Girl Scout Cookies

For other uses, see Girl Scout Cookies (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Girl Guide Cookies.

A variety of Girl Scout Cookies

Girl Scout Cookies are cookies sold by Girl Scouts in the United States to raise funds to support Girl Scout councils and individual troops. The cookies are widely popular and are commonly sold by going door-to-door, online, through school or town fundraisers, or at "cookie booths" set up at storefronts.[1] The program is intended to both raise money and improve the financial literacy of girls. During an average selling season (usually January through April), more than one million girls sell over 200 million packages of cookies and raise over $800 million.[2][3] The first known sale of cookies by Girl Scouts was in 1917.[4][5][6] Cookie sales are organized by 112 regional Girl Scout councils[7] who select one of two national bakeries to buy cookies from.[3][8]

The bakery selected determines which cookie varieties are available, when girls can begin selling cookies in their area, and cookie price.[5][9][10] The bakery is paid about 25 to 35 percent of the profits; 45 to 65 percent is used by the regional council to cover programming costs; and 10 to 20 percent is kept by the local troop[11] whose members decide how to spend their portion of the funds. A regional council receives up to 60 percent of its budget from cookie sales.[12]

  1. ^ Girl Scouts of San Jacinto. "2020 Cookie Family Guide - Girl Scouts San Jacinto" (PDF). p. 15. Retrieved November 3, 2020. These are stations, usually a table and chairs, where a group/troop of Girl Scouts sell cookies, most often set up at a storefront[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "The Girl Scout Cookie Program: America's Leading Business and Economic Literacy Program for Girls" (PDF). Girl Scouts of the USA. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 20, 2010.
  3. ^ a b Sugar, Rachel (January 24, 2019). "How Girl Scout cookies captured the heart of America". Vox. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  4. ^ "How the Girl Scouts built their $700 million cookie empire". msnbc.com. March 30, 2011. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Girl Scout cookies: Thin Mints, bakeries, and $5 boxes, explained - Vox". January 24, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  6. ^ Willett, Megan. "RANKED: The Most Popular Girl Scout Cookies". Business Insider. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  7. ^ "Who We Are: Facts". Girl Scouts of the USA. 2013. Archived from the original on August 21, 2007. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  8. ^ "Manitou Girl Scout Council proves to be one tough cookie". jsonline.com.
  9. ^ Kroll, John (January 3, 2008). "Some Girl Scout Cookies Change Their Names, but the Flavor's the Same".
  10. ^ Duncan, Argen (March 9, 2008). "Girl Scout Cookies Take on New Shape". El Defensor Chieftain. Archived from the original on January 19, 2009.
  11. ^ "Girl Scout Cookies FAQs". