hard enough to convince people to go into an NPO position anyway, dramatically underpaying them (while complaining that they’re not properly communicating nuances of federal pension law across a national organization) wouldn’t help.
I suggest http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong?language=en to anyone who’s honestly curious about the role of compensation in nonprofits. It can be eye-opening.
I can answer one question. It is not 11 dollars to sell one box. If you order cookies for shipping, it’s a minimum of three or six boxes. As a mom who has shipped cookies in years passed, this is less than I have paid. No idea why they wouldn’t have told you that? Secondly, here cookies are 4.00. Our troop gets 50 cents or 1 dollar for each box (council pays us extra for each box sent to the U.S. mil). The girls get .25 cents per box to be used towards camp, membership fees, or uniforms. Each girl that sell 150 boxes gets free membership for the next year. These last two incentives DO give low income families the ability to participate without cost. In addition to these things, the girls get patches and awards at different levels of cookie sales including gift cards to visa, Walmart, best buy, american girl. Our daughter sold 650 boxes last year, earning 300-400 dollars for her troop, free membership for herself, paid for one weekend camp, and one full week camp, in addition to patches and prizes. She was also responsible for sending over 100 boxes to the U.S. Mil serving overseas. Her father serves in the USAF and has personally seen and consumed the MANY MANY MANY packages of cookies donated to our troops.
(That sounds awesome! That is really different from our incentives according to the literature I’ve been given. Hailey sold almost 100 boxes last year (and a ton were donated to the military) and she got some patches and a bandana, and her troop raised enough money to pay for the curriculum supplies she had to buy from The Girl Scouts for the next year. I’m looking at our cookie rewards and if i’m reading it right, a girl who sells 400 boxes will get 50 cents per box. She can opt to get prizes but that cuts down on the profit the girls get, as their portion pays for their incentives, but I don’t see anything about free camp. Maybe it’s because we live in the city? Or maybe it’s unstated? The biggest prize you get for selling 400 cookies in our district is a wristlet wallet or $10 in cookie credits. (Plus the smaller prizes you get along the way like a bandana for selling 55 boxes, a water bottle for selling 130 boxes, etc.) If you sell over a thousand you can get a season pass to Six Flags, though. Maybe there’s additional information I just don’t have. That’s why I’d like it to be clearly laid out online. ~ Jenny)
After reading your blog and some of the comments, I wanted to make copies of your words and give one to each girl who offered to sell me cookies..but that doesn’t seem fair to the girls who probably know nothing about the financial aspect. Sure hope the powers that be get your comments and address them. SMH…another example of corporate mismanagement, if not outright greed.
I vote Karrah M’s local council be put in charge of National. If I had dgotten any support at all, never mind that level, I’d have been ecstatic. What I got, after waiting forever to find anything out was criticism from the ‘coucil’ for not doing things through my direct supervisors, whom had never even attempted to contact me. And after my kids were grown past Brownies, I volunteered to co-lead a troop and got no takers, BTW. So I flew up with my girls.
But nothing ever happened like what Karrah’s talking about. Bravo for having a good council Oh, btw, my kids got that financial aid thing. It covered a week for each kid if I worked 2 weeks as a volunteer.
(Amen. I’m not sure why there’s such a difference between councils, but I would guess it’s the same reason why Girl Scout cookies sell for $3.50 – $6 a box depending on your location and choice. From the Girl Scouts website: “Packages of Girl Scout Cookies sell for different prices in different areas of the country. Each of the 112 Girl Scout councils sets its own price, based on its needs and its knowledge of the local market.” I guess it makes sense from a marketing perspective, but it seems odd. ~ Jenny)
I would like to stay anonymous because my younger daughter loves girl scouts so I will let her continue. I have two daughters and insisted my older daughter quit because I NEVER trusted this organization… and still don’t. Honestly, its not just the cookie sales..its everything they do. They are a bunch of crooks!
I am a Girl Scout leader who has become fed up with the whole process. Selling cookies has taken over and I felt like my troop spent too much time on selling cookies and not enough on the fun educational stuff you normally use to do in scouts. We made it completely optional to sell cookies this year in our troop and needless to say I will NOT be participating – no painful booth sales for any of us! Great letter, and I would love to join your doctor who/zombie apocalypse club!
Never had to worry about GS sales, just school fundraising sales (because Dog forbid that we, as a society, adequately fund education when obviously all we need to do to improve it is demonize teachers and make them miserable and their jobs impossible). We’ve always just made a donation rather than forcing our daughter to sell brightly colored trash bags. But when she and her Anime Club friends wanted to go to JapanFest, they took it on themselves to sell cookies and cupcakes outside a local high-end grocery store to raise the money.
All of which is beside the point.
About this club: is there a newsletter we can sign up for?
Oh, wow. Those ARE good questions. please let us know the answers!
You are awesome. Very well written, all excellent points which I doubt you will ever get answers to. I have had issues with the girl scouts for years. We need more organizations for our little girls!
Ugh, we have been fighting with our council for two years now because we do not like how we are treated when it comes to cookie sales. They decided that council would take proceeds directly from our troop account, i would be personally responsible for cookies and money for our troop as the cookie mom and if something went wrong, I would be banned as a volunteer. Also, they wanted troops to take credit cards at booth sales, and troops would have to eat the processing fees out of profits. We never made much money on cookies, and only had one parent who objected to not selling cookies.
I’m a new leader, but here in Los Angeles, we get $0.95-1.05 per box, which sells for $5. We did not opt in to online sales as our council thought it best to wait another year or more for bugs to get worked out. There are a whole bunch of smaller incentives earned according to an individual girl’s sales from a patch, to a special day at Disney, and other things. I don’t like the direct sales approach which is new because it puts pressure to estimate well what you’ll sell. For a new troop, that’s hard. So this year, we will estimate conservatively and be as low key as we can. Then once we also do nuts in fall, we can do other fundraisers on our own here. BTW, we do need to participate in both nuts and cookies to be allowed to do our own thing, but there’s no minimum on sales. The pension issue is upsetting, and I hope Gsusa gets through it because they are inclusive, and nonreligious, and have great outdoor and stem programs in CA, at least. We are allowed to not say “god” in the promise. we say “community” instead,for ex.
I hope if you do get good answers that you follow up with a lot of support for GSUSA, to offset the negative publicity which can hurt sales, for sure. Maybe encourage people to volunteer, or start their own troops. As troop leaders, we really set the tone and focus of each troop. It’s fun!
(That estimation thing really threw me but I was told not to worry about it. Hailey made a goal of selling 100 boxes – this was when I was still thinking I’d have answers and before they told us about shipping – and I made sure to say that this was just her goal and to make sure it wasn’t what she’d actually be responsible for. I was told it was just a goal to shoot for but it seemed so odd that they’d even ask for a number in writing. Also, you can get the same cookies in San Antonio for $3.50 a box but yours are $5.00 a box, with double the profit going to your troop. I’m sure there’s a valid reason why but I wish we knew what the reasoning was. It seems like letting the actual troops help make the decision on pricing would be a good financial lesson. ~ Jenny)
What confuses me is how little the girls get from cookie sales, whereas the cub/boy scouts get 60% from popcorn sales. I will make donations (not buy cookies) this year as well.
Girl Scout cookies:
So the moral of this story is: it’s best to donate twenty bucks directly to the troop and then go to a nice local gluten-free bakery and buy myself a gluten-free cookie as a reward!
(I’ve heard they do have a gluten-free cookie this year. It’s more expensive than the other cookies and I have no idea how it tastes, but supposedly it’s out there in limited numbers. ~ Jenny)
Just wanted to mention NavigatorsUSA.org, which is a co-ed, secular scouting program. My church (UU) is starting a troop.
So a couple more thoughts.
This FAQ does NOT tell you what percentage of the $4 goes to Troop, Council, and bakery.
I did find that info for New York on another site: “For each box sold, 85 cents per box goes to the baker to cover production, packaging, shipping of the cookies to the troop, and other incidental costs. Out of the remaining $2.65, 50 to 57 cents goes to the selling troop.” (The .50 vs .57 is dependent on whether the troop does prizes for individual girls who sell a lot — the troop is supposed to decide as a group whether or not to do them. If they decide to forgo the prizes the troop gets more money per box.) “Of the remaining funds, about 1 penny per box goes to the neighborhood “service unit” — another level of scouting — and stays within the community. The rest goes to the regional council […] to fund local programming, support summer camps, train adult volunteers, and so on.”
Soooooo okay. That was from the $3.50 era of cookie pricing, I think. They’ve raised it to $4. But that is, at minimum, $2/box sold that goes to the local councils. How can they possibly be struggling with financial problems?
They also break down the cost with a bit more specificity. They say that of a $4 box, $1.08 goes to the bakery to pay for the cost of baking and transporting the cookies. (That seems like a lot to me, honestly. I am really curious about the wholesale price of Keebler Grasshopper cookies, given that they are essentially a knock-off, though no doubt shipping out cookies by the case rather than the pallet adds to the cost, and GS cookies also come in sturdy cardboard boxes.) Then $0.84 goes to the troop. There’s $0.76 to “volunteer support to train and screen the volunteers.” Obviously volunteers should be screened, but this makes me wonder whether the GS council does NOT require potential volunteers to pay for their own background checks? Most organizations I’ve volunteered with have expected me to pay them $5-$25 to check on whether I’m a criminal or not. Then $0.61 “to upgrade the camps and subsidize the cost to make it more affordable for scouts who wouldn’t otherwise be able to participate.” Hmm, okay. Maybe in Minnesota they actually upgrade the camps. I checked out the website for the horrible, badly run Girl Scout camp I had the bad fortune to attend in Wisconsin as a child, and it has not been upgraded in any way. It was latrines and platform tents in 1982, and it’s latrines and platform tents now. (It’s also in danger of closing because no one wants to send their kids there — and good for them, I wouldn’t trust them with a child even now.) Then they say, $0.49 goes toward “leadership programs” which they describe as “overarching programming experience,” and … um, huh, I really want that translated with more specificity than they’re offering. And then $0.22 goes to “local administrative offices and support.”
It’s not that I think non-profit full-time workers should be volunteers. Successful nonprofits need real employees who make a living wage and get benefits. But looking more deeply into the numbers only reinforces my sense that something sketchy is going on here.
The pattern of indentations there seems really random. I wasn’t quoting and responding; I have quotations in quotation marks embedded in my own paragraphs. Hopefully no one will get too confused.
As a former GS leader/cookiemom, (back in the dark ages when cookies were $2.50 & $3.00 a box!) corporate has always had an image problem. They are a corporation – non profit or not. And like many corporations, they often have people managing their money who can’t balance their own checkbooks. They need to revamp their program from top to bottom. I spent a lot of time in the trenches with GS and my girls (and my son who had to tag along!) learned a lot and did a lot of great service projects. The basics of the program is great… it’s the details where they get lost.
Oh as as another GF person (wheat allergic) Telzeyamberdon – I totally agree – the cookies have lost quality in the interest of being a certain price point, and their GF cookies are hard to find and really don’t taste good. I’m also in the give the local troop $20 camp! If they’re trying to teach girls how to be healthy – why are they promoting such a chemical laden product to sell?
Jenny, you are amaze-balls. You are the change (and the beautifully posed questions) so many of us long to see in the world. As you are able, keep up the mighty damn -fine work!
This all makes me not to want to buy girl scout cookies, and I was a girl scout growing up and went to a wonderful girl scout camp.
My daughter did girl scouts for a few years, and while I think it started out as an honorable and worthwhile organization, it seems to me it has turned into a bit of a scam. I had the same issue w/ the cookie sales when I found out the troop only gets back 60 cents on a FOUR dollar box of cookies. WTH? Where is the money going? Plus, all the work going into cookie sales was done by volunteers. So volunteers were basically working to pay the salaries of the GS employees back at the corporate offices. That’s some business model. I can’t say w/ certainty how it all really worked, but to me it wasn’t adding up. It unfortunate, but I didn’t really trust the organization after that.
Holy old cheezits. So, from what I’m understanding, they’re using under age girls to sell their product, and aren’t paying for what the girls are doing. Free labour, under the guise of benefitting others, while they rake in the profits.
Name another situation where that’s even legal.
I’m a former Girl Scout and leader. As a scout, cookies were not the main push for my troop – yet I went to camp at least twice a year and participated in many community service projects. Fond memories! My daughter (with me as a leader) stayed in Scouts through Brownies, Juniors and one year of Cadets. She may have continued, but I just couldn’t stomach the bureaucracy and silly rules the Council forced upon the troops. I wasn’t the cookie mom, but went with my co-leader to the mandatory cookie rally (can’t sell cookies unless someone in the troop goes). That rally was the wake-up call of all that is wrong with Girl Scouts today. It’s really a shame that the scouts are simply the pawns that the Councils use to fund their corporate lifestyle.
Question authority! It should be a merit badge – but it will get you kicked out of Girl Scouts.
Jenny, you are my hero. I mean, you always are, but this time extremely again some more.
I had a girl scout leader whose husband managed a building supply store, so we did crafts like grouting tile trivets. That part was pretty ok. And my mom still uses that trivet 25 years later.
Then we moved and I wanted to continue scouts, but my mom wasn’t friends with the right moms to get me into the scout troop at my new school. For one full school year, she actually picked me up and drove me to my old school so I could still participate.
As an extremely shy child, cookie time was always painful for me. With a small family that couldn’t afford more than a couple of boxes of cookies, not many neighbors, not being church-goers, and parents who refused to take cookie forms to work (because then they’d have to buy stuff we couldn’t afford from other people’s kids), I think I managed to sell about 20 boxes a year and was made to feel awful and inferior because other girls in my troop (or their pushy parents, that is) sold hundreds. It was an early lesson on how tough the world is for introverts.
Hailey is lucky to have you. You are doing a very good thing here.
I have been the assistant troop leader for my daughter’s troop since the day she joined 6+ years ago and though many of your questions are valid ones there are many things that I would like to say on the subject of Girl Scouts, cookies, and volunteerism in general.
Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois is not a council full of fat cats getting rich off of the backs of little girls. I can’t give you exact numbers but the poverty level is high here especially since there aren’t any truly big cities in our council to boost our numbers. I know there are money issues. They announced this year they are closing Camp Cedar Point which is going to break my daughter’s heart since she wanted to go there “for forever” and be a counselor when she grew up. It has very little to do with pensions and very much to do with people not being able to afford $250 for camp, rising food costs, and my council having to have a legal battle with volunteers who keep the cookie money.
I know that as a troop leader, I don’t share the background drama with our parents. We had a parent that sold & delivered cookies and kept the money. The way that cookies work is that a person orders cookies, the troop places the order, we get the cookies, the buyer pays either in cash or a check to the troop and the troop pays for the cookies ordered. If the troop doesn’t pay for the cookies ordered, they become a troop that isn’t in good standing and all of the scholarships for girls in the troop go away, we can’t participate in council programs and on on. So we took a $500 hit. So the parents see this as us “not doing much,” not taking their girls camping, or roller skating, or whatever, when the reality is my troop leader and I put our own money in on a regular basis to do what we can for these girls. And our girls earn patches and actually do things. Am I mad at council for not taking care of this better, yes but only in that I feel there should have been more legal repercussions for the mom than just being served with a bad debt. I know, however, that my troop’s $500 is a drop in the bucket from what is happening country-wide (this can be seen even just in this comment thread).
I can honestly say that I see the good that Girl Scouts can do when the girls are given good people. I am not just saying this because I am a troop leader. I dropped out of Brownies in 3rd grade. My troop leaders sat in a corner and smoked while we painted plaster statues, ALL THE TIME. I know that we aren’t a perfect troop but I have watched these girls grow up and yes we have had people filter in and out but our core group of girls are without a doubt confident, outspoken little girls who love each other and really want to help other people and that makes me very proud. I am very involved with my service unit and you can definitely see the difference in troops that are on mission and troops that aren’t. Even though the other troops may go camping and do things in the end they always fold and girls get left out.
I know I sound like I drank the Kool-Aid and maybe I have but the real problem in Girl Scouts is not that the girls get $.70/box (more if they opt out of the cheap prizes) it is that this organization that thrives on volunteers is suffering due to volunteers who may start out planning to help girls but for whatever reason end up stealing from the organization that they started out helping to begin with.
(I don’t think anyone thinks the local councils are over-paid. In fact, there have been lots of lay-offs and shut-downs of local councils because of the financial situation and this additional debt will fall to the local council’s budget starting tomorrow so they will be even more stretched and unable to provide so many of the things the girls need. Personally, we mostly do troop meetings in empty school rooms and we bring our own snacks and such. The moms all volunteer and carpool the girls. The few times we do an actual activity like kayaking, camping or such we parents mostly fund it ourselves. I don’t expect the council to help my troop because luckily we’re able to pay for the few things we do ourselves, but I want the councils to still keep the camps open, offer scholarships, help at-risk girls, etc. and I suspect they want that as well, but I’m not sure if that’s still going to happen at the same level it was in the past. ~ Jenny)
I think one thing people should understand is that all councils are different. I’m in your neighboring council and I feel our council is run well, providing lots of fun, inexpensive activities in different areas of the council, so lots of girls can participate. Council and area weekend camping events are very inexpensive and even when we fully pay for summer camp, it is two to three times less expensive than other alternatives. Cookie sales run the council, and we are working as much for all of the girls that benefit from that as we are for our troop. If that involves some pensions, I’m fine with it. However, if our camps were currently being sold, I felt bad decisions were being made with no transparency, or I stopped feeling like our council was not working for the girls, I would not want my daughter to sell cookies.
It is right for you and me and others to question whether or not the organization is working for our girls and living the ethical code it teaches. Girl Scouts at the national and council level is tasked with the difficult task of living by the Girl Scout Law. For those who don’t know, that involves being honest, fair, using resources wisely, and to not just speak up when you see something wrong, but to take action–something that happens every time someone writes a blog post that gets 300 responses.
It is a tall order to run a national org, business, (or a life) based on the ethics espoused by the GS law–and I feel for them. It’s difficult. Mistakes will be made! But we need those ethics in the world today and girls need to see the adults trying–and that includes answering phone calls and dealing honestly and thoughtfully with criticism.
(I want to high-five this comment. Also, I agree that pensions that were promised should be paid for. As I understand it, their pension program was frozen in 2010 when the recession and other issues caused the pension fund to be underfunded by $347 million dollars. They now have to start making up that money starting today and that debt repayment (as I understand it) is coming from the local councils budgets. The exception is if you are one of the very few councils that had not opted in for pensions years ago. I think around 90% of the local councils had opted in though, so today starts very different budget issue than we’ve ever seen before and I still don’t have any verbiage that says how exactly it will affect our community. This might be a very small issue that’s causing more concern than necessary but it’s disheartening for me that we still don’t have a simple answer. At the very least I hope this will spur the Girl Scouts on to create better communication channels with faster responses. ~ Jenny)
I have been a GS leader and Cookie mom for 5 years, and I started helping at a Service Unit level last year. ALL of the cookie proceeds (after the bakery is paid) goes to the Council and its troops. The amount each girl and troop gets varies by council, but all of the money stays local to support girl programs and yes to pay council staff. I know it’s different everywhere, but where I am our Council is extremely supportive and runs 5 campsites. None of the cookie money goes to National Headquarters. Here’s a link to some facts about where cookie money goes: http://www.gseok.org/resource/resmgr/cookies/cookiefactsfliergsusa_2014.pdf
Digital cookies are new so we will see what improvements happen over the course of time. However, the shipping that you are referring to would be for a case of cookies, not one box. Some councils are requiring online sales to be by half or full case. Our council is allowing sales by box, and the shipping prices change to reflect how many boxes you buy. It’s also important to remember that shipping is higher because they are ensuring chocolate flavors will not melt. The only $1.25 fee I’m aware of is if someone buys online to donate. Those cookies are taken care of at a council level and go to cover that cost. So even though the girl you are buying from directly gets the sale, she’s not the one doing the legwork for those donations through online sales.
I hope this helps. Girl Scouts is a lot of work for volunteers and parents, as well as being a traditional institution. There is a high standard to live up to. Girl Scouts has done wonders to boost my daughters self-esteem, giving nature, and has so many other benefits. Girl Scouts not only have fun and learn new skills, they are constantly giving back to the community. When you buy cookies you are donating to that girl, the camp she goes to, and the charitable activities she will work on (plus about a dozen other girl experiences). Pretty soon you’re going to see girls freezing their tushes off in your neighborhood and at local stores. If you’re so inclined please support them.
My concern is the switch to a direct-sales model for cookie sales–that is, girls buy the cookies up front before taking orders, try to sell them, and are financially responsible whether the cookies sell or not. Passing the financial risk on to children? Dirty pool!
(I’m not a fan of that either. That’s why Hailey mainly did booth sales outside grocery stores or just sold to family. I was hoping the online sales would be similar to Amazon. She’d make the pitch online and then people could order from her link and her troop would get a cut of the profit. As it is, it involves sending emails to everyone and then having to go in and approve the emails and then dealing with the delivery and all of that. Plus, she’s 10 so she’s not old enough to do that which means I’d be the one responsible for approving all the sales and answering emails and sending emails. I get that it’s really easy to see the downside when you’re not the one doing it but it seems like there could have been a much simpler way, or at least better communication and transparency. But maybe this is good. Maybe the Girl Scouts weren’t aware of the issue and this will improve them in some ways. ~ Jenny)
How old does a Girl Scout need to be to qualify for a pension?,
Good for you for writing the letter, and I hope you eventually get a response that makes sense. I had a less-than-positive experience with Girl Scouts as a child, but my daughter had a very positive experience in Brownies when we were stationed in South Dakota in the mid-90’s. The leaders were caring, compassionate people who related well to the girls and to the parents. I have generally positive feelings toward the Girl Scouts for all the good they have done, and especially for their nondiscrimination policies, which have been much more progressive than the Boy Scouts. I was never Cookie Mom (and all praise and power to those who were/are), but I was Recycling Mom, so I was often rattling around in a van full of cans headed for the Can Bank. Good times. If the organization is to continue doing good things in the world, then I think you are asking all the right questions. I’m involved with several nonprofit organizations, and I know that times are tough all over in the nonprofit world, but that’s all the more reason for the national organization to be as straightforward and transparent as possible, and to make their case for local troops, camps AND pensions, which are all completely worthwhile. If they can’t do that,then they need to initiate whatever investigation and regrouping is necessary to bring all of their finances out into the open, and meanwhile, judging from all the comments here, they need to do a MUCH better job of generating good will through the various Councils. And yes, the shipping costs do sound completely outrageous. I can’t believe there isn’t some kind of an alternative. As for “Processing fees,” as others have mentioned, those are probably from the banks, for credit card purchases, and that amount sounds more in line with what I’ve seen before than those shipping costs. At any rate, I do hope you get answers to your questions, which seem to be questions a lot of people have been asking, and that the organization will ultimately be better for taking the time to answer them. Best of luck to you and your daughter.
I was totally bummed when I learned that the Girl Scouts closed a Scout camp a number of years ago that was absolutely stellar. I am speaking of NORWESCO, that was outside Appleton, Wisconsin. It was a large camp with focuses in a number of areas so that there literally was something for every girl that went there. The land was gorgeous. It was on a lake so that swimming and canoeing were taught. I have never found a good explanation of why the camp was closed. It is shameful that it was because it was a very valuable addition to the scouting experience. I went to NORWESCO and the memories of that camp are among my most treasured. If it was closed due to these issues, I’d really like an accounting of what was done with the money. I love it that you and Hailey are going after answers!!!
I wonder why these problems do not exist in the boy scouting program??
(The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are not related. The Boy Scouts do good stuff but they have their own unique set of problems. Honestly, I’m much happier with the Girl Scouts from a civil rights perspective. ~ Jenny)
You are such a great example to your daughter! These questions deserve answers and so often these inquiries are met with silence. I’m glad you pushed it to the next level and made the effort for Hailey. Good luck!
My daughter quit the GS thirty years ago when the troop leader always complained about the girls who forgot the weekly dues money. The day she said “Girls, I need to stop for bread & milk after the meeting and I need your dues!” my daughter never went back.
Keebler Grasshoppers, at Amazon, free shipping, $19.07/six ten ounce packages. Not quite wholesale, but 3.17/box. Zero goes to GSUSA
Girl Scout Thin Mints are down to 9 ounce packages. (Which is not necessarily a bad thing, when I eat one sleeve at a sitting.) $4 a box, $0.60 goes to the troop (or more if they sell above a certain threshold), the rest bails out the pension fund and then after that becomes available for camps, scholarships, support of low-income troops, etc.
They are selling a premium item. That’s why people buy so much. But that leaves less profit to be split up. The could sell popcorn, or oversize candy bars, or wrapping paper, or all the other stuff our kids have to sell, but I think they’ve got a good thing going, all in all.
I do have problems with their constantly-changing programs and the training requirements that hold back adult leaders from actually doing fun things with the girls. (e.g., you can’t camp in tents until you’ve attended several weekend trainings, in sequence, that are only offered once a year). That’s probably a results of their insurance company’s requirements — I checked Navigators USA, and they are spending $250-$500 per year per troop on insurance for their unstructured program.
(I’m off subject but Keebler Grasshoppers are similar, but are no Thin Mints. Similar, but not available in dark chocolate like Thin Mints. I need my dark chocolate. But I get what you’re saying. ~ Jenny)
Thank you for a well thought out letter. I am sure many of us are waiting for a response. The things we do for our kids; I was a cub scout leader for over 5 yrs, a few yrs with boy scouts plus on my 5th yr as GS leader. Transparency within my GS council hasn’t been too great either. A few years ago when national allowed council’s to charge dues for girls up to the amount that national charged ($15), my council, immediately jumped to charge the full allowed amount. so $15 to national and $15 to council; it may not sound like a lot, but the dues doubled suddenly. And in the same breath, council said they would no longer offer a number of services to troops & that individual leaders would have to take care of those items. So increased fees but decreased services.
As for cookies, our scouts up to juniors (5th grade) can earn between 40-75 cents per $4 box of cookies, depending on the average number of boxes sold by girls in the troop. Middle school aged scouts and older can opt to skip the prizes of stuffed animals, key chains, sweat shirts, note pads, etc, and get a higher profit per box but the whole troop must agree. Council does not allow tracking or linking cookie profits to individual scouts and all profits are pooled into a troop account. So no one scout can be awarded free membership or discounted camping unless the troop does the same for every scout in the troop. Last year my troop sold enough to pay for their big trips and other activities and had enough left over that each scout received her new vest and patches for their bridging ceremony. But every scout received that and I would not have been able to say girl “x” sold over 150 boxes so gets the vest while girl “y” sold only 50 boxes so doesn’t. In addition, our council does not allow outside fundraising unless the troop participates in both the fall QSP nut/magazine sale AND the cookie sale. And by participate, each registered scout must sell items and have a certain average per girl. Daiseys (kindergarten and 1st graders) and no longer allowed any outside fundraising starting this year. In addition, each outside fundraiser still must be approved well ahead of time (and not all are, although specific directions saying why or why not are not clear).
I was a Girl Scout Leader for 13 years (Daisy to Senior) with my daughter’s troop. These issues existed to some extent while she was involved, but nothing like this. We had a good local Council and tons of volunteers. After my daughter graduated, we moved to another town, so I hadn’t kept up with the local concerns. My former co-leader contacted me last year to let me know that GS was looking at selling all of our camps. Like you, I was appalled that such important resources were being eliminated from the program. Jenny, you are asking the right questions, and I hope you will share their answer with us if you get one.
(Side note on pensions: those of us who have them worked many years to earn that pension and it is not fair to the pensioners that the company, organization, etc. did not manage their finances responsibly. USPS just got screwed by Congress. Tell me of ANY organization that has to fund pensions out 75 years? They’re funding pensions for people not even born yet. Don’t come down too hard on pensions, they are a promise that recently has been reneged on for so many people. If companies cannot provide pensions, then they should take them out of their benefit package, but that does not release them from the responsibility of paying out pensions for retirees. End of rant.)
Which is why we just give the girls some cash and forgo the cookies!
Brava for asking questions, and Bless you for making it public.
Jenny, you once again humble me with your eloquence.
My daughter has been a scout for three years and this is my first year being involved at all. I’m now the troop leader and I’m still reeling from the nonsense from the council. As far as I can tell they are there to make my life difficult with forms, obligations that have nothing to do with my girls, and policies that make organizing troop activities more difficult. Then they get all the money from the cookie sales?!
There is no incentive for larger productivity in cookie sales for the girls with the way that this sale is structured. Even when funds go to the council for supporting camps etc. the individual girls in the troops don’t SEE that contribution. Allow the girls to directly earn money on the sales they make. Then allow them to use the money to make a conscious and intentional contribution to the areas of Girl Scouting that are most meaningful to them. It would would make the sale such a better learning experience for them on both money management and donation.
