Personal Finance Advice

Do they get a significant portion of the proceeds? I have always been told that they get very little. Maybe it would be better just to give them the 20.00 as a donation.

Friend of mine is a girl scout leader. Her troop only gets $0.50 for every box. The boxes around here go for about $3.50. I would rather give them a donation too to help the troop more directly but I’m not sure the best way to go about it.

THANK YOU, Valerie, for explaining to the public the official reason that GS cookies should not be sold or bought online and for discouraging the practice!

Although the price per box and the amount the troops receive per box vary between councils, one thing is consistent: the amount per box that the bakery receives is about $.85. Last year in my council, about $.59 went to troops for patches, trips, and programming supplies, $.04 paid for the incentives for girls to sell more cookies, and $2.02 went to the council to provide programming for all girls “including camp expenses, council sponsored programs, free adult trainings, and administrative expenses.” I got this from my daughter’s order form (she’s a Brownie and I’m a Lifetime Member of GS with this being my 25th year).

Some councils allow the troops to keep a monetary donation; however, other councils require the troop to turn over all monetary donations to the council to help the “greater good.”

SO, please buy the cookies, but if you feel strongly about more of your money going to a local troop, speak with the leaders - you may find that they have a need you can help them meet through donation of items instead of money.

My daughter’s troop (6th grade juniors) gets $.55/box. This year cookies jumped to $4 from $3/box. We’re going to have a hard time selling at the booth this year. I used to be a troop leader. DONATIONS ARE MUCH MORE APPRECIATED! If I remember correctly the $ limit was $25 before it had to be given to council. In my case, I always made sure it was below $25 because our council (won’t tell you where) is nasty and spends too much money on things the girls don’t need/want. Our troop learned a lot and had a lot of fun with the money we made which is what the girls are supposed to be doing — learning by having fun!

If someone is selling a box online, they had to buy it from girl scouts, so they did earn revenue on it. How else would someone get girl scout cookies to sell?