Don’t buy Girl Scout cookies
March 30th, 2007 by Erich ViethToday, 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 . . .
March 30th, 2007 at 7:17 am
Ted: “I’m taking orders for ‘Camp Girl Cookies’ on behalf of my daughter.”
Ted: “How many dozen can I guilt you into buying.”
Dilbert: “I’ve always wondered, Ted, why do they sell cookies? Is it just for the money?”
Ted: “No, it’s to help them build character by earning their own money.”
Dilbert: “Oh, so your daughter is doing some selling from door-to-door?”
Ted: “No, too dangerous. My wife and I are doing all the selling at work.”
Dilbert: “Well, then aren’t you only teaching your daughter to act helpless so other people will do her work?”
Ted: “Just buy the stupid cookies!!”
Dilbert: “Have you considered foster care for your kids?”
March 30th, 2007 at 8:51 am
For me, the annual appearance of Girl Scout cookies signals the beginning of coercive selling tactics at the entrance to my local supermarket. Fresh faced, innocent children are being used to push more sugar and fat into the already bloated gut of America. I feel terrible turning down their squeaky pleas to buy cookies. They don’t understand how they are being used.
This post ties into Erich’s recent post about his new diet and exercise program. Why is it that most fundraisers sell things that I try to avoid putting in my body? Cookies and peanut brittle and candy bars and caramel popcorn and pizza kits; I don’t want thses things in my house but somehow they have become a yearly staple of school and children’s organization fundraisers. If forced to buy I usually give the stuff away but I still feel guilty because I don’t want anyone else in my family to eat that crap either!
Erich’s solution is a good one. From now on I wil just give a donation and let them keep the sweets.
March 30th, 2007 at 10:02 am
This is just not true. My wife is chief cookie pusher for her area, or “council”. IIRC, the cost of the cookies to the girl scouts is about half the sale price. Of the remainder, 100% stays in the *area* with some going to the local troop itself and the rest to the local council to help fund summer camps and so on. Each council decides for itself what the exact breakdown will be.
So, it’s possible that only 0.50$ for each box was going to that girl’s troop, but a buck or more was going to her local council to fund GS activities for her area.
Do you really think the moms would pull their hair out for a month dealing with all the hassle these cookies create for only a couple hundred bucks of funds? They could raise that much in one day with a car wash.
March 30th, 2007 at 10:49 am
They expect something back from charitys because America is the most capitalist nation in the world and that is how markets work, you do not go to market with nothing to sell.
March 30th, 2007 at 10:55 am
I was a Girl Scout for 12 years and now am a registered adult for life. I did the Fall sales and the Cookie sales. I completely agree with this post. My troop always tried to push fall products more because the troop itself get A LOT more money from those than Cookies, granted cookies sold easier and it was a HUGE pain to get those cookies to everyone. But if you are buying to support a certain troop, just give them the money, they will benefit more and I think it becomes a tax write off too. Of course, you can still buy the box of cookies for a rainy day to make you feel better.
March 30th, 2007 at 11:16 am
This is incredibly f***ing cynical. All the talk about “how dare they sell cookies” is absolutely insane. They’re not telling you to eat 40 boxes of them in a single sitting and have a diabetic attack and die. Girl Scouts selling cookies in America is somewhat of a tradition and to attack them for it now simply because being anti-snack foods is de rigeur with whiny blowhards is ridiculous. Next time you want to spend 1,000 words complaining about something, try picking a topic that matters.
March 30th, 2007 at 11:20 am
I’ve always wondered why the girl scouts didn’t simply didn’t teach girls some of the fundamental concepts behind capitalism… you know, owning the means of production, turning raw materials into something of greater value and selling that something for more than it costs to transform, ship and advertise it. Basic stuff. I can only conclude that the corporate girl scout cookie drives actually reinforce the concept of not being able to do for ones self what a corporate nipple can provide (with little effort) while kicking back only 16% to the army of guilt enabled sales kids that sells the product.
…makes you wonder why the boy scouts don’t bother with the thinly veiled charade of “you can’t do it yourself; so, sharecrop for your corporate masters” mind rot.
March 30th, 2007 at 11:35 am
In some areas troops aren’t allowed to take direct donations. Instead any money you donate is used to buy cookies for charity, often the soliders in Iraq or local food banks.
Here are a couple examples of the actual break down of money. Even if only 50 cents goes to the troop the girls do benefit from the rest of the money as well.
http://www.girlscoutsofscc.org/cookies_money.html
http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/23/smbusiness/girlscout_cookies/index.htm
The national offices in New York aren’t supported by the cookie sale.
March 30th, 2007 at 11:42 am
it’s sad when you look at all the major charities of the world and see them with really really really nice buildings making millions of dollars
March 30th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
well, as for donating to charities and getting back mugs, t-shirts and other odds-and-ends, i am sure there are people who do like collecting such stuff. for instance, the wwf sometimes offers stuffed toys in return for charities, and these entice little kids a lot. of course, they can always go to the local disney store and get their favourite teddy, but this way they also get the good feeling of supporting a cute li’l baby panda. and for the parents its 2 birds in a hand as well. of course, you can say that at the heart of all this lies the wicked consumerist behaviour, but since that is a given and very unlikely to change, these organizations might as well play to this psychology and get more donations by roping in more people in addition to the already charitable ones. you are going to buy a teddy anyway, so if you are feeling generous, might as well buy a slightly more expensive one and save a panda in the process. sniff-sniff.
March 30th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
The most disappointing about girl scout cookies to me is that the girl scouts don’t make them. Seems like a great activity to me. And they could sell homemade cookies for a lot more, and keep all the profits. Furthermore, we wouldn’t have all that stupid packaging. Just more wholesome all the way around.
March 30th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
According to the publicly available federal tax return filed by the Girl Scouts of America in 2004-2005, the CEO of the Girl Scouts, Kathy Cloninger, earned a little over $630,000 in that fiscal year. Check out http://www.guidestar.org for information about other non-profits.
March 30th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
Team car washes might be worse - you get like 20 people together and if you’re lucky you make like $300 for a full day of work. That’s 20 people * 8 hours each = 160 person-hours, so just under $2/hour each. I always felt like it would be a lot more efficient if I just got a job at McDonalds for the weekend and donated my income.
March 30th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
I really don’t understand where you’re getting this. You’re saying that people are going cookies _in order to_ donate to the Girl Scouts? I would say that very few people are doing that.
IMEO, the majority of people are buying them because those cookies are damn delicious and you can’t get them anywhere else. If the cookies were available year-round at your local supermarket, you think there’d be any point to the Girl Scouts going through this hassle? Or of local clusters (like army detachments and college campuses) buying huge amounts of them? No! People are not ‘donating to the Girl Scouts’ they are _paying_ for _cookies_. This is sale of a product on which the Girl Scouts have a monopoly, not some corporate conspiracy to make you think you’re donating to charity.
March 30th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
What about those Samoans, eh???
