Cookies

Episode 11 – The 2020 Cookie Episode

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The year-by-year Cookie Entrepreneur Family pin collection is the latest addition to the Girl Scout Cookie Program—and was inspired by and designed for families just like yours!

It’s never been easier to support your girl as she develops business skills, makes amazing memories, and earns a different pin for her uniform every cookie season. The simple, age-specific guidelines have been tailored for her developing skill set, making success a snap.

Purchase the pin (worn by girls only) here: click here to go to the Girl Scout Shop.

Check out where to place the pin on the Girl Scout uniform here: https://www.girlscouts.org/en/our-program/uniforms/where-to-place.html

Save the Date:
National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend is February 28 – March 1, 2020!

Get the patch! Click here to go to the Girl Scout Shop.

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Practicing the 5 Skills After Cookie Season

Cookie season is finished, or nearly finished, for most Girl Scouts about now. But this doesn’t mean that the 5 Skills girls are learning just disappear. Here are some ways to reinforce entrepreneurial and business skills even after the booth sales and deliveries end.

Goal Setting

It’s after cookie season that the benefits of goal setting start to show. Yes, she set a cookie goal. Whether she reached it or not, it was probably connected to earning funds to DO SOMETHING!! Be sure to show her the connection between her new adventure and her hard work in the cookie program. Sometimes it can be months after the cookie program has ended, so she might forget all that time and effort. Show her that goal setting means goal achieving.

Decision Making

When you’re making your plans to do something awesome with the troop’s cookie proceeds, keep girls at the center of decision making. Let them make the spending choices. Do they need to pick between Waterpark A and Waterpark B? Show them the prices and amenities, and then let them discuss value. Do they need to plan a meal for their field trip? Talk about the prices of restaurants compared to a bag lunch. Girls should continue to make decisions about their money all year long.

Money Management

Your troop might have made a budget during the cookie program based on your goals. Now is a good time to update it. Keep girls in-the-know about the status of their finances. It’s important to talk about how much of your budget you’re spending on supplies for take action projects or badge activities.

People Skills

When talking with each other about the troop’s finances and goals, girls will have to listen to other’s opinions and share their own about how to use their funds. They will learn to negotiate and build consensus on what to do by listening to others and speaking up for themselves.

Business Ethics

Girls might not be doing any selling throughout the rest of the year, but they are customers. Flip the script and talk about the ethics of being a customer. How do you talk to or behave with a waiter, ticket takers, or store clerk? Give the girls a chance to reflect on how their behavior affects the businesses and the staff they interact with.

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Keeping Your Booth Sale Focused On The Girls

National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend is February 22-24, 2019! Celebrate the annual event by hosting a cookie booth! Selling at a cookie booth is a fantastic way for girls to practice their 5 skills: goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics. Take a look at our list of things to keep in mind for a smooth, successful booth sale.

Planning With Your Girls Before Your Booth Sale

  • What to bring – Make a packing list with your girls about what they need at their booth. You’ll definitely need a cash box, maybe a credit card reader (plus phone/tablet and charger). Check to see if you need to bring your own table. What decorations will you be bringing? Maybe spend some time during a meeting making some signs to make your booth pop!
  • What to wear – Everyone will want to wear their vest, sash or tunic. Make sure all the girls and families understand where the booth will be and what kind of weather they might be experiencing.
  • Setting expectations – Whether booth sales are new for your troop, or you’ve done plenty before, it’s always a good idea to remind girls what kind of behavior is expected. Consider making a group contract at the meeting right before your booth sale. Brainstorm what is appropriate behavior at a booth sale, write it down, and have each person sign the piece of paper. If girls start leaning toward inappropriate behavior, you can remind them of their agreement.

Practice Before The Booth Sale

  • Making change – Have girls practice making change with coins and bills. All girls, even our littlest ones, can count back change at the booth. It might take a little longer than if an adult stepped in, but it’s the girls’ program, so let them try, and help out when needed.
  • What to say – Your girls probably practiced knocking on doors or talking on the phone before the initial sale. Now is a good time to revisit how to ask a passerby to purchase Girl Scout cookies.

At Your Booth

  • What will everyone do? – You probably will have more than one girl at the booth at a time, so how will you keep everyone busy. There’s plenty of work to be done, so divide the tasks to give everyone a purpose. You might have one girl waving a sign, someone who takes the order, someone handling payments, and another refreshing the display on your table. Girls might gravitate to one role, but make sure you give them a chance to rotate and practice new skills.

Good luck with your booth sales, Girl Scouts!

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Where Girl Scout Cookie Proceeds Really Go

Girl Scout Cookies are about so much more than the sweet treats we anticipate each season; your purchase powers life-changing adventures for girls while helping them build real-life skills. Here’s how it’s done.  

As the biggest annual financial investment in girls in the United States, the Girl Scout Cookie Program sets the stage for girls to discover their inner leadership potential. All year long, they map out their plans to influence the world around them, be it through nurturing their love of the outdoors or using science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to create sustainable solutions. Their vision for a better tomorrow is realized when you support the largest girl-led entrepreneurship program in the world. For some girls, it means putting their cookie money toward impactful community projects right in their own backyards. For others, it means saving up to fund travel so they can see firsthand the world that they’ll one day transform.  

Whatever their plans are, one thing’s for certain: the proceeds from Girl Scout Cookies stay in your local area to benefit girls and Girl Scout councils. Councils depend on these earnings to run their programming, which prepares Girl Scouts for a lifetime of leadership, success, and adventure in a safe, no-limits place designed for and by girls! 

Offering hands-on, girl-centered learning in STEM, the outdoors, and entrepreneurship, as well as abundant opportunities to develop invaluable life skills, Girl Scouts helps all girls take the lead early and often. The Girl Scout Leadership Experience pairs girls with strong, caring female role models and mentors who encourage them to step up and make their voices heard. And we’re backed by more than 100 years of experience. 

The sweetest part of all?  

Your purchase and support of a Girl Scout’s cookie business means that you, too, are making sure data is not destiny; research shows that female-founded start-ups generate more revenue over time than male-founded start-ups, but unfortunately, only 17 percent are female-founded. Thanks to the Girl Scout Cookie Program, however, we’re changing that—girls as young as five are building business savvy that proves to be crucial to shattering glass ceilings through skills like goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics. It’s no wonder over half of female entrepreneurs are Girl Scout alums.  So, at a time when the world needs more women in the boardroom, support a more equitable future and treat yourself—it’s a win-win! 

Because the iconic cookie program is not only developing the next generation of female business leaders but also inciting real change in communities across the globe.  

A cookie has never tasted so sweet. 

Are you ready to help girls succeed? Use our Cookie Finder to find Girl Scout Cookies near you! 

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Top Ten Cookie Sellers

The 2018 Cookie season is in the books. Our girls did an amazing job selling cookies, working booths and managing their business. While many sold well over 1,000 boxes, there were some that were able to sell upwards of 2,000 boxes.

The Top Ten Cookie Sellers for 2018 are:

Girl Scout Service Unit Total
Ashley Henderson Sparkling Rivers 3795
Senaia Asanya Foliage 2687
Temperance Houck Ohana 2156
Sabrina Mcelwain Voyager 2043
Serenity Blackley Voyager 2039
Hailey Gomez Imagine 2024
Meryem Belghazi East Orange 2004
Rebecca Zehnal Imagine 2000
Kayleigh Remer Voyager 2000
Melissa Janes Heart of Lake 2000

 

 

Congratulations Girl Scouts! You did an incredible job this year.

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Troop Funds and Troop Spending

Earning the troop funds this year was hard work, but selling fall product and cookies really paid off in the end. So how will your troop spend their earnings?

Helping girls decide what they want to do, and coaching them as they earn and manage money to pursue their goals, is an integral part of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE). Your Girl Scout troop plans and finances its own activities, with your guidance. At the same time the girls learn valuable skills that serve them throughout their lives.

Girls can save the money for something big they want to do… like go on a trip or end-of-year party. They can also look to do a lot of little things throughout the year. It really depends on what the troop decides on.

I suggest putting the money into three piles to help your troop decide what to do with the earnings.

  1. Spend a Little
  2. Save a Little
  3. Give a Little

You and your troop can decide how much of your earnings should go into each pile.