The national Girl Scout agenda and philosophy is wonderful and I love the things they are trying to teach girls. But the layers of bureaucracy between the national level and the troops themselves have created a lumbering behemoth. Sixty cents a box on a $4.00 sale? It’s absurd.
I am sincerely grateful for your post and am eagerly awaiting an update if/when the Girl Scouts responds.
Well done Jenny.
You should be able to expect that if Girl Scouts are selling cookies, that the money goes towards good causes, and that organizations such as Girl Scouts will continue into the future; teaching our kids morals, values, and allowing them to be exposed to social activism, not have all the good work undermined due to bad financial arrangements.
I truly hope you get a positive answer on this one, and if not, at least can get pointed in the right direction to have this issues seriously looked at with the hope of resolution.
At the least it will teach your daughter the importance of activism, rather than sitting around waiting for things to improve on their own, which of course rarely happens.
I on the other hand had a pretty negative experience with Cub Scouts, lasting less than a year; but I think that’s more about my then undiagnosed social anxiety, and other assortment of mental health issues.
My daughter has also been with the Girl Scouts, but I would expect her involvement is somewhat reduced now, as she fights what looks to be a losing battle with cancer, having lost her leg last year, and with the cancer returning and spreading, things are pretty grim for her; and me as her father (though I have little communication with her, due to divorce from her mother over a decade ago, and the fact she’s now in her teens, and Dad isn’t cool enough to hang out with).
I hope your issue has a better resolution than mine, and that the New Year brings better things.
Whereas, I feel inclined to spend 2015 alternating between staying in bed, walking my dog, and pensively smoking and drinking, and wishing each year would be better than the last, whilst realizing that in my case, each year seems to get worse.
Thankfully I’ve got a good psych and doctor (as well as meds) to help get me through, but life with mental illness, and on the Autism Spectrum is challenging enough, without having to go through more stress than even a “normal” person could cope with.
Happy 2015, and hopefully this year will bring more good things than bad.
(Amen. Sending love to you and your daughter. Keep breathing and remember that depression lies. ~ Jenny)
I have zero interest in girl scouts, but when/if you get the “What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club” off the ground? I’m SO in.
I would think that the reason you’re not able to get clear answers is that the highest reaches of the organization allow such freedom and decisions to be made at all the lower levels. That’s great for the local counsels to be able to serve their unique communities, but means that there’s no one place to go for answers.
I hope you’re able to get your answers.
I was in the Girl Scouts in the 70s and I still twitch when I hear cookie time mentioned. (The calendars were even worse–at least people want cookies!) I am not a natural saleswoman and dreaded meeting even the 15 box minimum. My main memory from Girl Scouts is how awesome my mom is. She was troop leader and district cookie coordinator and never did anything but say okay when I up and quit.
I’d be interested in knowing what a “normal” sales commission is in various industries. Perhaps for some industries, that 60-cents-out-of-four-dollars (or whatever) would not be seen as unreasonable.
My dad has worked for the GS, maintaining a great camp for 43 years. Believe me, he has not gotten rich off cookie sales! Any organization can mismanage finances, and councils have a lot of independence, but I agree that girls shouldn’t have to pay for it! I always hated selling cookies myself.
I am a Mother of 4 and have been a 4H Club Leader for past 3 yrs. I invite you and your daughter to check out the 4H Organization. They will offer you so many different project choices, community service and resources with out the pressure of selling cookies or paying pensions. No 2 clubs are identical. Your new 4H club could be ANYTHING you want it to be! All you need is 2 unrelated adults over 18 yrs old and 5 kids to start a club of your own! You can choose a club specialty or vote every year on a different club project every school year and your child can do any others they choose on their own time. (www.4hmall.org click on curriculum) This organization is about each and every child FIRST. We’re talking Equality! http://www.4h.org
As for fundraisers, there is no cookie or popcorn sales. It will only be as stressful as you want it to be. The club decides how many events and activities to do per year. There is a chart and reward/recognition chart “Standards of Excellence.” We get $300+ for participating in the local county Fair Booth contest and volunteer 2 hrs at the 4H info booth. Our County 4H agents arrange fun event and 2 fundraisers= 5K run/walk & T-shirt sales. This money goes towards 4H college scholarships, prize awards at the Fair, and the program itself. Here is the 4H Creed:
“The 4-H Creed”
” I believe in 4-H Club work for the opportunity it gives me to become a useful citizen.
I believe in the training of my HEAD for the power it will give me to think, plan and reason.
I believe in the training of my HEART for the nobleness it will give me to be kind, sympathetic and true.
I believe in the training of my HANDS for the ability it will give me to be helpful, skillful and useful.
I believe in the training of my HEALTH for the strength it will give me to enjoy life, resist disease and work efficiently.
I believe in my country, my state, my community, and in my responsibility for their development.
In all these things I believe, and I am willing to dedicate my efforts to their fulfillment.”
Lastly, on a personal note: one of my daughters suffers from Autism, OCD and Anxiety and this has given her an accepting, encouraging environment to grow and learn project areas and how to speak in front of an audience and serve the community. My highschoolers were able to earn volunteer time in a safe supervised environment for college scholarships/graduating requirements. Happy New Year! “Join 4H! To Make the Best Better!”
http://www.4H.org I invite you and your daughter to check it out! Waaay better! You only need 2 unrelated adults to lead the club and a min of 5 kids to start your own 4H club! I have been a 4H Leader for 3 yrs. I posted a longer letter to you but I don’t see it on this site now.
The $10.95 shipping is for 6 boxes, not 1 box. There is a minimum order of 6 – which is not clearly explained either. I have the same issues and have already fired off several emails (as I did during N&C sales) today. I look forward to what they respond as to the pension issue. In our council we earn 63 cents per box (plus an additional 2 cents if we avg 150 per girl). This rate of compensation has been the same for the last 3 years (so no change to troop profit due to pension issue). The camp thing is a SERIOUS issue and this pension thing has been on the horizon. Our GS money is being seriously mismanaged by the NY who think we need those fancy offices. We are GS- they should be “roughing it” in a camp property or at a minimum in LESS than what they do now. Wouldn’t it be refreshing if the offices were in an area of at risk girls? They could then not only reach out and help but see first hand what GS should really be offering these girls and their communities.
(1. I love your idea about offices being in the areas of at-risk girls. 2. I just tested it on Hailey’s page and you absolutely can buy one box of cookies and pay $11.25 shipping. Maybe it’s different in your location, but here it’s possible. Here’s a picture:
https://thebloggesswp.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/thin-mints.jpg Also, even if you choose to donate cookies to the USO you still have to pay a $1.25 handling fee. ~ Jenny)
I think the bigger question here is, pension? Who’s getting the pension? Isn’t this a non-profit organization whose only mandate is to benefit children, namely girls? Am I erroneous in my understanding that these were volunteer positions? Do all those parents coaching little league baseball, soccer, minor football, minor hockey – do they all get pensions? WTF?
(The leaders and volunteers are unpaid. The people who work full-time in the local and national councils get salaries and sometimes pensions. And actually if they’re doing a good job I think they should be getting paid. It’s a job, after all and it takes a level of expertise to communicate, direct, and keep a company of this size financially solvent. I can’t defend some of their choices but paying people with specific expertise to keep a non-profit successful and organized is necessary. ~ Jenny)
#337 commission at a office supply chain I work at is 5-10%, which is a ripoff seeing as how commission sales rarely go above $60.
So are they charging more for cookies sold in person, and if you buy them online is it shipping+delivery fee? Why the hell is selling cookies so complicated?! I just want to eat delicious cookies without being guilt charged! Like “You want this box of thin mints? Well too bad! Give me $15 and I’ll throw them on the front porch all melty and you’ll feel bad for having spent so much just to eat some cookies.” (Of course not from the perspective of a child selling the cookies, but from whoever wants to build themselves a new in-ground pool that they never invite anyone over to.)
I’m a troop leader in Ohio, and I can say it’s totally sad that we don’t get more of the money from fundraisers. We have several girls that have financial difficulties and I’ll be honest my co-leader and I end up funding a lot of the General stuff out of our pocket because cookie sales barely cover camp. Also the other really tough thing is the rules for accepting outside donations are super prickly (I’m assuming because they don’t want you to skip their fundraisers). I’ll be interested to hear the answers from this, some of the council activities have been good but a few have been weird duds. Apparently Boy Scout popcorn sales aren’t much better, but every time I see them I feel like they are better off?
Don’t Panic.
In re “that shit sticks” – YES! Who the hell ever thought up that rhyme about sticks and stones yada yada? – because it is SO not true…
Keep doing all the great stuff you do, Jenny. You are a shining star (even huddled in a corner) ☺️
I forego the cookies and donate DIRECTLY TO THE TROOP. Who needs the extra sugar anyway.
Happy new year!!! 🙂 🙂
Good questions. I’m sure they keep promising a response in the future because they are hoping that somewhere at head office someone will think of some sort of suitable answer because they probably realize the truth is just too embarrassing.
My kid left girl scouts when the kids shoplifted while buying party supplies and then their Moms got drunk at the actual party. Good times.
I used to work in the pension field. when the plan has gains/losses they need to be amortized over x number of years and payments have to be made if there were more losses than gains. If investments do well, there are no payments to be made if they offset the losses amortized.
That said, I am sure when you hear back from Girl Scouts, they will tell you that all cookie money directly benefits the girls and that “other sources of income are being utilized for pension payments such as from sales of merchandise and badges and their partnerships” with Nestle (don’t get me started on Nestle and what they do to women in third world countries) and Mattel.
If they had a good answer, you would have already spoken to. They are scrambling knowing your reach is huge.
Is that fine print right? $20.00 to military addresses? Like those folks don’t do enough for us Civis, we have to ding them for getting their Samoa on? bogus.
The last numbers I saw ( last year) had cookie cost at about .85, troop proceeds at about .80 with the rest staying in the councils to fund scholarships and camps. We are not allowed to do any fund raisers unless we participate in both fall ( nut,candy) and cookie sales. I’m in Ga and have been a leader for about 10 years (and a Scout for 5).
Also? I’m so saddened and horrified by the comments mentioning parents, troop leaders, and other volunteers who STOLE THE COOKIE MONEY. WTH? No other words…. Keep up Jenny. Looking fwd to further updates.
Apropos of nothing in this post other than the “happy new year” part, I offer
you this: http://www.buzzfeed.com/floperry/types-of-hangovers-illustrated-by-crap-taxidermy?s=mobile
Our committee splits 60/40 per box with the troops, but then the troops get to participate in events for free, receive all higher level awards and journeys at no cost, and utilize the hut/copier/kitchen facilities/art supplies etc… at no cost for the entire year. I know CONUS is different, and I have been following the issues with growing concern. Questions to USAGSO have gone unanswered. Reaching out to other Councils, all I’ve received are rather rude messages telling me to stay in my own region. We are switching to Guides. Overpriced cookies and sugar coating world issues aren’t enough to stay in a organization more concerned with profit than membership.
Is there any way I can donate to Girl Scouts in lieu of buying cookies so that Hailey gets the credit?
(Aw, thanks! Not that I’m aware of, but Hailey doesn’t need the credit. It would be nice if there was a way to sponsor girls who need financial directly but I don’t know that that exists. ~ Jenny)
As a former boy scout and father of a girl who probably will be a girl scout, this is troubling.
I’m not familiar with the structure or organization of GS, but it seems like the prary thing the councils need to do is provide facilities. They should charge a fee for their use which covers their costs and allows them to give appropriate need based aid to those who cannot afford it.
Secondarily they should provide some resources for the troops. For example, guidelines and frameworks to assist and vet the adult leadership.
Let individual troops be responsible for their own fimances (which seems to be the de facto case already.). But don’t impose limits like sell cookies and nothing else. Or “no donations over $x to individual troops.” Rather “a lot of troops have done well selling cookies and we have a whole cookie supply chain at your disposal if you choose. We’ll give you cookies for x price, dont sell them for less than y.”
My boy scout troop had some good times and some less good times – but it pretty much came down to how much effort the scouts in the troop and parents put in. We went camping or rapelling or canoeing and did summer camp. We went door to door for money or got our parents to kick in. I never realized how different girl scouts was.
My impression from reading this thread is that girl scouts is at its core a multilevel marketing operation based on cookies (which, for the record, are way overrated.)
As far as pensions go, you have to take care of those first, but underfunded pensions take years and years to get into a crisis – mostly because executives at these organizations in 2000-2007 assumed (when they were paid to know better) that something like 2008 would never happen.
Dear Hailey and Jenny,
42. It’s the meaning of life, AND it is apparently the cost of ordering three boxes of Thin Mints.
You’re welcome, y’all.
I have this same issue as a leader and I’m so glad to have read this. I will look forward to seeing what GSUSA has to say….It is sad to know that our girls get next to nothing for all of their hard work….. I have a hard time motivating my kids when I tell them the honest truth about what their cookie sale money goes to……….
I know this is very minor to the discussion, but I wanted to note that comparing the amount of money made from cookie sales to commission in other sales fields seems off to me. The girls are selling cookies as a clearly-designated fundraiser for a non-profit, which strikes me as pretty different from selling a product for a for-profit business by compensated employees. The expectation for fundraisers is greater return than in a business, as the primary focus is on raising funds rather than on the product itself. Granted that the GS have done a stellar job creating a desired product, but it’s still a fundraiser, not a business venture in the usual sense.
Good Luck Questioning Authority Jenny! I stopped ordering GS cookies when I started reading the ingredients on the side of the box. They are not high-quality cookies. My husband still buys a few boxes from co-worker’s kids (apparently he doesn’t care about palm oil, high-fructose corn syrup, saturated fat and the like). To support the girls, I will give a small cash donation when asked.
Lori, #184, tell me how I can make a donation directly to your troop. I don’t need cookies, and I’d like to see the money go directly to the girls. Especially the ones who need it most.
My daughter dropped girl scouts after doing it for 3 years….similar things bothering us. Also, I was really bothered when my proposal of trick-or=treating for Unicef at Halloween was rejected (I did this as a kid in girlscouts and the local cubscouts do it)….the reason was that apparently nowadays Girl scouts are only allowed to collect/earn money that will go directly to Girl Scout Headquarters!!!!
Hi! I know your sister and completely awesome niecelings from homeschooling nearby. ((waves)) I skimmed a bit at the end, so maybe someone mentioned this, but one of the incentive options is “Cookie Dough” which is funny money you can use towards camp that year.
This (un)school year I really wanted more consistent activities with friends that didn’t involve constant logisticizing, so I have K in Girl Scouts (year 2), Adventure Guides (formerly Indian Princesses), 4H, and a cool once a month Jewish camp program where they zip line and pretend to be human dreidels and stuff. 4H is great because kids gather in groups according to their interests, and do hands on stuff. The board meetings for 9 yos and up are all kid run and the adults let them make non-dangerous iffy decisions so they can actually learn by doing. Our Adventure Guides group is father-daughter, and just the most FUN. Do you know what the dads did with the candy at the Halloween Dance? Dumped it out of the bags in a huge pile on a table. The kids need some time in Dad world sometimes. (I believe they also ate Del Taco in the middle of their last camping trip.) My husband LOVES the events. Don’t get me wrong, our GS troop is a big blessing too. My Brownie leader posted this on her FB page! We are lucky with about 40 girls that the troop doesn’t pressure us to sell cookies.
FYI, from somebody whose business runs on ecommerce: Even really uncompetitive, stock, “off the shelf” credit card fees are 30 cents plus 3% per charge. That is if you are a tiny company with no negotiating power. So for a single $5 box of cookies, that would be 45 cents max. Again, for a tiny company that has no negotiating power. So for the Girl Scouts? I call BS.
A USPS Priority Mail flat rate box that measures 8-5/8″ x 5-3/8″ x 1-5/8″ — probably big enough for 2-3 boxes of cookies — costs only $5.95.
Those fees are a rip off. I don’t know anything about Girl Scouts, but I do know about shipping and CC processing fees.
…first class mail would be much less than the USPS Priority Mail flat rate I quoted, by the way. It was just an illustration, being half the price they want to charge you to ship 1 box.
When you talk to the Girl Scouts can you ask why they charge such a huge premium to ship to Alaska? The postal service ships flat rate here for the same price as the rest of the country.
Thanks.
As a child I was forbidden from joining the Girl Scouts because my mother thinks they teach homemaking skills. She wanted us to be beaver scouts but no girls were allowed then. Instead we joined the Junior Forest Wardens and played with knifes and built wooden shelters in the snow. There are alternatives if the issues go unresolved.
I don’t know which council your daughter is a member of but in our council the girls earn .55 to,65 per box of cookies sold and if a girl sells 100 boxes she can earn cookie dough to help pay towards her camp tuition or use it in the council store or use it towards next years membership dues. Our council offers camperships to any girl who needs help with tuition to one of its camps. The money the council receives goes to girl programing such as events they run for the girls and for training of leaders. Yes it’s true councils have stopped funding their retirement pensions for staff. GS camps are often run in the red because if they charged what it actually costs to run a camp they would have to charge an outrageous fee!
Do I agree with all the program changes made by GSUSA? No. I miss the program I grew up in but as long as my daughter is willing to participate I am willing to guide her through it all.
Shipping prices are crazy but that is what the baker is charging not the individual councils. They guarantee the cookies will be shipped in perfect condition, My daughter will continue to deliver cookies in person.
Buying physical cookies? No. Sending to Military? Yes. Donating at least $1 to EVERY Girl Scout I see standing in the cold trying to sell cookies? Absolutely! That’s my plan!
I think you need to take this to CNN. It’s more interesting than most of the other stuff they cover.
I have always been relieved my daughter showed no interest in Girl Scouts. Despite being a feminist I’ve always been a little icked out at the way girl power seems to translate in some organizations. I had been hoping for 4-H so we’d have a reason to get chicken. However, I’m surprised that they have such a large pension obligation (or at least one large enough that required camps to close). I had thought most of it was done on a volunteer or seasonal basis.
My 11 year old would love to join the Doctor Who/Zombie/Night Vale Club. She has a very nice towel. She would like to create a Hercule Poirot badge for it so which would require the member to go into Night Vale and use their “little grey cells” to solve a mystery.
My childhood GS camp recently went on the market. Doing a crowdfunding campaign did cross my mind. It’s been 15 years since I have been in GS and shocked to hear about all the changes since then…and the resulting consequences now apparent in my childhood home.
My son sold Boy Scout popcorn online…their setup is fantastic. The shipping can be coordinated through Amazon, and since we have Prime, we got free two-day shipping. I wonder why the Girl Scouts can’t do that?
(I’m glad I have boys.)
Heads-up – this is now the subject of a post over on the web community Metafilter – http://www.metafilter.com/145771/An-Open-Letter-To-The-Girl-Scouts
The response has been generally supportive of you, and they also found a few other articles which back up the “something’s hinky with the pensions” thing.
(Oh – and in general Metafilter is pretty much kind of awesome.)
I couldn’t make it through the Brownies, (I think I would have done much better in the “What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club”) but IMO, they should be encouraging online purchases. If I had a daughter, I certainly wouldn’t let her go door-to-door hawking cookies in this day and age.
$20 additional for shipping to Alaska, Hawaii, or a military address?? Anxious to hear the reasoning for that. Priority mail shipping is the same cost anywhere in the USA.
Excellent post, and you have given me more reasons to be glad that I pulled my daughter from the girl scouts. For the record, my child is not at-risk or technically poor (although I feel poor the day before pay-day most weeks), but she really enjoyed her years in the Scouts, and really bonded with her fellow Scouts. However, that’s about where the learning journey came to an end. I never felt like they were learning any useful skills, while my son was killing it in his Boy Scout troop – from knife skills to some excellent survival stuff, to just how to sit down and shut up while the Leader is trying to explain something important. It was obvious then that Scouting is about as patriarchal as kid’s programs can possibly be. Add to that last year’s ruling from the Girl Scouts: that the donation jars we always put out every year on our cookie table, so that people who wanted to support the girls while not actually purchasing cookies could throw a few bucks in, became the property of the Scouts rather than the troop. In other words, the girls HAD TO use donation money to “purchase cookies to be donated to a worthy cause” – meaning more profit for the Council and zero in the troop activity fund. Simply, I felt like I was whoring my daughter out for the money machine of the Scouts. It was her hard work, effort, pretty smiling face selling those cookies. Now that I’ve read your post, I know my decision is the right one. And seriously – when an organization that exists for “charitable” purposes has an unsustainable pension legacy, there’s the sure stink of PROFITEERING.
i just want to add an irk. Being a fan and supporter myself why does my daughter or anyone else’s have to ask for or pay a surcharge on already crazy prices to send the small comforts of home to her brother or someone’s father,mother or sister or the whole dang unit of Marines that are protecting us every day and living without te comforts and reminders of what they are fighting for. How can there not be a discout if I want to fuel my so’s entire marine unit with sugar, reminders of home, edible food, comfort and love?
(Do you mean the additional $20 charge to ship to any military address? I don’t know. I’m sure it’s more expensive to ship something overseas, but I’m not sure of those prices. ~ Jenny)
Seriously on the shipping? I am a soapmaker and I can ship 4 bars of soap for $5.25, priority 1-3 days. I can ship it even cheaper if I go parcel post, about $3.
$11.25 for ONE BOX?
Holy CRAP! If that’s not enough to kill a snack boner I don’t know what is!
*beeeyoooooop
I was a Girl Scout drop out. My parents (who literally made a living teaching others how to be frugal) were frustrated with the focus on getting girls to sell, sell, sell expensive cookies, with very little funds actually going to the girls’ troop. Eventually, we barely bothered with the cookie sales, and I eventually quit because I was sick of singing songs and doing cutesy crafts while my Boy Scout brothers were building pinewood derby cars and going camping.
Nowadays, I may buy one box of Thin Mints, but then I’ll ask them if they have a separate envelope just for donations. Rather than spending $4 on a box of cookies that only makes the troop 60 cents, I’d rather just give them some cash that they get to keep 100%. One time I had some girls so confused by this notion…When I gave then a ten dollar bill, they tried to give me two boxes of cookies, so I had to explain twice that this was strictly a donation so help them with their overnight trip to the Science Museum.
Wow, Go you , Jenny and Hailey. Wow. I didn’t like GS as a kid and lasted 1 year only. Loved 4H. I never believed much (if any) of GS, BS and school fundraiser $$ stayed in the community or school. I have always given donations – watching the amount to make sure that 100% of the donation goes to that organization. I break my donations into small checks or cash throughout the year.
Also, GSA (national, regional, paid) leaders: I got this T-Shirt for Christmas: “ZOMBIES WANT BRAINS!!! (You’re safe).”
I am a GS Brownie leader and was unaware of the pension issue! Digital Cookie is a scam. That shipping? It is $11.95 for one box where I live! We are refusing to use it. I hear you on the 55cents for the Troop per box, but I will say our Council does have a beautiful camp and programming, so perhaps we are more fortunate that way.
Also – my husband sent this to me and is somewhat convinced this is really my blog and rant. I hope you get some real answers from GS USA!
What’s this world coming to? Of course, greedy adults wouldn’t take advantage of adorable little girls selling yummy cookies. Would they? Sigh.
The language here is lamentable. It detracts from your arguments, no matter how valid they are. Ladies, get over you need to be a foul-mouthed as men.
(You, sir, are adorable. ~ Jenny)
Thank you for pursuing this and forcing them to respond. My co-leader and I always hated the “cookie whore” aspect and felt that there was a lot that should be questioned.
Unpaid pension issues plague a lot of non profits these days. a few decades ago the non profit world realized that they had to offer good benefits to get talented people to work there instead of the corporate world. And really, why should super talented people not have benefits just because they want to do good work? It sounds like the GS are in crisis, as an organization, but please watch this before handing down the all too common, and frankly, very tired “they shouldn’t spend money on that, non profits should not have any overhead” decree.
http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong?language=en
So glad you wrote this – thank you. I’m so disappointed with scouts – have been involved for 45 years and just can’t do it anymore. So corporate — and so bad at being corporate. Will continue to follow this – good luck!
Jenny,
Before my long blathering, may I just say that you? You are a goddamn rock star. And? You’re not smooth like butter, you’re smooth like homemade gravy. Now I want gravy. Alas, I digress…
My bf’s daughter is a GS, and I forced him to read your post. He and I both work in technology, and have spent many years (it could be a million years. That’s how bad it hurts!) ramping up brick & mortar stores to successfully sell online, either via a hybrid solution (order online, pick up in store), or via a standalone website. After he and I chatted we agreed on three things: 1) The GS are making a major change to their supply chain. The upfront cost was probably unbelievably high. That cost, coupled with the cost to have the site built and secured, as well as the credit card transaction fees, could well account for their pricing model. As a non-profit that has to zero out and are trying to pay their corporate employees (mostly paltry salaries, no doubt) and keep pensions afloat, they face unique challenges for a company making the digital leap. 2) The GS PR Director should have had responses to all possible questions prepared before they started explaining their bat-shit business plan with their members. 3) The GS be crazy if they think anyone will pay more than $11 for shipping unless they are buying cases of heavy rocks,and even then? They will wait for a free shipping coupon. This isn’t 2002, which I know mostly because my mother can grasp Google and checkout online without calling me.
It took me a while to respond, but as a girl scout until 10th grade, it kills me to see that my daughter’s experience would be so different than my own. A conservation group I volunteered for just “saved” my childhood camps (well, one of the 6 that were closed in my general aread), we have NO sleepover camps anymore in our area, and I can’t even bring myself to go to the open tours of the “new park space” that was the site of some of my best childhood memories.
However, away from the sad, and onto my 11 year old’s bright eyed, just woke up response to the “Doctor Who/Zombie/Night Vale club”—“YES PLEASE’, she says, over her bowl of cereal. “Sign me up”.
I did Brownies and Girl Scouts, but my paralyzing social shyness at age 8 rose up and conquered even my politeness-to-adults, when I realized that someone’s mother had driven us to a strange house WITH A DOG out front who was obviously living on a diet of nothing but children, and she expected ME to get out of her car, navigate past the dog and ask a complete stranger to buy something from me?? I told her to get lost and take me home. I was taking dog bites for ANYthing, (especially pension funds– just…what?)
I never turned in one sale. There was nothing anyone could say or threaten me with that would make me do it, which explains why my GS career never really got off the ground and I ended up working for myself.
GOOD JOB ON THE LETTER!!
We did just one year of Girl Scouts and had several issues with the programming & funding (or lack thereof). Our troop of 7 kindergarten girls sold over $5,000 of cookies, but our troop only got to keep $300 of that. We felt totally ripped off. Most of the girls were from poor-ish families, but we never got to go to camp or anything because the council said that all that money went to corporate, not to local scholarships. We switched the next year to American Heritage Girls and have been happy with it for the 4 years since then.
Any chance the website info is outdated? I work for an organization that partnered with the girl scouts on that legislation, and the Charitable Pension Flexibility Act was signed into law earlier this year. Unless there are already new issues beyond that…
I was a Girl Scout back in the day when the packages were bigger and only $1.25. We went door to door with pre-sales in every neighborhood in our troop area and then delivered them a month later. The money raised went to the troop and the local council. When did this pension crap start? I still buy cookies every year because I support the girls who are selling them, but I hope you get an answer to all this. I’d hate to think it was all a lie.
“The language here is lamentable. It detracts from your arguments, no matter how valid they are. Ladies, get over you need to be a foul-mouthed as men.”
Well, isn’t William Ewald a prissy little thing.
I have been a GS leader for 10 years and am fed up with the organization. I have 21 girls in my 3rd/4th grade troop. The organization offers us no value. No decent curriculum. No money. No direction. I’ve voiced concerns and only received a “thank you for your input” response. I recently discovered that when the council organizes events, such as a jewelry making session at our local art center, they tack on fees. In this example, it cost $7/girl to schedule the jewelry session directly with the art center vs. $9/girl to sign up for the same event organized by the council. The council told the art center that the surcharge covers badges. But they don’t actually give you the badge, you have to buy that yourself. You “earn” the badge in both instances; there is absolutely no difference. For our troop, going through the council would have cost us an extra $42, which would be 76.4 boxes of cookies. Ridiculous! I am actually working on a plan to disassociate our troop from Girl Scouts because I think they have gotten soooo far away from their original objective. I feel like it’s all about paying people’s salaries and not about helping the girls. The founder, Juliette Low, would be ashamed.
And by the way, our new girls’ club is going to kick ass!
My general philosophy for all charities is to make donations directly to the local chapter/branch/office. That way the money stays local and the entire check is a tax deductible donation (nothing in return). But you still have to do research – some organizations (United Way and Salvation Army to name a few) automatically bump money up to the corporate level. You have to be specific in how you make donations in order to ensure the local group doesn’t have to split it with some distant headquarters.
And then I can feel free to buy my lactose-free wheat-free organic vegan sustainably-farmed cookies anywhere I like. And not feel a bit guilty.
