Here in the US, it's Girl Scout cookie season. This is when you get to spend a few bucks on cookies, break your New Year's resolution about losing weight ... and feel good about it, because the money's going to a good cause. Or is it? - Let's break down the numbers and see!
Before we get started, here's a fun photo from my friend Matt. He posted this on Facebook, and it's how I knew the cookie season was upon us (note that these are cases of cookies, and each case contains several boxes!) I'm not sure whether he's planning to eat them, or sell them - knowing Matt, I'm going to assume a little bit of both. :)
In a previous blog, you might recall that I combined analytics and Girl Scout cookies by creating a SAS map showing which of the two bakers made the cookies sold in each county in the US.
In this blog post, let's get down to dollars and cents. Being a middle-aged guy and working a desk job, I try to not eat sweets & snacks, because I don't want to become one of the almost 50% of Americans who are considered obese. So, when my local Girl Scout troop sends representatives to sell me some cookies, I'm thinking about just donating some money instead. But how much money should I donate, to compensate for the cookies I didn't buy?
My first guess was that on a $4 box of cookies, the Girl Scouts probably makes $1 profit. But after I checked into it, I found out I was wrong ... way wrong. According to the Girl Scouts FAQ page, they actually make 65-75% profit, which means that about $3 from each $4 box goes to the Girl Scouts.
Here is it, laid out in graphical form (hmm ... maybe I should have used a pie chart? ... I wonder if there's such a thing as a cookie chart?)
And the FAQ on their web page says most of the profit goes to the local council (which is typically a group of counties within your state), and a smaller amount (10-20% of the profit) goes to the troop (that's the local club in your city/area). I was curious exactly which council our local Wake county NC Girl Scout troops were in, so I did some Google searches looking for council maps. I found some maps for other states, but none for NC. I found a Wikipedia page with lists of counties in each council, but text lists of the 100 counties just didn't form a good mental picture for me. So I put together some SAS code to plot the data on a map. Now I can quickly see that Wake county is in the Coastal Pines council (the light yellow color in the map below).
But perhaps all this data visualization is just my attempt to go on a tangent, instead of answering the real question. How much money should I donate, instead of buying cookies? Well, if you were going to buy 4 boxes of cookies for a total of $16, I guess if they make 75% profit then $12 would be a fair donation, right? But what about the intangible factors (ones that can't really be graphed)? Here are some other factors to consider, based on info from their FAQ page:
When you buy Girl Scout Cookies, you power amazing adventures and life-changing opportunities for girls—from trips to our nation's capital to community projects, from summer camp to charitable donations. The more cookies you buy, the more you help today’s girls transform into tomorrow’s G.I.R.L.s (Go-getters, Innovators, Risk-takers, Leaders)™. And it's about the skills a girl gains from interacting directly with you, the cookie customer! It's about the experience of running her very own cookie business, working with others—and building a lifetime of confidence as she learns five skills (goals setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics) essential to leadership, success, and life. Girl Scouts also earn badges (such as Cookie Business and the Financial Literacy) and program credits for selling cookies.
I don't think donating money will accomplish many of those things in the same way that buying the cookies would. And then there's the sense of accomplishment - if you were a Girl Scout selling cookies, would you rather tell your friends "I sold 20 boxes of cookies" or "I got a $60 donation"?
Still Hungry? Where Are Your Girl Scout Cookies Made?When I started this blog post, my goal was to show that it would be better to donate money than buy cookies. But after studying the data & details, I've convinced myself of the exact opposite - I recommend that you buy the cookies! If you don't want to eat them, I'm sure your co-workers will be happy to help you with that! :-)
While we're on this topic - what's your favorite Girl Scout cookie? (now, or in the past)
57 Comments
I feel it is a total scam as well. Also, sell healthy alternatives and give the local group more money. There are solutions to these issues. And I don’t agree… cold hard cash and raising hundreds of dollars is more satisfying than selling junk food to your grandparents who don’t want it. It’s a Trojan horse scheme…. They dress it up pretty and say it is to empower girls but they are peddling overpriced junk food to people that feel obligated to buy it from children. It’s shameless and it’s stale. Get some new ideas Girl Scouts. I believe the premise is community, altruism, and goal setting is wonderful. But the way they are going about it doesn’t feel right at all in my opinion.
My daughter is a girl scout and we were told we get .90 cents per box and each box is now $6. Im really sad to say this whole thing seems like a scam and I wish more people would really look into it cause I think girl scouts may need a reminder as to what they are about!
I saw a little girl selling cookies in front of her home, and I thought it was the most adorable thing.