Spend a Little

Last year my troop decided to go to Wonder Works and iFly Orlando. Both were fun and entertaining experiences. The girls braved indoor skydiving one day and challenged themselves at the high ropes course at Wonder Works another day.

We also wanted to be sure our troop continued as a troop. So while the girls had fun with some of the money, they were also responsible enough to save for troop expenses and older girl programs. We spent some of the saved funds for badge supplies and Citrus Council programs.

There are many ways a troop can spend their troop earnings. They can decide to spend it on everything from uniforms to summer camp registrations, and everything in between.

Some items that come to mind:

  • Early Bird Registration fee for adults & girls
  • Uniforms
  • Journey books
  • Bridging Supplies or Kits
  • Girl Scout Summer Camp registration
  • Discounted Program events hosted by Council
  • Service Community Camporee

Save a Little

It’s always a good idea to save a little money for a rainy day. You just never when you’ll need that extra bump. It might be tapped to help the troop reach a goal or to help with unforeseen expenses. Generally, it’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

This can also be a great way to build for a long term goal. So while the troop spends some of their funds on fun activities throughout the year and troop expenses, they can also put aside a little at a time. The goal being to build enough of a reserve for a big party or a nice troop trip.

Give a Little

Our girls are always thinking of others before themselves. Setting up a pile for them to donate to a charity of their choice can be a great way to support them in this. It was amazing to hear about how so many troops donated a portion of their earnings to help their community and to those in need during Hurricane Irma and Maria.

Some troops also work on Take Action Projects. Often times there are specific supplies needed for these projects. Rather than looking for donations, troops can use this portion of their funds to buy the much needed supplies.

Your Role

As a co-leader it is your role to help guide your girls in their financial decisions. Having them learn about saving, earning, and spending can help them in adulthood.

It is also important to remember that all volunteers listed on troop/group bank accounts are ultimately responsible for troop/group finances. Misuse of Girl Scout funds is a serious offense and will be treated as such, including but not limited to termination as a Girl Scout volunteer.

Be sure to follow me on Facebook @floridagirlscout

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Wrapping up your Cookie Season

Cookie Season is finally over! But before you shut down and focus on other Girl Scout activities, there are two questions you need to ask yourself:

  • Is all the money accounted for?
  • Did you meet your cookie goal?

Is all the money accounted for?
Collect all remaining cookie money and deposit to the troop bank account. Provide each girl/adult the remaining cookie balance and the final due date for the money collection.

Make at least three attempts to collect the money. The attempts to collect money must be documented in writing.

All outstanding parent debt must be reported immediately to Council’s Product team (by March 1, 2018 to Debbie Zito at 800-367-3906).

Enter each cookie deposit under Finances: girl transactions in www.abcsmartcookies.com.

Inform the troop of their total cookie profits.

Retain the ABC Smart Cookies Troop Balance Summary and share it with your troop leader(s) or troop finance manager to complete the June troop finance report.

…and of course, let the girls know which cookie incentives they earned as a result.

Did you meet your cookie goal?

Before the cookie sale started your girls set individual and/or troop cookie goals.

If they reached their goal:

  • Be sure to congratulate the girls on accomplishing their cookie goal.
  • Plan a cookie celebration with your troop.
  • Look at the cookie sale pin, earned cookie badges and fun cookie items available at the Citrus Council Shop.

Didn’t meet your cookie goal:

  • Meet with the girls and discuss how they can meet their goals next year.
  • Look at what you did well and what didn’t go so well.
  • Discuss different ways to increase cookie sales at booths and during walkabouts.
  • Suggest increasing online cookie sale participation.

 

Remember to Say THANK YOU

Lastly, be certain that your booth locations are recognized and appreciated for supporting the Girl Scouts of Citrus Council. In the past I would provide each booth location with some token of appreciation. They can be thank you cards, thank you certificates, handmade swaps or even some Girl Scout cookies.

Troop 763

Thanking each booth location is a great way for your service community to have the opportunity to return for booth sales next year. This is especially important when the location was a high traffic area.

It’s also good practice for each service community to thank their community cookie chair(s) and troop cookie troop chairs for their time, talent and support.