As one who serves on a local Gold Award Committee we were told that girls MUST participate in the fund raising opportunities offered through G.S. (troop nuts and cookie sales) before a girl is able to raise funds for their Gold Award projects using any other means. The Committee members are not in support of this, but we are only a few voices. Please speak up about this when opportunities arise.
Thanks for writing this! My 11 year quitt the Girl (drama) Scouts last year and boy were we happy she did. All they did was sell things, in addition to cookies, and then ask us for $75-100 to camp overnight at a GS owned camp ground!
It was the Park Avenue office with the CEO having her own private bath that got to me the most. So kids sell things to raise money to support a posh NYC address and NYC level sallaries???
The shipping $$$ thing is also ridiculous and the cookies are just not the quality, or quantity, they used to be!
Thank you for using your powers for good! Jenny and Hailey, you guys are fantabulous!
and this is why 40+ years ago when I was a g.s. and selling cookies and my dad found out how LITTLE money the troops were getting from the sales he decided to write a check directly to my troop for stuff we wanted or needed. personally, i’ll buy a box or two (but not thin mints because they’ve changed and the chocolate tastes cheap) just because i like to help the girls braving the cold and the (sometimes) grumpy people here in Massachusetts!
Interesting thread. Personally, I’m going to give the first girl scouts who ask me to buy cookies a $20. Subsequent requests by different girls will get $10.
Thanks but no thanks on the cookies though.
The Girl Scout cookies also continue to utilize palm oil in their ingredients, which has been shown, by two Cadette Girl Scouts from Michigan, to cause habitat loss and environmental degredation in third world countries. In all of the Journey booklets that Scouts are required to complete, activism is required. Too bad the Scouts don’t listen to their own! Hypocrisy at the highest level. We have dropped out of Scouts because of this…don’t want to be part of an organization that touts bringing up strong smart environmentally conscious
women and then doesn’t listen to them!!
Two things come to mind:
First, when I read their website, it sounds like a “these bad, unacceptable things are going to happen if you don’t contact your congressman to get it fixed” plea. I call it “influence extortion.”
Secondly, I really want a cookie now.
Seriously, I commiserate with all of the people above trying to do good things for girls under completely asinine circumstances. When I (re)started a GS troop because my nieces wanted to do it, I got even more annoyed that the curriculum now calls for girls to sit around and talk about their feelings, and is based around the Journey books. Do you know what it’s like to get 7 year olds, who have to sit all day long in school, amped up about sitting around and talking about feelings while following yet another book curriculum? We basically throw out everything GS provides for us and create our own program, with outdoor fun & skills, girl power shit, and other kickass activities. They want us to build girls of Courage, Confidence, and Character, but their curriculum is boring, staid, and doesn’t encourage any of those things. Quite frankly, if we could just be a group without an affiliation and not have to worry about insurance, background checks for adults, and needing a legitimate name in order to rent a place for meetings, we would just ditch Girl Scouts completely.
Good luck, Jenny.
If your legion of fans can be of any help, let us know.
I freaking HATE companies that charge extra to deliver to military addresses (last line: $20 premium to HI, AK and military addresses). It does NOT cost more to send to an overseas military address–the only difference is that the sender has to fill out (or computer generate) a customs form. Big companies like J Crew, Pottery Barn, Amazon, etc. manage to send us our things without charging a $20 fee. If it isn’t clear, I’m a military spouse in Japan and I’m goddamn irritated by companies that feel like they can charge a fee. I was also a Girl Scout and I am still afraid to knock on people’s doors and fundraise because of the scarring experiences of door-to-door cookie sales in the early 1980s. Two years ago when my daughter was a GS, I had her go door-to-door (like your daughter, we are opposites, she’s an extrovert, I’m a rock-in-the-corner introvert). She sold about 10 boxes going door-to-door–(WHY do they sell right after New Year’s when people are going on diets as resolutions–dumb move GS) and then I faked the rest of her form, writing in the names of various, extremely generous family members. I think I bought 60 boxes on my own. Totally dishonest and shameful, but she kept getting shot down and I didn’t want her to feel bad…the things we do for our kids. Sigh.
I rarely comment so here goes
1) I participated in GS for years and went to GS camp for years on Cookie Credit. I have many fond memories of cookie sales.
2) I dislike that GS has actively discouraged going door to door in neighborhoods and is instead promoting kiosk sales. As the veteran of many door-to-door fundraisers (cookies, oranges, car wash a thon etc) I always thought it promoted community interaction as well as common sense items like salesmanship, self-advocacy and follow through.
3) I had no idea that so much money went to pension expenses. Seriously?? My mother was a volunteer and could barely get kids to kick in their quarter each week for juice and cookies at the meeting.
4) YOU NEED TO LOOK THIS UP – but I believe there is a program where you can send cookies to the troops. For people who dont want the calories – but do want to support, I can only imagine how nice it would be for some soldier to gather some war kids around and share a box of cookies. Wouldn’t that do a lot for morale on both sides??
(Number 4 exists. If you do it online though you’ll be paying for the cookies and a handling fee that starts at $1.25 and raises depending on how many you donate. If you pay the girl scout directly you just have to pay for the cookies. They go to the USO I believe. We donated a few cases last year. ~ Jenny)
I’m a bit confused. Do people actually yell at Girl Scouts trying to sell cookies? What on Earth for? Little girl asked if you want to buy cookies. She didn’t ask you to sell your first born, or sign a petition to advance the cause of (Whatever you disagree most strongly with), she asked if you want to buy cookies. Ok, so maybe you’re broke, or don’t like cookies (Freak), and you say “No, thanks, but good luck.” Sheesh. There is no excuse for people to be rude to children; That’s how we wind up with rude adults.
(It happens. Rarely though, and it’s usually some crazy person yelling about “cookies paying for abortions” or some such nonsense. There are nuts everywhere. ~ Jenny)
I got asked to leave my GS troop, along with my couple of friends, since we couldn’t get along with the other girls. Never mind that there were like 30 girls, and the other girls snubbed us.
I cant believe they charge $20 EXTRA to ship to an APO (military address) when the US post office doesn’t.
Very sad (but not entirely surprised) to learn that Girl Scouts has gone the way of a typical greedy corporation. I was never a fan of the Girl Scouts either but at least I thought it was doing good things for the girls who were into it. Now I can’t even say that. There goes my last reason for buying cookies that just make my ass bigger.
My experience in dealing with the Girl Scouts and, more specifically, the United Way, was not a positive thing. Many years have passed but I’m still pretty irate.
if the girl scouts are low on cash, maybe they should move their headquarters from fifth avenue NYC and into cheaper real estate….
I’m glad our sales do not start until February (though not sure whose bright idea it is to have elementary aged girls stand outside in February in SOUTH DAKOTA). Perhaps some of the online sales stuff will be fixed. We ran into these extreme shipping charges with fall nuts & candy sales, which tells me it’s not the vendor but the Girl Scouts 🙁 hopefully this is merely “first year jitters.” The pension stuff is frustrating.
But as long as my girls love it, we’ll do it. It’s still the best option for my daughters in our small town and these are issues I can live with (for now)
http://www.demotivation.us/next-time…-1250569.html
You go girls! Thank you for asking the difficult questions. I do hope that you will get an answer, however, I’m not optimistic. My daughter and I are waiting to join your new club.
I quit Brownies in the early 70s. You go girl.
I work in ecommerce. That shipping rate is competitive for a site that won’t be providing sales year round. A company that specializes in year round online sales can certainly do it much cheaper but this will be seasonal work. It looks like the shipping price is geared to push people into buying more. Yes, $11.25 is crazy for one box but reasonable for 6 boxes. It takes the same amount of time for a fulfillment company worker to package 1 box of cookies and ship it out to a single address as it does six boxes of cookies to a single address so it is a better use of resources. I also wouldn’t be surprised if they only purchased one size of shipping containers as that its also a better way to control costs.
The shipping cost is not just what the delivery company charges but also the salary of the person packing the items for sale. This is not an sole proprietor operation where the creator of the goods being shipped packs each item and doesn’t track that as time they should pay themselves because they see it as an investment in growing the business.
Please compare the cookie shipping fees to other specialized online stores rather than the Amazons and Gaps of the world. I suggest looking at museum stores such as the Met or Art Institute of Chicago. Food stores like Harry & David and Swiss Colony also have comparable shipping rates.
I got nothing on the other points you raised. As someone whose mom was the council cookie chairman my entire school career, I’m interested in getting more info on those too.
Girl Scouts teaches many useful skills to young ladies. This “new” digital approach to cookie sales is not a valuable skill. The new sales techique removes all personal contact and teaches only how to send an email with a link to personal cookie sales pages. I am disappointed in the Girl Scouts and will not order cookies on-line. I will from girls that knock on my door or sell in booths. Goos luck.
I doubt the money is going to pensions and am sure a huge amount going to executive salary increases and perks. This is not a new picture.. What does the top executives earn and what exactly do they do beside irritating people?
Although I love Girl Scouts and Girl Scout cookies, I haven’t purchased any (cookies – not Girl Scouts. Because if someone is selling Girl Scouts, that is just wrong and highly illegal!) for years. The reason being that the actual troop gets so LITTLE from the sale of each box. It just bothers me that these young gals are basically pimped out to sell cookies for next to nothing – while the corporation and manufacturer get nearly all of the funds. Instead, I often donate to the troop directly – my waistline thanks me and I feel better knowing that my money is going right to the girls.
An investment in the girls = a direct donation to the troop and perhaps offering to volunteer your services as a leader or as a community expert (hey, somebody might want to grow up and do what you do!)
An investment in the camps (most of which run at a huge deficit; check local council website for financials) or a specific program = a direct, restricted donation to the camps (you can even name the specific camp, or specify a scholarship) sent to your local council
GSUSA tried to reduce their overhead expenses by contracting their councils into a smaller number of much larger (and, IMO, less responsive to local needs) councils around 2007. That’s also when they started aggressively closing camps and selling properties. I checked my local super-council website and read all the available financials (past three years) and reports. We now have six camps (when we were five smaller councils, we had at least twelve camps). The camps have a 46% enrollment, and run a deficit of $1.1M/year. If more girls could get to camp, maybe the camps would be less of a financial burden.
Anyway. I did some research. I hope you all do some too. I hate to see the whole GSUSA organization considered worthless when they do so much for girls and women. They’re not perfect, but we’re the ones who need to hold them to a higher standard. I appreciate and applaud Jenny’s efforts to do that here, and I hope we can all do that locally as well.
Thank you for looking into this! I’m a third generation GS, and have been a troop leader for 8 years (up to three troops at once, and cookie mom for all, for my two daughters).
While I LOVE many things about Scouting, they are all things that have very little to do with Councils and everything to do with traditions, inclusion of all girls, helping community, trying something new, working together, travel, etc… I’ve learned quickly that any questioning of Council or GSUSA is not appreciated, and usually quickly turned into something else – plus, you can ask 5 different GS employees and get 5 different answers. I absolutely hate the move from programming and camps and badges, to fundraising year round and Journeys. That is not why I volunteer my time, and I will only participate to the level that my troops wish to (ie, girl-led). When we have tried to provide programming for troops beyond my own, the paperwork and hoops required proved to be more than I am willing or able to do. So, we use the old badge books and guides (I refuse to make my troops pay $30pp for the new ones, not including any actual badges), find patch programs that fit their needs, camp, craft, do community work, and make the cookies only a small part of our year. I would love to see a return to the more traditional Scouting but in the meantime, we do what the girls love.
All that said… On cookies – remember that each Council is different, and has different rules and ways of cookie sales. Our particular Council is going online this year but you can only buy a minimum of 6 boxes (same flavor) and the shipping is $9 and up. So, don’t be surprised if you get punted from the National office to the product sales person at your local Council. We have always been told that cookie proceeds stay within our Council (that would be the $1.61 in this breakdown: http://girlscoutssangorgonio.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Cookie-Crumbles.jpg) I would LOVE to hear if you ever hear back from either your local or the national Councils!
As a lifetime GS member and former GS employee, I have some sympathy for the organization, because this is a time of year when so many people are on leave.
On the other hand, all I know about cookies now is that whenever I see a Girl Scout I buy at least a box (or send a box to a soldier) but first I make her sing a song or tell me what their troop is doing these days.
(The timing is unfortunate, but our troop has been emailing for answers to the pension question for a month with no real responses. I would have written about it sooner but I kept thinking that someone would answer me. It’s disappointing for everyone involved. ~ Jenny)
This is so disturbing on many levels. I was a Girl Scout in the early/mid 90’s and my mom was our troop leader for a number of years. I remember her coming home from council meetings and complaining about the council leaders and about how difficult it was to work with the higher ups. So very,very sad that this is still an issue. What is this teaching our girls?
When I run into the kids selling at the supermarket, I write a check directly to the troop and take NO cookies. Thirty-three years ago, I was a Brownie leader, and the same garbage was going on in the Washington, D.C. area–cookie money was used to build some big “nation’s capital” center instead of fixing up camps some of which were used year round. I refused to let my 6 to 8 year olds sell cookies. I figured out how much the council would have remitted to us based on previous sales and assessed each parent $5 per child to run the troop for a year. This fee was no problem to the parents. I would like to mention also, that to have a child in my troop a parent had to join G.S. We had a family troop, and when we went camping (which was about 3 times a year), everyone went! The meetings were just the kids, me and a co-leader, but any parent was welcome to join in any time.
As a former brownie and girl scout but not for very long, I applaud your speaking up and making this public. My own short career came to an end when ( in my day) I found out that the girl scout badges and experiences were all about sewing and cooking and I wanted to do what the boy scouts did, which was camping and hiking and exploring. Thus, I quit. I had many great exploration experiences on my own but they would have been better if I had had a group who shared my enthusiasm. And really, I’m not that frickin’ old, so what was up with that, Girl Scouts?
Good luck with the business models. You’re headed in the right direction.
I haven’t read the other comments but is it just me that thinks starting to sell cookies at this time of year when most people start a diet is kinda crazy…
I was a Girl Scout up through cadets when I finally decided that I wasn’t interested anymore. My aunt was involved all the way through into college, my mom into high school, and I LOVED the competitive aspect of cookie sales.
That being said, I also lead The Great Brownie Rebellion of 2nd Grade because they’d only let us learn things that were “appropriate for young ladies” and I wanted to learn things like how to build camp fires and use tools. Half the troop was ready to quit before they gave in. I also went to one camp and I had a horrible, traumatic time.
I work in a position where I teach a lot of cub scout and girl scout groups. Things have changed a lot since I was a kid and I find it tremendously disheartening that they couldn’t even take the time to answer Jenny’s basic but serious questions. I’ll buy a couple of boxes from my coworker’s kid like I usually do, but I can serve them far better by being a good teacher and role model than by spending money on cookies.
Also, I am FURIOUS about the $20 handling fee to mail to APO addresses. That is outrageous.
As a GS Leader, I have tons of questions for Council and have banged my head against the wall many times over policies. Thank you for the courage to ask the questions. I know that the troop gets a very small percentage of the sale of cookies. The one thing that I hope our scouts gets from selling GS Cookie is to “Ask for the Sale.” Throughout their lives girls will have to ask for things, acceptance to college, ask for a job, ask for a raise, etc. If they cannot have the courage to go to a neighbors door and ask if they want a box of cookies, how can they have the courage to ask for the big stuff?
Just a note to any Girl Scout powers-that-be reading these comments. While Jenny has generated 429 comments on this one post in two days, you should also realize that it has gone viral and literally thousands of people across the world are commenting on it. I’ve had friends as far away as Germany and Australia, not to mention at least 18 (at a quick count) in the US post links to this post on their facebook feeds, and each post has dozens and scores of responses and dialogues and they all are supportive of Jenny’s open letter. I’m a mom of two boys in Cub and Boy Scouts, so I don’t have anything personal to add, except that for my future daughter-in-laws sakes, and my nieces sakes, and my friends’ daughters sakes, I hope this can be resolved and Girl Scouts can get back to the basics.
Observation: the lack of responsiveness of the Girl Scout powers-that-be is eerily similar to that of administrators at any hospital in the whole of the USA. Vague, ambiguous, circular responses, followed by hiding under the desk when you persist on getting a rational and reasoned answer on any important issue.
You would think, with all the money the top cats are being paid, they could at least come to work on a Friday. And if the Lead Cookie Monster (or whatever she’s called) sent you a Tweet but couldn’t send you an e-mail, I’m gonna have to call BS on that.
On the shipping thing – it is indeed over $11.00 for one box, but that is a flat fee for up to six boxes. If you order one box, you pay the same as if you buy six boxes. Add a seventh and the cost goes up something like $2.00. The additional $20.00 for Alaska/Hawaii would imply they are using UPS or FedEx. Not necessarily the best choice, clearly.
Probably off topic but I had never heard of NightVale till now and I just spent the night listening to the early episodes with the husbeast. I will definitely be painting to this next Semester, it is awesome and perfect for the next series I want to do. Tell Haley Thanks for the recommend, this is Awesome!
1) Thank you.
2) My daughter, and son, if allowed, would totally join your Dr. Who / zombie troop.
3) In Japan, Boy Scouts are for both girls and boys. Because nothing they experience in the scouts should be off limits to either sexes. Right?
I’m extremely disappointed in the girl scouts higher ups for not getting back to you and what bothers me is it is not the girls responsibility or the people who chose to support at one time what was an important group that uplifts our girls to pay for their financial screw up and lack of adequate accounting practices. I too was once a girl scout and I’m ashamed now to say I was due to the greedy capitalistic people who are in charge of this once great organization. Thanks for telling me and I will still support these girls as much as I can since it’s not their fault the higher ups suck but disheartening aim the same.
You were one of the first people I followed on twitter and I think I still have the reply I got from you a million years ago as my claim to fame because I was so honored. So, clearly I’m not that bad of a person. So, let me share what I know on this topic. Which is kind of a lot.
I work for a local Girl Scout council (not yours though), and have for a long time. Actually, in charge of the cookie sale for many moons as well. Long enough that I knew a thing or two and have been helping as a council advisor on the digital cookie project.
First, the amount each troop gets from the box of cookies varies council to council. In our council, the troop gets $.60 ($.05 more if they hit a higher level of sales), the Service Unit (coordinating the troops) gets up to $.06/box to use for activities for their girls, the prizes the girls get, which includes credits they can use for camps, in the store, dues, events, etc, is another $.25 of that sale. The companies baking the cookies are actually only getting about 25% of the cost of the box of the cookies, and none of the money from the sale of that box of the cookies is sent by the council to GSUSA, it all stays local. We also have a teeny percentage for marketing and bad debts (if you want to really be mad, be mad at the moms that steal money from their troops!) and the balance goes to the council, which does things like financial assistance for membership dues, uniforms and camps, and enables us to do run programs like our Migrant Education Summer Camps for girls who’s parents are Migrant farmworkers, and our Girl Scouts Beyond Bars program that serves girls who’s moms are in jail-allowing them to see their moms in a positive setting that reduces recidivism for the moms and helps the girls see there are options in life.
As several commenters (like #421) have hit on, this is real life, not Amazon Prime when it comes to the costs. GSUSA absolutely did work with many vendors to get the very best pricing they could. And, the cost isn’t just the shipping, as several people have mentioned. The cost includes the cost of processing the order, the cost of pulling those boxes off the shelf, in whatever # & flavor combination the customer ordered (instead of pre-set packages that might have reduced the cost, but reduced the choices) pack those in a box (and, we’ve all tetrised boxes of varying shapes and sizes inside other boxes and know how much fun that can be), ship them, AND, get the information on the order and the payment fed back to your cookie user software on the back end so that the girl gets automatic credit for that sale and the payment and no one is trying to manually track and enter all of that information. That last part alone took some heroics to make possible. As for why the costs for girl delivery or donated cookies? It costs money to move money. In the case of orders that don’t include actual product, it actually costs a little bit more per transaction. In addition, the fees agreement for supply chain integration applies to all transaction, not just shipped transactions.
This whole thing has gotten a lot of press, and in it, I know I’ve tried to communicate that this is only one of the ways a girl can sell cookies. It shouldn’t replace the order card or the selling outside grocery stores. All three methods together are where some really amazing learning can happen. People skills, money management, inventory management and forecasting. The new digital platform also has a cookie badge built right into it, so girls can earn that along the way and learn/practice their business skills. The homepage for the girl has some really cool sales graphs at the bottom. The kind of thing that will be pretty to look at AND reinforce real world math and business concepts in a fun way that won’t seem like learning. Not to mention she’s practicing to become the next Bloggess by building her very own website to set up her business in the first place.
Will I have my daughter use this for the neighbor, or grandma who lives nearby? Nope. I’ll have her employ her good old fashioned sales techniques (and cuteness) for those customers. But, for the grandparents on the other coast, great grandma in the flyover state, etc, that’s where I will have her use this tool. Additionally, we have a large rural population here that are very excited about the prospect of this. Their nearest neighbors are 70 miles away in some areas, and there isn’t much action at the general store on any given day. Those areas? Prime candidates for this and don’t bat an eye at shipping costs either.
I applaud you for asking the questions with Hailey and searching for the answers. And knowing that online sales aren’t a fit for this year. Even though it’s my job, I am not encouraging this for every girl and her family to use. I know that we had to start somewhere for online sales, and what was accomplished for this first year was mountain moving. I’ve also seen some of the suggestions for making it even more girl friendly in 2.0, 3.0 and beyond, and this thing is going to continue to build, so about the time our daughters are getting told at the grocery store “aren’t you a little old to be selling cookies” (yep, that happens ALL.THE.TIME to our older girls) they will just pull out their smartwatches and sell as many cookies online as they did outside the store.
Clearly, I could go on, but, this is your blog, not mine. I’ll DM you as well and am happy to answer any more questions I can.
Good luck to Hailey in her sales!
(THANK YOU! This comment is fabulous and it’s so great to hear from someone really involved in the decisions regarding shipping and online sales. You answered several of my questions really well and I hope that the girl scouts takes your comment and uses it on their website because it’s something everyone should know. I am extremely relieved that competitive shipping bids were asked for. It would be so great if the whole thing was transparent enough to show the girls the entire process that you guys go through. What were the bids? How did you negotiate them? How much is shipping? What are the time requirements involved and how did you make the decisions on pricing? That sort of thing. And then the girls could learn and could suggest ways to cut costs, especially since one of the key principals of Girl Scouts is supposed to be thriftiness. Also, thank you for your time. I can’t even imagine how complicated cookie sales are for a whole council. Just our troop alone is enough to give me a headache.
Now if you could just get me an answer on the original pension question that I’ve been asking about since early December I will kiss you on the mouth. I know it’s not something you may be privy to but 90% of the local councils will have to start paying the pension deficit starting yesterday and I really want to know how that affects their ability to pay for camp maintenance, help at-risk girls, scholarships, etc. According to the Girl Scout site it will suck up that money but it doesn’t say how much or if they’ve found a way to pay it in another way. Are you one of the councils affected this year? I’ve heard such different things. It’s amazing how much things vary by council.
Thanks again for your response. ~ Jenny)
First: Go Hailey! You get the Gold Award and get those scholarships!
Second: I have several friends who work for councils, and have known ‘lifers’ who have moved up in the Girl Scouts. These people don’t make much, and I think it is great that they are getting pensions, as they (people that I know) don’t make enough to save, yet are doing great work. Seems like the GS pension is funded like our own SS benefits. And those have been up for discussion for years among politicians with promises to change it, and no follow through.
With that said, I have also been an employee at different GS camps, and they are not kept up very well. No shame to the people running them, either. There’s just not the money that there should be. Jenny, in our backyard there is one camp who gets all the money and therefore all of the business (from campers). We have seen camps close and another that just doesn’t get the funds necessary to make repairs. Horse programs have closed, making the camp experience more limited, unless you go to the one camp that gets all the money. I don’t think it is the local people’s fault, nor the higher ups. I have seen people fret over who gets what money, and how to scrimp and save due to difficulties from economic changes. I think we will continue to see camps close and others well funded, in order to consolidate the investments and provide the best camp experience for every girl.
PS- In my day, there was no air conditioned bunks at GS Camp. That was part of the experience. Times have changed, my friend!
You go Girl!!AND YOU ARE AN AWESOME MOM!!!
Can my husband, me, ours dogs and cat join the Dr.Who Zombie Apocalypse Prep Club please?
Thanks for this. Keep us posted.
Ugh. I so hate to read this. I support friends’ girls in the Girl Scouts all the time and I want so much to like them as they seemed so much better than the Brownies troop I was kicked out of during my first year in (for not being able to set a table–dumb story but I’m 45 years old and that shit scarred me–I still get nervous anywhere near a table and some flatware, yo). If Hailey ends up around Austin selling her cookies, I’m certain many of us will be out to support her.
You go! This is why we are homeschooling our cats and don’t allow them to join extracurricular activities.
So nice you are able to use your blogging powers for the betterment of thin mint kind. Nice to see a parent lead by example and look deeper to find the awnsers.
As a Boy Scout in the Great Alaska Council, I am shocked by the profiteering, but I see it in our organization. Though many councils throughout the world are doing well, the GAC is visibly floundering. There is the insane price of popcorn that keeps people from buying much; some money goes to the boys, much goes to National, and there is a shortage going to the Council. Also, there is our problem of the denali high adventure base. While good in theory, there was not enough money to build a good camp, so now there are few amenities there and much is paid for generated electricity. In response to the letter, I am shocked by the $20 surcharge to Alaska and Hawaii. I understand that there can’t be free shipping, but the price of those who want a single box should make up for the extra.
Just my opinions.
Great questions, but then again, what so I know? I only made it to Brownies before quitting. So now I feel like a loser and I’m hungry for cookies.
THANKS,JENNY.
It’s been years since I was involved in Girl Scouts. I started as a Brownie through Cadette and I received my silver award. I got to visit places that I would’ve never gone to on my own and learn life & social skills. I don’t buy the cookies now when I see a troop selling in front of a grocery store. I know how much work those girls put into fundraising so I donate some cash to their troop. It’s a shame that there’s a lack of clear answers from the national office.
Also, I’m all in for the “What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club”. Best club ever!
found this article today
http://nyp.st/1dCTeoP
I’m disappointed in their unresponsiveness and proud of you and your daughter for questioning and exposing what troubles you. I come from a multi-generational Girl Scout family. My mother’s picture was even on a box of cookies many years ago. Those are not the values they used to espouse. I will continue to support the girls and will always buy cookies when asked by an actual scout, but I won’t seek them out as I have in the past.
Doing a little more research, it looks there was a congressperson who began an investigation into this last year, Bruce Braley – maybe you could contact him as well? There is also a council in Nashville suing GSUSA over the pension plan issues that may have information. It is very disappointing – I really enjoyed Girl Scouts as a kid, and was looking forward to enrolling my daughter when we moved back to the US (we live in Tanzania right now while completing their adoptions and running an NGO working with their previous orphanage). Will definitely have to look carefully at the local troops – it sounds like there are still a lot of good things happening on the local level in a lot of places, luckily.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/23/girl-scouts/2450259/
And an entire group of grassroots protestors – http://philanthropy.com/article/New-Grass-Roots-Group-Puts/138835/
I almost hesitate to write this because it goes against the vast majority of, if not all of, the other comments, BUT it immediately struck me that two days from your initial letter is probably not a fair amount of time for them to formulate and deliver a good response. I know they promised one, and if they are telling the truth they did in fact send one, albeit to the wrong person. It seems quite possible to me that they could have sent it to another person with the same sorts of questions, mistakenly confusing the two of you. My only point with that is that it could be a legitimate mistake and not an attempt to not respond to you. Although I do love your line about maybe not starting the fundraiser at the same time that the boss is on vacation, I think it’s possible that he or she sent the email and then possibly took even unscheduled leave, like for an understandable reason like because of a sick relative. I don’t know. I just know that I have made the mistake of judging actions or non-actions too quickly and it has come back to bite me in the ass. So I felt a little bit uncomfortable for you, hoping that the same doesn’t happen here. Please take this in the spirit in which it was written – I adore you and agree with almost every single thing you ever say, admire you so much, and love that you have been able to help so many people. I just thought that maybe I could resent another point of view, since it was what first occurred to me.
(Totally legit question. 🙂 I’ve been asking about the pension issue for a month with no good answers. I contacted the CEO on December 29th so she’s know about it for longer than this post has been up and we’ve DMed but she didn’t give me any answers. I wanted to solve this offline and I only blogged about it when I couldn’t get a response and cookie sales were looming. The CEO apologized for the other email not being answered said they’d follow up today. I hadn’t been contacted so I asked if I’d still hear from someone today and the GS twitter team told me to check my an email account I’ve never heard of. (I looked up the email and it’s someone with a similar name as mine who lives in Georgia.) I asked them to just forward it to me but they said the person who sent it would have to but she’s out on “holiday” and would contact me “soon”. I’ve heard all of the offices are on holiday this week, which makes sense except that cookie sales also started this week so it was a bad set-up to begin with. It’s possible that this is just a series of bad communications but after so many issues I’m disheartened. Maybe she’ll respond. If we get an official response I’ll post it but I assume it’ll just a response to the digital cookie stuff and nothing at all about the pension issue, which was the whole problem I had to begin with. It’s possible that they could turn this around but I won’t believe it until I see it. ~ Jenny)
Unless I misread. Please forgive me if so…it’s 2am here! Now I’m wondering if I even got the timing right. Ok I’ll stop now
LOVE your letter… and blog! My daughter was a Girl Scout for quite a few years and I had my questions especially about the troop funds. I didn’t read all of the comments (almost 500 of them!) so I apologize if I am repeating something someone else has already brought up BUT I wonder what they’re doing with the money earned from the GS candy bars (Nestle) ?