March 30th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Another reason not to buy them: most of the Girl Scout cookies still contain hydrogenated oils. Apparently they have removed most of the trans fat, but in 2007, there’s no good reason the makers should still be using any hydrogenated oils at all. If you want to support the Girl Scouts, make a donation instead of buying the cookies!
March 30th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Josh, it apparently does matter, or WE wouldn’t be so emotional! Mostly atheists post here (by most people’s definition of atheist), and tend to talk about what they don’t like rather than what they do like. Of course we like certain things and prefer to keep them the way they are, but these are less controversial and don’t make for discussions (ie. I love the Beatles, do you? Yup, sure do!). We do however want certain things changed (or at least discussed) although they may seem trivial on the surface. Some of the previously discussed themes here which make Girl Scout Cookies story quite relevant include; unnecessary spending, members-only organizations, price-gouging, obesity, turtles, profiteering, following the herd, Samoans, authority figures taking advantage of kids, grasshoppers, charity, etc.
March 30th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
The argument made above about charities with nice buildings and charity CEOs with big salaries is a bad one. I agree that having more of my donation go to the scouts and their activities is desirable.
However, I don’t think that large organizations like the girl scouts could attract high-caliber talent to run the organization by working out of a shack in the desert with no air-conditioning and no pay. Local troops which require only a few hours a week from the “mothers” can easily be run by volunteers, but there are many jobs that require 40 hr/week talent at the top of the organization in order to give the girls a good experience and the largest bang for their buck.
Large corporations are run efficiently by paying for talent, why can’t charitable organizations do the same?
March 30th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
There is public information available about most large and medium sized nonprofit organizations:
http://www.charitynavigator.org/
You will be able to see how efficient they are (how much they bring in and then spend on certain items, including salaries of the 5 top execs). It’s as close to a annual report as you can get for a nonprofit. Happy reading!
March 30th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
Very well written and thought provoking. I’m sure this will come to mind next time I see scouts selling cookies… I don’t know if I’ll be able to resist the thin mints nonetheless though…
March 30th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
According to CharityNavigator.org:
Kathy Cloninger (CEO) made $333,238 in FY 2005 (0.41% of expenses.) It would be quite interesting to follow the money to other local Girl Scouts branches and see how much in total goes to salaries (i.e., how much does the national organization give to the NY branch, whose CEO - Rosa Agosto - makes $120,000).
March 30th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
having been in the nonprofit world for quite a while now, i have to say it always amazes me how the general public somehow expect large charitable organizations to be incredibly effective while simultaneously spending precisely $0 on salaries, office space, and “overhead”.
for years i tried to try to cat-herd volunteer programmers and you know what? volunteers show up when they want, leave when they want, flake at the drop of a hat, insist on doing things in the language of their choice (”i’m doing this in java instead of php beacause i’m trying to brush up on my java skills…”), and they don’t make deadlines. and i don’t fault any of them for being like that - i’d be the same way. in the end i just hired someone because, as i told him over the phone, “i’m going to pay you market rate because i want shit done when i say so and not whenever you feel like it.”
yes, there are some egregious abuses of charitable funds, and i fart in the general direction of those people. but good, director-level people cost $100k a year and they’re worth it. likewise with office space — if you have an office in manhattan, your chances of getting a “trophy wife volunteer” (i.e., someone with an amazing professional or political background willing to work for nothing because they’re “set for life”) are dramatically increased, as are your chances of getting high-profile donors to come to your functions.
you get what you pay for.
March 30th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
The economics of scout fund raisers is always questionable. But it’s as much about learning to organise and manage money and to work for it as it is about the receipts themselves. Let’s face it *most* girl scouts are going to be from middle class families that could afford to pay for their childrens’ activies out of their own pockets. Anyway the whole pretext of “girl scouts” is dumb. Why not just have one organisation with boys and girls in it? At the world jamborees it is always the americans who can’t deal with being at camp with both sexes and end up getting sent home for inappropriate behavior.
March 30th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
I ran into the same problem with my son was in elementary school. They sold candy - the “world’s best” which is crap. I was going to buy a case anyway, and give it to the Sally Ann or something. When I realized how little they made I wrote a letter that in lieu of flogging yucky chocolates door to door we would make a cash donation of $25. The school loved it and from the next year onwards they included that option on the permission slip. It’s a good solution if you really want to help but you don’t want the junk.
March 30th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
The mugs, t-shirts, etc. are also a way for the non-profits to advertise their existence to people in the social network of those who donate to them.
March 30th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
Do your research before posting a rant like this. Here’s an average breakdown of the cost of a box of Girl Scout Cookies:
$3.50 per package
$.45 Proceeds for Troop Program Activities
$.17 Girl & Troop Recognitions & Awards
$1.90 Girl & Volunteer Program Services (camps, council programs, volunteer training, financial aid for girls who can’t afford GS, etc)
$.83 cost of cookies to Baker
And yes, facilities cost money, but I suppose a program for growing strong girls would be better run by miserable employees in substandard facilities?
Girl Scouts is a non-profit organization centered around growing girls. Money is focused on the program, because the program is itself the most important element of Girl Scouting.
March 30th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
Maybe instead of ranting and speculating about how much you don’t know about the Girl Scouts, you should call their offices and just ask these questions.
Some of the money goes directly to the troops, and some of it goes to the Council. If you think that’s unfair, ask yourself if the troops would be able to do anything at all without the structure and administrative support the councils provide.
As for your concern over their 5th avenue offices, you’re obviously ignorant as to the structure and governanace of the organization. 420 5th avenue is where their headquarters is located, not a council. Headquarters is a tiny fraction of the whole movement, and is responsible for the administrative work that goes into developing education programs, creating the Brand, developing fund raising plans etc. Each individual Girl Scout council (and there are over 300 of them) is a separate, individual 501(c)3 (non-profit) corporation that manages and organizes the troops within their geographic areas. This might sound crazy, but since they cover the whole country, some of them are located in more expensive areas than others. Headquarters, with thier high “rent” sees ZERO of the money you spend on a box of cookies. The cookies fund COUNCILS, NOT headquarters. That’s why there’s no information on the website about how much of the cookie sales fund their “rent” and employee salaries. Headquarters is funded by a combination of the $10 (gasp) yearly dues you pay to become a member, government & private grants, and donations.
I put rent in quotes above because they OWN the space they reside in, so if they’re paying anybody anything for the space, it’s more like a mortgage. If you ask me, that’s an intelligent real estate investment. I imagine the value of that and other property they own is enough to pay some of those salaries, but I guess that’s not interesting or controversial enough for you to speculate on here.
And finally, do you have anything to say about the cookie program aside from where the money goes? Do you think using the bulk of the money to pay for the councils expenses (real estate, employee salaries, advertising, communications, developing programs, renting facilities, training volunteers, all that is just free, right?) Girl Scouts solicit donations just as much as any other organization, and they also structured their cookie sale activities in a way that makes it a great learning experience for the girls. Any non-profit that wants to stay in business has multiple income paths; straight donations, volunteerism, sales. I’m rather impressed that their sales arm is also an economic literacy program for the girls, as opposed to more hired hands like some other organizations do.