Experience does count as a benefit. Yes the entire system is very unfair. What most of you fail to see is this is everyone’s reality not just Girl Scouts. Work hours to receive pitiful returns to just start again tomorrow. My daughter is one of the best sellers in the country, when I see what she has received for all the hours, efforts, emotions she puts into this, it is weak tea. My own life mirrors this very thing. Unlike me she remains positive and strong. Yes she says donations are great help, but you cannot just always ask for handouts. Diversity flexibility wins. We may not always sell cookies but we will have learned what gets peoples attention. What it takes to get to our goal. So many forget about us that Girl Scouts even exist, cookies remind them we’re here. Even if we don’t get much have a terrible council that wastes what we brought them. We’re here together my friends, my troop, my sisters who I would’ve never met. We would’ve never been ax throwing, camping, rafting, high ropes, without this. If other troops didn’t do these things. It was hard for us too, they need to figure out how make it happen not just for them for their sisters they haven’t met.
You should research all the properties the girl scouts own all over the world, and who gets to enjoy these facilities.
I didn't when i was a kid, and no other girl scout from our little desert town has. Never heard of any of our girl scouts getting a scholarship .
How do you know how each dollar is spent and where it goes?
I got my info from the Girl Scout "Frequently Asked Questions" page:
https://www.girlscouts.org/en/cookies/all-about-cookies/FAQs.html
I understand that you got your information from the Girl Scout "Frequently Asked Questions" page but I can assure you that isn't how the cookie crumbles so to speak. I am in an upstate NY troop and here is how the proceeds are for troops:
If we sell
1-100 boxes we make .55 per box
101-150 boxes we make .65 per box
151-200 boxes we make .75 per box
201+ boxes we make 1.00 per box.
That is only if all girls in your troop make that average. So if you have 10 girls registered in the troop selling cookies, all 10 have to sell those amounts in order to make those profits. So in our case out of a 5.00 or 6.00 box of cookies, we can make from .55-1.00 per box.
That photo is adorable.
I need to find myself a new Girl Scout cookie supplier!
Consider this, the Girl Scouts have been marketed on all types of national products over the last few years. Build-A-Bear Workshop, lip balm, granola bars, even Dunkin Donuts coffee. National GSUSA is making royalties on all these products. They could afford to be generous and give the royalties per box back to the Scouts that are actually doing all the work. Also, the cookie sales are not optional. If you are a registered unit, you HAVE to sell cookies. Boy Scouts popcorn products are unquestionably ridiculously priced, but each unit has the option to not sell. National BSA takes 0% of the sale, so when you see "70% goes to local scouting" it's roughly 50/50 between the units (kids) and the council. Even so, units can opt to run their own fundraisers and keep all the profits as long as they adhere with the BSA policy that a good or service is being provided.
Interesting details!
I don’t know who some of these people are that are pushing this information but here in Washington state cookies are 5 dollars a box and the troops cut is less than 20 cents further more the council puts restrictions on any other fund raising as for camp sites ext those all cost more not fre to the troops out of 26,000 dollars sold this toop keeps 3,000 dollars these people feeding you some of these numbers are probably from the council which is making over 3 dollars a box
I've been a girl scout leader for 5 years...we make .65 per pox we sell. You really want to support your local troops give them a cash donation instead of feeding Keebler's pockets (the baker of these cookies)
My daughter sold $700 in cookies and the troop sold $1300 total. Not bad for a group of 10 girls. But the troop doesn't even have enough money to treat them and keep money on hand for badges and stuff. That is messed up if you ask me. And donations get turned into council and split between troops in county. So how are the troops supposed to get money to do anything?
Hmm ... so, can you donate directly to the troop (for the troop to keep), without them having to turn it in to the council? (For example, not associated with the cookie drive?) Or perhaps donate "stuff" to the troop, rather than money (maybe directly donate badges, tents, etc?)
Does any of the money go to planned parenthood?
I'm not sure - perhaps you could ask that question directly to the Girl Scout headquarters.
I would like to see a PUBLIC comment to the answer for this one if they have nothing to hide.
I would like to see the payroll structure from the top to the bottom. And all distributions of money
So does any money go to planned parenthood? Since nine months ago still no answer?