(I don’t know. My understanding is that the GSUSA makes money from licensing the trademark, so I assume that the partnerships with Nestle, Mattel, the cookie bakeries, etc go to funding the National branch. ~ Jenny)
I was a Girl Scout growing up and personally, I vote for the Doctor Who-zombie-thingy. Your daughter will learn timey wimey, life saving skills in that club, and also how to be a nice person (whilst wielding a crossbow). Hey, win win. 😉
You have the power of Greyskull, Miss Jenny. You make us all proud, every time you show Hailey how to take on things you/she don’t feel are right. I know nothing of Girl Scouts, but I know this is no small-time blogging community. You help to lead misfits into revolution on so many things; we can change the world under your capable example.
Much love!
I seriously love you guys. My husband is like “OMG SHUT UP ABOUT THE GIRL SCOUTS” so it’s nice to have a place to vent and to get information. Also, comment #440 isn’t from an “official spokesperson” but it’s the most reasonable explanation I’ve seen regarding shipping and handling.
Now if we can get someone to answer the original pension question…
I think that whenever an organization gets too big there are problems. I’m sure the profits become smaller because of operating costs and other issues. I think you have the right attitude. It’s important to question things that don’t make sense but it’s also good to support the girls. Hopefully some positive changes will be made from all of this.
I gave up on GS when i was nominated as a council deligate…and then told I needed to vote for consolidation of our 99 year old council into “GS of Colorado”. It wasn’t a request. I declined the “opportunity” because I wasnt going to be told how to vote, because no one could/would explain how this would benefit the girls and because (in spite of the declaration that consolodation was what the girls wanted) no one ever asked a girl what she wanted.
8 years later, everything from the former Chipeta Council belongs to GS of Co. We have no camps anymore in Western CO (they were sold 7 years ago). We have no day camps. We can access all manner of programing and activities provided we can get our girls to Denver (500 miles round trip). Our product sales and funds raised go straight to Denver. Our biggest funraisers are adult only: a golf tournament and “Cookies & Cocktails”. No one has ever been able (or willing) to explain how girls on the Western Slope of CO have benefited from the consolodation, even so much as a a nickle to help transport our girls to camp.
How can we live in WESTERN FREAKIN’ COLORADO and have no GS supported camping opportunities?
I totally want to be in the cool new club you two are planning! I love hitchhiker’s guide to the Galaxy and all the nerdy things. I would offer king cake as a cookie alternative because it’s a great yummy bread/cake/pastry that you can get away with eating at all hours of the day! You make me smile. I hope that if I have a girl one day I will raise her to be so smart/funny/amazing as you have with Hailey!
“Also, as a suggestion: Perhaps next year the online sales program should not be launched on the same week that the Digital Cookie Lead responsible for it is off on holiday.”
RIGHT????!!! I mean WTF?
Jenny, you are great for starting such a thoughtful conversation. A lot of organizations like GSA and BSA are in existential crises for financial and other reasons and as their memberships shrink financial sacrifices have to be made. The problem is when they are not fully transparent and the current membership has to suffer. You are to be applauded (if you are not worshiped already) for being such a good, involved parent. You deserve explanations and not just window dressing. I hope you get them.
This is awesome!
You made me proud!
My daughter and I quit Girl Scouts mid year this year. It was because of a troop issue though. But the cookie thing has always bothered me!
Juliette Gordon Low is rolling in her grave over what the GS have become. It’s not about the kids anymore–it’s about how GS has become a big business hiding in the not-for-profit world. Sad.
As a former GS troop leader, I can say NOTHING good about this organization – except that I got to help little girls. All of those activities that your troop leader does with the girls? She plans and executes herself. There is no guidance from the GS at all. At least where my troop was located. The minute I became a troop leader all of the communication I received from the organization was about selling cookies. That’s it. And the pressure is on. I’ve volunteered with many groups, but nothing compares to GS. And that’s not meant to be flattering. Very sad.
Apparently questions about the financial aspects of the GS are ongoing for a couple of years. Close camps, but hike the salaries of the CEOs…
http://nypost.com/2013/06/09/shes-milking-the-scouts/
My daughter is desperate to participate in Girl Scouts. I HATE THE GIRL SCOUTS. I had a horrible experience when I was a child. I wanted out and they wouldn’t let me. Seriously, who does that shit? So, whenever my daughter brings it up, I change the subject. Do we buy cookies? Yes, we do because I am completely addicted to Samoas. Will I ever let her join? Not a chance in hell. I think her time is better spent elsewhere.
My concern last year and probably this year as well (cookies are not on sale in our region yet) is that we are supposed to push the new gluten-free cookies. While that is a wonderful option so more people can enjoy cookies, the troop itself does not receive credit for these sales. Not one cent of the gluten-free sales last year went to the troop and did not count in the total cookie sales for any of the girls. It seems unfair to ask kids to sell a product where the profit ends up in unknown hands.
So it sounds like donations should go directly to individual troups instead of the organization as a whole, if people want to make donations that actually help the troups DO things. Is that the case?
I have been a Girl Scout leader for many years and truly believe in many aspects of the Girl Scouts. I currently have a troop at a transitional, homeless shelter. My girls have received support from the local, Girl Scout council, although I often have had to fight for the support. I have discovered that I can raise funds on my own to meet our needs. We do not sell cookies because I would never condone one of the families purchasing a box of cookies that is so expensive. Furthermore, they do not have transportation to work at booth sales. I am also upset that they have closed one of the two camps in our area. I do feel they have continuously cut staff. It is also frustrating that I feel so under appreciated by the local council—this is my 18th year as a leader. (My first nine years as the leader of a troop my daughter was in.) But, why do I continue? My homeless girls so desperately need something to belong to…..and Girl Scouts does provide a lower cost organization for them when compared to many athletic, fine arts activities in my area. I also had 18 girls in my first troop that earned Gold Awards which gave them tremendous community service and leadership opportunities. I appreciate you bringing to the forefront a huge problem, but with any large company there are issues and ways to improve. I hope you receive answers for all of the doubts we have about cookie sales but I’m still a believer in Girl Scouts.
(I am completely in love with you now. Well done. Is there a way to support the girls in your troop directly because I’d love to help and I suspect I’m not alone. I’ll email you in a second. ~ Jenny)
I’m my daughter’s girl Scout leader and I am so fed up with how poorly this organization is being run the last year and a half. They are unorganized, understaffed, and unresponsive. I continually am frustrated when trying to get answers to anything. They closed our local regional office, so I have to drive over an hour to talk in person to anyone or go shopping for badges. I have a bunch that should have been returned but can’t because the price of shipping or gas would be more than the badges, so I encourage the girls to earn them on their own. And I have a ton of badges to order but have to wait until they offer free shipping (this addition to prices makes it hard on the finances of the troop). It takes weeks for e-mail responses. It took me over 3 months to get one girl registered because her mom didn’t have a working computer and filled out a paper application instead of doing it online. I stopped going to leader meetings because they were so poorly run and unorganized it was torture and a waste of my time. Instead, I wait for the meeting minutes (when the person in charge remembers to send one). When my daughter first joined the membership manager was awesome. She was organized, personal, and helpful. She has since been promoted. She is wasting her talents in working for this non-profit and should go work for a company where she can earn to her potential. The organization is in serious trouble.
Pensions? Why? There are millions of people out there who work and will not get pensions.
What a shame. But nice activist work on your part. I’d hate to be the CEO of any company your own stock in! Keep up the pressure.
You = my idol. I don’t even have kids and I’m not a Girl Scouts cookie fan myself (except for those God damn Samoans…delicious) but this was fantastic. It’s super disappointing that they don’t make the girls their 100% focus because I really do believe in what it can do for them to be a part of the organization as I witnessed last year. No joke, I had a Girl Scout approach me to which I said “sure sweet young cherub, give me some Samoans,” and handed her a $20. With the $20 in hand and turning on her Scout charm (surely there is a badge for that) she said “you know…you can get two boxes for $15 instead of just one.” SOLD! Two boxes of Samoans were bought that day and I’m certain this girl will be massively successful in her life. The point is, focusing on THEM is the point here and pimping kids out to pay for their debt is called China or some other country that has sweatshops. I applaud you and your bravery to approach them! As you said, a lack of response seems to be the loudest form of an answer you could have received.
I’m with you…my whole family is very disappointed in all of this and more. Just to add on: the site to buy online for both cookies and magnuts doesn’t work and when I complained, I got snarky replies. Also, my daughter and I did some research about the palm oil that is used and we are disappointed that a group that says they stand by so much would use oils that are bad for the environment. Their answers again were manipulative and snarky…when you could finally get someone to reply. Adding to that, the activities are not geared to girls that can stand independently against the social norms of what a girl should be. Too many of the available programs are about beautification of their outward physical appearance and not the development of their minds. As it stands, I do not find that the organization as a whole is holding itself up to the standards that it says it represents. The only reason we continue is because of her leader and troop.
Reading the comments has made me extremely grateful to the two councils I’ve been involved with! While I haven’t heard anything about pension funds now I know to find out some answers to be able to tell anyone who asks at our cookie booths, Yes our troop gets $.60 a box, and we have funded going to camp, crafts, materials and other field trips ( one year a sleep over at the zoo, and this year we are shooting for a sleepover at the museum ) Not all troops and girls are in financial positions to do a lot of trips with out the $ that comes to them from cookie sales so as a leader I always try to stretch our $ as far as possible. I hate to see that the coporeate level is making this a bad experience and scaring off scouts! I’ve loved my involvement but a lot of that is that I enjoy making things fun for the girls and opening them up to adventures that they may never had had. Camp, Community service, or taking apart a toaster for science badge, are not necessarily things that some of these girls would have done otherwise. The comment from the mom that takes her daughter an hour and half away to a meeting so she can be included – kudos to you for making your daughter happy but shame on those leaders! My answer when ever I’ve been asked if I have room for another girl has been yes, and I think all the girls have had their lives enriched from interaction with each other.
Check out American Heritage Girls! Awesome alternative to GS!!
Both the Boy and Girl Scout organizations don’t work on a national level anymore. Find something small and local. We tried Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts with our kids. Then we found a karate class that teaches all the same values and self defense.
I don’t know if anyone else has already mentioned this, so to the person who may or may not have brought this up before, I apologize. I am too ADD to read thru all the comments. PLEASE correct me if I am wrong or out-dated but when I worked retail in Texas and Virginia it was not considered “illegal” to have surcharges on credit card transactions although it was against the terms of use on almost all major credit cards. So, if you brought light of that situation to the card companies, those companies then have the right to withhold their services to that business who was violating their terms of use. I would call the card companies. Also, thanks for bringing up terrible shipping prices. As someone who is constantly moved around, due to the military, I know the struggles of have to pay a million dollars in shipping ALL THE FREAKING TIME!!! Thanks for fighting for the little guy!!!!
Jenny, great letter! According to our council blog, congress DID vote to “smooth out” the GSUSA pension fund payments. This means that they still owe the money, but they can take a longer time to pay it off at a steady rate instead of the balloon payments that GSUSA had originally proposed. This is a great article on this issue here: http://philanthropy.com/article/FinancialLeadership-Woes/138335/ .
I am devastated to see GSUSA brand themselves as the preeminent leadership organization for girls, while refusing to listen to the majority of its own members. More on that in this article: http://www.trefoilintegrity.org/direction.html . Income from cookie sales make up about 70% of council budgets, yet girls have NO say at the council level in how the funds they bring in are allocated. Calling the cookie program a “financial literacy program” while refusing to allow girls to have a say in how their council will spend the money is a serious problem. ( yes, I know there is supposed to be a democratic process,etc. We just went to court over it. The appeals court says the council board is NOT obligated to respect the majority vote even when the members jump through all the hoops of said democratic process) There are individual troops that still do a great a great job. But unless the organization stops shooting itself in the foot, there will eventually be no one left who trusts them.
Thanks for enlightening us. I too was a Girl Scout for only couple of years, totally enjoyed it! Hopefully you will get the answers to valid questions you’ve asked. I sold cookies when they were .50 a box.now they’re $4.00 a box. I will again buy them from the two little girls at the school where I work, because as you said it’s not their fault.
My youngest daughter spent about 7 years in Girl Scouts. By the time she was done I was so disappointed that Girl Scouts USA just seemed to view her as a dollar sign. The programs and camps were never cheap and her troop always had to do a lot of fundraising. The last two years she was involved her troop had to agree to participate in the fall product (nuts/candy) sale and cookie sales for the council to be able to have any other fundraisers throughout the year, and all fundraisers had to be approved by the council. But they’re learning to be entrepreneurs. Yeah right. They’re learning to do the work for someone else and get the short end of the stick and not complain about it.
I am also a GS Leader, for the last 6 years in South Florida. I have never been particularly happy with GS USA…. I will say that our local council has been cut every which way but Sunday, and some really good people have been lost. We do participate in both the fall nut/magazine and cookie sales. Locally, the council has not passed on any information as to the pension funds, however they have been hounding us to add girls because enrollment is way down. I was not happy to get an email a few months ago asking/requiring that all troops enroll a minimum of 2 new girls within a months timeframe. My girls are at an age where they are dropping like flies because they are in middle school. It seems to me that both GS USA and local councils concentrate on the younger scouts and don’t consider the older ones likes/ interests.
We start with a base of $.65 cents per box, and can earn up to $.72 with different incentives, and if our service unit sells more than last year, then we can earn another $.03, .06, or .09 per box based on the total increase. It may not be much, but it is a lot more than other councils give, and helps out our troop a great deal.
I will continue as a scout leader as long as my daughter wants to be a scout, but each year I am more and more disappointed in the organization as a whole…. We are lucky, however, that we still have three campgrounds available that are in good shape, two with live in rangers.
“Yes, $11.25 is crazy for one box but reasonable for 6 boxes.”
So, single people like me that only want one or two boxes are just screwed and it sucks to be us?
Sheesh. If that’s the approach you’re advocating, I’ll just go hit up my supermarket for Keebler copies instead.
This conversation has been ongoing for two years at least about the pension. As for online cookie sales, haven’t heard about profits, most I have heard is the issue with the setting it up, shipping.
Councils set their own prices per box for cookies, not GSUSA. Each council sets the profit teer.
We get 50 cents a box until we meet the per girl average then we get more, honestly couldn’t tell you what it is as I don’t look at it or worry about it.
All troops or girls can choose to sell or not sell. We sell only to finance the troop. BUT we don’t go out and push push push. What ever we have at the end of sales, that is what gets us thru the next year.
I tell all parents THIS is not a competition, this is us trying to finance the troop so we aren’t asking you for money.
No I don’t think the girls should be held responsible for the poor decisions of those with the title of CEO regardless if it is National or council.
These are good questions and it is sad that you haven’t gotten a response to it. But it is more sad that the questions are having to be asked at all. I personally think they don’t know how to answer, because their focus is on the pension and what happens if councils can’t make the payments.
They need to look at the amount of staff in National, they need to look at finding someplace else to put the National office other than NY. They need to do so much, but first they need to stop trying to be something to everyone, and start being something to the girls they already have registered. I feel the same with about BSA and 4H, and campfire girls and another youth organization.
I will stay in GSUSA, we have a great group of girls. My Daughters goal is to complete Silver and Gold. and She wants to join a venturing group thru BSA , and will do this. because she is interested.
Our parents only pay for their daughters uniform, the troop funds cover badges, and registrations. and some or low income. Boycotting isn’t an option, but I don’t think we would even consider it. Our girls like to sell, because we keep it low key and make sure it is not the main reason for our troop.
sorry for the long response.
I too was not pleased with the shipping prices and stipulations that accompanied online orders when our council shared the information. As a troop leader I have passed along the information for ordering online to my parents, and then told them I do not recommend doing sales this way because of how high the cost is, and the supposed inability to mix and match flavors as the customer choses. Sadly this is not something that should be overlooked. Even worse is those same communication issues go all the way down to the folks working in the council offices locally (or at least they do in North Texas). It’s frustrating as a leader and volunteer to have to fight so hard for the betterment of a group that is meant to empower girls/women.
I was excited to hear about the online sales option in a news story a couple of months ago, thinking that the Girl Scouts had finally come into the 21st century (Boy Scouts have been selling their popcorn online for at least the last four years my son’s been in scouts). When I asked our council rep about it, however, she informed me that our council was not participating in online sales because the cost of shipping was something stupid like $2/box. I’ve always felt that the troops that do all the actual work get the shaft when it comes to funds earned. It comes down to $0.65 for each $4 box of cookies, which is only 16.25%. At least the Boy Scout troops get 30-35%!
The cookie program is about teaching young women to be effective businessfolk.
In its current incarnation, it seems phenomenally ill-suited to that task.
I won’t be supporting it for the time being, because it is not accomplishing its purpose, and because the pocketbook appears to be the only thing “management” is looking at, so that’s the only way to get their attention on this issue.
When that changes, so will my response.
I was a girl scout for 12 years – not a super-motivated one, but a dedicated one, nonetheless. When I had a daughter, I was excited to be a future leader, which I am now. (She’s 9.) I, too, have felt these exact same concerns to the point of considering breaking off and just having a neighborhood club so the girls can can fun, be social, gain some confidence, and give back to their community. We can do all that without the umbrella of any organization but, of course, it’s nice to have that structure and policy and history already in place. I look forward to whatever response you get so that the rest of us who share those concerns can see clearly the organization we are investing ourselves and our girls in. Thanks for getting involved.
Tell Hailey that I LOVE to see the girls out selling cookies outside the grocery store. It gives me, the introvert, a very easy way to get cookies and avoid the pressure from door to door sales and from Girl Scout Moms pushing it at me at work. I can simply buy a box of whatever suits my mood at the moment right there at the grocery store with a simple transaction. Go Hailey!
My sister and I took over a brownie troop 2 years ago. We were excited. We have been in girl scouts throughout school and mom was a troop leader.
We were totally disappointed in the lack of resources and support for us. Everything was so expensive! To get funds fo girls in need paperwort had to be completed for each thing.
Cookie sales were a joke. We only got a small margin of the profits for thw troop. We also had a parent not turn in money and we were told there was nothing the council could do. Needless to say we quit. The girl scouts has certainly changed since I was a little girl. It is no longer an organization to empower young girls rather a way for child labor.
This (and several other reasons) is why we chose American Heritage Girls for our daughter and NOT girl scouts.
Dear Jenny,
I hope whenever you have your anxiety attacks and depression, you will be able to summon up this thought to cut through the haze and shine like a beacon:
I am a kick-ass mom and I help others, too. Now give me my damn cape.
Just thinking of the year I sold hundreds of boxes of girl scout cookies and then my mom had to break the news to me that despite being to sales in my troop, she couldn’t afford to buy the patches I “earned” so we had to go weeks later to the council office to buy them. I would have made out better going door to door asking neighbors for a few dollars to go to camp.
Is there a way to donate to local girl scouts without buying cookies? I don’t need the calories nor the chemicals that are in the cookies, but I’d like to support the girls. And, I’d like all of my money to go to them, not an organization that appears to have gotten too big for its own good.
I learned, years ago, that the girls only got 25-cents per box sold (they were $4/box at that time), so I gave up buying the boxes and just gave the girl five bucks cash to give to her commander, figuring that would be cheaper for me ($-wise and hip-wise) and would help that group more than my 2-box order of thinmints and samoa cookies. (it’s been awhile; I probably misspelled those both) Put me in with the group who is disgusted with the lack of answers you’re getting. I think you’re spot-on here, and should likely go with your Dr Who club.
Girl Scout Council staff member chiming in. It’s important to remember that there are just over 100 councils in the country and they are each run separately of GSUSA. We are, of course, chartered by them and have some things that we have to adhere to, but there is a lot of leeway given to each council as to how they operate. (My council has been a bit of a ‘black sheep’ at times because we don’t always do what GSUSA would prefer we do!)
I can’t comment on the pension stuff because even as a staff member, I don’t feel well enough informed to answer the questions you have – I’m not high enough in the power structure. However, I do feel it important to point out that the pension thing is such a big issue because of a process GSUSA started about 12 years ago called realignment in which they re-drew Council boundary lines nationwide, taking us from 316 councils to the just over 100 we have now. In the process of these mergers, they offered an early retirement plan which many people took advantage of (and I can’t blame them for that.) That is a big part of why there’s so much imbalance in the pension fund.
Secondly, about the cookie shipping costs. There are two bakeries that make GS Cookies and it sounds like your Council is with Little Brownie Baker. (My council is with ABC and we do not have an individual box purchase option. We also don’t have online payment unless you are getting them shipped. If your cookies are being delivered by a GS, you pay in person.) So, I would strongly recommend to get in touch with Little Brownie in hopes that they might address your specific cookie questions.
And finally, in any organization that has millions of members nationwide, not everyone is going to do the right thing. But, I hope, and I have to believe that the majority of us do. I’ve been a Girl Scout for over 30 years. It is the biggest part of who I am. I believe in our Promise and Law and I know that the people I work with do too. I promise you, none of us are getting rich off cookies. I work two jobs and at times, have had a third. Many of the people I work with have to have a second job as well. And when it comes to cookie sales, at least in my Council, 75% of the money stays in the local Council. Our troops can make anywhere from $.57 to $.75 a box. We pay about $1/box to the cookie company and the other $2.25 to $2.43 stays local – to provide program, to keep up our camps, to fund outreach. Not a penny goes to GSUSA.
Oh, and yes, we absolutely have had girls at booths get crazies telling them, ‘nope, can’t buy cookies because it funds abortions.’ Ridiculous!
(Well said. The local councils are unique and some are AMAZING as you can see here in the comments. Some could be better. That’s true with any organization. Thanks for your work! ~ Jenny)
Thank you for asking questions. I hope you get answers. I have been a GS for over 35 years. I love Girl Scouts! Yes, every council isn’t perfect, neither is every troop or leader. Most are wonderful. I am reading some crazy stuff here, however. ” I wanted to quit and they wouldn’t let me”??? Talk to your parents! The GS didn’t make you stay in! “I see my son doing more in Biy Scouts… Wish my daughter did more in GS”. Well, what are YOU doing to help your daughter’s volunteer leader? “Join the gd campfire girls” “this is f’ing awesome”….. Really???? Nice language while talking about your daughters and Girl Scouting! Many will pay hundreds for dance , sports, etc. Girl Scouting is very inexpensive. You are not required to buy a uniform, you are not required to participate in any of the fundraising, and there is no contract should she decide she is no longer interested. Cookie sale money is troop money not girl money so not participating does keep her from participating in troop activities. Girl Scouting isn’t perfect nor is it for everyone. It is one of the few proactive organizations for girls. I said few not only! It can be a wonderful experience. Be a part of it, help your leader and let your daughter enjoy. 🙂
Again, thanks for asking questions. I hope you get answers soon.
I never did the Girl Guides/Scouts thing, but I can’t but buy cookies when the girls are selling them. I would HATE to put myself in that ‘cold call’ position, but I think it’s so important for children to put effort into their rewards. Standing for hours at a time, or going door to door, is a disappearing endeavour. I think I’m rambling but basically what I’m saying is this should be about the girls being rewarded for hard work. And i love thin mints. Oh and Dr. Who 🙂
Not participating does NOT keep her from …. Sorry for typo
I didn’t know they did online cookie sales. Half the fun of being a Brownie and Girl Scout was going door-to-door getting orders and delivering. Oh, and having your parent take your order form into work because then you got sales without having to do a thing. Shame some girls won’t get to experience that.
So, I am sad about $11.25 shipping for cookies because that is ridiculous. And I am here to say that even things said to adults matter. My sister-in-law, who I will always hate because of this one comment said over 16 years ago, in reference to me, a young bride holding her new nephew (trying to fit into a giant, Catholic family of nine siblings, having grown up with one sister and four cousins.) “Look at him, he’ll just go with ANYONE.” I know it’s dumb. I know it’s stupid. But that comment is branded into my brain. I didn’t grow up with “the family” like she did, I was insecure and wanted to fit in, I had no experience with large families and no experience with babies, and this just cut me to the heart. It really did. Words hurt souls, people. Think about it.
I agree. Tired of Girl Scout “rules” and “regs”. Can’t even get a call back for troop placement and I’ve called over three times and the same number of emails about it. So sick of changing programs all the time too. Will have to look into 4H as the local Campfire Girls and Boys is a clique too. Didn’t know they had camp.
Just freaking ridiculous. Seriously.
On a positive note, I was calling to book a hotel room yesterday (gonna escape the Minions! WOOT!) and when I gave her my email addy, she was puzzled, til I explained that it was for my blog.
Then, quoth her, “Have you heard of Bloggess?”
Yes, indeedy, I have. And that’s in wee, not anywhere you’ve heard of, Canadian town.
“Are you like her?” She asked.
“In my dreams…in my dreams.” was my answer.
As a former GS and now successful adult with glorious memories of camp, selling cookies (as it was a BLAST), roasting marshmallows, learning survival techniques, and most important IMHO helping those less fortunate than my family/myself, gaining self confidence, learning it was OK to be unique/special and making friends when I was one of those girls who was different I think all these questions are valuable, important and espouse the ideals of the GS ethos.
That being said – I’d like to broach a bit more in depth some ideas for “doing business” with GIrl Scouts you encounter (regardless if it’s at your door, mall or grocery store) which I do as a result of experiences I encountered as a GS, having witnessed other people do or not do when encountering scouts and just plain ole’ kindness.
Before I state my approach, I ask you to please Remember these are girls, not adults, and should not be held responsible for higher level business management practices which are beyond their control. They are excited about doing their part, for a multitude of reasons, and deserve courtesy even if you aren’t interested in their product.
Some suggestions: Thank you for helping others by being here today. What badges have you earned? What’s YOUR favorite cookie? Etc etc. but the biggest thing I’ve noticed is that the girls LOVE a thank you, recognizing that they are doing something productive and valuable for their community and themselves even if you’re not buying cookies. It helps with confidence and shows manners which is something everyone “should” want to display and instill in the next generation. Do not forget, your money/purchase isn’t the only aspect of their effort they retain. I still remember horrible things said or behavior exhibited from my sales days. Please do not ignore and pretend these kids don’t exist or have engaged you just because you don’t want to participate. We “teach” by example positively as well as negatively, even if it’s not entirely conscious.
I try and say TY to the Mom-a-teers as well. They are there helping, and as this thread shows over and over, often at sacrifice to their time, money and sanity. Yes, it may or may not be their children, but everyone likes a TY now and then. And remember the girls couldn’t be there, making their life memories, learning and having fun without these people. (This also means enabling you to get your cookie fix LOL).
Bottom line, be respectful to the GS please. Remember you CAN contribute to them without spending money. And please don’t pretend that they haven’t addressed you. Even if your on the phone when walking by and they’re waiting to give their pitch, a smile shows you heard them, even if you can’t speak.
Just my two cents, but “I” believe it’s SENSE well spent! No need to forget the word community and how you knowingly or unknowingly contribute to it.
There are a lot of people who won’t buy those cookies anymore anyway because they’re made with GMO ingredients.
For anyone unfamiliar with GMOs, please look into it. They’ve been used in US food production since the mid-90s with no labeling required. 🙁
Please look for the info on the wonderful young Girl Scout who made a petition to get the Girl Scouts to switch to non-GMO ingredients. Unfortunately the GS head office gave her a terrible run-around, but I hope she can continue to make progress on the issue.
How disappointing. GS was a HUGE part of my growing up, and I used to read the back our order forms and note how little of the money came to our troop then, but it didn’t matter because we got to go to camp and I earned a teddy bear in second grade which I STILL HAVE because my parents couldn’t afford one and I EARNED one myself by selling HUNDREDS of boxes of cookies, even when I was the only little girl at the booth sale trying to sell those last 20 boxes.
I cannot express in words how valuable that silly little panda bear was and still is to me. It wasn’t just a bear, it was evidence that I could achieve my goals and earn what I wanted. It was confidence. I was the shy kid who would rather have DIED than asked if a stranger wanted to buy a box of cookies. But, I did it. And, because I worked hard, I got what I had wanted for years – a teddy bear (well, it was a panda, but close enough).
Seriously, guys, it’s not the little girls who are the problem. They are still learning and earning and growing. They are building confidence and learning life lessons about how we relate to one another and what is acceptable behavior and ethical business practices.