Troop 154

They’ve worked hard to make this a successful cookie season for all and showing appreciation can go a long way to make the experience a rewarding one.

Thank you to all the parents, girls and volunteers who made this cookie season a great experience for all.

 

 

Be sure to follow me on Facebook @floridagirlscout

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Finish Strong this Cookie Season

When I say Girl Scout you say COOKIES!

This has been an amazing cookie season for the girls to learn and complete their 5 cookie skills: Goal Setting, Decision Making, Money Management, People Skills, Business Ethics.

There are a couple days remaining and the girls are almost at the finish line. The girls are looking to their adult volunteers for a cookie victory! That’s you by the way J

 

Cookie Booth Management

Check your cookie inventory after each cookie booth. Visit your cookie cupboard regularly for additional cases of cookies. Oddly enough, customers really want cookies when they can’t find them or when cookie season is almost over. Funny how that works right?

Encourage your girls to continue selling door to door, at cookie booths and at local businesses.

Promote cookie sales using different booth posters or marketing ideas.

  • Fill your Easter basket with Girl Scout Cookies!
  • Don’t be a fool on April Fools Day… give a box of cookies to your friends and family.
  • Purchase cookies for Teacher Appreciation Month in May.
  • Girl Scout cookies freeze well to eat during the Summer.

Cookie Sale Management

Deposit cookie money into your troop banking account after each cookie booth. Be sure to collect cookie money from initial cookie orders and deposit into your troop bank account.

Check the cookie money you have received and provide the girls their remaining cookie balances. Provide receipts for cookie money received. The cookie receipt booklets are provided to your cookie chair at the end of the cookie season.

Check your cookie paperwork for accuracy and contact your cookie chair for assistance or support. It’s important to know your remaining cookie inventory to prepare for cookie cleanup.

Provide the cookie sale ending date to your adult volunteers and girls.

  • Cookie Booths end February 25
  • Digital Cookie Program ends February 25

National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend

From February 23 through February 25 Girl Scouts across the nation will band together to speak as a single, powerful voice to raise awareness of the Girl Scout Cookie Program and increase cookie sales.

Wild River Cadettes attend a woodworker badge workshop to prepare for the National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend. Several troops will display their project at cookie booths.

Make sure you have plenty of cookie booths this weekend and let your community know that this is the last opportunity to purchase cookies.

For those selling cookies this weekend, There’s a National GS Cookie Weekend Patch you can purchase from the Citrus Council Shop at www.girlscoutshop.com/CITRUS-COUNCIL.

 

 

Girl Scouts of the USA’s Cookie Pro Contest 2018

This cookie season, let’s show them how the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world prepares girls to lead, learn, succeed, and shine – not only for today but also for the future.

Enter the National Girl Scout Cookie Pro Contest 2018 now through April 30, 2018 at www.girlscouts.org/en/cookies/just-for-cookie-sellers/cookie-pro.html

 

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While in Full Cookie Swing

 

Managing Funds and Bank Accounts

I would advise to make individual cookie deposits for each girl rather than depositing cookie money in large sums. When you record the bank deposit receipt with each girl’s name this can help you track the progress for each girl. There may be questions down the road as to the total amount generated and what was recorded. This can help during that awkward conversation.

You’ll get to know the bank tellers (or in some cases, the Bank ATM’s) fairly well as you make frequent bank deposits during cookie season.

Please… DO NOT keep cookie money in your home or automobile for long periods of time. A week can easily turn into 2 weeks or even a month. A lot can happen during that time, including money loss. So again, just avoid being put in that position.

If you have other adult volunteers helping pool the funds it’s important to have a system in place to track this. Know which adult volunteer(s) have the troop cookie booth money and cash box. Count the cash box change before and after each booth shift. Deposit booth money into your bank account after the booth shifts.

Be prepared and have the cookie deposits in your troop account ready for the 1st and 2nd council withdrawals. Contact your cookie chair or council to confirm these withdrawal dates.

Working with Parents

Parents can be your greatest supporters or make your job harder. From my experience, they really want to help and make sure their girls have a successful cookie season.