The Girl Scout headquarters is probably not reading my computer/graphics blog - you'll probably want to ask that direction to them directly. :)
If you just search this on Google or whatever search engine, you we'll see that each article after your question is almost exclusively answered by girl scouts of America. That should tell you something right there. I don't think I need to explain that further. There are very few answers by outside sources so you're just repeating what the girl scouts of America says. The girls don't get crap.... Who does? Bloated salaries see Goodwill, US government popcorn sales for kids whatever.... We as a people just accept the stuff. We as a people are wrong. Don't ask Google, ask your common sense... $800 million... Is your girl scout wearing Birkenstocks or whatever an expensive shit is
U parents need a good negotiater! Under the new tax code corperations, taxes went down ,the cookie manufacture gets to keep more you should get a cut of the tax savings! U are also paying too much to upper management ! There are other ways to raise money car wash, rake leaves,cut grass, dog walk, clean yards for elderly, shovel snow, paint, make greating cards I wood rather buy a hand made greeting card U could do it all on line. It is 2018 girls can be very creative if u let them. They could make dolls, ties, scarves, post cards, get a three D printer . How about bird house feeder lowes home depot would be glad to sponser great PR for both ! Tile hot plate trivets easy to make ! Please get creative. Maybe make something for Vets I would gladly buy something that would benifit Vets. How about sponser a Vet ! The girls find a needy Vet find his need I would gladly support GS 4 VETS ! Are U kidding me the last thing I need is a cookie ! I
Sounds like some great alternative ideas!
One interesting tidbit I discovered: GS Cookie Sales is an $800M business.
Also a division of Interbake, is one of the bakers make GS Cookies, and another division makes Oven Baked. When I am in a 99C Only Store, or a Dollar Tree, I buy Oven Baked. The sq choc covered mint cookies tastes like Thin Mints to us. They were so close in flavor, I did some due diligence.
http://mentalfloss.com/article/56264/what-do-girl-scouts-do-all-cookie-money
http://www.interbake.com/abc-bakers/ GS Cookies and Oven Baked brand baker.
This is a fascinating blog, and all the comments have been intelligent and pertinent. I was a poor kid (euphemism "under-served"), and my GS camp and other activities were paid for by the local Council in the 1960s-early 1970s. I was a GS until I was 14. It kept me out of trouble, and it taught me so many life lessons. Back then (I am assuming), the GS was run like a non-profit, and not like a for profit, which most behemoth non-profits have morphed into. The Council buildings back then were C level real estate buildings, and the layers of bureaucracy were less, according to my mother. I'll tell you, the 990 I checked out wasn't easy to digest. I call GS Cookie Sales Child Slave Labor these days. I call it as I "seez" it.
Can you make a donation directly to the troop? (So it doesn’t have to go to the Council & dispersed in other ways?)
Nice job if you can get it... no, not Girl Scout sales lady, but GS Cookie company... yes they make a tidy EASY profit from the cookies the girls sell, because they don't have to buy shelf space in grocery stores or do any advertising. Also, the cookies contain things that are very unhealthy... like HFCS. So, I won't eat them and I can't live with my conscience buying them and having them given to our troops or the homeless, etc.
Personally I feel like I am being blackmailed! My grand daughter will probably be made to feel bad even when she brings in my $50 donation (worth more than selling 12 boxes of cookies to her troop). Why... because she didn't sell the cookies! But the worst part is most people think it is only the sugar in the cookies that is a problem. After all, what is a little sugar if you aren't obese? (Read all the long term effects of too much sugar in your diet!) It isn't JUST the sugar! It is the high fructose corn syrup and other additives and preservatives. I simply don't like feeling like I am being blackmailed by the Girl Scout Organization. And the only real winner is the cookie company!
Isn't there something healthier they could sell? Or maybe do a Rainbow program, where the Scouts do chores for people and the troop gets paid for the chores the girls do. That would be 100% profit! And in addition to learning about business, they would get some exercise doing chores. I'm sure there are many better ways to raise money than selling a product that harms the health of all those who eat the cookies!
I donate directly to the troop. My funds are to be used exclusively to lessen the individual cost, per scout, for a week of summer camp. It has become very expensive over the past 20 years, and I fear some in the troop simply cannot afford it. A week at camp certainly helps with the bonding of the boys as a unit, and affords them an opportunity to do some things they would never be able to do in their regular lives. Until you see a youngster ride down a fast moving river in a raft, who has never even seen a rushing river, you can't appreciate what summer camp does for their overall growth.
I found this troop's cookie guide online. It has two breakdowns that give more information on how the proceeds are divided up and how much each girl is credited. Does not give enough information on each line item, but does give more than the girl scout website.
[PDF]Troop Cookie Guide - Girl Scouts of Citrus
https://www.citrus-gs.org/.../girlscouts.../CookiesChocolate/2017/Cookies%2016-17%...
Dec 12, 2016
Might make an interesting chart!