The disappointing part is how the GS organization is unwilling or unable to account for the ethics in this situation. I sincerely and TRULY hope this changes. I love GS. Very much. I will always because of what they meant to me as a little girl. I was the little girl helped by the cookie box sales and whose weekly 50 cent dues were paid for by them and whose trips to camp were funded by cookie sales. I want this for other girls. So, so much.
I am still buying cookies this year. But, I will be buying them from the little girls who ask me. I have always had a policy to buy a box from every girl who asked, and this doesn’t change this year. But, I will not be buying them online. At least not as long as this is so ambiguous.
P.S. I went on to earn my silver and gold awards and run a troop of my own and lead camps for our service unit. 🙂
Oh, and ignore typos. I didn’t proofread. (Obviously…)
I am the Cookie mom for my high school daughter’s troop and have the same issues you so eloquently discuss here. The shipping seems ridiculous! I am eager to learn about your response and agree with all that we need to be kind to the girls selling cookies. Thanks, Jenny.
Hi Jenny: 1) You are awesome; 2) Your daughter has a great role model in you; 3)
Thank you for using your platform to stand up for the girls – I never would have known about this if you hadn’t written about it; 4) I tweeted out your post, for whatever good that will do; 5) You are awesome.
Happy New Year.
I did Camp Fire because I could be single-sex or co-ed and even though the candy isn’t as cool as the cookies, the camps were awesome! Way to support your daughter. I’m cheering for you!
The ONLY thing that made Girl Scouts fun for me & my sister was that my Mom & her best friend were our co-leaders. They made everything as fun as possible. They only barely obeyed the rules, pranking the heck out of the counsellors when we went to camp. They also saved a girl’s life; racing to town when the power was out to buy some Benadryl because she didn’t know she was allergic to horses & the camp didn’t keep it on hand. They always made sure that everyone in our tiny troop could participate in every activity. As soon as the drama of the “grown-ups” got to be too much, though, they stopped & we quit the Girl Scouts.
Now that I’ve had time to read through all the comments, I just wanted to answer/address some other random questions/comments that I don’t think I’ve seen responses to. 🙂
Pensions are no longer offered/being funded. They were frozen about 5 years ago but the Councils who offered them (and no, not all Councils opted into the pension plan when it first began in the 70s – as you have pointed out, it’s about 90% of them) are legally obligated to fulfill the contracts made with those employees and pay out the amounts earned to that point.
I don’t think the calendar fundraiser is an option anymore? I haven’t heard anything about calendars in a couple of years at least.
Both bakers are offering a gluten-free cookie this year. ABC’s is called Trios and is a peanut-butter/oatmeal/chocolate chip. I think it tastes really good! I don’t know anything about Little Brownie’s GF cookie. And yes, the GF are generally a little more expensive. The reason we’re given is because of having to be made in a separate facility.
To me, the direct sales system is really just semantics. Just because a girl had gone around with her order card and had various people order, say 50 boxes, was no guarantee that those people would actually pay when she went back to deliver. I know I’ve had people say, ‘oh yeah, not gonna get those after all.’ So I would have to find someone else to buy them. In most Councils, once the cookies are checked out by the troop, the troop is responsible for paying the Council for their portion. (I do know of at least one Council that does allow returns, but I’m pretty sure most do not.) But ordering conservatively should never be an issue; when we have a hesitant leader, we actually encourage a small initial order and remind them that they can come to a cookie cupboard as often as needed. Our Council, as I’m sure most do, has cookies available for troops to get continually during the cookie sale period.
I always like to tell people that pretty much all the Girl & Boy Scouts have in common is that their founders were friends. (There’s a little more than that – but not much.)
As for shipping costs, I’m pretty sure that the company that ABC is using is going to be shipping via UPS. That accounts for some of the expense. But last year, I personally shipped 12 boxes in a Large Flat Rate box from the USPS (and just barely fit them all in – that box was bulging!) and the postage on that is like $16. So I don’t think the shipping is really unreasonable for 6, 8 or 12 boxes, which are the only options for ABC councils. The big companies like Amazon and Walmart.com, etc, have really spoiled us all.
And finally – just a personal opinion – the incentives at your Council sound terrible Jenny! Our prizes are cumulative, but at every earning level, $6 in cookie dough is an option and at a certain box level, it goes up to $12. By the time you hit 400 boxes, you can earn more than $50 in cookie dough – which can be used for camp, council programs, dues, the Council store, etc. We also offer a free overnight camp program and our top three sellers receive college scholarships.
I apologize for rambling on and on. I’m someone who never comments on internet stuff, but this is obviously near and dear to my heart. And I really, really hope that GSUSA responds to your questions.
So I was CFO for a council for 15 years and have watched the organization go from the premier organization for girls to what it is now, a severely mismanaged organization with senior management that does not know or understand the foundational aspect of GS. I left when I saw where things were headed and was unable to sway anyone that the managerial direction was wrong. So to the pension issue: from 2007-2011,GSUSA decided to consolidate councils from 340 separate corporate entities to 120 nationwide. When the pilot was announced I reached out to everyone I knew at GSUSA saying it was a mistake. Prior to this effort, annual pension liability was about 3% of salaries. Now with merging and closing 220 councils, that also meant termination of over 200 CEOs, CFOs,And other senior management that in most cases had over 15 years and up to 40 years of service as professional staff. These were the highest paid beneficiaries of the Defined Benefit Pension plan that was in place. To streamline the closures, in many cases GSUSA allowed early retirements and with all of those retiring from the closed councils, the pension moved from having a well timed funding plan to bring severely overextended. So the following year pension expense rose to 15% of salaries and has continued to rise to fund the retirement of people that were forced out to “save on redundancy” of positions. Now about 55% of expenses for councils is direct labor costs, and approx 65% of the operating income comes from product sales (cookies, nuts, calendars). So with the pension cost being tied to what a council pays for staff, a huge burden has been grown and revenue is not scaling with it, so cookie prices are escalating at an extreme rate. But commodities needed to make cookies are also increasing and councils are not paying the two bakeries with increases, so the bakeries are shrinking the size of the boxes and giving less cookies per box. This is turning people off to buying more boxes, so councils are losing revenue and are selling assets to keep the doors open. GSUSA senior management (there are approx 400 employees at GSUSA in their offices at 420 Fifth Ave two blocks from the Empire State Building in Manhattan, swank!, with over 40 people sporting “Chief xxxx Officer” titles that are abdurd) has spent over $10 million replacing a membership system that didn’t need replacement, is bleeding reserves on stupid and vapid directions, and even spent over $100,000 remodeling Anna Chavez’s executive bathroom. This so called “CEO” prior to coming to girl scouts in 2009, had never run a business, hired or fired staff, created a budget, developed a plan of work, or anything related to managing an institution like GSUSA. But she was the right “minority” as was related to me by Bob Peradeaux who led the search committee. Anna was the legal council to our esteemed Director of Homeland Security when she was Governor of Arizona. So Anna never had to make a budget. Now, she has no F***ing idea what she is doing and is driving this org into the ground, with what I believe is a plan to step off the bus before it goes over a cliff sending Girl Scouts to the same fate as Camp Fire Girls, and sliding into a lobbyists job in DC. She is what is wrong with the organization and has surrounded herself with only people that affirm her “brilliance” and has terminated anyone at GSUSA that argued against her for the better of the organization. She also has hand picked the board of directors, so no one is there to police her as she kills this wonderful organization. I now know what it looks like to see a institution die. Thank you, Mrs. Chavez for that.
My youngest daughter is a Brownie and loves it, except the camping which, to me, is both funny and ironic. We stopped selling last year. Same questions I had with my older daughter way back in 1997. We didn’t sell then either……
Hi all,
I sent an email to the CEO of GS via their website to let them know that many people are waiting on a reply to Jenny’s queries. If you want to do the same here is the addy:
https://www.girlscouts.org/contact/email.asp
I put this in the subject line: Attention – CEO, Anna M. Chávez
And here is what I put in the body of the email (cos I’m hoping numbers ‘talk’):
Hi – I thought I had better let you know that no-one has answered the query by Jenny Lawson (aka The Bloggess) concerning some aspects of cookie sales.
As of today her site has received 512 comments (many expressing the same concerns as well as additional concerns), 500 people have tweeted a link to her page and over 12,000 people have liked her page. Additionally, 2393 people liked her initial facebook post about this issue, 199 left a comment and 942 shared the post.
As you can see this is not just one person expressing their concern. Many people are waiting on feedback which so far has not eventuated.
On a personal note I would advise you to read all of the comments that have been posted as they give a very good overview of how your organisation is faring.
Many thanks,
Karen Walsh
Going it interesting that Little brownie Baker is selling Girl Scout cookies on Amazon. Wonder who the proceeds are going to?
I benefitted from both 4H and YMCA/YWCA camps growing up. Maybe Hailey would find a great way to grow her spirit and friendships through a program that is much more honest and transparent about their funding. Good luck this year, Hailey. I promise not to yell at any little girls selling cookies. However, I can’t support an organization that so blatantly uses the girls in the organization in such a dishonest way.
Its so sad that something meant to help girls go to camp has turned into a political minefield. I see it in cub scouts too, as I am a den leader – the gods gave me a son, not a daughter. Don’t worry Hailey, we don’t scream at the girl scouts…we only stalk them this time of year because we love our favorite flavors of cookies!
The problem here is that the Girl Scouts are using the S/H Charges to pad their pension. They probably have their own separately owned fulfillment facilities – which is a middle-man to UPS or the Post Office, so they can write off expenses and losses on that S/H and filter it away from the 501(c)(3) status. You see, if they start taking too much of the outright sales towards pension application – that isn’t considered charitable, since it’s towards employee pay – and part of the rules for 501 status is maintaining a specific % or less of such.
It’s all a horrible scam, even ignoring the fact that they have a child-labor force of millions that go unpaid. In fact, the parents of this child labor pay the dues that funnel up. If one does the math based just on the current GS enrollment, under dues paid yearly, the Girl Scouts of America makes 31.9 MILLION dollars in dues. That’s no joke. That’s Annual. And those dues don’t funnel back to local troops. At least about 20% to 25% of the profit from cookies used to go to local troops – but who knows if that’s going to be the case anymore.
I quit girl scouts when I found out the boys got to go backpacking while we did lame crafts. But I still buy from the kids in front of the grocery, because it isn’t their fault. Being forced to shill stuff for scouts or for school was traumatizing for a shy kid.
I was a Girl Scout for 20 years. My mother was my leader and worked her way up to neighborhood director for all of that time. Even as a kid I didn’t understand why the council had paid employees who were not volunteers. I know my mother and fellow troop leaders felt looked down on by paid employees since they were amateur and therefore their opinions and knowledge didn’t count. As for being yelled at, more than once I was told off because as a Junior or Cadet I wasn’t a cute little Brownie and therefore I was taking sales away from cute little Brownies. Granted, these were people who believed that only Brownies were actually Girl a Scouts and didn’t understand how the ranks worked. Still, it got old quick. Plus the usual number of tools who couldn’t just say no politely. And since my mother was the troop leader I was not allowed to miss any cookie booth and had to fill in for any troop member who did. I still have post cookie booth traumatic stress disorder :). I wonder if anyone else had any issues with Wider Opportunities like my troop did. I don’t know if they even do that anymore, actually. Anyway, for four years we all applied and interviewed and never got accepted for one. But other girls from troops in the better parts of town whose mom’s knew the interviewers went every year. I never thought that was fair. I finally got to go to my second choice when I was a Senior and it was my last chance. I just figured maybe I got lucky or someone noticed the Senior part or the selection system finally worked the way it should. I spent two weeks in Wyoming and Yellowstone Park and had a great time. Years later my mom tells me I only got to go because she called in some favors at the last minute. Which just pisses me off all over again about the whole thing. How many girls never got to go once while a favored few went four times? On the troop level, I really liked it and we did cool stuff all the time, camping and crafts and trips. Mostly because my mom was a cool leader. And I always went to summer camp. It is very sad that now girls won’t be able to have that experience. Maybe if the paid employees had ever volunteered or been hired from the bottom up they would understand troops and girls better. And maybe honor the Girl Scout Law while they’re at it. Also, Jenny, just a small correction. Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are related. Sort of like cousins. Not business or financially, but historically and socially, at least when I was one. Which is not to say that I ever met a Boy Scout that I thought wasn’t a complete gomer. Always prepared my ass. But that’s another story. It’s because Lord Baden Powells organization inspired the creation of a similar group for girls in the first place. Juliette knew him. Also, just fyi, the first generation of Girl Scouts did all the same cool stuff the boys did. It didn’t get girly until later, probably I the 50’s like so much other backwards stuff for women’s rights and all. There’s an awesomely cool old black and white silent movie for recruitment purposes that they showed my troop when we were Brownies. Don’t remember the nname, but it showed girls for ding rivers, using Morse code and semaphore to rescue folks from a flood, bandaging the wounded etc. It made me want to learn semaphore when I was 10. You might like it if you can find it.
I was a Cambridge Girl Scout leader for ten years. I had 13 amazing girls. We kayaked, camped, took tours of water treatment plants, snow shoeing, rock wall climbed, did science experiments at MIT, fashion at Mass Art. In all those years GS Council never gave us a penny. Some programming for leaders had a fee charge (I refused to go to those). They charged me and my co-leader for mandatory First Aid training (we had to sell many cookies to send us @ 60 cents a box) New Troops never got start up money. I had a mixed income troop so we never did the horrid cookie prizes. Kids with parents in office buildings sold many, my GS living in one bedroom with her mom and two sisters could not! Girl Scouts has the largest free child workforce in our country!! We gave the Council thousands of dollars in cookies (Harvard Square sales). Girl Scouts need to make money in other ways than from the backs of girls and their volunteer leaders!! I LOVE my girls (now college age) and they told me their experience changed their lives, I did it for them. Janet, troop 1738
You know, I am very disappointed in Girl Scouts of America, and GS of Iowa. I don’t despise them as much as the Boy Scouts because at least the girl Scouts have figured out that differences should be embraced. But I co-led a troop for 4 years and it was a lovely multi-age group with amazing girls and parents. But the cookie sales were ridiculous. And required in order to be a troop! You were required to participate either in nut sales or cookie sales to be a troop! So we spent the first half of the year teaching the girls about healthy bodies, and good business models in the community, and local foods, etc and then the second half of the school year teaching them instead to peddle incredibly unhealthy cookies, and follow a horrible business model whereby they and the parents work their asses off for 60 cents a box troop profit. We literally shut down our troop because of cookie sales. I would love for my girls to participate in an organization that is local and promotes healthy bodies and minds and has camp options, etc. Girl scouts currently is NOT it. I think I will need to create my own version in all of my spare time.
We joined GS this year and I haven’t heard from anyone. Our local council doesn’t seem to be organized either. The fees for the online shop are crazy and total bull. It is supposed to make things easier for the girls to sell cookies. That is madness. I want her to enjoy things like STEM camps. I hope they answer you soon.
My sister in law was a mom who took charge of a bunch of cookies (I guess some sort of coordinator or something) and when a bunch of them never sold she gave them back to the girl scouts. Now 2 to 3 years later they have sent her an attorney’s letter saying she owes them $2100 for missing cookies. I realize this is most likely a single person who didn’t do their job and properly record the returned cookies (or worse someone intentionally chose not to record credit for returning the cookies, or kept the cookies for themselves), but it’s just one more example of something going wrong with the cookie program.
I volunteer at an agency whose funding demands they have a certain percentage of the work there done by volunteers. So a few times a week I am sitting with a family who’s young child has been the victim of child sexual abuse — helping the child and family understand a complicated legal system and figuring out how to move on with their lives. If a position that is as sensitive as that can get by with volunteers, then why isn’t the Girl Scouts using more volunteers? Pension schmension.
Wanted to repost this to my group…received a notice that I am unable to repost as some have complained that this blog entry is ‘abusive’ and cannot repost. Hmmm…..
I tried to repost your Blog article onto a Girl Scout Group I am in and received a FB notice that I cannot repost as the Blog article has been reported as ‘Abusive’. Hmmm….I really do not see any abuse of the truth here.
(The hell? That doesn’t seem right. Can you send me a screenshot? Thx! ~ Jenny)
I was a Girl Scout all through my childhood – from Brownies through Seniors. My mom was my leader. I even worked at Girl Scout camps in college. My daughter is 6 and she will not be joining Girl Scouts. I’ve not been happy with everything that I’ve heard about Girl Scouting recently – from the council consolidations to camp closures to over-priced cookies that barely go to supporting Scouts.
I have been out of the blog loop lately but this is this first post I’ve read in awhile and it makes me feel even more disheartened about what my daughter and her generation have to look forward to. I had no idea the cookie issue was this bad! I know that when I was in girl scouts it was a pretty big difference in what our troop kept from cookie sales and what we sold them for but that is a bit ridiculous. I was considering starting my little one as a brownie but I don’t know that I will!
Michelle – I was also a Campfire Girl (WOHELO!) and thought Russell Stover chocolates were a better thing to sell than cookies anyhow. Our camp was also really cool. My daughter joined Brownies because her brother was in Boy Scouts but left after just a few months because her troop leader said Brownies didn’t go camping, just older scouts. Since her brother had been camping since he was a Cub, my daughter thought that was pretty lame. Anyhow, I hope GSUSA gets its act together because (as we say in the great state of Texas) this is bullshit.
I was a Girl Scout from Brownies until I reached High School (many, many years ago). My niece was a Girl Scout from Brownies through Seniors, and she had a wonderful experience. Her mother (my sister) was her leader for a number of years (if not all of them) and I never heard anything bad. I even bought cookies from her and I live in Texas and she in Colorado. I am very disappointed to hear about the issues being discussed here. This is the first I heard about any of this. I certainly hope a sufficient response can be made to the questions raised, and that the best interests of the girls who are members will be best served. I am sure Juliet Low would be very disappointed.
Keep fighting the good fight
I am a leader but my council chose not to participate in online sales this year. Thank god. I have a question or a thought. I don’t believe that GS sees the shipping and handling, I believe that has come from little brownie baker’s company since they are (from what I understand) shipping directly from factory from online sales. Either way it definitely needs fixing and realize this is the first year doing online sales and I am sure it will not and obviously not perfect. As far as money to pensions that is rough..behind the times certainly needs more information yep, but to lump ALL GS into this as a global unit is actually quite wrong. Yes, GS has a USA branch but each STATE has it own version..it is called Council. Each council has its own budget and breakdown of where funds are distributed. You can obtain a copy of your budget usually directly if you attend your councils annual meeting. My council actually is working on putting more money in these areas that others are taking from theirs. I ask that you view your councils individually and what they are hard at work or not hard at work doing for girls, but to say and to judge all of GS on this one epic fail so far for online sales and what another branch of girl scouts might have to do to meet budget isn’t and should not be meant that all GS is evil and money hungry and not girl orientate etc etc.
This may seem, I am supporting or defending GS. In a way, I am but I too have concerns about gs but they are because parents have learned how to cheat and manipulate the system which is entirely a whole different rant. I just ask that before you jump on the Ihategirlscoutcookiessalesbecause bandwagon that as she indicate at the end of her blog post. Your troops leader, parent helpers and especially girls still in gs selling in front of you local store are workingoing damn hard for their .75 cents a box (my council) and have no clue what yahoo’s are doing in the corporate office. They are kindergarten and first graders, seniors and Cadets that believe that some how they will and can make a difference and that as girls we are strong and we can be leaders and we deseve more and with each sale gives them a chance to help make a step towards that. In the end that to me is worth it. I have seen beautiful changes in girls in my troop of 19 and growing from Daisy’s to cadets. It would touch your heart.
Still no update or am I missing something?
(No update. I’ve had some nice feedback from the Girl Scout twitter account but they haven’t given me permission to quote them. As it stands though, I think the bill to give them more time to pay off their pension debt passed last year but I can’t get any confirmation on if that means they’ll be able to keep helping at-risk girls, etc. No idea why no one is saying that, or why the Girl Scout page still says this is an issue. There are some good comments explaining why the shipping might be so high but nothing from a spokesperson.
In other words, it might be much better than it looks, but the other issues other people are having are a concern as well. I think the main thing I’ve learned here is that if you have a great local council or great leaders and volunteers it makes a tremendous difference, and that the Girl Scouts is in serious need of a communication revamp, because lack of response just creates suspicion.
Here’s the ideal way this would have been taken care of: When we emailed the council a month ago to ask what’s going on with this pension stuff they would have said “Good news! The flexibility bill passed so we’re going to be able to pay off the debt AND still do everything we always do.” Then I’d say “Great! Make sure you update your website” and they’d say, “Wow! Great point! That sort of misinformation could really affect sales!” and then I’d say, “No kidding! Thanks for the response. I was afraid this would create a giant issue and I’d spend tons of time emailing people and contacting the CEO and writing posts and updates and getting bogged down in something that would only take a second to answer” and they’d say “Ha! That would be crazy! Also, we forgot to tell you that shipping is going to be stupid expensive if you do the online sales thing but here’s an exact breakdown of the costs involved so you can see that the money is all accounted for and isn’t being used to pad accounts or anything” and I’d say, “Wow, that is expensive, but this information is helpful and will let us have the verbiage we need to explain to customers. It’s this sort of proactive communication that’s exactly why I’m so happy to volunteer my time! By the way, I also was very upset about another issue I was considering writing about, but this level of communication makes me think that I can talk to you directly about it. Please see attachment.” And they’d be like, “Wow. Those are excellent and easily enacted improvements we could use to make our organization so much better. We can’t make any promises, but we’ll definitely make sure someone in charge of this looks at these issues. Please let us know if you have any other suggestions or questions because we believe that a strong, healthy dialogue is important to the success of our mission to help girls. After all, our founder was the one who said ‘Right is right, even if no one else does it’ and those values are still alive today” and I’d say, “My God, this is refreshing. NEVER CHANGE, GIRL SCOUTS.” ~ Jenny)
I’ve tweeted GSUSA asking them to respond to Jenny. I’ve used the hashtag #answerthebloggess. Join me.
What is Night Vale?
(You’re welcome: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_to_Night_Vale ~ Jenny)
So very glad you did this. Girl Scouts and all of us who have been scouts or supported them…parents, cookie buyers etc. want to know what is going on. I feel duped. Kids need camps and fresh air too.
And what the heck happened to the sewing badge? Just saying’.
I think my favorite part is clicking on your story and FB recommends the story about how the Chief Cookie Officer is making close to $400K.
Yep, that explains all those “fees” for the cookies.
In my neighborhood solicitation is expressly forbidden, yet every year, I get a parade of GS’s beating on my door asking me to purchase cookies. I’m especially sour after asking 30 hour shift at work that I’m currently sleeping off. If solicitation is forbidden, yet they choose to ignore local ordnance for the chance to sell nasty boxed cookies, what positive greater message are they learning, besides ignoring laws that don’t benefit them??
And in case I wasn’t clear enough, the cookies are made from corn syrup and other horrible unnatural ingredients that no human should consume. No one should eat this garbage.
Woot woot to you!
Dear Jenny,
Thank you for being respectful and kind, even when you are frustrated. I really appreciate that you tried to get your answers behind the scenes before taking your concerns global. Likewise, I am grateful that you are asking the hard questions and not allowing the organization to dismiss your legitimate concerns.
GS never resonated with me – I prefer cake to cookies and infinitely prefer to observe nature from the climate controlled comfort of my living room (sun=migraines).
Hey, Jenny: I love how you love your kid, and I love seeing those little kids selling things. That’s a lie. I hate how their leaders make them stand out there and hawk their wares. I usually give them a couple of dollars and don’t take any product. I hope that they get to keep 100% of what I give, and that none of it is eaten up in overhead.
I spent many years a girl scout. We were sheltered from the organization in a huge way and we had fun earning our badges. As an adult, I understand how that sheltering hid all the things that we should have known when we were putting up our booths in front of the Anthony’s or the Winn-Dixie or trampling neighborhoods we weren’t familiar with. My troop was especially good at finding activities with low fees and almost no funding (read: we earned our automotive badges by working on the parents cars).
Today, I make donations to the troop directly unless I really want a box of cookies.
Jenny, I used to work for the Girl Scouts. Here is what I know: 1. Most of the people working for the girl scouts are paid very little and overworked. We do it because we believe in the program. 2. Each Council is separate from others and is run separately (to fail or succeed). 3. Yearly registration money goes to National and from what I saw, National offers very little support to local councils. 4. Yes, councils are responsible for past employee pensions, just like other companies and organizations. I don’t think any council gives any current employee a pension option. You can contribute to your own retirement fund, just take it out of your low pay. 5. I am sorry that some of you had bad experiences with your GS staff. I loved my volunteers and tried to help them whenever I could. 6. The girls are what counts. I found that if a troop had dedicated fearless leaders, they had excellent programs where the girls did amazing things and stayed through High School. More volunteers are needed. 7. Direct support ($$$) is dreadfully almost non-existent for GSs. I gave $300 per year to my council (and I don’t have any girls). A few Girl Scout families will grudgingly give $5-$20 for a full year of scouting. Some gave more. 8. Look at your council budget to find out where the money comes from and how it is spent. I believe in the program, but the funding model needs to change in order for Girl Scouts to continue.
Who will be a hero for our girls? Girl Scouts need amazing volunteers and financial support to continue to help train girls to be successful adults. THANK YOU to all of you that contribute your time, talent and money to scouting.
(apologies if this has already been covered)
On the one hand, that’s a legit ridiculous rate for shipping.
On the other hand, maybe that’s the point? Maybe the GS didn’t want people who DO know local GS to opt in to the online buying?
The charge for handling is likely a charge that covers credit card transaction fees, which are significant. As long as they apply it to every order, it’s perfectly legal, and I’d bet it’s based on the cost of credit card fees, and bounced checks, and averaged out over the projected expenses.
Charity navigator gives GSUSA a respectable rating, and I’m emotionally biased, personally. That said, if you want to directly benefit a troop, give them cash. That’s always been the most efficient way to help- cookies are inefficient, just delectable. If you want to avoid the fact that direct-troop donation will result in wealth inequality getting perpetuated, you can donate to GSUSA but earmark it to e.g. the girl scouts beyond bars program (a program for girls with incarcerated mothers).
As for “Always carry a towel”, all I could think of was David Sedaris’s story about his stay at a nudist colony. Good advice under many circumstances, I suppose.
Our cookie sales are starting later this month. It’s very disheartening how they’re handling sales apart from the online issues. In past years, we would collect preorders, then base our overall orders on the preorders, plus any extra the troop would order for boothing needs. I’m told that there will be no preorder period this year. We’re suppose to order the number of cases based on what we believe our friends/family/coworkers would want, then sell leftovers at boothing. Since our troop consists of only 5 girls, this will make the whole process much more painful than usual. I really don’t understand why they’re getting rid of preorders.
Girl Scouts is about giving all girls, women a voice and supporting them in all of our roles!
I just bought two boxes of cookies from a little girl who came and actually knocked on my door yesterday. I didn’t even know kids still did that! I was very impressed, and it was an excellent way to meet the new neighbors (us, not them – they’ve lived here for a while I suspect). I mean…it’s not like they brought us ambrosia or anything to say welcome to the neighborhood. Instead they said, “hey can you give me $8 and I’ll give you cookies in like a month?”
I obviously can’t wait for them to deliver cookies to my door and be all “welcome to the neighborhood.” With cookies. Because that’s a sure way to win over new neighbors. Even if the new neighbors in question did pay for those cookies.
PS: What’s ambrosia, anyway?
I read your blog sometimes religiously, sometimes not. This entry, though, made me upset that I had fallen off this religious wagon. I missed it until I saw it posted to a large online GS group. Your letter is well written, and I hope attracts attention to some of the many problems that are coming at those of us in the trenches from GSUSA. I’ve been a leader for a few years, and it is only constantly getting worse. We are testing a new enrollment program that not every council has yet, and I have to tell you, they wasted a ton of money on making things harder for so many people. In fact, if your family doesn’t have internet access, you no longer have a way to register a child, without physically going down to your nearest council. I’m sure all families can just run to their nearest council, though it may be an hour or more away since the realignments, and register their child. Right. Waste. Of. Money. Thank you again for drawing some attention to the woes that have hit a once wonderful organization. Juliette Lowe would be rolling over in her grave about now.
I’m a Girl Scout leader in Ohio, and have been ever since my daughter was in first grade. She’s going to graduate high school this coming June. I have mixed emotions about Girl Scouts in many ways. Over the years, I’ve witnessed so many shifts in program direction and materials, so that it seemed that every couple of years I had to figure out the advisor role all over again. I’m also concerned that the drive for funding is creating a licensing culture that doesn’t support our core values (Barbie isn’t high on my list of good toys, and the Nestle partnership is just… ugh). I think the national level of program is geared for annual reporting and “metrics”, teaching concepts that are “supposed” to be covered at different age levels — most of the journeys, for example, are similar to what’s being offered in the curriculum at school. There are some good ideas there, but there’s a lot of it that seems to attempt to develop “leaders” rather than develop, as the tag line went a few years ago “courage, confidence and character” which meant the girls were naturally progressing into leaders, in whatever style suited them best.