Provide troop parents with all the cookie resources available. Encourage your girls/adults to participate in digital (Direct Ship) cookie sales, and remind girls to send emails through www.abcsmartcookies.com

In this digital age, Parents may want to go on different online platforms and sell for their girls or promote that their girls are selling cookies. It’s important to note that this is discouraged as it puts the girl’s personal information out in the cyber world. And in this day and age, that can be a scary notion.

What they can do, is share their girl’s online link. No names, no phone numbers, no emails, no personal info from the girl.

For those working the cookie booths, be sure to thank them. Thank your adult volunteers and girls after each cookie booth.

 

Keep Girls Motivated

Encourage your girls throughout the cookie sale. When they reach their cookie goal or complete the badge requirements provide them with a cookie fun patch, cookie pin or cookie badge. Give your girls fun cookie items from the Citrus Council Shop. There are mini buttons, pencils, pins, and all kinds of goodies.

I know of some troops who have a cheer they do, when the girls reach their initial goal. Remember to celebrate any and all accomplishments. Look for the positive, and keep the momentum going.

 

 

Dealing with failure or slow sales

Now, I would like to say that everyone will have an amazing cookie season, and all girls will sell non-stop. But that’s not always the case. There will be slumps or times when you don’t meet your goal.

Some ways you could help change that would be to:

  • Schedule additional cookie booths if you don’t sell out at your initial booths.
  • Continue to sell cookies during Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day.
  • Bring cookies with you to sell anywhere you go with an adult.
  • Resend emails to family and friends asking them to purchase cookies.
  • Go door to door selling cookies (with an adult). Many homes are not visited and have not had the opportunity to purchase cookies.

 

When in doubt, ask your fellow troop leaders, your community or reach out to council. We’re all here to help make this a successful experience for everyone.

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Girl Scouts Kicks Off Next Century of Female Entrepreneurs…

Today, Girl Scouts enters its second century of Girl Scouts selling cookies! Given that more than half (57 percent) of Girl Scout alumnae in business fields credit the Girl Scout Cookie Program® with developing skills they use today—including money management, goal setting, and public speaking—selling Girl Scout Cookies has helped millions of female entrepreneurs over the past 100 years spark their careers. 

During Girl Scout Cookie season, participating Girl Scouts across the country show their G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader)™ spirit as they sell delicious cookies, building essential entrepreneurial skills along the way that are imperative to leadership and future success. And the funds from every cookie purchase power amazing experiences for girls year-round, like camping adventures, world traveling, Take Action projects that benefit their community, and more! 

That’s because all of the net revenue from cookie sales—100 percent of it—stays within a Girl Scout council’s local area to benefit girls. Councils depend on cookie earnings to run their programming, and girls decide how to invest their troop’s portion of the earnings in impactful community projects and personal enrichment opportunities.

This season, troops nationwide are also welcoming the return of the Girl Scout S’mores® cookie, the most popular flavor to launch in the 101 years of Girl Scouts selling cookies. Consumers can fuel transformative leadership experiences for girls and help build the next generation of female entrepreneurs by purchasing Girl Scout S’mores as well as classic favorites like Thin Mints®, Caramel deLites®/Samoas®, and more. 

Last year, Girl Scouts of the USA debuted two versions of Girl Scout S’mores—a crispy graham cookie double-dipped in a crème icing and enrobed in a chocolatey coating, and a crunchy graham sandwich cookie with a chocolate and marshmallowy filling and embossed with designs honoring Girl Scouts’ Outdoor badges. They’re sure to be best-sellers again this year!

For the current season, girls will sell cookies door-to-door and at booths, as well as through the Digital Cookie® platform, an innovative and educational web-based addition to the cookie program through which girls run and manage their Girl Scout Cookie businesses online. Now in its fourth year, the Digital Cookie platform continues to keep Girl Scout programming current and relevant to today’s girls by providing them with valuable business and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills that prepare them for 21st-century leadership.

Additionally, Girl Scouts will celebrate the next century of female entrepreneurs during National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend 2018! February 23–25, Girl Scout councils nationwide will host exciting events and set up booths so that cookie enthusiasts can get their hands on the iconic treats and join in on the fun. 

To find Girl Scouts selling cookies near you, visit www.girlscoutcookies.org or use the official Girl Scout Cookie Finder app, free on iOS and Android devices.