So what exactly are you trying to accomplish with this bold stance against Girl Scout cookies? Aside from making incorrect assumptions about things you could have easily enquired about, or spreading innacurate information about the “corporate heirarchy” of Girl Scouts and implying that the employees are somewhere enjoying “perks” funded by the efforts of little girls who in turn gain nothing? What kind of world did you imagine before running amuck with these irrational assumptions based on a single out-of-context figure? That a 3.4 million member organization is run by a handful of volunteers sitting around a camp fire singing songs about friendship?
The one thing I do commend you for is making a donation to the council in lieu of buying a box of cookies. I’m glad to see that even though you jumped at the chance to cry shenanigans at the operations & tactics of those who run the Girl Scouts business, you went out of your way to show support for the cause.
But for those of you who are truly upset about the fact that they sell cookies when the country is in an obesity epidemic, then don’t bother making donations either, because part of that donation just goes toward next year’s cookie program. While you’re at it, you should also stop any charitable donations to the Boy Scouts (pop corn & cookies) the Red Cross (their shelter food supplies are totally unhealthy) the Humane Society (they sold me a box of animal shaped cookies at a fund raising event last year, the bastards) your local grocery store (they use their earnings to stock their shelves with candy!) and, you know, pretty much every other business on the planet that’s ever involved any kind of food substance. Or, you could, you know, excersize moderation when eating junk food. That could work too, I don’t know.
March 30th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
In my council, girl scout cookies are currently $3.50 a box. About $1.00 of that goes to the bakers - the rest goes to local girl scouts (where local is your council, which vary in size depending on where you are). When I was last in GS (a few years ago), it was $0.65 directly to the troop, and between $0.10 and $0.25 to the girls in “cookie credits”, which are good for stuff at the council store - handbooks, badges, uniforms, and other branded stuff. So, around $1.50 a box goes to the council. That pays the salaries of council employees, funds activities that the council sponsors, funds the summer camps (which is a huge piece of the council budget, at least here, as girl scout camp is cheap for girls and is heavily subsidized by council), etc.
And the cookies are tasty. No, you shouldn’t eat a box of them in one sitting, but they’re no worse than, say, Oreos.
March 30th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Nice! I agree with everything in this post. And anyone who thinks the cookies are better than anything that you can get in the store for the same price doesn’t have a very well-cultivated sense of taste.
March 30th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
your whole analysis is quite silly, these girls can sell a product, one that is ridiculously awesome, probably some of the best boxed cookies on the market, and make some money to fund their activities. it is basically a corporation paying people to sell their cookies, these people happen to be girl scouts, and these girl scouts happen to use the money for girl scout activities. its not some corporate plot to make you think you give a sh*t about girl scouts, because i for one, don’t.
March 30th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
you are right, we should buy cookies that are bad for us AND go to big corporations rather than any portion of the money going to girl scouts. [admin note: expletive deleted] the girl scouts. The FACT is that few people will simply give money to their local girl scouts. That is just a fact. It is factual. Facts here. There is no way around that. If you don’t like the cookies, don’t buy them. Don’t tell other people what to do.
And where is their headquarters supposed to be? in the middle of nowhere? are they supposed to have employees that hate their work and want to shoot their brains out because they get treated like government workers? yeah, that’s the way to run an organization. perhaps they should all be volunteers and everyone in the world should voluntarily donate a portion of their paychecks to the girl scouts. try joining reality with us sometime.
March 30th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
Admin note: the previous commenter is an Assface. Sorry, I couldn’t resist. That’s the name he gave himself. Here’s what Assface claims:
1) I’m recommending that people buy cookies from “big corporations.”
2) There is no middle ground between maintaining one’s office on 5th Avenue in Manhattan and “in the middle of nowhere.
3) The Girl Scouts are incapable of raising money by directly pitching their needs to members of the public.
4) If the Girl Scout executives can’t live in a fancy part of town, they will “hate their work and want to shoot their brains out.”
5) There’s no middle ground between paying exhorbitant salaries and making everyone volunteers.
6) People will forever refuse to donate meaningfully to worthy causes without a quid pro quo.
Sorry, “Assface.” We disagree on each of these points. Go eat some cookies and settle down.
March 31st, 2007 at 4:51 am
Those girl scout cookies contain partially hydrogenated oils, very very bad for your arteries!
March 31st, 2007 at 5:53 am
I’m pro-cookie. My single mom couldn’t afford to send me to the fancypants summer camps all my friends went to when I was a kid, so I would usually sit at home, write letters to my faraway friends, and mope. My first and only summer camp experience was Girl Scout Camp, and it was incredible. I think it cost about $200 for a week (in the early nineties). The camp brought together girls from all kinds of backgrounds, and during our time there, we were more or less equal. The camps are subsidized with that dirty cookie money. Girl Scout Cookie sales are a well-organized, efficient, proven, and not totally un-fun way to make a lot of money so that girls can build self-esteem and become more interested and interesting women. Everybody benefits from that, right?
And why should girls have bake sales and make tinysmall abouts of money when they can be involved in business, get rich, and indulge girl scout cookie addicts like me?
Oh, and the cookies ARE especially delicious - not because they don’t sell better cookies in the grocery store, but because of psychological fators. Limited availability, nostalgia, and the feeling that by eating them you are being charitable all make girl scout cookies special.
One last thing - I’m eating samoas right now as I type this - my mom mailed a case to my apartment in Japan. Yum, yum, yum! All you haters are missing out!
March 31st, 2007 at 6:38 am
A lot of charities hire professional fund raisers, who run sweepstakes, telemarketing on their behalf. In Australia, I was surprised to hear that a community helicopter rescue was paying about 50% commission to the fund raiser.
March 31st, 2007 at 7:02 am
geez, just buy the cookies or don’t buy it. do we have to write a dissertation on everything nowadays?
March 31st, 2007 at 7:12 am
For those who have commented that girl scout cookies have trans fats, that formerly was the case. Accordng to this information from the Girl Scout site, though, it is no longer true. http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/faqs.asp#size_quantity_price
April 1st, 2007 at 12:24 pm
To Rick James and others who believe that Girl Scouts are actually doing the work to sell their cookies: It is a rare Girl Scout cookie that is actually sold through the efforts of the girl, rather than through the efforts of her parents. In my considerable experience with Girl Scout Cookies, it is an act of great faith to believe that the girls are out there doing the footwork to “sell” those Do-si-dos.
April 1st, 2007 at 12:30 pm
To muaddib420: A dissertation of only 1,000 words? I’ve certainly seen longer dissertations.
Why write about this topic? Because “obvious” things are the best fodder for my subversive mind. That approach is common at this website. No one has you shackled here. You are excused to go buy more cookies.
April 1st, 2007 at 12:41 pm
To m3ggiesue and all others who cited alleged cost breakdowns without attributing sources: shame on you.
April 2nd, 2007 at 8:11 am
While I absolutely agree that to support a specific Girl Scout Troop you may be better off just handing the scout $5….but I disagree that only 45¢ goes to the local troop.