On the other hand, I’ve had an amazing journey with the girls who stuck with it in my troop. We took five girls to Great Britain for two weeks last June and had a fantastic time: staying at Pax Lodge, the World Center in London, as well as visiting York, Edinburgh and Cardiff. They have taught me so much over the years — far more than I ever taught them, I’m sure. I’ve met other wonderful women and men who are cheering on girls and who really believe in their abilities, goals and dreams. I’ve taken on some volunteer roles over the years that I would never have imagined I would do either — chiefly I’m the service unit cookie manager, so I help about 40 troops run their cookie programs.
I’m glad you’re asking questions and asking for transparency. It’s part of the program for cookies, after all — business ethics — and if Girl Scouts can’t run an ethical cookie program, we have a very big problem. But I will always offer a smile, ask girls what they’re doing with their earnings, and very probably buy at least one box of Thin Mints. (After this year, that is… this year my purchases start at home!)
Thanks for dedicating your time to your daughter and her troop. It’s immensely valuable to them, and I hope you find the Girl Scout experience that benefits you both.
I haven’t been involved with Girl Scouts since I was a kid, but I have a friend who is very involved (runs two small troops of different ages single-handedly and loves it) and she has told me that the local office was closed due to lack of funding (so she now has to drive an hour in each direction to pick up and drop off supplies) and they have been fighting for years to keep a local historic camp open. She not only gets no support from higher up, she also gets no support from any of the parents of her girls. It’s just sad. Almost every penny for her troops comes out of her own pocket.
“Perhaps next year the online sales program should not be launched on the same week that the Digital Cookie Lead responsible for it is off on holiday.”
Ya THINK!? Gah!
Wow Jenny, I never expected a response to my comment (454) and was shocked to see a long one that explains everything. Thank you so much for educating me on stuff that was probably already in the comments. Whatever happens, you rock the patenting thing!
Back when I had a grown up job, I worked with the Girl Scouts doing a service project for Child Abuse Prevention Month. It’s one of my fondest memories of my professional life. They were passionate and professional, and would deserve better support from this current administrative support team. Good on both of you for demanding better!
Omg fuck me I make a typo on every post! You rock parenting, not patents (presumably)
Well done, Bloggess! As a former six-year Girl Scout who loved GS camp, still has her sash complete with a 1972 “Homemaker” badge, and sold an assload of Thin Mints, it disappoints me to see how far astray the cookie program has gone. Thanks for working to keep the GS organization honest.
P.s. When the daughter of the Bloggess sells cookies door to door, does she approach each house and say, “knock knock, motherfucker?” Just curious.
Thank you.
To the Girl Scouts I say: http://i.imgur.com/Orq3wok.gif
I may suggest that American Heritage Girls offers an alternative solution to the GSA. The issues that the GSA is facing (high debt and dropping enrollment) will only get worse. When “Professional Staff” have higher and higher salaries and the cost of Camps, Buildings, and Staff doesn’t decrease then the cost has to be passed on to the participants. what i found interesting was an internal study by the GSA found that their money woes become terminal in 2017. They are projecting their income will not match their budget without drastic changes and the selling of camps and offices will begin.
Regarding the shipping issues, there are two different bakers and I suspect that Little Brownie Bakers is allowing customers to purchase a single box online. With our council and ABC Bakers, we are limited to either a full case or a half case of a single variety or a variety pack of 8 boxes (1 of each kind of cookie). Those are our only options with the online sale. And yes, the shipping costs are ridiculous. My daughter will not be participating in the online cookie sale this year because it doesn’t make any sense at all. Who wants 6 boxes of a single variety and who would pay that much for them? As is, our council has decided to raise the sales price to $5 a box, which is an awful lot for a box of gs cookies, and the troops are only getting a few more cents per box. I’m a troop leader and this is not a good business model for the girls. Yes, we will be selling cookies this year because the girls want to sell, but we are cutting way back on the amount we’re ordering as I suspect sales to be down this year significantly due to the price increase.
This was posted on Fb page Save our camps. with a link to this blog.
It was posted by Girl Scouts
Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) made great effort over the past year
working nationally with councils on two separate relief efforts to ease the financial burden stemming from the liability in the National Girl Scout Council Retirement Plan.
In April 2014, we were able to announce that GSUSA had officially signedan agreement with the IRS as fiduciary of the Council Pension Plan to extend the amortization period by more than four years. President Obama also signed into law H.R. 4275, a relief package unanimously passed by Congress that will smooth out council contributions over the next three years by allowing council pension plans to go back under the Pension
Protection Act. Girl Scout councils and supporters nationwide united to contact over 100 Congressional offices, and wrote over 1,000 letters. The legislative support for the movement is truly historic—in fact, only0.3 percent of Senate bills (three other bills) had such a high level of support. In addition to relief efforts, GSUSA included $1M in its Fiscal Year 2015 budget for pension assistance to councils participating in the National Girl Scout Council Retirement Plan.
As Digital Cookie is a brand new initiative, we can understand that
people need to become more familiar with the ins and outs. Shipping costs are in line with established industry standards from reputable companies, and comparable to what customers would pay to ship cookies. With time, we hope that the scale of sales through this part of the program will drive down the costs of shipping and handling.
We would like to assure you that Girl Scouts is committed to bringing girls a dynamic, exciting, and, most of all, FUN Girl Scout
experience—one they cannot get anywhere else. Thanks for seeking clarification.
Thank you so much for doing this, Jenny. I was a GS as a child, because my mom thought it was important, and I wanted to make her happy. In this day and age, if GS has become this convoluted, what is it teaching?? I will keep checking back to see what you add to your updates!!!
I have to say, I’ve been sour on the whole Girl Scout cookie thing since I was a Brownie. That year, my mom was troop leader. We had cookies stacked to the ceiling for weeks. Several of us worked our asses off to sell as many cookies as we could. We had a banner year, with several of us earning patches for selling 500+ boxes. Sadly, we had one parent who did not turn in her daughter’s money. So rather than go after that one parent, our troop was penalized and did not get any of the commission we earned for the cookies we sold.
From then on, it was 4-H all the way. I still love those damn cookies though…and I am glad I had boys so I don’t have to worry about what to say when the flyer for Girl Scouts comes home from school. Not that the Boy Scouts have a stellar reputation either. Sigh….
It is very sad that the Girl Scout’s cookie sales $ does not go to the troop selling the cookies anymore (this may be a mistake — maybe it never did). This is a common problem with all fundraising — the majority of the donations go to administration overhead. Last year I received an email from a Girl Scout that was not only selling cookies online but magazines and other high calorie products. I bought the magazines and felt better buying something from the Girl Scouts because I don’t buy Girl Scout cookies anymore because of all the reasons stated in this blog and its comments.
I thought the questions you are asking are valid. Being the mother of a former Girl Scout and one myself a long time ago, I think it is important for everyone to know these answers. I went on Twitter and Facebook and sent this blog page to Girl Scouts. Hopefully it’ll give them a little kick in the rear to get moving on the answers. Good luck to you and your daughter!!
That and many other reasons, is why I will always love Pathfinders over any other youth organization.
Last year I was around a bunch of boy scouts and one vandalized my van (we were out in the country, just my Pathfinder group and a couple hundred boy scouts and my Pathfinders were watched at all times, unlike the boy scouts running wild so it could only be a boy scout who did it). When I spoke to troop leaders and even high ups in boy scouts they all gave the wide eyed innocent liars look and said it couldn’t be one of our boys. So the scouts don’t teach manners, responsibility or honesty.
This is outrageous. In Canada, we have paid staff only in our National office and a few at Provincial level. These paid staff work with volunteers to get the work done. All the other people donate their time to Girl Guides of Canada and do not get paid. Our Chief Guide donates her time. Our Provincial Commissioners donate their time and our Area Commissioners donate their time. I wish I had the stats in front of me. I know that in alberta Provincial office, there is minimal staff and they are there to support the volunteers.
I too have a strong connection with Eagle One. When she took over the council I’m in, she and I hit it off right off the bat. In my opinion I feel, in the beginning we saw many good things happening. However I feel your pain and frustration. During Anna’s short stay with our council she moved to NY. But, in my opinion, not before taking our council and turning it into corporate America. Many new high level positions were added. One being the COO (chief operating officer). This council has never had the need for one before. The executive director/CEO took care of everything. Since the invention of this position, NO one can talk to the CEO without going thru the COO first.
In my opinion I feel, that now Anna Chavez is CEO of GSUSA, this is being done nationwide. I see this action causing separation between Girl Scouts and the Girls. I too have attempted to contact Anna, via email and registered letter with no response.
What has been happening in our council for some time now is how poorly volunteers are treated. If you become vocal, especially in public, of something council is doing wrong, and they don’t like it, you will be called down and kicked out of the council. “What can council do? I’m a volunteer, they can’t fire me.” Yes, but the can have your volunteer status within council revoke.
One of our camps is “taking a rest”. If you ask council you will be told everything is fine. They just need a year to regroup. “Everything is Unicorns and glitter.”
I hope you get the answers, but in my opinion I feel the issues are much broader and deeper than most people know. Of only one example you shared. The issues of pensions and cookie sales should never have been put in the same basket.
Unfortunately I feel there are going to have to be massive nation wide changes to save this organization we all love so much.
Thank you for voicing and asking GSA the very reasonable question What proportion of cookie sales goes to girl scouts themselves? Our family has a strong tradition of teaching our girls fiscal common sense (budgeting, saving, understanding how money accumulates or is spent). We share your interest to hear GSA provide basic information on this issue. Hopefully GSA will speak with clarity and pride like what they are attempting to promote in the girls who participate in the programs. Remember GSA: selling cookies as part of promoting the larger issues of girl power is already walking a fine line. Promoting health and character appear pretty low down on the list of cookie ingredients. Please try not to stumble and crash while walking this fine line.
Thank you for this! Many scout families are watching and waiting.
I was a GS leader for many years and have been out of it for many more. However my daughter is now a leader for her 2 girls and I hear how cookie orders/sales now work. It is soooo disappointing to see how it has evolved to become MORE about the “pensions” and LESS about the girls!! Keep asking those questions and maybe you (we) can start a grass roots accountability of their real objectives for Girl Scouting!
Happy New Year Everyone! Jenny – Can we do an on-line petition to the Girl Scouts? (Change.org is one option.) I’d sign it! As I started to read your post, I thought “That’s it – I’m not buying any of their overpriced cookies this year”. But then, as you rightly pointed out, I will pass the Girl Scouts at my supermarket. Just saying “No, thank you” doesn’t convey the reason why. I agree though it’s not something to get into with the girls’ mothers/chaperons at the entrance of a store. Maybe an on-line petition would be a way to have our cookie and eat it too. (sorry)
I prefer to give the Girl Scout selling cookies a cash donation- even if it is only a dollar of two. That would be more than she would get from my cookie order.
This is an awesome post, I am so glad that you are standing your ground and looking for answers to very pertinent questions. I read your blog frequently and never in my life have left a comment on anything. But this was just too good a post to pass up. Keep up the great work!
Normally I wouldn’t chime in here, but for those irked by the fine print regarding the military surcharge of $20, I wanted to confirm that you are correct to be bothered. It costs absolutely nothing more to send to an APO/FPO address, and the post office has made the process of filling out the customs form for such packages very nearly transparent and labor free. If you had to put a price tag on it, I think 25 cents would just about cover the labor. The entire pricing structure for shipping smacks of ignorance on the part of the creator. Our girls deserve to be better represented. Instead, the ill will that is being generated by poor showings such as this will do nothing but harm them. How disheartening.
I am a former Girl Scout Troop Leader and this sickens me. The troops don’t see much from their cookie sales anyway and I seriously doubt that they will see any portion of the Shipping costs that are applied on line. Everything the troop does comes out of their own pockets. Troop leaders buy their own supplies, drive their own cars on field trips, etc. so where does all of that money go??
Perhaps an email directly to Ms. Chavez? achavez@girlscouts.org is her email, I think.
Similar to fundraisers where kids are asked to hawk crap none of us need or want where the school/cause receives 5% or less of the profits – I have to ask why we’re pressuring our kids to sell junk to strangers for the benefit of the junk producers (cookie bakery) rather than the schools/worthy causes? Honestly, wouldn’t they learn more from the experience of “pure” fundraising where they talk about the positive things that are done with the money and the positive experiences they and others benefit from the organization?
Maybe I’m in the minority here, but I would GLADLY write out a check to the first 50 kids who asked for a direct donation to a worthy, legitimate cause / school / program / etc. over buying junk and unhealthy food I really don’t need in order to demonstrate my support. Maybe if more of us say NO to the fundraiser and instead offer to write a check directly to the beneficiary (GS, school, etc.), someone will get the hint and stop putting all of us through this miserable process. Better yet, if the kids really want the experience of entrepreneurship and selling something – why not hold a lemonade stand and donate the profits to their cause / school?
I learned that whoever wrote that reply has a weird grasp on grammar. (“… a ah-mazing year”)
This is THE reason I never buy GS cookies. Instead, the first GS who politely asks me gets a 2-boxes-worth cash donation to her troop. The girl is always a little sad, but the moms beam with gratitude.
I was in GS and did the sales and I saw how little we made. And no one in my troop could ever sell enough cookies to get that damn bike.
Holy crap! She won a marital property lawsuit before 1910??? Holy crap. That woman was a firecracker!!!!
You totally confused me. Then I discovered that Lord Baden-Powell, and his sister, Agnes, started Boy and Girl Scouts/Guides in the UK and here in Canada. I’d never heard of Ms. Low.
Dang, her hubby was an a**hole.
Glad to see they responded with so many NON-answers. :smirk: I’m grateful for our local support for our girls, but man, the GS politics is ridiculous. BTW, if peeps don’t want to buy cookies (we’re on a diet, we don’t like them) direct them to buy for the military (pay now, boxes of cookies delivered later to US troops deployed overseas). 🙂 …Stacy, who’s headed for a “cookie” meeting with my 11 girls and their parents tonight!
These fundraisers are CRAP. I occasionally buy girl scout cookies because they are good (if overpriced – now I’m hungry and gonna have to go find some cookies), but I don’t delude myself that they are helping any needy children (including the small tyrants who are selling them). I recognize that each troop is different, but the one I joined 35 years ago was lead by a judgmental heifer who, I suspect, was only troop leader because no one else would put up with her bitchy bully of a daughter (that nut fell right next to the tree). It was miserable and my parents who had very little money wasted it. I don’t know if the organization has gotten any better, but sometimes when you join these cults, you might as well save yourself the long term grief and have some Kool Aid.
I just give the girls a dollar.
It’s four times cheaper for me than buying a box of cookies. The troop gets $0.40 more than they would if I bought a box of cookies. I’m not participating in what is, frankly, a rip-off. (And the postage makes it even more so, WOW.) And I don’t have the tempting calories in the house.
If I want tempting calories,Walker’s Shortbread or Keebler Coconut Dreams and Grasshoppers go on sale regularly for $2.50.
http://jezebel.com/girl-scouts-to-release-new-cookie-flavors-blow-your-go-1677540478
The quote here makes me sad…”remember that you can buy boxes of cookies online now. That means you can order them from the convenience of your own home and then enjoy them while never having to meet an actual Girl Scout. Excellent!”
Sad that the Girls are removed from the sale.
I call bs on the shipping. I ship all sizes of packages using FedEx ups and usps. No way in h e double hockey sticks does it cost over 11.00 to ship a single box of cookies.
“But the thing I learned the most through all of this is that the woman who started the girl scouts was a bad-ass who looked like she would kill you and eat you if you messed with her or her girls.”
Uh oh – you’re on a hit list now for saying anything negative about JGL!! (GS is UBER protective of their saint. I however, agree with you, and personally, I belive JGL would eat everyone at corporate, uh, I mean national, for turning her organization (which was bad-ass as she designed it!) into a profiteering, girl denying, camp selling, volunteer dispiriting organization.
I think their answers were the same old BS line they have given us for years, but kudos for pushing and getting a response! (The delay no doubt was due to the need to come up with exactly what to say to you, whilst still saying nothing.)
I’m with Marla T – I mean, yeah, progress and technology and stuff, but it sucks that the girl scout is removed from the sale. To me that was an important part of the whole Cookie Game; learning to socialize with adults, be mannerly and polite, and SELL YOUR SHIT. (I was never a girl scout or even a brownie – my mom always said, “Oh, I was a Brownie & hated it. You wouldn’t like it either” but the damn uniforms were so cute that I REALLY WANTED ONE.
Maybe I should put Girl Scout on my bucket list.
Also “The work of today is the history of tomorrow, and we are its makers”…I sort of love that.
If I donate money instead of buying cookies, does the club get to keep the entire donation?
There is some great discussion going on here. But, I think we have failed to ask an important question: what sort of cookies/goodies/etc will be made available to the Dr. Who/Nightvale/Zombie Apocalypse club?
I was never in the girl scouts and I didn’t know who Juliet Gordon Low was before today, but your assessment is correct, she looks and sounds like a total badass.
If we’re doing bake sales for the Dr. Who/Nightvale/Zombie Apocalypse club, I make killer Buzz Fudge (chocolate fudge with instant espresso mixed in). Goes over great with the college kids where I work.
I’m sorry, but when was the last time you heard of a normal American “going on holiday”? I go on vacation and I’m out for the holiday, but not since I was in the pub with 4 of the Doctors was I “on holiday”.
But…but….but does that mean that we won’t have the “What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club” ?
sadface
Much as I love answers, and as happy as I am that somebody in the Girl Scouts organization responded, this bit:
“each of the 112 Girl Scout councils have their own nonprofit status, budgets, operating models, camps, programmatic offerings, and cookie selling periods. Financial decisions such as whether or not to sell or close a camp based on usage, costs, and other camp property, are made by each local council”
Does NOT jibe at ALL with this article:http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/12/why-are-girl-scout-camps-being-closed.html
So, either things have changed dramatically since the Daily Beast article about the closing of Girl Scout camps — OR — there’s still a whole lotta BS going on.
Thanks for staying with this Jenny!!!!
My 20-year old, like me, didn’t enjoy selling cookies, but my 7-year old loves being a Girl Scout and wants to sell to “earn” a badge. I’ll let her sit at the table, but no way am I taking her door-to-door, asking friends or relatives to buy, or forcing her to shill for Girl Scouts or any fundraiser with low profit margins. I’m glad to throw cash to direct donations in order to fund projects to help her troop and to help support underprivileged scouts, but not pension funds. Extending amortization is just a delay of payments- not a solution, nor fiscally sound.
P.S. My daughters and I would also like to join the What-If-Doctor-Who-Went-To-Night-Vale-and-then-the-Zombie-Apocolypse-Happened Prep Club!
Boycott online sales, buy local. Teaches the girls math and money matters in real life situations and I have yet to meet a 7-8yo who isn’t willing to talk about cookies with a smile with you 😉
Why are Girl Scouts getting a pension? They are not even full time workers!
I stopped buying GS cookies when I asked the GS if they were saving for camp and she said, ‘No, we want to go to a day spa instead.’ Not buying overpriced cookies so tweens can get pedicures!
Two things stuck out for me (besides the obvious avoidance of questions by the GS). “Chief Digital Cookie Lead” is an awesome job title. And I find it really creepy that for $1.25 I can have a Girl Scout delivered to my door. I mean deliver cookies to my door.
As a young girl I wasn’t allowed to be in Girl Scouts because my mother worked. They sent me back home with the money my Mom sent with me to join.
When my daughter reached that age we went with Campfire – but honestly, they had their own sets of problems.
Myself and my co-leader retired our Campfire group and started our own little group (same girls and Moms) which we called : “Thursday Afternoons”.
We taught them to sew, bake, cook, paint, took everyone camping, had our own bake sales and we made gift boxes for the children who lived in a state home because they were taken away from their parents. The girls also made Christmas cards for soldiers and sang carols at the home for the elderly — which they may or may not have enjoyed, but they did enjoy our home baked goodies.
I made the badges for their sashes.
There were no pension plans involved.
Maybe it really is time for you and Hailey to start your own group- and I love the name by the way.
You are da bomb Jenny.
I used to work for my local Girl Scout council two years ago, and wrote a blog post about where the cookie money went.
http://phenomenallass.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/why-you-should-buy-girl-scout-cookies/
As far as the shipping costs, my guess is the cookies are being shipped directly from the baker, and that’s what the baker is charging for the shipping fees. I would guess that the Girl Scouts are kind of at their mercy – those cookies aren’t ever reaching a council for them to deal with mailing them.
My son is in Cub Scouts and Dad and I have both been roped into being leaders for his Pack. As far as their fundraising goes, the boys do get more money from straight out donations than fundraisers, but what group doesn’t? But the BSA gets 70% of popcorn sales back, so at least they do get a good chunk. Our council also sells Virginia peanuts along with popcorn and we don’t see nearly that return. Our particular pack raises most of our money through our annual bake sale/auction & bi-annual hot dog sale.
I hope that you will not let this story die here.
Maybe pass the torch on to someone else, but please don’t let this end.
You are absolutely correct about the ridiculous credit card fee. Credit and debit card swipe fees is basically a cartel situation. There is no negotiation in price. The fee is set, and that’s that. This was a BIG issue two years ago, when the Supreme Court weighed in, and also Visa and Mastercard settled a dispute.
Swipe fees are in the CENTS. We’re talking like 40 cents. Sometimes it’s a percentage of the sale (but in that case, 1.5%-3%, which on a $4 box of cookies is at most 12 cents.)
And like you pointed out, in 10 states swipe fees are illegal.
So, does their website reflect that, and only post that $1.25 for the other 40 states?? (Clearly not from your experience)
Let the grown-ups fund their pensions on the for-profit products sold (by adults, not free child labor!!) at the grocery store – Girl Scout cookie candy bars, Girl Scout cookie ice cream, Girl Scout cookie coffee creamer….etc, etc, etc.
I want to know why we are paying pensions to the Girl Scouts in the first place?? I thought these folks were volunteers? If there is a business side to the Girl Scouts – as mentioned above – the for profit areas – let them actually BE a freaking business and fund their own damn pension fund. I really do not appreciate a MILLION dollars of OUR money going to their pensions. Isn’t it enough we have to fund the Federal Government’s pension? Sorry, end of rant.
Thank You Ms. Chavez for putting your political gain before the needs of your organization. Ms. Chavez came to the South Texas council long enough to change the system every few weeks, reduce the staff to almost nothing, give little support to the volunteers or the girls in the council and then LEFT. She left a huge mess, disgruntled employees and unhappy girls and moms. Ms. Chavez should have done some research before taking on a job as big as CEO, for her to act as this pension mess was a surprise is wrong they had many warnings to fix the problem and they chose to ignore now the scouts are hurting and the councils look incompetent when really it all fall under the CEO!
Jenny,
Thanks for fighting the good fight, and teaching your daughter (and SO many others) that it’s more than ok to question rules and guidelines
I was totally stoked when I heard that we could buy cookies online…that was the same day I read, on your blog, what shipping charges would be. And, to have $20 fee to AK, HI, and military addresses is more than fucking ridiculous! My husband was deployed to Afghanistan last year, and I crammed 16 boxes of GIrl Scout cookies in a large flat rate box, and for roughly $17, the post office was kind enough to send those goodies half way around the world to my hubs and his buddies. The customer is going to get bent over the table on shipping charges, and someone, somewhere, is going to be making bank!
At this point, I’m just going to wait until the scouts in my area set up shop outside the grocery store and I’ll get my fix then.
Again, thanks for kicking ass, Jenny!
~Crista V.
You are exactly the kind of person Ms. Low would have wanted in the Girl Scouts, I am certain.
JGL was notoriously bad at managing her finances, and once had to sell her pearl necklace to raise funds for the Girl Scouts. But, she was willing to sacrifice financially for the girls so her intentions were good. 😉
Juliette Gordon Low rocks for using the word stupid. Sometimes it is the appropriate word. Too bad is it used so little today.
Jenny, a friend with vast experience with GS and experience with several different GS councils recently told me the one in your area is the WORST GS council she has ever worked with. This is over a period of years and councils. Apparently yours is notoriously bad. Not that that excuses anything, but just so you have that information.
Count me as a Den mother for the Dr. Who Z-poc Prep Troop. I have a towel.
I learned at leader cookie training (to precede parental cookie training, and girl cookie kickoff/training, and both signup time- i.e. cookies absorbs too much of these next few months) that my troop can accept donations up to $74.99 per giver without having to file paperwork. Folks, if you have questions about all this, when the girls come knocking or are standing on the curb with their booths, donate $5 or more to the troop directly instead. You’ll be doing a great thing for the girls and their activities. Corporate drama aside, the girls are working hard to earn money for their trips, crafts, camps, and adventures. It’s a wonderful thing.
Just imagine the great cookies we could sell with a Night Vale/Who, etc. Troop. 🙂
I completely agree about the shipping charge being a bit much and think the handling fee for orders to be delivered by the scout is rediculous. Why should the customer have to pay a fee when we are delivering the cookies ourselves? Whether you buy cookies or not don’t let all this deter you from supporting Girl Scouts. We receive donations when we are doing cookie booths and 100% of the donations go directly to our troops to be used for troop activites. We actually prefer the donations for that reason. As a service unit on a military installation, we choose not to donate our cookies to military since they receive so many cases even year. We chose to donate our cookies to a local home for children last year.
Or, I could just by Keebler Grasshoppers, they’re pretty much identical to thin mints, and completely free of politics.
So does this mean that we also learned that they don’t update their website very often? Are they saying that this incorrect information is on there from 9 months ago?
If that’s the case, I think a “Hey, thanks. We’ll fix that.” shout-out would have been nice.
To be fair, I just paid roughly $11.25 to ship a box roughly the size and weight of a box of Girl Scout cookies. Of course, it was shipping to the eastern US from Malasya… Where are they baking the cookies these days?
We’ve sold Boy Scout popcorn outside the supermarket before – always thought Girl Scouts had a better deal selling Thin Mints till some friends of ours were stuck with not being able to return their unsold cookies.
I was a girl scout, and I did the rounds ON FOOT through my neighborhoods knocking on doors, first to secure orders and second to deliver them.
What kind of industry standard bullshit is $11.25 per box of cookies? There are few individual items I’m willing to pay $11.25 shipping for, and it has nothing to do with a “lack of familiarity” with digital sales. To call it such is, to me, condescending and insulting to the intelligence of people who might want to support Girl Scouts or might just love Samoas.
I’m a former GS staff member for a large council, and I wasn’t eligible for a fucking pension! I feel cheated.
As direct program staff, I frequently had to allow troop leaders to air grievances with the main office staff–because I had many of the same complaints. This council was run so incompetently, on every level. Digging through council IRS Form 990s was a hoot–they lost money every year, even on their huge prestige fundraising events. And the money made from cookies, camping, and other stuff is a drop in the bucket compared to merchandise sales, large donations, and corporate sponsorships. It ain’t the cookies that are paying for employee pensions.
I’m sorry you and so many other leaders are going through this. I considered becoming a troop leader when I left that position but honestly? The thought of dealing with my former colleagues gave me nightmares, so I didn’t.
Thanks for being diligent in getting answers from Girl Scouts. While I believe their principles are important, I found while being a troop leader the district offices are difficult to get answers from. I experienced that first hand when I was told there were no guidelines to follow when a girl isn’t picked up after a meeting because in all their years of existence “a girl had never been left at a meeting”. I had to come up with a plan on my own. I also came to the conclusion that this organization cares more about leaders giving up their personal time to attend meetings versus spending quality time with the troop or a leaders own family. I referred to the meetings as my monthly cult meeting. Sometimes organizations like Girl Scouts loose the original meaning of their existance to Corporate greed. So Cheers for not giving up on your quest for answers from them. Good Luck to your daughter on her cookie sales. I hope she never learns what this organization has become & will have wonderful life long memories of her time in GS.
http://nypost.com/2013/06/09/shes-milking-the-scouts/
I felt as if I was reading my own mind!!! Your comments are right on. I am so very much against the cookie sale program for various reasons but my daughter as well will be one of those excited young faces outside of a ShopRite this spring. I also happen to be the cookie mom for her troop which maybe exposes me to more of the mismanagement of resources along with what I feel is lack of appreciation and respect for all the volunteers and their time to raise money for this organization. It’s heartwarming to know there are others who haven’t drank the thin mint cool-aide!
^^^What Jen Donohue said.
I just checked Vermont Country Store. A box of Maple Leaf Cookies is $9.95 and it’s $3.95 to ship it.
Perhaps they’re aiming digital sales at the dotcom peeps with money.
