Sponsors help Girl Scout councils ensure that all girls in the community have an opportunity to participate in Girl
Scouting. Community organizations, businesses, religious organizations, and individuals may be sponsors and
may provide group meeting places, volunteer their time, offer in-kind donations, provide activity materials, or
loan equipment. The sponsor’s contribution can then be recognized by arranging for the girls to send thank-you
cards, inviting the sponsor to a meeting or ceremony, or working together on a Take Action project.
For information on working with a sponsor, consult your council; it can give you guidance on the availability of
sponsors, recruiting responsibility, and any council policies or practices that must be followed. Your council may
already have relationships with certain organizations, or may know of some reasons not to collaborate with
certain organizations.
Refer to the Appendix: GSWPA Procedures/Forms for the following:
Girl Scout Sponsorship Agreement-page 187
Girl Scout Sponsorship Certificate-page 188
The Girl Scout Cookie Program is so well known in communities, it’s likely that your girls will already know a bit
about it and want to get out there to start selling as soon as possible. But it’s important that the girls have a clear
plan and purpose for their product-sale activities. One of your opportunities as a volunteer is to facilitate girl-led
financial planning, which may include the following steps for the girls:
1. Set goals for money-earning activities. What do girls hope to accomplish through this activity? In
addition to earning money, what skills do they hope to build? What leadership opportunities present
themselves?
2. Create a budget. Use a budget worksheet that includes both expenses (the cost of supplies, admission to
events, travel, and so on) and available income (the group’s account balance, projected cookie proceeds,
and so on).
3. Determine how much the group needs to earn. Subtract expenses from available income to determine
how much money your group needs to earn.
4. Make a plan. The group can brainstorm and make decisions about its financial plans. Will cookie and
other product sales—if approached proactively and energetically—earn enough money to meet the
group’s goals? If not, which group money-earning activities might offset the difference in anticipated
expense and anticipated income? Will more than one group money-earning activity be necessary to
achieve the group’s financial goals? In this planning stage, engage the girls through the Girl Scout
processes (girl-led, learning by doing, and cooperative learning) and consider the value of any potential
activity. Have them weigh feasibility, implementation, and safety factors.
5. Write it out. Once the group has decided on its financial plan, describe it in writing. If the plan involves a
group money-earning activity, fill out an application for approval from your council and submit it along
with the budget worksheet the girls created.
Remember: It’s great for girls to have opportunities, like the Girl Scout Cookie Program, to earn funds that help
them fulfill their goals as part of the GSLE. As a volunteer, try to help girls balance the money-earning they do
with opportunities to enjoy other activities that have less emphasis on earning and spending money. Take Action
projects, for example, may not always require girls to spend a lot of money!
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