Don’t buy Girl Scout cookies
Today, an acquaintance (I’ll call her “Laura”) asked me if I would buy some Girl Scout cookies from her daughter’s troop. I told her “No thank you.”
It’s not that I don’t enjoy eating Girl Scout cookies (I do enjoy Thin Mints and Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies). It’s not that I generally oppose the activities of Girl Scouts. I approve of much of what Girl Scouts do.
Here’s what triggered this post. Laura told me that the average box of cookies sells for three dollars and that the average profit for each box of cookies is only fifty cents. Hmmmm.
Therefore, I can support their Girl Scouts to the same extent by handing $5 directly to the local troop or by buying $30 worth of cookies. Unless you think that eating cookies is an especially good thing, it makes much more sense to simply hand the local troop $5. Then again, eating cookies, especially a lot of cookies, is not a good thing. Cookies consist largely of refined carbohydrates and sugars. These are exactly the kinds of ingredients that invite obesity. Are the Girl Scouts concerned about obesity? Very much so (so am I), yet they continue to rely on cookie sales to fund their activities.
But let’s go back to the money for a moment. If you click here, you can see it stated that “all of the revenue” from cookie sales “stays with the local Girl Scout council that sponsors the sale.” The official site carefully points out that individual troops receive “from 12-17% of the purchase price of each box sold.” There are various important numbers that the site does not provide, however. For instance, is $.50 per box (the amount indicated to me by my acquaintance) the average amount of proceeds per box sold (as Laura indicated)? If so, the 12-17% of the purchase price of each box sold amounts to $.45 per box, which means that most of the proceeds go to the local troop. If true, it would be commendable. But we don’t know, because the Girl Scout organization does not specify how much profit is involved in the sale of each box of cookies.
All of this makes me wonder, because the Girl Scout organization is based in the middle of one of the highest rent districts in the world, 420 5th Ave in Manhattan. That’s where 400 employees work for the Girl Scout organization. But nowhere on the site will you find anything about the sales information I just mentioned, or other things I wonder, such as the salaries and perks of these 400 employees. Wouldn’t it be nice to know how much money it takes to run that fancy headquarters? How about a pie chart showing the sources of that money? Nowhere will you find the amount of that annual cookie profit money that flows back to the Girl Scout headquarters from determined efforts of little girls. Wouldn’t that be interesting to know? I suspect that, indirectly, cookie money flows back to the Girl Scout headquarters at a brisk rate. I’d be interested in knowing for sure, though, especially since my client has told me that the local troops have to purchase their own badges and other supplies with their own money. Much of what local Girl Scout troops do is not subsidized by cookie profits. I don’t know how much aggregate cookie profit is generated each year, because that is not on the website either. Maybe those cookie-revenue numbers are just too big to fit on the official Girl Scout webpage!
I have occastionally supported local Girl Scouting activity, despite my concerns with the financially opaque corporate hierarchy. I’ve decided, though, that my solution will now be to offer a direct donation to the local troop, just as I mentioned at the top of this post. Five dollars handed to a little girl who approaches you to sell cookies is the equivalent of buying $30 worth of cookies, and you can rest assured that all of that money will stay with the local troop. If you really want to get good bang for the buck and you usually buy $30 for the cookies, just hand the full $30 to local troop–that’s like buying $180 worth of cookies. In the process, everyone will be healthier and the local troop will be flush with cash to spend on those badges and other supplies that the national organization refuses to buy for them.
The Girl Scout cookie phenomenon raises an interesting issue about the way Americans think of charities. Why is it that people insist on getting something back for themselves in order to donate money to allegedly good causes? The Girl Scout cookie phenomenon is a classic case of this need for a quid pro quo. If someone really believed in the Girl Scouts, they shouldn’t need to receive cookies in return for supporting the Girl Scouts. Rather, they would just hand the local troop some money (as I’ve suggested above).