The cost of the cookies from our vendor is 83¢ per box. We receive approx. 55¢ per box profit which goes directly to our troop. Additionally, each girl receives cookie incentive money - 12¢ per box.
The balance ($1.50 goes to maintenance and upkeep of our council’s two camps (which all troops are eligible to use for a nominal security deposit) as well as funding additional programs for the girls at the council level.
Furthermore, while I cannot speak for other parents or other troop leaders out there, I do know that we walk our scouts door-to-door with a little red wagon selling cookies in our local neighborhood.
Additionally, out of the 233 boxes that my daughter sold, I can say that she sold all except 40 of those boxes, through phone calls to her aunts and uncles, visits to the neighbors and through cookie booths…. My husband and I sold a total of 40 boxes at our offices.
And, believe it or not, she is very proud of her accomplishment….at 8 years old, she raised over $128 for her Girl Scout Troop funds…so that we may go to museums, camping and other special activities. She aslo raised $23 towards her own personal camp attendance…..
As a troop leader, I see tremendous value in setting and exceeding sales goals, budgeting profits towards activities and service projects and teaching the girls positive sales tactics…such as the value of a smile or “please” and “thank you” when selling cookies.
And, I see tremendous value in giving scouting opportunities to girls who would otherwise be unable to afford such activities….and if they attending a cookie booth can make these things possible….then so be it.
If children work to make an activity possible, they appreciate it more!
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:58 am
Sorry, you’re correct. I work for Girl Scouts. That’s directly from the horse’s mouth. Usually the info is on each coucil’s website, but a lot of that information has disappeared since most cookie sales have already ended for the year.
But trust me, we’re nowhere near “exorbitant salaries.” If you think that, you should come by and check out my neighborhood sometime. And I wish I could have gotten back to you sooner, but I don’t have the luxury of affording internet at home. Getting a picture?
We’re not overpaid fatties up at the council (though, as in any organization, some employees are definitely fat). And I can tell you that’s there’s no conspiracy in the cookies. Girls use the money to plan trips and go to camp and things. We really do give as much back to the girls as possible while maintaining a strong program.
On that note– Girl Scouts is currently undergoing an enormous restructuring to fix many of the inefficiencies you pointed out. We’re combining councils and shedding some excess fat. I mean, an organization that’s been around for 95 years was bound to carry some extra weight eventually, and now we’re fixing it. We really are working toward a program that gives more back to the girls. Check out realignment at http://www.girlscouts.org
April 4th, 2007 at 12:57 am
So you’re saying I can get these cookies for 50 cents less than what I’m paying now if I cut out the girl scouts? How can I go about doing that. That would be a better article.
April 4th, 2007 at 8:40 am
My daughter sells the cookies!
My daughter delivers the cookies!
I eat the cookies (thin mints)!
April 5th, 2007 at 9:18 am
The site looks great ! Thanks for all your help ( past, present and future !)
April 7th, 2007 at 6:54 am
People buy Girl Scout cookies for some other reason besides them being delicious? Crazy. Also. I plan to become a trans fat dealer as soon as it is outlawed completely.
April 14th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
I haven’t read all the replies so I apologize if it’s already been covered. Depending on the council, 45-55 cents a box goes directly to the troop. Part of the remaining money goes pays back the bakers that made the cookies for Girl Scouts. The rest stays in the individual council, it does not go to New York. Girl Scouts is a non profit organization. Most councils receive money from private coorporations and United Way, but if Girl Scouts had to soley rely on this the organization would fold. (Yes, I have seen the numbers) Most of the money that keeps all the individual councils running come from cookie sales. Yes, some of the money goes to paying council staff, maintaning camp sites so the girls have a safe place to camp, and other resources for both the girls and the leaders. Leaders must go though several training opportunities, receive background checks, etc. Girl Scout Councils also pay membership fees and program costs for girls who would not be in Girl Scouts otherwise.
As I’m sure you can tell, I am a Leader and have been for 7 years. Yes, at times I get a little tired at the emphasis on the Girl Scout cookie sale and I wish whole heartedly that United Way would donate as much to Girl Scouts as they do other organizations, such as the Boy Scouts. (United Way has many chapters, so some may, but I know for a fact that some give about half as much to GS as they do to BS.) I wish more companies would donate to GS, therefore relieving the pressure from the troop leaders and the girls. It is a sad state in America where little girls have to stand out in the cold selling cookies just so they can have an organization like Girl Scouts to be in, but oh well. But, if you feel compelled to just give a donation to a Girl Scout troop, that’s appreciated too!
April 15th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Here’s something that hasn’t been mentioned…the first Girl Scout cookies ever sold were homemade. During WWII when rations were placed on the main ingredients used to make cookies and other baked goods, the Girl Scouts started selling calendars to earn money for their troops and councils. They stopped with the cookies for a while after that. The complete history of Girl Scout cookies is on girlscouts.org.
I believe in the Girl Scout movement. So much so that I have started another troop for my stepdaughter after having been out of the program for over 10 years.
I’m pretty sure that we have restrictions placed on us as individual troops as far as accepting direct donations. These troop fund raising programs are designed to help the girls learn goal setting, character building, etc. as listed on the side of the cookie box.
Yes, my daughter’s father and I did sell the majority of her cookies ourselve’s because we live in a rural area and don’t have next door neighbors. Also, we here in the midwest were nailed by a severe icestorm that caused us to loose a week of cookie selling. You know, you do what you gotta do. Our troop has 8 girls in it and they sold over 600 boxes. Our troop profits were a little over $300. That’s a good chunk of money for our troop to work with. Ok, the downside of that is, I have one parent that still owes over $200 in cookie money. That is a major part of our troop profit. Yes, for those of you in the know, the council had to be paid there cut first, yes they are supposed to collect on our behalf, but I wish I knew how to get those parents to fork over the money for the cookies her daughter sold. As with anything, there are pros and cons to consider with everything. I loved this site though. I am in the process of writing a persuasive speech for a class and this had given me some arguments to work with. So, thanks!
September 7th, 2007 at 8:15 am
For all those really interested in the financial picture of this business, I would suggest you go to guidestar.org and review the organizations 990. this yearly filing by the irs is required of all non-profits. I think you will be amazed at the result of this information.
September 18th, 2007 at 11:47 pm
A lot of thought here… several years ago, I coughed up the relatively small amount to be a lifetime member of Girl Scouts. I grew up in Scouts, know easily 100 songs by heart, went camping, went “to camp”, worked on badges, etc. Several years ago, I became a Scout Leader, and was asked to be on a Council planning board in North Carolina. The Council office is SMALL, with a relatively skeletal staff of some of the most helpful people in the world. Out of that council came a wealth of activities that went far beyond anything our troop could have come up with alone. The issues I dealt with in the council meeting were definitely bureaucratic… but we worked them anyway… as volunteers. The Council paid for patches and badges and dues for kids who couldn’t afford them (my ENTIRE troop). They handled insurance for trips (a very scary subject, trust me. Imagine being the scout leader telling mom and dad that susie-poo fell off of a horse and broke her nose…) The council staff negotiated all kinds of perks with different recreation and educational groups - amusement parks, nature centers, museums, etc. so that we could ALL go on ONE day at a cut rate. The Council subsidized day camps, “twilight camps” AND overnight camps. And then, there’s the training. Every scout leader goes through at least an hour of training on leading, and there is also training on understanding girl behavior at the different ages. There is training on every aspect of camping, and a troop can’t go camping without a leader who has the necessary training. Some Councils can offer discounted CPR and First Aid training. You can’t go camping without someone who has this training either.