Teri
The Girl Scouts need to get their heads out of the sand. My great niece, a Girl Scout, lives in Washington State and has family all over the country, we all want to support her. But who wants to pay all that shipping? GS need a program where she makes the out of her Community sale and a local GS in the buyer's Community makes the delivery, and they share the profit. Sales would mushroom! I just can't believe they don't do it.
In 2018 the girls will make 5cents, yes 5 cents per box. But the more they sell & parents attend the cookie rally they will get more. BUT, they don't tell you how much. I almost feel like they are pimping them out for chump change. The girls work hard selling those they at least deserve $1.
That is simply not true. They make plenty of profit. What girl would take her time, and her parents, simply to make a few dollars for a Saturday's work at the local Walmart? Please get your facts straight before showing your lack of investigation. Just ask any kid who hustles those fat pills (my favorite is the mint) if they are making money.
Is that Heywood Wakefield furniture I see?
Hmm ... quite possibly! (I'd have to ask my friend to be 100% certain!)
Here (Raleigh) the troop gets about 50 cents a box out of the $4.00. The Council office does a ton for us and is indispensable. Our troop has used the camp facilities for three activities (at a nominal fee), gotten all of our leaders CPR and First Aid certified for free and gotten lots of help with building our troop from 10 girls to 30 girls. Given all that we get from council, we have no issue with 2.50 out of the $3 going to our council (with a portion to national as well) .
In my area, Girl Scout cookies cost $5 a box.
What area do you live in?
(Perhaps they put extra 'love' in the cookies there!) :)
I agree with previous comment about local troop only getting a tiny fraction of the money, my local group only gets about $.25 /box. Make the donation, it goes further and keeps the girls out of slave labor.
Somebody needs to put you region on report $0.25 on $5 box is really not right. You must have some major camp ground costs or something.
Now I'm curious about what the local councils do for the individual scout troops.
The answer for our troop is...not much. Membership costs just went up and I've paid out almost $300 this year so far in dues (I even have to pay for my background check to be allowed to sell cookies for them), badges, outfits, etc. for my two daughters. That amount will go up seeing as it's only early Dec & I'll probably have to fork out more for additional badges (yep, badges aren't free), camp fees (our camping trips aren't free either), etc. Our troop opts (without parental input) to put cookie sale profits towards one big trip...which always falls on a weekend we're out of town. Check out the girls scout store full of plastic trinkets they encourage the girls to buy. It's like volunteering to sell for Hello Kitty. The increasing costs have caused our troop to lose membership from wonderful girls whose parents are more financially strapped. Our troop leaders do an excellent job and are all dedicated volunteers, but their well funded housewives, so I don't think they are in touch with that. They always say please let us know if finances are an issue and they'll cover the expense, but no one wants to admit it they can't afford the dues & they just drop. I'm ok with paying out for my kids activities and am blessed with the means...however, I don't care to pay for activities that badger me to volunteer my non-existent free time & take my money. Girl Scouts may have been something great in the past, but now it seems like a brilliant corporation that exploits child labor. They should have their non-profit statues revoked. Nonetheless... I keep my mouth shut. My girls like to hang with their friends & I must muzzle my protests for their sake. I've tried without success to get them to do karate or soccer instead. I'll be one of those parents smiling at the cookie booth soon, take pity on me and buy the darn cookies. Thanks for opportunity to speak freely about this sham.
Excellent post Beth. My oldest child became a Daisy this fall so I'm completely new to this but already relate to exactly what you're saying. Volunteered to be cookie manager and just started researching the organization a few weeks ago but not liking what I'm finding so far from a perspective on where revenues go. As an accountant specializing in tax I have an appreciation that what is visible right off the publicly available Form 990's only scratches the surface of the story to be told and even those present an ugly picture. However, like you I am conflicted. My daughter loves it and we have an outstanding Troop Leader (even in spite of it being her 1st year). My Cookie Mgr booklet from Council claims "more than 74% of the price stays local" and the GSUSA goes further by stating "100% of the net proceeds stays local". Our Troop will directly receive $.90 per $5 box so it saddens me that almost $3 ($1 to baker plus $.30 GSUSA royalty) is "necessary" to fund a Council that you would think would be quite efficient after a 100+ years of effectively the same operation. Then there's the subject of another whole layer of salaries and benefits at the national level doing who knows what on top of the Council staffing. According to the GSUSA's own financial statements there is over 59 MILLION alumnae, I am left to wonder how it is that there aren't enough of them willing and in a financial position to give back and qualified to fill most, if not all, of the salaried positions as volunteers.
I think putting little girls in the front-line to make a profit isn't good. Neither is having a central head quarters lording over local chapters for a profit. We need to stop glorifying money, and start embracing the beauty of nature.