This problem (the need for a quid pro quo when soliciting for charities), is not peculiar to Girl Scouts. It’s everywhere you look. Almost every institutional charity offers stuff to people who donate. Mugs, T-shirts, videos, CDs, plaques, special access to celebrities, umbrellas, admissions to amusements, paperweights, inscribed souvenirs, admission to concerts or other special events.
Sometimes an organization will invite you to turn down any sort of gift. Kudos for those people who do so, those people who realize that demanding a gift in return for their contribution effectively reduces their contribution. They realize that those mugs, T-shirts and cookies are not free. And furthermore, who really needs more stuff of that sort?
All of this makes me wonder what kind of people we’ve become that so many of us insist on getting substantial amounts of stuff back in order to “contribute” to charities. I would suspect we’ve reached new levels of proficiency at being rampant consumers. See here and here .
Admittedly, this need for a quid pro quo is nothing new. After all, people were selling indulgences hundreds of years ago. But now, it is also much more visible and so widely accepted. It makes me frustrated enough to go eat half a box of Thin Mints. If only I had bought those cookies . . .
I stopped giving to the United Way many years ago because of the same thing; way too much of the profit was going toward salaries and building leases. I do think the girls learn valuable skills from selling ,but in this day and age they can’t go door to door for fear of being raped and killed and if the parents take the order form to work that defeats the purpose. The Girls Scouts is just another form of organized crime that uses or little girls as a front. You can teach your kids the same skills by having them pay when you go to the grocery store. Give them the money and make them interact with the cashier. By doing things like that they will learn the same communication skills and self-confidence as they would selling cookies, without the danger and corruption.
I agree 100%: Don’t buy the cookies. The bottom line is the bottom line: most of the money paid goes to the cookie manufacturer. The Girl Scouts end up with pennies on the dollar. Only an idiot could support the cookie sale based on that one fact alone.
As far as teaching the girls valuable lessons:
-When was the last time you actually bought the cookies from the kid, and not the parents who directly solicit sales from coworkers, friends, family, etc?
Want to really teach the child something? Explain to her how the Girl Scouts are being exploited for profit by a cookie manufacturer, how little of the money goes back to her troop, and how you would much prefer to make a direct cash donation TO THE TROOP in lieu of a purchase. Then make that donation.
Selling Girl Scout Cookies teaches them nothing real, and gains them extremely little for their efforts.
I just came across this post, and it is extremely apposite given the recent ‘news’ that Obama’s administration is considering eliminating the tax-exempt status for charitable deductions.
I was at a neighborhood dinner party, where many of my neighbors were complaining loudly and vociferously that they would be reducing their charitable giving if they didn’t get the tax break. I though, WTF?
I give to charity in mostly many small ways.
I give $5 to $10 here and there whenever the situation presents itself (I also give a donation instead of a purchase to the Girl Scouts).
My wife and I donate clothes and household goods directly to shelters. We refuse to accept a tax receipt (it means the organization can use a much lower valuation on the donation, improving their fiscal ability to raise other needed funds and stay legal). We buy most stuff discount anyway, so any receipt would be bogus - the retail price is much greater than what we typically would pay!
We donate food and consumables directly to food banks (when we shop at costco each month, we buy extra bulk items for the bank - and drop them off on the way home. Why more peaople don;t do this I don;t know. It’s easy, it’s quick, and it’s valuable)
I don’t claim any of these ‘contributions’ on my taxes. I don’t see the point.
I earn enough that my taxes aren’t the lowest - but I have enough deductions from mortgage relief, etc., that I don’t need to nickel & dime. It also makes my life easier during tax season.
I also don’t feel the need to proclaim my giving to all & sundry (you all simply know that I give - you still don’t know how much or how little!).
In the end I agree with Erich. Direct contribution is always better and more valuable than ‘leveraged’ contributions.