Before I became involved in council business, I tended to complain about how little money the “troop” got from cookie sales. And please, don’t get me wrong. I hate cookie season, I hate cookie pushing, I hate cookie goal setting, I hate selliing cookies FOR the Scouts. But on the other hand, I’ve also worked booth sales. I’ve seen girls learn how to handle real money. And I’ve seen the feel-good pride they experience from a successful booth sale. So - anyone who says Scouts don’t sell the cookies, clearly hasn’t been cornered at the grocery store!!!
Everyone has a right to their own opinion, and I’m not trying to justify selling fattening food. HOWEVER, I do know that teaching the girls some business skills has benefits. And sadly, the Councils are completely dependent on cookie sales to be able to provide a wide range of high quality experiences for all of the girls in an area, including girls who are impoverished, or disabled.
I don’t really see easy fixes to the idea of finding another way to bring about the benefits that come from cookie sales, without the downsides.
But, I think you’d find that the GIRL Scouting organization is very, very open to positive suggestions.
October 30th, 2007 at 8:17 am
Our local troop receives .60 per box sold. Although this is not a lot, it provided my personal troop with over $700 last year to fund our service projects. We baked dog biscuits for the humane society. We washed & brushed horses for a non-profit horse therapy ranch. We sent diapers to Malawi for children whos parents had died from AIDS. We planted flowers at our elementary school. Our girls stuffed build a bears for the chilren’s cancer ward at our hospital. They learned to manage their earned income.
As a troop leader, and the Service Unit manager (volunteer), I can tell you that I spend a large amount of money out of my own pocket to fund events & activities. We are able to take cash donations from individuals as well as business, as long as we have documentation. The one thing we can’t do is solicit funds for a seperate organization. For example - we can’t ring the bell at Christmas time for Salvation Army. We can however give money to that organization with our cookie money. If that is what the entire troop decides to do.
I think the Girl Scout cookie sales is successful mainly because of the nostalgia. Girl Scouts, at least my troop are growing into individuals who have empathy and a good work ethic. I’m proud to be a part of their lives when so many parents aren’t able to. Awwww…doesn’t that make you want to curl up with a mug of hot cocoa, a box of samoas, and sing kumbaya?
November 15th, 2007 at 7:14 am
After reading through all the above comments, this issue has me giving you my 2 cents. I agree with those who are leaders in what they are saying about what the girls are learning from their experiances however we also must look at this “new” up and coming Girl Scout movement. What I see are people who have never been in the volunteer pool to understand what they need to do to keep a troop running. It is easy for they to tell us how to run a troop whey they are in the cooperate world. OUr girls try to live by the GSLaw and Promise. The board of directors and council staff quote the same Promise and Law but I really don’t think that it means as much to them. Thank you for seeing what I have been observing for the past 2-3 yrs. I have been a part of this organization for over 10 years (leader, SUM, SUT member mainland and overseas) and with all the down sizing (mergers) of councils and the pockets of the CEO’s, COO’s or whatever they are going to call themselves this year, the funds are not coming back to the service units nor the troops as they say. Juilette Low gave up her pearls willingly to keep her dream alive. The ’suits’ running this NON PROFIT organization are now becoming mini monopolies ‘telling’ us how it will be (with no integrity). Oh the money may come down in form of training but when you have large amounts of donations given to councils with the ‘thought’ that they are going to stay within your county or working area of scouting, YOU ARE WRONG (here in our area). Those monies that are collected from profit and non profit organizations stay at the council level and Service Units don’t see a dime. For example, the United Way in our town gave a VERY large generous donation to our Servic Unit (SU) with the thought that the money would be used with in our county. They were tapped the following year to give more. When they asked what happen to the money, they were told that since the donation(in year of 2004) was over $250 dollars that the check had to go to the council to then be dispursed back to us. However we never nor have we yet recieved any of those funds and it is now 2007. The council will rebutal to tell you that they give it back to us in form of trainings and programs as I have already mentioned. However, alot of the girls in the scouting movement in THIS county(which is one SU) are below poverty and have no transportation to attend an event that is over 45 minuates away and have to pay to attend. Come on, That is not right. Thank you for seeing the ‘true’ picture of the cookie sales.
My suggestion holds true as one of the other writers. Donate DIRECTLY to that particular troop.
December 17th, 2007 at 8:53 am
My daughter recently joined Daisies. We had to pay for her little apron, patches, etc., which is fine. Our troop leader recently attended 2 1/2 hours of cookie training (with more to come), and I was appalled at what she came back with.
1. Although the Girl Scout official web site states clearly that Daisies are not ALLOWED to sell cookies or anything else, the local leaders are insisting they HAVE to. That is, of course, a local issue, but I doubt it’s unique to this area.
2. Each child is given a quota, and for ours it is 254 boxes each,, raising $114. If we take out the Daisies, the quota would be higher. I have been involved with numerous fund raisers at schools, etc., and the girls could make a LOT more money in a lot less time with a myriad of other projects - but (and this one really steamed me)
3. They are NOT ALLOWED to conduct any other fund raiser until they have conducted a cookie drive!
4. You know those camps and retreats part of this is supposedly paying for? That includes retreats for the leaders, to ‘destress’ after the cookies drives. No kids allowed - but the troop can pay for it out of cookie money.
I got my daughter into Daisies for the opportunity to meet with other little girls her age, have some fun, learn some things, do some community service. None of that needs to cost huge amounts of money, and it didn’t way back when I was in scouts. The parents of our troop are pulling out of scouts and just continuing without the organization’s umbrella. Some of the older groups are talking about following suit.
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:36 am
I’ll buy Girl Scout cookies. I have no problem with that at all. Perhaps some of you holy-than-thou “people” out there are just sitting around all day wondering whose day you can ruin next. While I am a B___ to an extent, I’m proud to say I’m not that big of a B_____. Good luck to all of you who want to put an end to Girl Scout Cookies.
Oh, by the way, my daughter joined Girl Scouts and started out as a Daisy - I wasn’t, not at all, surprised by all the things you have to pay for - all organizations (greedy, money hungry organizations) are the ones to blame, not the innocent little girls that just want to “be the best”.
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:40 am
Oh, another by the way, does anybody out there have two (2) (2 mind you) cases of Samoas - my source just stop selling them because her daughter has grown out of the Girl Scouts and is going to college. Good for her. So, I need another source. Anybody?