Greetings! I appreciate your writing for both content and style. I am writing to let you and others know about an alternative scouting group available that offer different opportunities and values. SpiralScouts International is our favorite because the cultural, nature oriented and spiritual values as integral parts of the program. It’s also co-ed and for ages 3-18, making it easy and fun for the whole family. Thanks for blogging and happy new year!
Sounds like the online cookie program isn’t ready for prime time, and I can’t believe someone would pay $11.25 for shipping on a box of cookies. I’ll be supporting the girls standing outside the grocery stores…. not the corporate wonks who cannot figure out how to get reasonable shipping. In line with industry standards? NOT! Wake up Girl Scouts…. the rock has been turned over, and your worms are showing….
I stopped buying the cookies when a friend who was a troop leader told me her girls see about $0.25 per box sold come back to the troop. Instead, what I now do is to talk to the girls at the table for a minute, and give them a donation in cash for their troop, specifically. I’m not at all interested in supporting some vast administrative thing at a national level: I am interested in supporting the local girls. Maybe it’s time to break up the national thing and bring it back to a level where everyone involved is accountable.
http://bpsa-us.org/ alternative scouting for ALL. gets back to traditional scouting building character and serving the community!.
This is just one of the many reasons I searched for a scouting alternative for my daughter. We stumbled upon American Heritage Girls and it has been the best thing that has happened to my little girl. Since joining in September, she’s been able to earn 5 badges already (1 with her troop) and her maturity has grown in such a short time (she’s only in 1st grade and one of the Tenderhearts). There are no government grants or council pensions to fund and is completely supported by private donations. Hopefully you get some better resolution (I wouldn’t hold my breath though), otherwise there are other options that don’t just show girls how to do crafts!
Its so nice to get answers, but I think you made GREAT waves. Look what they are doing near me (just got this email from our local council):
Learn more about how
Money Matters!
Why does money matter? How does it shape everything you do?
How does it help you reach your dreams?
At every stage of life, money matters. GSNNJ and TD Bank invite you to hear from
financial experts, business professionals, parents and a top cookie selling Girl Scout.
The panel discussion will focus on family financial decisions and money management.
Panelists include:
Caren Chabora, Vice President, TD Private Client Group, a business of TD Wealth
Krista Korinis, President, Global Installation Resource, LLC
Collette Liantonio, President & Creative Director, Concepts TV Production
Sandia Sroka, Dean, Bergen Community College Hackensack
Moderator
Joanne M. Westphal, Vice President, Retail Market Manager – Central Bergen
Thank You for writing this letter I found it to be very interesting and the comments were GREAT, this shipping charge is so wrong on so many levels and the amount of money they take from these girls and there leaders that are out there watching and helping the troop sell these cookies my hat is off to them the wind is blowing and the rain is coming down you have one leader and a bunch of girls trying to sell all the cookies they get so excited to make a sale and council takes a big bit out of the bank account, what did all of these members do to deserve such a fat pocket have they all been a Girl Scout? I will be making a donation from now on to my Grand Daughters Troop thank you for posting and good luck to you and your daughter this cookie season, and good luck to my daughter who is a Troop Leader, who is always there for her girls more parents need to pitch in and help OUT…… sorry for venting but I have seen this first hand how parents are help out its your kid that needs your help and guiding as well.
I didn’t comment earlier because my personal GS experience was wonderful; but I recognize that it’s not the same for everyone. Today’s update clarified it all – it is the troop leader that makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE. If she is engaged and enthusiastic, your experience will be great. If she challenges local and national boards, your troop will have a better understanding of how the world works and will be able to make a difference.
My troop leader was so great that many of us stayed in scouting INTO HIGH SCHOOL. We continued to go camping and to do social service projects, even though we didn’t meet every week or try to earn badges any more.
Now I am off to find her, and write her a thank you note for all she gave us, for 10 years of our lives. Wow. Girl Scouting (can) rock. I forgot.
I was a Girl Scout for 13 years (a Daisy the first year Daisies existed through my Senior year of high school) and I find this all very sad. I’m glad you raised the issue and continued to push for an answer!
And to those adults who can’t be nice to girls selling cookies outside of stores, they’re assholes! Freaking be nice to kids! They are kids and they are trying to learn how to sell, manage money, etc.
I still remember being a teenager selling cookies outside a grocery store in Sun City (the huge retirement community west of Phoenix, hello potential big bucks) and being told “I only buy from the little girls.” Because I wasn’t a Girl Scout too? I hadn’t been committed to the organization for over a decade at that point??? Asshat! I’m 34 and I still remember that comment like it was yesterday. I buy cookies from whoever offers them to me… (well, except that I can no longer eat them because I discovered last year that I’m allergic to wheat.)
Well, a cylinder of thin mints has shown up in the freezer, and as far as I am concerned, that is the best possible outcome to all of this.
As a life time Girl Scout member and current leader to two troops I applaud your interest and actions here. Unfortunately GSUSA is a huge corporation and is run as such. However I do want to remind everyone that the leaders and even service unit team members in your local areas are all VOLUNTEERS. The people actually working with the girls do it because they think it is a good thing for the kids, not because they get paid. They have nothing to do with the finances of how cookies are sold. I love when people donate directly to the troop because I make sure that the entire donation goes to the activities and projects that I plan for the girls. But in this day and age, most people feel that they have to get something when they donate, whether it be address labels, cards, or cookies. Very few people will donate and not expect anything in return. Many people will say they’ll donate but will never follow through. For many troops cookie sales are the only way for them to earn money to support their troop. Yes it is unfair that the majority of the money goes to the corporate pensions but many girls do not receive the emotional support and guidance from their parents and Girl Scouts may be the only thing that gives them the sense of family and caring that they need. If you don’t want to buy cookies that’s fine but also when you say you’ll donate follow through. And if you are concerned with how your Lol. Yeah. I feel better but am craving Chinese foodmoney is spent then volunteer at the meetings so you can see how the troop uses your funds In all reality you taking the time to show the girls an activity or project that you are interested in will be of a far greater benefit to the girls than you buying a box of cookies.
Thank you for doing that. You said everything I’ve talked about with my daughter. I’m a troop leader and it gets more and more frustrating every year. All the hard work the girls and I do for pennies on the dollar. I love my girls and that is the only thing that makes it worth it. Love this blog!!!
You must watch this movie about Girl Scouts from 1918. I first saw it years ago when I was working as a camp counselor. Our slogan for the summer was “Hail, Margaret”.
http://gslakesandpines.org/pages/TheGoldenEaglet/
I liked your posts before, but I now find you completely more awesome. You will understand what I mean. Way to go, supporting your daughter. Sincere kudos!
yeah i said the heck with GS too. i am perfectly happy getting the EXACT same cookies at wal-mart for $1.98
I wonder if other companies have a Digital Cookie Lead.. must look great on the CV.
I just checked…I could order up to 45 POUNDS of cookies on Amazon for a flat rate of $5.99. My daughter just joined GS this year….I have the same issues. Thanks for speaking up!
My daughter is eight and has recently joined the American Heritage Girls. We live in a small town and our local troop is brand new, although the organization was started in 1995. An excerpt from their History portion on their site reads in part, “American Heritage Girls was founded in 1995 in West Chester, Ohio by a group of parents wanting a wholesome program for their daughters. These parents were disillusioned with the increasing secular focus of existing organizations for girls.”
Our local Girls Scout chapter is practically non-existent and I wanted my daughter to be a part of something to help her grow and develop to her fullest potential.
I understand you and your daughter may fully invested into the Girl Scouts and I appreciate your efforts to address things that need to be addressed. I truly hope those in power are able and willing to be transparent before you and all parents associated with the Girls Scouts. Good luck!
If you would like to read more about AHG here is a link to their site:
http://www.ahgonline.org/
We’re just gonna do what we always do and send the cookies ourselves to the out-of-town grandma for half the price.
Wait…..Girl Scouts is a paid position in the US ? And cookies support it’s pension ? That’s messed up.
I’m not sure if you read all of the comments, but our Girl Scout Council literally loses money on running camps every summer (and I would assume that most other councils do to). Creating programs, staffing the camps with qualified individuals, training those individuals, and performing maintenance on the camps (not to mention property taxes) is all a very expensive endeavor. I could see a council that’s struggling closing camps to save money for other programs that their data says girls use more often.
The nonprofit model that Girl Scouts of USA uses is interesting, if not very problematic. This is something that comes up sporadically. I’ve been a Girl Scout since 1998 and I’ve seen my share of similar incidents where GSUSA was running things into the ground (There was something everyone likes to forget called “Studio 2-B” and it was idiotic and lasted a solid 5 years and was required to get your Gold Award). But they really do respond to consumer data and data from Councils. They beta tested the online cookie sales with at least five councils before they rolled it out nation-wide, and I do trust that they will work these bugs out (unfortunately, it’ll probably take them at least 5 years to do so).
Additionally, since you didn’t mention it in your post, I would like to remind you that as a cookie mom, I learned that while the girls make a staggering $0.60/box sold (more if they sell more!) an the rest goes to the council and GSUSA, but if you donate $5 (or even $1) directly to the troop, it goes straight into that troop’s funds. If you donate $5 to the Service Unit, it goes straight to the Service Unit. If you donate straight to the Council, it goes straight to the Council. Selling cookies is a fun way girls can gain skills in entrepreneurship, it’s iconic, and it supports Girl Scouts at all levels, but if you really want your money to help out a troop, give them a $5 or buy a box and tell them to keep the change.
I was a Girl Scout for 12 years and then worked at my local Girl Scout camps. From what I recall you can donate money to your local council via United Way Chad and you can earmark said money for specific things. The money HAS to be used for those things, the council has no control over that. For example, a person donated money for a very specific playground to be built at one of the camps. And though it was THE weirdest playground equipment ever and burned the campers hands in the hot hot summer sun, they HAD to install it. (Though, it later melted when half of the camp burned down during a huge brush fire.) If you want to your money to go to the local camps or specifically camp scholarships for low income girls, known as Camperships at my local council, or you can specify that you want the money to go paying for events for Girl Scouts who would otherwise be unable to afford to go, then do so!
Couldn’t have said it better!
I apologize for not reading all 6 trillion comments but I was wondering if you had heard of “The Future is Ours” – a group of Girl Scout employees, volunteers, and alumnae that have expressed their concerns with the current Girl Scouts. After reading your book & blog I realize that like me, you probably research the shit out of something when you take issue with or question something, but just in case you missed them, I thought you might find them interesting, informative and righteously cool. I have decided to be “that mom” this year and we are opting out of cookie sales. I’d rather just give the troop the money to use for my daughter instead of her (and who am I kidding my husband and myself) being subjected to slave labor. Gee let’s use sweet little girls to get people to buy unhealthy cookies that use palm oil and GMO’s and give them shit for money for doing so and maybe a girl scout bandanna for selling 100 boxes of cookies. Maybe that is the lesson in money and the American way…. But anyway, thank you for sending your letters and inquiries, and passing on the info!
I too have wondered about many of the things you asked about. I have been volunteering with the Girl Scouts for 8 years now, since my oldest (now a Cadette) was a Daisy. She loves it, as does my Brownie (her 4th year). I know, that like you, if my girls didn’t love it so much, that I would not be involved, but since they love it, I will support them in it. 55cents per box, + a bonus of another 5 cents per box (I think) if we participated in fall product is what my troop will profit off of cookie sales. I know it is a pittance, and there are so many things that I disagree with, but then again, I know all of the good things that my girls have learned while being a scout, and all of the good things I have helped teach my girls and the others in our troop, about being kind, caring, confident, responsible, and to be a leader. All of the things that they have tried and done, camping, archery, horseback riding, a sleepover at NASA, volunteering, shoe and food drives, caroling, visiting and volunteering with the elderly… I could go on and on. I love that my girls love being girl scouts; they have experienced so many things that they might not have otherwise. The bottom line for me is, I applaud you for speaking out – it is what we are teaching our girls to do, isn’t it? To have a voice? The organization should be responsible, just as it preaches, and should be accountable as well.
You are right on when you say it comes down to the local leader. I went through 3 years of girl accounts with 3 different leaders and each year ended in heartbreak because the leader quit. I really wanted my daughter to work on her bronze, silver, and gold awards but without stability from the troop, we couldn’t. Very disappointing.
I would like to rebut the commenter who said, and I paraphrase, “If you believe pensions are a good thing at other places of employment, then they should be for employees of GSUSA, also.”
(Yes, I do realize that issue seems to have been resolved. But the idea has not.)
If a company can afford to pay people who are not working, more power to them. My grandfather drew a railroad pension from the age of 62 until he died at 97. But they must never do it via the labor of enthusiastic, innocent children under the guise of helping them help themselves. That…is something else completely.
My troop will not be selling cookies this year. Our main reason…. our council has decided that young girls should no longer have the ability to opt out of the stuffed toys and other junk each girl receives for selling cookies. By the way… if you get the ‘toys’ you get 10 cents less per box. Yes, the troop gets even less that the measly few cents per box and for what you ask? A few stuffed toys, stickers and light switch covers. I have written letters for 3 years expressing my disappointment in this decision. My council suggested that we donate the toys to disadvantaged children. Huh? So much for teaching the girls to make their own financial decisions.
I will continue as a troop leader because my daughters enjoy GS events and we love our local volunteer run camp. Donate money to your local troop instead of buying cookies.
Heh. I was referred to this page after I got sick-and-tired. I was actually excited when I heard that the GS were letting us do web-based sales. Woot! I can now send e-mail links! I can get remote folks involved! Etc. Buuuuuut… then I saw the site. $11.25 to ship?!?! Hell, no. Likewise, $1.25 for “local delivery.” WTF. I’m a sysadmin by trade, which means that generally folks pay me to not design web sites, but this just pissed me off too much: http://cookies.jots.org was the result. Pretty? No. Super-duper cool, with AJAX, etc.,? Fuck, no. Functional, and leaves the control in our hands? Damn straight. Screw this bass-ackwards you-scratch-my-back-I-scratch-yours thing.
$.02
-Ken
My daughter was a GS well into high school (I was the troop leader). My girls loved doing Fall Sales (nuts/cookies) and Cookie Booth sales. We always had samples in cups on trays, so the girls could stand out and offer folks a taste of new product. NOW, my daughter is at the University of St. Andrews and works in a small cheese shop, where she takes samples out on the street and offers tastes to potential customers! GO GIRL SCOUT SALES TRAINING. So glad we missed the whole online order thing.
I haven’t read all of the responses, so I apologize if this is in some way a repeat of something that was already mentioned. I’ve been a GS leader for 10 years, so you can figure how long my oldest daughter has been a GS. I was a scout as a girl as well.
Ultimately, many of your questions have been directed to the wrong part of the organization. GSUSA has, quite frankly, little to do with cookie sales. Each council negotiates their own contract with one of the two licensed bakeries, just as each council functions as an independent non-profit organization, with its own budget, including salaries and staffing. While GSUSA provides many broad range opportunities for girls, if your girls are only making $.60 per box, it’s because that is what your council negotiated with the bakery (it’s pretty much the standard, by the way). That said, the response you got indicating that the profits from cookie sales are controlled by the girls is wrong. They control their profits ($.60 per box) but the councils get a MUCH larger cut of the profit from the retail cost of the cookies. Granted, the council is also paying for the cookie expenses (trucking, order forms, prizes, etc), but they get a larger chunk than the girls and one can hope that the profit beyond expenses is going to programs that benefit the girls, but you’d have to examine each council’s budget very carefully to itemize that accurately.
The online sales model is a joke. If you’ve ever tried to ship cookies that Grandma Susie ordered, you’d see that the shipping costs are competitive. They probably can’t cut a better rate with a program that they haven’t tested to see what the volume will be. In our council, the customer can only order an 8 box sampler pack, 6 boxes of one variety of cookie or 12 boxes of one variety of cookie. I don’t know why they can’t let customers customize their orders in this day and age. That’s ridiculous.
I have had experience with the local girl scouts on many levels. First, I was a girl scout myself back in the early 80s, my mom was the leader, it was GREAT! Loved it. Then, my own daughter wanted to join, so we went to the girl scout round up, paid her membership and NOTHING. No one called to see if she could meet with a troop. I called no less than 3 times with no response to see what troop she would be in. I finally had to contact the CEO of the local council and she said there were no troops for her to join. She would have to be a “juilette”. What? That is not what girl scouts is about….doing things by yourself, not working as a team. So I asked about the local troop at her school and I was told I had to call the leader and ask if my daughter could join in. So, I did, and the troop leader said NO! It was already an established troop (from the year before) and financially they had raised money to do things and it wouldn’t be fair for her to join in and not had anything to do with funding. So I called back the local council and asked exactly how many juilettes do they have that was my daughters age???? They had 20 girls! 20 girls who paid their membership dues and no one took the initiative at the council to form a troop!!!!!! So I asked for the list, called the 20 girls families and I started a troop. It was fun. I was proud that the girls who had high hopes of being in a troop got to do just that at no help from the council who receives a salary to do a job. Finally, my last and final experience was as an employee at the local council. I had recently been laid off of my job of 10 years in marketing due to our company being bought out. I was approached to come work for the girl scouts and I was excited, because, I knew how much I had been let down by them and I was so excited to help change the council’s approach with their volunteers and make it a better place. I shared my direction and past experience during my interview as well. So, they hired me. And let me tell you, seeing the inside workings was nothing by disappointing. At this particular council, employees would turn off their office lights and shut the door when a volunteer they didn’t want to deal with arrived at the office. There were mature ladies who worked at the council who fought with each other and yelled, slammed doors, etc. It was very embarrassing to be apart of. It is a non for profit, right? How can a non for profit CEO make a salary that was between 80,000-120,000??? Now, this CEO is of the local council…not national. And I live in a small rural area in the midwest where cost of living is low. I don’t work there anymore. I only worked there a few months, because I was hired in January, but not told I would have to re-apply for my job 3 months later due to our council merging with another council. The other council’s marketing PR person had been with girl scouts for 10+ years….so, I saw the writing on the wall, they just needed a marketing PR person to handle the merger locally until the merger took place in October. So stayed and did my job to the best of my ability. (BTW, this is the GIRL Scouts…and the marketing person who I had to interview against for the job was a MALE…he got the job, congrats…but a MALE is the voice of the GIRL Scouts???? ) Did I accomplish, what I wanted? No. Do I buy girl scout cookies…NO! I don’t think it is the ethical thing to do. My experience was, the council didn’t care about the girls, experience in sales, or if they got assigned to a troop. It is ALL MONEY driven. It is sad and I have seen more money spent given awarded to grown women who sit on the board than a girl scout who won an award. Girl scouts are headed in the wrong direction and will continue to do so until they get their act together and put the girls FIRST!
So you know the pension answer is pretty misleading. Factually correct – but spun like a top. Bottom line – problem isn’t solved AT ALL. I believe the phrase is “kicked the can”. Wasted political effort when a real solution is possible. Sorry – I’ve been following this issue for more than a few years (I do pension stuff) and it drives me nuts.
Umm I haven’t read all 665 replies but whoever you are quoting above did not start the Scout movement, that was the Baden-Powells in the UK,
have just rediscover your blog, love it xx
i am so happy you brought attention to this. I was going to support a family friend and went to her online store to order – I felt sick to to my stomach that this organization would do this. I was a Girl Scout growing up and loved it (minus selling cookies because I didn’t not like going door to door!) anyway I thought I was seeing the price wrong like maybe it was not $11 but $1 I went back a few times to check. I won’t be buying online this year it seems really greedy and unprofessional of the organization (not the sweet girls selling them) in my opinion. How sick and twisted they use little girls to sell ONE box of cookies online for $18! How ridiculous!
Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low brought Scouting to the United States in 1912. Lord and Lady Baden-Powell were her friends. They did indeed start Scouting in the United Kingdom, but it was Daisy who brought it to the U.S.
In our council if we opt out of the rewards, we only get an extra nickel per box. “cookie dough” (ie credit for camp and/or store) was also forfeited if you opt out of rewards. it’s a losing proposition as the credit is $0.10/box for the girls and $0.05/box for the troop.
I think Girl Scouts councils should revolt. They are not allowed to do any other fundraiser, all of which are much more profitable than the cookies. Time to stop lining the pockets of the executives and give back to the girls.
I am so glad to see others are taking a stand as well. I have also been reaching out for some answers and keep getting dead air. My own council keeps shutting me down, and I recently found out they chastised some other woman for bringing up the same issues as I am.
We’ve had great success in Girl Scouts with my oldest. She achieved all major awards and her Gold was an incredible project! As a junior in college she has been able to really see what happens when professors find out about her achievement! Now I am having a HUGE challenge with my youngest who is working toward the Bronze….and I am a leader!
The issues are two-fold and mainly with cookies. First they are imposing a REQUIRED quota for cookie sales!!! I am horrified by that. IF they don’t meet that quota, then guess what??? No Bronze, Silver, or Gold for you! It’s bullshit greed. These girls work hard enough on the awards and then a corporate sales quota is placed!!! As far as I know we are the ONLY council in the US that is doing this. I’m all over this!
Let’s be honest ~ are we going to let them cram it down our throats that entrepreneurship is a girl scout value. Plain and simple, it is not. I’ve been a leader for years and sucked it up when the “journeys” came out (KIDS HATE THESE LENGTHY OBNOXIOUS “CURRICULUM-DRIVEN THINGS”) and begrudgingly went along with it when they insisted girls “participate” in BOTH the magazine sales and cookie sales EVERY year and that no other fundraising conflict with these time hoggers. Really, “sell” magazine people our friends/family information for $1.00 a packet. I even put up with the inflation on a box of cookie. But let’s face it, how much of this money do the girls or their choices for projects/community really get? It is DISTURBING that we are now going DIGITAL ~ how far away from child labor are we now? And having the kids do it on the internet? What are we teaching them about social skills? A 13 year old being PUSHED to make high sales and this means she IS SUCCESSFUL! Oh my.
Entrepreneurship is not part of the gs law or promise and never was. Increasing cookie sales via the internet is all about a corporation that is in debt trying to “fix” it on the backs of the girls. It is disturbing.
I hope that scouts and their parents/support persons at home send a big message and VOTE WITH THEIR FEET! Time to move on! I’m out!
Thanks for your blog.
Enough is enough.
This should be a lawsuit. I don’t know who’s pension it is that my daughter is supporting with her sales, but NO WAY!
Wow. I looked everywhere for an answer to why it would cost dear ol’ Nana in Montana $15.25 for a box of her favorite thin mints from her grandchild, and only YOU had the answer. Sort of. But as compensation for the lack of answers from the GS leaders, I found your blog. Awesome. And the post office will kindly ship my package of thin mints to Nana for $3.04, First Class (totaling $7.04–pricey cookies but it’s the thought that counts).
Juliette Gordon Lowe was the BOMB! I have two daughters – one a Girl Scout and one utterly uninterested in Girl Scouts. The non-Girl Scout read the Juliette Gordon Lowe biography and is a huge fan. She still wants nothing to do with Girl Scouts, but is a real JGL fangirl.
I have lots of opinions about Girl Scouts as an organization (some good, some bad), but Juliette Gordon Lowe was still so great!
My friend just sent me an invite to order GS cookies from her daughter online, because apparently you can only order if you’re invited.
I can only order boxes by the dozen or the half-dozen, no onesies twosies, and the cost of shipping is EQUAL to that of the cookies themselves. Sorry dear friend, if I really feel the need for preservative-laden, partially-hydrogenated-vegetable-shortening-laden, highly-empty-caloric snackies, I’ll get them from someone local standing in front of the grocery store.
Seriously, Girl Scouts? Seriously?
I was asking friends for girls to buy cookies from. Came upon this online order and went through until they said I had to pay $1.25 for the girl to deliver the cookies to my house. No way, its the principal. Makes sense maybe if you are getting an order packaged and all that. I looked around and VISA transaction fees run about 1.51% plus .10 per swipe. that comes to .16 cents. If scouts move to online sales in a big way with over 200M boxes sold a year this transaction fee could generate 3 million if all cookies were sold online. Maybe realistically 10% online so we are looking at GSUSA getting a few of us frustrated over $300,000. Love supporting the program but GS and my parents instilled in me a frugal nature
From an Arizona grammy who just ordered 6 boxes to support my little Colorado GS – absolutely ridiculous shipping charges. Next time I’ll send her money; she can buy her own, get the credit, and redistribute as she sees fit.
As the Grandmother of a girl scout that I bought cookies from Im very proud of that is a start.And I’m also the Grandmother of a US Soldier and I hope as Girl Scouts and there parent never sale your cookies to someone that has to be shipped to a soldier because the Co that was Choose to do this is reping our soldier off at the price they choose to dealer to them.If someone has a soldier and wants to buy cookies that is wonderful . Have them come to them and they can send them to a soldier.Our soldiers defend our rights everday and we as Americians need to see to it that they never get treated like this.Thank you From a proud Americian Grandma.
Now little brownie baker can’t meet the demand Colorado is asking for and we are now without cookies. How des a bakery responsible for selling cookies to GSColorado not have cookies? This is year 13 for being a leader of multiple troops and the only reason I stay is the girls. Rural communities have little to offer outside of school sports and girl scouts was our best option to help the community. Now the girls are being told the company responsible is negligent in it’s commitment to us. So girls who set goals, practiced good time management(cookie booth schedules), financial awareness (helping offset camp fees to families) and marketing for weeks now have nothing to finish with.
I’ve been a Girl Scout and leader to teen girls and young girls for more than 40 years. I’m in it because when I was a teen, Girl Scouting gave me an opportunity to develop my public speaking, organization, leadership, and organizational skills, which has allowed me to have a successful career. My five best friends from high school are former Girl Scouts. Many of my adult friends are also Girl Scouts.
It is amazing to watch girls develop incredible self confidence – from learning to light a match and build a fire, learning how to open and sharpen a knife – cut apples and bake a pie – build bookshelves from architectural plans and create a library in a homeless shelter – deliberately dump a canoe and learn to drain it, upright it, and climb back in it – squeeze through a tiny hole in a cave and come out four hours later exhausted, muddy, and triumphant – to our most recent adventure, a girl planned and funded trip to Iceland and England. Best part of the trip was partnering with and getting to know Icelandic and English Guides; one will fly to meet us in the Okefenokee Swamp this spring for a canoeing and camping adventure. Our council, by the way, funds a scholarship for girls earning the Gold Award – $50,000 each year for the last ten years.
So, cookies – cookies are a way to help fund the local council and reap a small reward as a troop. That’s the only way of looking at it; it’s a service project for Girl Scouts that rewards the troop a bit and helps girls build their business skills. And it does that. This is the first year of online cookie sales; over time, the Scouts will work the shipping cost glitches out – though $11 for 6 boxes seems relatively ok to me. The point is to support the girls, so find a troop selling in front of a grocery store and buy some cookies – or better, take a $20 and pop it into their donation jar so the money goes directly to the troop. As a point, troops participating in the cookie sale can also run other fund raisers. Another revenue point – Girl Scout dues are ridiculously small in general, particularly in relationship to the outcome of the program. Troops should increase dues from parents, who pay much higher ballet or dance fees, soccer fees, gymnastics fees – and don’t question them.
The troop members have been ripped off for decades. At 65 cents per box it seems to me that a local bake sale or just begging would reap more for the actual troop. Upper “MANAGEMENT” has gone the way of major corporations…. MONEY FOR MANAGEMENT AND SCREW THE WORKERS.
I left most of this comment on another post, but am repeating it here because it is relevant.
I’m currently a grad student doing an internship that involves being very involved in one of those special troops. We are Girls Scouts Beyond Bars (search it on youtube and you will find the documentary produced about it from 5ish years ago). All of my girls have moms that are either currently in prison, or who were when the girl joined. Our troop is also much bigger than average and includes all levels of Girl Scouts, since our kids are 5-17. Most of my girls sold cookies this year, and I REALLY hope that they made enough money to go on one of the trips that they planned. Even doing something fun in Austin would be great, but getting out of the city is their goal. We (the adults involved) are also working to secure enough money for this program to even exist next year, so direct fundraising outside of cookie sales is pretty tough. I am so in favor of ALL troops getting the funding that they need, but we have found that there are a lot of people who will give generously to Girl Scouts in general, or to programs that served girls and families experiencing homelessness, but do not want to support programs that serve incarcerated women. It really sucks. I have more to say about Gil Scouts, but shall refrain until I graduate.
I’m surprised you received a response. Whenever I try to get an answer out of New York, they always refer my back to my local council. This is exactly what council counts on. They will tell you point blank. That they can do what they want because NY doesn’t care. I was foolish enough to ask my council, why the Troop was trying to force me into being an adult volunteer? We were told by my daughters leader, that if I wanted to register her, that I would have to register myself. I said no. Needless to say that this went over like a lead balloon. Since that time, I’m sure I’ve paid 10 times over for refusing to be a registered adult volunteer. Our troop dues, are up to between $70.00 – $75.00 a year, not including the $15.00 to register. At that I’m still forced to put my hand in my pocket every time the troop does something. The annual financial reports are a joke. One year there was over $1,000 missing from the troop funds, as per the bank statement. When asked to provide an accurate statement I was told if I was unhappy with the way the troop was being handled, I could take my daughter out. Lets be honest there was a time, that being a Girl Scout meant something. The money went to help the girls. Now its all about paying down a $28 million dollar + pension liability. Its sad, and much like you I find myself at the mercy of the Girl Scouts because my daughter like it.