Just to recap our fifth grade troop’s cookie sales this year. 14 girls sold over 2000 boxes of cookies (and yes, a majority of those were girl-sold - in our troop, at least, it is not “rare” for a girl to sell a box herself). They ended up making over $2400 in profit, and they just got back yesterday from a trip to Savannah which was completely paid for by their cookie profits from the last couple of years. Now, let’s see, we could have hoped for 480 nice people to give us $5 each, but it’s not like we can (or would) go door to door begging for cash. We do appreciate those of you who make cash donations at cookie booth sales. We appreciate those of you who donate cookies to the military or other worthy groups because you don’t want to eat the cookies. We appreciate those of you who buy one box from every Girl Scout who knocks at your door. We appreciate those of you who don’t buy boxes of cookies from our girls, but who are polite and don’t slam the door in their faces, or shout “NO!” in their faces. I’ve been the leader of a troop selling cookies for over 10 years, and I have seen all of these things. In general, though, we find that people are very supportive of our girls, and that’s because they are polite, and respectful, and all of the other things that Girl Scouts teaches them. Sure parents could teach those things, too, and I’m sure many of our parents do! We just give them some extra education and it pays off. My older daughter’s troop just finished their Silver Award. They renovated a playground at a local housing authority community and did it all with their cookie money and some material donations from places like Home Depot and Lowe’s. All of the troops I know, and their girls, put their cookie money to good use. It’s the easiest way to raise a lot of money (people like the cookies, what can we say?) while still letting girls know that their parents don’t have to pay for everything they do - they can earn their own way. You can bet our little fifth graders in Savannah enjoyed the trip that much more for having earned it themselves. I would love to believe that people would just donate to Girl Scouts because they think it’s a good organization, but I think that’s not realistic. If people didn’t see Girl Scouts, they would never just donate to it on their own. When was the last time anybody looked up a local troop leader and said, “Hey, let me give you some money?” Doesn’t happen. We thank you all anyway for all the reasons I stated above. Whether you buy from Girl Scouts or not is your choice, and we respect the right people have to their own opinions and beliefs. Me? I’m off to eat one or two Samoas. Yes, I still have some because it’s not healthy to eat them all at once.
Any leader of a troop can give you the breakdown of what cookie money is used for. First of all girls who sell cookies can use this to attend Summer Camp (sell 300 bxs of cookies and you go to camp for a week). Secound the money is used to help those who require financial aid. Thirdly this money is used to pay for activities given to the girls by the councils and also to maintain the camp sites the troops use.
stop drinking the kool-aid. Of course donating to the troop directly is a much more efficient and helpful way to go about giving your money. Girl scout cookies are awesome! Either buy brand name cookies at the super market for $4, which gives the troop nothing, or purchase girl scout cookies when they come around, enjoy the deliciousness, and the local troop gets .50 worst case scenario. Why not buy cookies and exercise and eat correctly, while donating a couple spare bucks too when the girls come around? Oh that might be harder than complaining.
In our council, we sell cookies for $4 with $.75 profit to the troop per box. Of the cookie profit to the council, 90% goes toward girl programs and 10% to admin costs. Girls know that the money they earn with cookie sales benefit them for troop supplies/events/trips.
Jodi: How do you know that 90% of the profit goes straight to the benefit of the girls?
One thing you don’t know is we return that money to our community by buying items for people in need!!!
Jamie: My argument is that we should give cash to the girls (I have), to keep the money local. Then the troops themselves can give more money to people in need. BYPASS Girl Scout Headquarters on Madison Avenue and give cash to the little girls so that they can buy (or donate to the poor) locally. If you give $5 cash to the local troop, it’s like buying $40 of cookies without eating all of the empty calories.
As long as Girl Scout headquarters is located on high-priced Fifth Avenue, it means that the Girl Scout executives are wasting lots of money. Circumvent the money-wasters.
And to all of you apologists, tell me where I can find the amount of salaries and benefits being paid to each of the top-earning 100 Girl Scout employees. Show us the organization’s tax returns and other dependable documents (not some list you just post on the Internet) so that all of us can see that Girl Scouts USA is spending all that money frugally and wisely.