January 31st, 2008 at 12:34 am
It’s the quota that bothers me. I don’t want to make my child schlep boxes of cookies door to door. Quotas are for sales people — not kids.
January 31st, 2008 at 1:01 pm
First I would like to say that the girls do not have quotas. That is just plain stupid. The girls set goals that they would like to reach as does the troop. The money that is earned can be used any way the troop wants. Selling cookies is one way to teach children responsibility and team work. Not to mention how to deal with rejection. When they are told no they don’t throw a fit and cry about it. They smile and tell that person thanks anyway and have a nice day. If you don’t have a daughter in girl scouts then I don’t believe you have any idea of how things work. I am a troop co-leader and my troop cookie mom so I know how it works. Yes the troop only gets .50 per box but the rest of the money goes to our local council and some of it goes to the whole organization to help those that are less fortunate. And they do have some cookies that are low calorie. So just quit complaining about everything and buy some cookies. If nothing else it will make that girl scout smile. What else could make your day better than to make a child smile. People in this world need to quit being so self serving and take the time to think of others and to remember kindness goes a long way.
They are not called Samoas anymore they are called Carnel Delights and yes I have some. Where are you. I am in TX
January 31st, 2008 at 1:11 pm
And Ami Just to let you know Daisy scouts are NOT allowed to sell anything. They are not allowed to handle money at all. Cookie sells start with Brownies and Fall Products come first. Brownies are not allowed to any other fund raisers than Fall Products and Cookies. As for the retreat fosr the leaders - I have never heard of such but please forward that info to me. LOL I am just kidding - I think I will wait until after softball and baseball end before I take a “retreat”
February 1st, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Here’s Andy Rooney deconstructing Girl Scout cookies (this is from 2006).
February 6th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
I have been a leader for 8 years now, and I understand that cookies are a necessary part of the GS year. Yes, it is a lot of work — for both the adults and the girls — but what is worth having if you don’t work hard for it? Should everything always be given to us? Each troop is run differently (depends on the leader) but I know that my girls put total effort into the cookie sale. They are polite, they are involved and a “No, thank you” is accepted as graciously as a “Yes, I want to buy 50 boxes, please.” I just wish that the people giving the “No, thank you” were half as gracious about declining our offers of GS cookies.
March 2nd, 2008 at 3:10 pm
I can not believe the abundance of negative comments posted on this subject. I am not only the mother of 2 girl scouts, but also in charge of the cookie sales for one daughter’s troop. The amount of $ provided to the troops and council has already been accurately covered so I won’t go into that…however GROW UP! These are little girls in small troops with parent leaders just trying to earn some money to support their own troop and the organization they belong to. Buy the cookies, don’t buy the cookies, it doesn’t matter. Basically you are insulting every young girl and the volunteer efforts of mothers across the country who are just trying to teach their children a little something about teamwork, business, and charity. Something you could all benefit from learning a little more about. Get off your “high horses” and find something REAL to complain about. And next time you are going to insult those of an entire organization at least have the decency to get your facts straight! (Every negative comment I read on this site had inaccurate information posted.)
March 2nd, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Amy: Another grown-up responsibility in blog-land is that when you see incorrect information, don’t just whine about it. Provide links to the correct information so that everyone can benefit.
If you read the original post carefully, you will realize that I did not insult “an entire organization,” but only its curious sugary and apparently inefficient method of getting contributions. I never disparaged the aims or activities of girl scouts (versus the Girl Scout bureacracy).
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Curious sight today- the receptionist in the building where I work has the selves above her desk FULLY STOCKED with girl scout cookies. By this I mean at least 200 boxes of cookies. I guess her granddaughter needed help peddling them. I wish I could get a photo, but I don’t think I am stealthy enough.
Anyway, my naive guess as to why the Girl Scouts keep selling fairly unprofitable cookies is because they are stuck with a very deep-rooted tradition. They’ve “always done it”, and parents would be aghast if the much-loved cookie tradition stopped, so little incentive exists to shake things up.
March 4th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
I believe that the value of cookie sales lies in the troop leaders and the girl scouts themselves. Aside from the “corrupt corporation that has a monopoly on the cookie sales market and opperates under a guise of charity”, there can be value in cookie sales. If the girl herself does her best to sell, there is something to be gained. I was a girl scout for seven years and participated in sales through all of them. I was a girl, however, who did not learn much through the process. I was shy and hated selling door-to-door, therefore I left much of effort to my parents (my mother was my troop leader), who, I’m sad to say, sold the majority of the boxes for all years. Over the years, I didn’t get much out of sales… well, I suppose I have a few stuffed turtles and frog necklaces lying around from my prizes. Anyway…
Even though I did not have a good experience in sales, there are thousands of girls nation-wide that do. Through cookies, they become a much more out-going, goal-oriented, and, perhaps, successful person. They learn to manage money and keep crucial papers organized. They also learn customer/public interraction which is a skill lacking in many elementary girls. The girls that embrace the process as it is designed benefit greatly. Even though I wasn’t one of these girls, I know many who were.
In conclusion, there is still great reason for cookie sales. Everything has a good side and a bad side, no matter the issue. There are always pros and cons. The individual, therefore, must make their own informed decision. However, if I may make a suggestion… If you still buy cookies (I admit I buy a box of Tagalongs every year), don’t buy from the parents. If it is a mother selling door-to-door or an order form hanging in the office breakroom consider who you are REALLY buying from. At the least, ask the parent if their daughter is selling cookies along with them. If the parents are selling, the girl has far less chance of benifitting socially or emotionally. Consider this- if the parents are ones who are willing to take on a process as arduous as cookie sales, the girl probably already has a plethura of stuffed animals and trinkets. They really don’t need another to adorn their shelf. All the girl gets, aside from their useless incentive prizes, is a false sense of pride and bragging rights with her troop-mates about the number of boxes “she” sold. This not only falsely inflates that girl’s confidence but also deflates that of the girls who sell by themselves without parent help and simply aren’t experienced enough to sell in such a quantity. Just think about it… and enjoy your Thin Mints.
March 4th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Hello,
Just wanted to educate you a little on the sales of Girl Scout cookies…
Things do get misinterpretted when it comes to the proceeds… even though the troop doesn’t get a huge profit (we get between 50-60 cents, depending on troop sales), we teach the girls to be a sister to every girl scout… to help pther at all times… to make the world a better place…
We still benefit from ALL the cookie sales. The remaining profit keeps up our camps, helps offset 100’s of girls programs and helps financial aid girls who otherwise couldn’t afford these opportunities. — we have a girl in our troop, who only pays 10% of every program, because her family can’t afford much extra, the rest of the cost is covered by Girl Scouts. This is why we sell girl scout cookies.
To put it in perspective…
Below is the information of where the money is divided.
46%
Program events & resources
Volunteer recruitment & training
Financial Aid
Summer Camp
Maintenance & operation of all program/camping facilities
34% - Cost of cookies & sale expenses
17% - Troop proceeds
3% - Cost of recognitions
Just thought I would inform you,
Have a wonderful day!