Jenny, I just found your post from a Google search for “Girl Scouts Northern California mismanagement”. I was looking for someone like you in my council who could explain the illogical “GSNorCal Update from the CEO” email I received on March 5: first post on this blog http://girlscoutsnorcalceo.typepad.com/
I think you are shining a flashlight into a very fetid dark cave for us all. I had no idea that there were issues with unfunded pension liabilities. Or, that the NY-based USA group was using their cut of cookie sales for this purpose.
Out here in NorCal, we’ve got problems. The CEO effectively told us three days before the sale ended that our children were dragging their heels. She blamed “declining girl participation” in cookie sales for a 6% below expectation result for 2015. She also told us that 2015 was the 4th year of declining participation. (So, why did the council over-project 2015 sales…wishful and magical thinking?). Another factor was the national shortage of Thin Mints and Samoas. Now, if a large company (say Keebler or Interbake Foods, for example…) with a contract to produce cookies fails…shouldn’t the terms of their contract penalize them for failure to deliver? The CEO was a corporate lawyer for almost 25 years!…just saying.
Now, as a good manager in a pickle, what does the CEO decide to do?
1.She extends a buy-back period of the other five varieties that don’t sell well, which is very good for parents who can’t afford to get saddled with them, but…wouldn’t logic dictate that you lower the price to adjust to the lower demand for these goods? I mean, if someone really needs a Girl Scout cookie and Thin Mints or Samoas aren’t available but the other five are “on sale” for $4, then doesn’t everyone win?
2. She lowers the reward structure so the girls get lots more badges and useless chachkas for fewer sales. Great. Motivation to do a worse job next time!
3. She lays off three staff and freezes new hiring. I’m sorry, but the layoffs should be averted through good management and more conservative projection of revenues. The hiring freeze is the only sensible move I see so far…
4. She cancels “non-essential” capital projects on properties. One of these projects is forest management work at Camp Deer Lake in the High Sierra that was described in December 2014 as “essential maintenance, we will NOT operate summer resident camp at Deer Lake during summer 2015”. Hello! Lose revenue by choosing to close to do work that is necessary and then say it is not necessary?
It is thoroughly beyond me why there was no communication in the second week of the sale when, if we felt compelled, we could have hustled our daughters to sell more, MORE, MORE!
So, long rant, but can you help me find folks in my council who might be feeling as annoyed, disgusted, and ornery as I am? I’ve not found much public information and I’m not very connected in to the volunteer structure. I am only in my second year, was never a scout myself (thanks, Mom?) and have a 1st grade Daisy who got to spend a few hours as child labor…for what?!?
You Rock!
Jenny, thank you for posting this detailed blog entry about important issues relating to Girl Scouts. An alternative and better digital cookie solution was previously built by a company called Snackbooth for the Cookie sale. It integrated with Facebook, Paypal and Amazon for a seamless cookie ordering experience, was way less expensive both with fees and shipping and very easy to operate both for councils, girls and customers.
It was built in close consultation with Girls Scout Councils in Montana and Wyoming and Utah, but was snubbed by GSUSA who spent millions instead building the current version that has encountered many problems.
I am the CEO of that company, so full disclosure. 🙂 Rest assured we will continue to follow up with GSUSA, hopefully they will come to their senses and outsource their technology needs to specialists so they can get back to running Girl Scouting.
I don’t where you are but I have to echo many of these sentiments. My 11 year old looked at me when we were talking about cookie sales this year and asked “Mom, they closed my camp this year and didn’t even tell us why. Now they want us to go out and sell cookies to make them money? Our troop doesn’t even get 25% of the sales. How is that helping me learn about money? It tells me that they are using us to make money for them because we are all cute and stuff and it’s easier for us to sell it than them. What does my troop get out of it? What do I get out of it” EXACTLY. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
My Daisy sold 1300 cookies for the Golden Triangle Service Unit of GSATL. I signed up as co-leader and footed a good portion of troop supplies myself including hosting meetings at my home. My co-leader got together with a friend to have me kicked out of the troop and council says that the troop must be split and all of the money distributed equally between the girls, even the ones who only sold 15 cookies. While I was ok with this while we served in the troop, it’s not ok to kick us out and keep our money. The Service Unit is only helpful if you are giving them money. Getting an answer from them for things as small as how to register for 1st aid is a huge hassle.
Dear Jenny and her blog readers,
Check out my friend’s blog about Girl Scout Cookies. Here’s an excerpt below: [To read he’s full blog post “Let’s Talk About Girl Scout Cookies” go to: http://spoonfedblog.net/2011/01/07/lets-talk-girl-scout-cookies/
Years ago, before I got squicky about things like refined sugars and oils, GMOs and chemicals in my food, I thought nothing of buying a few boxes from co-workers and neighborhood kids. Then I learned what’s in Girl Scout cookies (including pesticide-laden cottonseed oil and eco-nightmare palm oil), lost my taste and haven’t thought about them since. Tess has never had a Girl Scout cookie. We don’t have family or friends who pester us to buy them. (I haven’t seen a door-to-door Girl Scout in forever.) And when we’ve walked by the tables local troops set up outside banks and stores, we’ve just smiled and kept going.
http://spoonfedblog.net/2011/01/07/lets-talk-girl-scout-cookies/
Jenny – I have never been a Girl Scout, but I have been guilted into buying cookies. Seems like you opened a Cookie Box here that just needed to be opened and I would expect nothing less from the Bloggess. But that’s not the point for my comment. My comment here is to let you know of a story I just came across that you might find a little more heartening on the Girl Scout front. xo
http://magazine.good.is/articles/girl-scouts-reject-donation-excluded-trans-girls?utm_source=thedailygood&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailygood
Hi Girl Scouts my name is Davinna I was wondering do you have to pay money to get in Girl Scouts??
If you’re looking for alternative scouting programs, check out Frontier Girls. It has been amazing. The selection of badges is mind-boggling (there’s even a Dr. Who badge) and depending on which elective badges you choose to complete the Gem Award at the highest level, the requirements can be as challenging as (or possibly more so than) those for attaining Eagle Scout rank in Boy Scouts. I run my own troop for my two girls who are in different age groups and I’m making sure they do everything a Boy Scout does. There is also a parallel program for boys and/or co-ed troops called Quest if you don’t want to be an official “Frontier Girls” troop (girls only, higher power requirement).
The support from the program director is incomparable and there are no required fundraisers. You are the captain of your own troop ship.
My girls are still in Girl Scouts so they can earn their Gold Award since it is recognized by universities. However, if you want a flexible, well-rounded scout experience for girls without all the GS hullabaloo, the Frontier Girls program can provide it.
http://frontiergirlsclubs.com/
If you’re looking for alternative scouting programs, check out Frontier Girls. It has been amazing. The selection of badges is mind-boggling (there’s even a Dr. Who badge) and depending on which elective badges you choose to complete the Gem Award at the highest level, the requirements can be as challenging as (or possibly more so than) those for attaining Eagle Scout rank in Boy Scouts. I run my own troop for my two girls who are in different age groups and I’m making sure they do everything a Boy Scout does. There is also a very flexible, parallel program for boys and/or co-ed troops called Quest if you don’t want to be an official “Frontier Girls” troop (girls only, higher power requirement).
The support from the program director is incomparable and there are no required fundraisers. You are the captain of your own troop ship.
My girls are still in Girl Scouts so they can earn their Gold Award since it is recognized by universities. However, if you want a flexible, well-rounded scout experience for girls without all the GS hullabaloo, the Frontier Girls program can provide it.
http://frontiergirlsclubs.com/
the cookies have changed over the past few years. The quality just isn’t there anymore. I won’t pay $5.00 per box no matter how cute the kid is that comes to the door, and I certainly wouldn’t order them online. Who can afford either way??? I might just try the recipes myself, and I’ll bet I can make a ton of cookies for the cost of one shipped box of GS cookies.
I love this blog. I am a troop leader, and Girl Scouts makes me so mad. We sold over $16,000 in cookies. We got about $2700 of it, then we had to pay the dues for the year and it was $375 for my troop. They offer a cookie class to help girls learn to sale, but it will cost you $30 a pop.
I really wish we got more for how much we sale. It’s so much work for the girls and their families.
I just found this blog. My daughter is in 7th grade and has been a GS since kindergarten. I like and appreciate so much of what GS does and what it stands for. Some things are ridiculous though. We were just told that every GS who has sold at least 12 boxes of cookies every year that she has been a GS, will get a letter of recommendation (once they’re in HS) from our GS CEO to use for college applications. This is a good thing and very thoughtful, except it’s retroactive. My daughter has sold approximately 80 boxes of cookies every single year for 6 years and last year some of the moms didn’t want to sell cookies so we didn’t. We would have if we had known that 12 boxes would mean a letter of recommendation. So an 8th grader that’s new to GS can sell 12 boxes per year for 3-4 years and get the letter, but because we missed the one year, we are not eligible. Our 12 years of selling will not qualify because they just made the announcement. Not happy.
I’m so glad I found this post today. Last year my daughter Scarlett began her journey in Girl Scouts, or Brownies? Same thing? Anyways… She was 6 then and as of writing she’s now 7. This is our second year in the cookie business and we encountered so many of the items mentioned above. One notably was the Digital Cookie experience. *disclaimer. I’m a User Experience Designer by trade so I’m way more picky about websites than most. Anyways, I had many decline the cookies with a stare of “are you trying to rob me with shipping costs? No Thank You” Okay $12 bucks for a $4 box of cookies is undoubtedly too much for your thin mint kick. Even for those die hard cookie monsters. Also had many state, “I bought cookies but opted out of shipping, please bring me my cookies. Apparently there’s a fee for this as well? Now if it’s a $1 to ship a box overseas to our Armed Men and Women nut $12 to ship to my neighbor, then we’ve got problems. Now here’s the second reason I’m commenting and I may get in trouble over this when it officially launches but…
I wanted a better digital buying experience, something simple and easy to use. Something a 7 year old could read and manage almost on her own. Something where we could take payments digitally then submit physically on the due date. Something that would ultimately avoid all these extra costs. Something that is fool proof and doesn’t fail (sorry Dell). Something that troops could use or any girl scout on her own. I call it (Get Cookies) and you can find me at http://www.getcookies.org
Now let me explain. It’s too late for this season. I’m still building on it. Also I’ve only listed the LBB brand as of now, ABC coming soon. But with a little engineering via PHP (and WordPress) plus a stripe API using the donations/non profit processing (minimal fees). I know all geek talk, I’m hoping to have this little web app live and rocking for girl scouts to sell cookies.
Lastly, I want to help. Not just my daughter but all girls. Especially those at-risk, low income, with busy parents or girl scouts with disabilities. I wanted to make something very simple for them to use.
I’d love for folks to help, get involved and contribute if they see fit, for the girls. There’s will eb a blog where we can share tips for selling (instead of $30 a pop training), recipes for cookie concoctions, community threads for GS troop support. I welcome feedback +/- suggestions or ideas.
Thanks
Jason
p.s. Was this duped, may have submitted twice 😉
My great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother were all presidents and vice-presidents of our local council, and my aunt works for the Girl Scouts of America. So while this isn’t by any means an “official” response, I do know a little bit about this. If cookies cost $2 a box to make and they’re sold for $4 a box, that $2 profit is split between the council and the troop. The troop will get maybe $.50 and the council gets the other $1.50. How do they use that money? The troop gets to decide what to do with their money – camping, projects, whatever. The council also gets to decide how to use their funds, and so it varies depending on what programs each council has, or what amenities. For instance, they may split it between their campground, their facility rental, and their programs for the girls in their area, and they actually decide this before they start selling so that they can create a budget and set appropriate sales goals. It doesn’t just “line someone’s pockets”. I believe that they are also required to report their cookie sales, profit, and disbursement of said profits to Girl Scouts of America (at least they did when my mother was VP of her council). Camps don’t just run on resident camp fees, and girls’ dues don’t cover everything. Girl Scouts is a non-profit organization. Like all non-profits, they have their problems, but I assure you, the money that goes to the council IS going back to the girls – maybe not as directly as you’d like, but without cookie money, they wouldn’t have a camp to go to or programs set up for them or any of the other benefits of being a Girl Scout.
Girl Scouts is BS look into Frontier Girls. After a VERY BAD experience today I am done.
I am in GS. Here is my list of horible things.
1. You pay 4$, troop gets .60$.
2. The “non profit” organizatin can’t fund an historical camp but gives out ipads? What?
3. “Camps” are very hard to find.
4. One of my favorite things (sarcasam) is the badges. Namely the child care badge, the cooking badge, the cleaning badge, and the secret you’re a woman you do housework badge.
5. AND the stuff GS “teaches” you, (cough cough people skills) are not taught by standing like a robot hands folded staring and expresionless asking in a netural voice.”Would you like some girl scout cookies?” If you say something else or act in anyother way you are breaking councils rules.
I am a (slightly hyper) troop leader and love everything about it on a girl level. I don’t like the politics of it all. If it weren’t for the girls, I’d quit yesterday!
I just had to post because of your ending of this post about Juliette Low…you made me laugh! I wish she were still alive today just to read that!
My favorite one…
Since my daughter got her GOLD Award last year.
She is now 17.
She gets a semi official looking invitation.
Says “You’re Invited”.
Celebrating the centennial of Gold award recipients.
Honoring all women who have earned their Gold awards.
In the RSVP area it says.
ON DECK BAR AND GRILL!!!!!
Must be 21 to attend????
Free to attend no cost.
Why did they send this to my 17 year old.
Who now feels she will not be a worthwhile Girl Scout member and honored until she is 21 to go to a party.
Was this a shipping error.
Better yet….
Is this where parts of our funding and money is going is to bar parties.
For the adults.
I for one know I have never been invited to any swanky bar parties.
As a parent we only get to go to the kumbaya at the campfire rustic camping trips.
And smores and camp food is good enough for us.
But apparently certain ADULTS are funded free bar parties.
While the rest of us VOLUNTEER for FREE….
Because it’s what is right.
Instead of collecting big bucks and making our kids go make us money for party times.
I have to wonder where these high powered execs would be without the girl scouts peddling cookies for them.
So they can sit back and give no answers but close more buildings.
We were threatened with closure of our hut.
That I grew up with.
We are currently still fighting so we can have a place.
I laughed at the comment up there about being aware of how money is spent.
I know the camp properties are paid for by money.
BUT many are legacy lands given in living wills to girl scouts.
As our local building was.
The council about had a duckfit when they wanted to close and sell it.
It was brought to light that if it is closed and not used for GIRL SCOUT toop use.
It is to be returned to the family not to be sold.
Documented real LEGAL like.
That’s the way to go.
But most of these extra campouts are planned by the girls and the blood sweat and tears of non paid volunteers.
And the repairs and many supplies and hours put in are volunteered and donated as well.
Badges are not given GRATIS when earned.
Those are sold also along with a whole hoard of other merchandise.
Including the many ever changing books.
When people start passing them along and less books sell cause they are all over ebay.
They revamp and remake them.
So you can no longer share.
And 20+ for a book another 20 or more for uniform.
I was easily out 100 each girl for all the bits.
And the troops still get charged for the badges and recognitions.
So it doesn’t cost as much as you think.
I sent my girls to the 3-400$ per head camp once.
And the finger painting and stuff they did for that much money was nuts.
Cause again they were selling the shirts and goodies there too.
They bring a store to them.
I’m just glad my kiddos are almost done.
Cause we volunteer so much it is exhausting.
But our reward is our kids happiness.
Not a big old salary and pension.
I have been searching everywhere for a means to contact Jenny Lawson privately so as not to embarrass her (because I’m NICE [look it up]) but she won’t let me.
“… unchartered” (Let’s Pretend…, page 175 probably… I can’t check. I gave the book back.) definitely ought to be “uncharted”.
Yes. I will proof your future writing.
You’re welcome.
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I googled “Girl Scouts sucks” tonight after being frustrated again by the utter lack of competence of this organization at any level. It is just amazing to believe how much training is required to become a troop leader for your kid and then it just seems like the organization lacks assistance and requires you to purchase items at very turn. One outfit- shell out $50. Troop fees- another $50. Buy this buy that. Someone is getting rich somewhere it just isn’t hard to see. You were already my hero for your Beyoncé story. I went out and bout my own giant metal chicken just because of it. The guy couldn’t figure out why he was suddenly selling so many of them. But tonight I google this and it leads me back to you and validation. Thank you. Thank you.
I’ve been a Girl Scout leader for 6 years. I agree that there are many frustrating aspects of the organization at the council level but I’m fortunate to be in a council that seems to improve more and more each year. The online cookie sales is new. When I heard it was offered I ignored it simply because I knew even before I checked that the shipping was going to be a problem and the parents would gripe. I steered the parents away from it. Simple.
However there’s one thing that needs to be said here. The mom’s/leader’s griping is likely warranted based on my own experience but let’s stop for a minute and talk about what makes a good Girl Scout troop are leaders (and parents/volunteers) who can organize parents and drive good program, meetings and activities that make a difference. Like in a job. If you are the leader of a group sometimes you have to figure out how to organize an effort to its end including dealing with all the red-tape bad bosses and lack of personnel and poor pay.
So hearing parents that attend meetings and hide in the corner tells me all I need to know. There is an expectation (and training for parents to discuss this expectation) that if you attend a meeting you should engage. Chatty chatty in the corner sends a horrible message to the scouts. If you’re not interested in engaging in the effort or cause then don’t show up. Sometimes you gotta look inside yourself and ask “what can I do to improve this scouting experience for my childr”. The time it took to do the research, send the emails, write the blog, read the blog posts could have been spent serving your scout’s troop. Please call your scout’s leader and ask her if you can lead a meeting on a subject you are passionate about.
Carolyn
Carolyn, above, are you saying, “play like we want you to or don’t show up?” Is that really a good Girl Scout message? I seriously doubt Jenny was “Chatty chatty” in the corner. If you read her post more carefully, you may have figured that out too. Excluding parents from trying to support their child (in what way they can) doesn’t seem like it’s sending a good message. I feel like you’re saying, “fit the mold or get out.” I was under the impression that Girl Scouts were better than that, but I could very well be wrong.
I’ve been a cookie mom for years and was Googling an “issue” when I found this. I’ve been reading Jenny’s blog (also for years), but apparently not enough to have read this entry before. Glad I found it now.
Jenny, for so many reasons, THANK YOU. I’d like to join the Doctor Who/Zombie/Night Vale Club even if only in spirit.
Who do we go to, if we would like to call for an audit of an individual troop? Our cookie sales(even at .60 per box) should be over $8,400. And our Troop Leader says we have earned $3,500. With that amount, we can’t take a trip that was promised to our girls. The excuse of fees, food, and badges isn’t okay. I’d rather skip my kid’s 600 boxessold and just donate $100 to the troop. But, I want to make sure our Troop leader isn’t mishandling funds.
I’ve heard many people complain about scouts selling cookies. Good grief. Just say NO, if you don’t wish to buy any. It’s that simple!
I was a scout and so were my sisters , we had to carry the cookies door to door . I sold cookies for 5 yrs , but they didn’t let us attend the camp until we were 11 . We stayed over 1 night at a camp with nothing but tents with wooden floors and a fire pit . There was an outside dirty spicket sticking out of the ground full of rusty water . We cooked on buddy burners that we made from coffee cans . We got ice cream once . We had a new leader my last year , she was awful . She insisted that every girl had to sell 2 cases and take them , once you take them there yours , how was to pay for these at almost $100 . She called me and said they would have an all day Saturday sale and I was to go . I delivered papers and was unable to . She told me if I was so concerned about selling my cookies I should find someone else to do my route or hope I make enough from my paper route to pay for my cookies . Then she said if they sold enough for a troop party I wouldn’t be allowed to go since I wasn’t participating in the Saturday sale . I knew there wouldn’t be a troop party . Then she decided to buy trefoil pins with the money for our troop . When I told her I already had mine from flying up from brownies she belittled me and said I didn’t deserve 1 anyway . She kicked me out for throwing a grass hopper on a girl , I was glad . Yrs later my special needs daughter wanted to join and the counselor from Easter seals thought it would be great to combine our camping experience for badges . The troop leader was horrible , refused us any badge opportunities because it wouldn’t be fair to the other girls ( her daughter and her friends ) they went to the library and did crafts and each girl took turns bringing a snack . She badgered me with phone calls nit picking on trivial petty things and demanded our dues in advance . We sold over 250 boxes of cookies , I asked for my daughters prize with no response , when I asked about the camp ship she said I’d get it in the mail , nothing . Finally I called the council , she never gave our address to them so I could get the camp information . The secretary said no one was interested because the girls played softball from April through July . I finally got my brochure but after driving it over on the last day since I only had 2 days left when I got it . The secretary wasn’t there . So I drove it over the following Monday and they wouldn’t take it . Past the deadline , even after I told her I brought it the Friday before and she was gone . Too bad , she told me the troop money was set and the leader was planning an overnight party at a hotel so my daughter could do that . I called the troop leader repeatedly for weeks . Finally after several weeks she answered . They had the party and my daughter wasn’t invited , they decided to have it before they went on vacation when most the girls could attend the day after softball was over since I wasn’t there to bad , it was really the only time she could do it and a lot of girls didn’t go , oh well . I asked for the prize , she said she couldn’t find it so she gave my daughter a used MP3 player that was broken . It was obvious she deliberately made my daughter lose her camp ship , excluded her from the troop party and stole her MP3 player prize and gave me her daughters old broken 1 . When I questioned her about the fairness of using the cookie money for everyone but my daughter , she said she paid most of the hotel fee out of her own pocket . The cookie money only covered the pizza . So my daughter got nothing for saling $1000 worth of cookies . When I went to the council and complained to the head person , she told me oh well there’s next year and since I admitted that my camp paperwork was late due to my fault ! , that was my problem . About the second week of sept , the leader called to tell me that if summer was joining she needed to be there for candy sales preparation . I tasked why she didn’t tell me the troop had resumed she says well I do it by email and I didn’t have yours on file . But she made sure to call before candy sales . I told her what an awful person she was and the horrible message she was teaching her daughter and friends . girl scouts excludes girls with disabilities except to sale for them . The troop leader pays and volunteers for everything . They would let my daughter go to there crappy camp for a weekend over a technicality . She got nothing for the $1000 in sales but they got there money . All the CEOs makes a half million salary , empowering girls what a crock , there empowering there bank accounts with child labor and could care less . Not just the 800million in cookie sales , they have candy sales and nut sales make the girls work most the year . They pay nothing for any of it but some 5 cent badge maybe if they have a day off from work and a weekend at some low rent camp ground if your first to get your application in , if . I will never ever support Girl Scouts , abusive hurtful uncaring scam artist .
Without cookie sales they wouldn’t have a camp to go to , they don’t get to go now unless you get your application in first and you magically pick a weekend that isn’t full without no way of knowing . Non profit for the girls and the leaders , I think a $400, 000 salary is a profit and the con artist can’t even answer an email on there new online scam . Had a letter sent about the vision and the future , obvious it’s a con . Promise these girls things and it some idiotic rule over petty stuff that it never happens . Nothing but lies , how can we get them investigated
I have been having big problems getting through to the correct people at Girl Scouts Of America Corporate headquarters in New York City. I have put together a concept program that could double their cookie sales while getting millions of dollars of FREE publicity advertising on television and printed newspapers and magazines. However, I can’t get through to anyone of value at their headquarters! When I called to ask for simple E-Mail address the person on the phone said he could only take a message to pass onto another division. He took my info and sent me a copy of it but this guy was totally illiterate! He did not write down what I had conveyed to him and his spelling was horrible! I could not understand what hed had written so how is anyone else going to get my important information that can make a huge difference in Girl Scout cookie sales and revenue! This has been very frustrating!
I recently stumbled across your blog. After reading this I feel more secure in my decision to quit leading Girl Scouts. I would like to share my experience here in hopes that it reaches someone in gurl Scouts and maybe provides a warning take to future leaders. Because my daughter is still in Girl Scouts as she is hopelessly in love with the organization I will change names where applicable.
I was a Girl Scout for a short time in my youth. My troop was horrid. The troop leaders daughter over ran everything and the troop was more about playing favorites than anything else. I wasn’t a very popular child and as such was regularly shunned even in troops functions. Despite this when my child decided she wanted to join Girl Scouts, and after making her wait about three months to be SURE it was something she realllly wanted and not just a whim, I signed her up. She was in first grade and it was nearing the end of cookie season so I knew she wouldn’t get involved in cookies this year. (Yes this all started at the beginning of this year). I paid her money, for assigned a troop and reached out to the troop leader to find out what all my daughter needed to bring to the meeting and what uniform was required. “Just go to the store, they can get her set up but I’ll email you a list of uniform bits if you have to have them and just bring anything it doesn’t really matter” was the response. Horrid right? So I took it upon myself and went to the store after exhaustive research. I bought her the full daisy uniform and starter patches such as troop numbers, council patched, flag. Etc. total cost 132.00. It was insane. But I digress, the lady at the store did try to sell me the “basics in a bag” which after some numbers crunching I decided was going to be MORE expensive than if I purchased what she needed separately.
As we are waiting for her first meeting I was contacted about leading, there was a new daisy leader who needed a co-leader for a brand new troop. I talked to my daughter and she agreed that she wants me involved too. So I signed up. It’s been 20 years since I was a Scout…maybe it’s changed. I go to the leadership training. What a joke. We spend three hours pouring over stories about Juliette Gordon Low and nothing else. Fine, I can do this. I’ll learn it all by myself then. I took my role as leader seriously and wasn’t going to fail at this no matter what. It didn’t matter that I didn’t WANT to lead, I was a leader and lead is what I was going to do. The new leader, let’s call her Anna, and I meet several times, plan a lot of things out and get everything set up for our first meeting. It went well if all things are considered. The next 7 meetings the leader would tell me TEN MINUTES before the meeting she wouldn’t be there. I was stuck leading by myself. Each week several times a week I contacted the one and only contact I had in GS to get help. Nothing. Finally I show up to her morning coffee hang out and demand help. “Good news…I’m meeting with two perspective leaders tomorrow. Your welcome to join the meeting”. So I go to the meeting and meet these perspectives. Things go well and I’m matched with one of them as a leader. It goes horrid from there again. I’m constantly doing the meetings on my own, GS can’t seem to get their butts in gear and get us any of the stuff I need as a troop leader and won’t give us the “troop startup fund of 50.00” to help so everything from badges and patches to art supplies to fees for activities are coming out of my pocket. I’m willing to do this for the troop, after all it’s not the girls fault that GS council in our area (the largest national council area) sucks. Finally after another three months of this I inform the (STILL) only contact I have in GS and tell her I’m not doing this anymore. This sucks, the council is no help. Your the only person I have contact with and guess what..my new co-leader is screwing off everythjng. I’m done. SIX WEEKS go by before GS says anything. At this point I personally got ahold of the other troop leader from that morning meeting all those weeks ago and put my daughter in her troop.
Things go well except…we find (like many of you) that the cookie sales are jacked all around and the girls get little to no profit for their troop from their sales. The fall product sales are pretty much the same way. Our council still isn’t doing anything and has no responsibility to their leaders. The girls are forced to put themselves out to sell the products and the cookies BUT there is no help from the GS council on how to do this because door to door is pretty much not happening with how young the troop girls are at this level. So we bring this up to the council at their online council contact page. This was the response:
“We are currently not addressing any issues that concern the sale of fall product or cookies”. The fall products go on sale in a week, the leaders of my daughters new troop STILL don’t have training on them, the council won’t answer questions, the parents are clueless and expect the troop leader to do all the work, the girls are excited for all the “amazing things” they will get to do as a result of fall products but have no clue how much money they are actually getting. There’s no instruction to the children about how this works just “ go sell stuff”. So they aren’t even being educated on why or how or anything. Remember we are talking about a mixed troop of daisies and brownies so kindergarten to second grade. Currently the troop doesn’t accept third grade. These girls….are being peddled out as the adorable face of Girl Scouts to earn money to pay Girl Scout employees and nothing else. That’s child labor to me and it’s despicable. I sincerely hope my daughter drops Girl Scouts soon. I can’t think of a more dishonest and backhanded organization involving children. It’s no wonder young girls grow to be so….bitter…to other girls. After the Girl Scouts has gotten ahold of them, it’s a learned habit.
I quit girl scouts. Due to a lazy leader. We never did any real camping or anthing useful for that matter. So i never had a good view of them
If people that write articles cared more about writing great material like you, more readers would read their content. It’s refreshing to find such original content in an otherwise copy-cat world. Thank you so much.