I'm sorry I gave my outsider's opinion on a issue that Americans' are so passionate about.
In our area, the cookies sell for $4 and our troop only gets about 50 cents (the exact amount depends on the number of boxes per girl) So if you buy a box and offer a $1 tip, we actually make more on the tip than the cookies.
The NC Coastal Pines participates in Operation Cookie Drop. You buy however many boxes and the council sends them to our service members and their families!
Thanks for the info, Angela!
Love this! I passed it along to my friend who is troop leader and she reminded me that there's a third option: you can buy boxes AND donate those! The troops in turn donate those to local organizations. Her troops boxes will go to an organization that serves the homeless. Troops frequently donate boxes to police stations and children's hospitals. So you can maximize your impact without maximizing your waistline. :)
Thanks for this extra info - Sounds like a great idea!
Just realize he said $3 out of $4 goes to the Girl Scouts proper NOT the girls. The girls' troop receive less than a dollar. The majority of that money goes to maintaining the camp grounds and those costs are shared with the Boy Scouts. And this money also pays the salaries of corporate and other employees of the scouts and necessary training. When I was a leader 15 years ago @$2.50 a box the girls got $0.20 per box (with30 girls that paid for lot) and the highest regional (there are people above them and I am sure they got paid even more) was paid $70k a year. Which across all the troops in a region isn't much but 15 years ago that's a lot of money that the girls make selling cookies!!! That's child labor in a way!
AND interestingly enough the Boy Scouts get a much higher profit from their sells because the price for a box of pop corn is rediculous!!! And they receive an extraordinary amount of corporate sponsorship that the Girl Scouts don't come close to receiving.
If you are making the kind of money corporate is making, then they should going after the sponsors!!!
I am not saying don't buy cookies I am saying that the corporate employees should be working harder for their money and the parents and public should made more aware and they be more upfront about the costs. I would think the training and the camp grounds take up the most of profit, but I dont remember and they need to be more honest and detailed about where the profits specifically go. Accountability is an issue to me and to say the girls Scouts make $3 profit, but it is a misnomer and not a complete answer. A lie of omissision as they say. Don't get me wrong, the girl used that money to go to Busch gardens, a sleep in at one of local museums ( my girls loved the zoo snooze) and a troop camping trip. And that's 30 girls all expenses paid, except the food at Busch gardens (which is a local park - day trip for us). And they loved it all. That cookie and dues paid for badges and craft supplies and local day events for badges. So it went a long way.
You are spot on! I was a co-leader for a small troop and I worked my tail off transporting, distributing and helping the girls sell these cookies to make 54 cents per box! The Boys Scouts make a TON more money off their sales and now the boxes are even MORE expensive! They are robbing these girls blind! Someone is getting rich and it's not the girls selling! This is just pure exploitation of these young girls! Be a troop leader! You will be disgusted! It's ridiculous! Donate the money or have them wash your car! Lots more to the girls that way!
yah absolutely
Nice charts, but the data used is wrong. I think net revenue and revenue have been confused. Many studies have shown that about 80% if the cost to buy a box of cookies goes to make and transport them. About 20% stays with the scouts. They are better served by $1 donations than $4 cookie purchases.
Interesting - do you have a url/link to one of these studies?
Robert, I have been a cookie Dad for the past three years and I know exactly how each dollar or cent is spent. Your research is absolutely right on. Of course the troop it’s self selling the cookies get between .65 and .75 cents per box sold. The rest of the money goes back to the Girl Scouts of America. This little bit of money pays the salaries of those who get paid which isn’t much working for a nonprofit. It’s goes to maintaining all the properties the Girl Scouts have through out the United States. The cabins they have are first class all the way and in locations not just anyone can own property. These of course come from donations from the US elite but they don’t usually donate up keep for the next 100 years on these properties. And yes purchasing a $4.00 box of cookies over donating $4.00 goes much further than the $4.00 would. Most partners now days are too lazy to help their girls sale cookies and so the top selling girls really carry the rest who think it’s too much work to teach their daughters life long lessons, including memories. Trust me when the girls get to spend the night in a cabin with 15 of their friends in Garden of the Gods Colorado, is going to leave them with a life long memory. Most parents are too lazy to create these memories and I find it exatremely sad.
I thank you for taking the time to educate those who are lucky enough to read your post. Don’t let anyone tell you different, there are a lot of people who I see commented who don’t know their head from their ***. These are the parents who rob their children from such wonderful experiences due to their own ignorance.
wow that is deep i am a girl scout myself and finding out that we do not get all the money we sold a box of cookies for that makes me mad