Girl Scouts - Where Girls Grow Strong!!
March 8th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
As a leader of 2 troops (both Brownies), I ran across this board by accident but found it very interesting reading. Although I will say that I am SO over cookies right now, both my troops have cleared over $900 profit with not so much effort. My girls go door-to-door and have booth sales. While daddy does sell at the office, my girls go and hand-deliver every box. I recently took my older girls on their first camping trip- I think we paid $25 a girl for a night with all food and activities included. We encourage our girls to sell 75 boxes to get their patch for their vest but if they don’t, no biggie. We do our best to distribute the “awards” so everyone gets something- and my top seller went to camp for free! All in all, I think it’s a great program and as they tell you in Weight Watchers- from a health standpoint, sure you can eat the cookies, just don’t eat the whole box!
March 9th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
I have to agree that it would make more sense to just hand them 5 bucks and pass on the cookies….more of the money actually goes to help them out. I would have less of a problem with their cookies if they were a more organic non processed sugars based snack food. These processed sugars don’t just make people over weight, they are diseasing us.
March 9th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
hey,
I am a troop leader of my troop for 4 full years,
I agree totally with your thinking.
The girls should earn more money for their work.
I have 3 girls in my troop they pushing each year the 1000 box mark & plus and what they get $ 150 store money (GS store) & some prizes, the better prizes starts at 1500 & 2000 and so on.
With 3.50 a box it is alomost un posible to sell more as 1000 boxes.
My daughter is 9 years old, she works in 2 months more as an avarage adult in 2 months.
This means me as a mother too, on tap of regular work.
5-8pm fridays, 8am -8pm saturday & sunday. plus walking around with me & her friend every night for add 3-4 hours to sell the 1000 boxes.
The law of the booth, no eating & sitting or drinking or use of restroom.
We earnd this year for the troop less than $1500 but gave to the conciul over $16000. do the math lol.
One thing what change by GS USA next year is little girls only 5 years old, starting selling cookies.
I will print this flyer and bring it to the next service unit meeting.
March 17th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
As a troop leader of 11 years, I have found that noone will give without something in return. We have an annual donation drive just like Boy Scouts, but personally, I don’t like teaching the girls to beg for money. I’d rather they earn it — and gain a few skill sets in the process.
Selling these cookies is a great learning tool for the girls. If a leader is doing his/her work, the cookie sale teaches the girl about supply/demand, capitalism, salesmanship, product knowledge, customer service, budgeting, forecasting, and ‘corporate’ giving. Each program level (Brownies through Seniors) have badge work available that complements the sale and helps the girls understand each and every one of these concepts in a way that is appropriate to their age level. No, we don’t teach the girls about the dirty underbelly of corporate America. The world will teach them that in due time.
Girl Scouts is not about making money (although we have to have some income to keep things running). We are about teaching girls and exposing them to experiences that they may not otherwise have seen. At their stages in life, this sale gives them tools to help them understand the working world. I find some girls are really interested in how the cookies are manufactured, others in the sales process, others are into the financial aspect and still others love coming up with the sales strategies (posters, locations, etc.). Try to find a non-scout kid at age 10 who has even heard of manufacturing, marketing, sales, profit, or supply and demand. Good luck.
These topics, along with the hundreds of other areas available for Scouts, help these girls make decisions about their choices in years to come. Maybe math and science doesn’t seem so scary with these real-world experiences. Public speaking won’t freak them out so much when they’ve had to go door-to-door to chat with complete strangers. Some of those goals they set for themselves might just seem a little more attainable since they’ve learned how to set and reach goals which at the time seemed huge. We’ve also instilled giving a percentage of our own profits back to the Council’s Grants For Girls program that helps scouts in financial need.
Let’s also not forget that not all Girl Scouts are cute 7 year old Brownies. My girls are now Juniors in high school and have been participating in sales since 1st grade. Each year, we focus on a more advanced aspect of the sale as well as have the girls take on more and more responsibility. They may not have had the same sense of accomplishment in 2nd grade as they do now in 11th, but they are definitely more educated. No amount of profit can give that same return on investment.
Proud to be part of the cookie sale — even if we earn absolutely nothing!
April 7th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
I grew up in a small, rusted town that was fortunate to have a gas station. Our school was made entirely out of tin buildings that closely resembled barns. When there was nothing else being offered to young girls and young women, Girl Scouts were there. I was a daisy, then a brownie, then a junior, and finally a Girl Scout. Cookie sales were not about money, it was in part about competition-being the best saleswoman in your troop-but it was fun. People don’t buy Girl Scout cookies because they feel guilty about turning down those adorable faces, they buy them because they are in fact delicious! I don’t know anyone besides half starved bimbos who doesn’t enjoy eating a couple Samoas or Thin Mints once a year. A word to the wise, they do have low fat and sugar free versions! Girl Scouts made me a strong, moral, and caring woman. I finished college in two and half years because I learned to never give up and to reach for your dreams in girl scouts. I made countless friends and even more memories. If you want to bash a group of people, leave the girl scouts out of it. We are an American tradition, a tradition that is actually worth having!
April 9th, 2008 at 9:49 am
YOU ARE A COOKIE NAZI! Maybe you need medication! Or maybe a BIG BOX OF GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!
May 8th, 2008 at 2:04 am
all of you nay-sayers and dnouncers please climb off your high horse. all you organic food junkies please dont hiurt yourselves jumping on the band wagon.
now that thats out let get to the issue.
girl scout cookies are delicious. period and point blank. they are only available once a year.of course there fattening but no one said eat 76 boxes of samoas in one sitting.two thin mints a day arent going to add 30 lbs.
oh and ou organic non processed sugar junkies guess what? you\’re gonna die anyway so why not enjoy life(and food{especially cookies}) while you can!
May 15th, 2008 at 1:43 am
I think GS cookies are tasty. I agree, we do many things that are not healthy for us; I work out 5 days a week and eat healthy.. but I cannot resist those damnable samoa cookies! Aren’t the cookies sold by season? And don’t the girls do other things during the remainder of the year? I’m sorry, but I will not give my annual treat of a box of samoas. I just won’t do it.
May 15th, 2008 at 8:18 am
I think it’s interesting that many of you claim that Girl Scout Cookies are an absolutely terrible thing to eat because of the hydrogenated oils they contain. Did you ever think that just about EVERYTHING we eat has hydrogenated oils? Peanut butter and cold cereals for example. Things people eat almost daily! I’m currently pregnant with my first child, and my doctor explained the dangers of hydrogenated oils. Stay away from them. Got it. The next time I went grocery shopping, I bought next to NOTHING that I would’ve normally bought, because everything America eats contains those hydrogenated oils. My doctor said to stay away from them, because they’re unhealthy. He didn’t tell me that if I ate them, I would die. Food for thought.
