Understanding How Many Volunteers You Need
Girl Scout groups are large enough to provide a cooperative learning environment and small enough to
allow for development of individual girls. It is recommended that group sizes, when possible, are as
follows:
● Girl Scout Daisies: 5-12 girls
● Girl Scout Brownies: 10-20 girls
● Girl Scout Juniors: 10-25 girls
● Girl Scout Cadettes: 5-25 girls
● Girl Scout Seniors: 5-30 girls
● Girl Scout Ambassadors: 5-30 girls
Girl Scouts’ volunteer-to-girl ratios show the minimum number of volunteers needed to supervise a
specific number of girls. (Councils may also establish maximums due to size or cost restrictions.) These
supervision ratios were devised to ensure the safety and health of girls—for example, if one volunteer
has to respond to an emergency, a second volunteer is always on hand for the rest of the girls. It may
take you a minute to get used to the layout of this chart, but once you start to use it, you’ll find the chart
extremely helpful.
Each Troop/Group must have a minimum of two (2) unrelated approved troop leaders (unrelated adult
volunteers are those who do not have any familial or familial-like relationship), who are currently
registered members, have completed the Volunteer Approval Process, and have completed any required
training pertinent to specific activities. At least one of these volunteers must be a female.
The Volunteer Approval Process includes:
● Register as a members of GSWPA
● Select a volunteer role
● Complete the volunteer screening process
Refer to the Appendix: GSWPA Procedures/Forms for the following:
● Volunteer Approval Process
● Volunteer Approval Process Decision Tree