Also, many people claim that “Girl Scout Cookies make you fat! They contribute to the ‘obesity epidemic’ in the country!” False. The only thing that contributes to the obesity epidemic is you. You choose what goes into your mouth. You choose to keep active and exercise or not. People that blame McDonald’s for making them fat need to step back and realize that they CHOSE to eat there. If you knew it was making you fat, why did you make the choice to eat there for lunch every day? Same with these cookies. As many before me have stated, there’s no directions label on any of the boxes that says, “1-Buy 100 Boxes of each cookie 2-Eat 50 each day 3-Get fat!” The girls don’t tell you to eat them in one sitting. Buy a case, sure! Donate to the cause, sure! But eat in moderation. When you’ve over-indulged yourself, get off your butt, quit posting on sites like these about how you’re fat, and take a 20 minute jog around your neighborhood! It’s not hard. Americans are just lazy. End of story.
Those who claim that the Girl Scout’s PARENTS do all the work should be blaming the parents then, not the Girl Scouts themselves. Many parents automatically assume they have to sell for their children, and take the liberty all on their own. There are many ways for the girls to market these cookies without their parents’ help. Simple neighborhood door-to-door, people from church, teachers at school, soccer coaches, swim teachers and the like. If the girls ask their parents for help and the parents oblige, let them be! It’s their choice.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:13 am
Why, oh why did such an innocuous-seeming topic create such a long burning fervor? I was a Girl Scout (only a Brownie, actually), and GS parents and troop leaders always seemed mellow to me. I never would have guessed this post would prove so infuriating to GS parents and leaders. Pointing out the flaws in the GS cookie fundraising system, and reminding us that we cannot rationalize the buying and eating of junk food by tacking it on to a good cause does not make Erich a cookie Nazi.
I should also point out that GS cookies are not the only over priced, overall wasteful item peddled to parents as a form of fundraiser. Public schools in dire need of funds resort to selling a lot of useless things- magazine subscriptions, tin boxes of candies and nuts, cartons of Christmas wrapping paper, and many more things frequently appearing in middle- and high school fundraising catalogs. Students are pressed on to sell these items with the promise of cheap “prizes”- I remember in middle school I once received a stuffed beaver with a zippered tail as my reward for selling 20 magazine subscriptions. I would guess that in most cases, the schools who usually pay to take part in these fundraisers get a very slim percentage in the end.
So along with girl scout cookies, abstain from magazines, candy bars, Christmas tins, and other goods sold by impressionable babes.
May 17th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Maybe someone has already pointed this out to you but this is the breakdown of the cookie sales for sales in the Seattle area:
Cookies sell for $4.00 a box.
Younger girls’ troops get 55 cents a box plus the girls get cookie incentitves.
Older girls’ troops get 70 cents a box but they do not get incentives.
The cookies them selves cost $1.00 a box so that leaves around $2.30 to $2.45 a box that the local council makes off a box. The local council uses this money to fund and subsidize the camps, activities and organizing girl scout troops. The money truly does stay local. Girls can participate in many free activities that are paid for by cookie sales such as sleepovers at the zoo and science center, gymnastic events, art programs, etc. Plus, there are scholarships for girls to have their Girl Scout fees waived for membership and for camp.
So yes, the troops only get a portion of the sales but the sales support many, many worthwhile activities. Go ahead and donate to the troop but remember the cookie sales support more than just the troop.
June 13th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
I’m not only a registered adult girl scout but a troop leader and the service cookie manager. If you have so many questions regarding the cookie program or money received by girl scout councils, how about stopping by their office and picking up an annual report. As for my troop, these girls and their families are have to pay $5 per year. The troop pays for all supplies, batches, admission or fees to movie tickets, scouting events, etc. Whereelse can a family spend $5 and have their child meet each week, attending scouting events, create crafts, visit museums, etc for only $5. The cookie proceeds as well as fall products go to benefit these activities.
This will answer many of your questions regarding money raised, money spent and anything in between. While there ask about the scholarship programs offered to every girl that wants to participate in scouts and are unable to afford it or the girls that get the chance to attend camp for free or receive scholarships.
Request literature on the Bronze, Silver and Gold awards earned by the young ladies - which are mainly supported not cookie proceeds, fall product sales and additional fund raising activities that these girls initiate.
Ask about the family partnership fund raising activies (actually why don’t you donate to this partnership since you oppose eating cookies).
I just ask that you do your research about the girl scouts before shouting nonsense from your rooftop.
June 17th, 2008 at 11:59 am
I take it you have never worked for a non-profit organization before, let alone an actual Girl Scout Council.
As a full-time employee of one, we aren’t exactly raking in the big bucks and getting huge “salaries and perks.” I generally put in 45-50 hours/week and don’t get paid overtime. In addition, I would say I drive about 100 mi./week for work and get reimbursed according to the federal standard, which I can tell you barely covers the $4.30 I’m paying per gallon.
I know that our local council isn’t using our girls to pay our less-than-modest salaries. We rely on that funding to provide financial aid, training to our wonderful adult volunteers and camp.
Work for a Girl Scout Council to see the amazing things our cookie sale does for our girls and what amazing female leaders our organization has created before you assume things about the staff.
And if you have problems with binge eating Girl Scout cookies, start a support group.
June 17th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Patricia:
I assume that you aren’t an employee at the Girl Scout Headquarters on Madison Avenue. I’m not taking aim at anyone not at that high-rent headquarters. I admit that there are lots of local people doing wonderful work with girl scouts. I thought I made it clear in the original post that I’m not criticizing the activities of the girl scouts or the adults helping out on the local level.
BTW, can anyone tell me what salaries/benefits are made by the people working at the Girl Scout Headquarters?
June 17th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Actually, The Girl Scouts do have quite a few job openings these days. You can find them on the GSA website. Curiously, they don’t give any idea of the salary for any of these jobs.
This intrigues me, because many of the local girl scout leaders work for little or no salary because they believe in the cause.
Here are the job listings: http://www.girlscouts.org/who_we_are/careers/headquarters/headquarters_results.asp
July 4th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Like are you serious man? These are really the things you worry about in life? I wish i had your problems.
July 4th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Jay: The 80 comments preceding your comment suggest otherwise. And come on, this highly organized cookie-selling, the huge profits and the question of how those profits are distributed affect many thousands of families.
I’ll admit that it’s not a life or death issue, but the many aspects of girl scout cookie sales certainly seem newsworthy to the people who have commented regarding this post.
August 7th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
For those of you looking for an alternative to Girl Scouts. Try Frontier Girls. We are a 100% volunteer run organization with our headquarters in a living room in rural Cottonwood, CA. Founded in 2007 we already have troops in 9 states with several more coming on board this fall. We offer more than 150 badges (more than any other program including Girl Scouts) and do it all with no national fundraiser. We are solely supported by registration fees and individual donations. Troops conduct their own fundraisers according to their goals and keep 100% of any money earned. My own troop recently earned $369 at our 1 day yard sale. When I was a Girl Scout Leader I would have had to sell over 700 boxes of cookies to earn this amount for my troop, which would have taken much longer than one day. Frontier Girls wants its girls to be known for their patriotism, community service, and good character, not for the product they sell. Check us out at http://www.frontiergirls.com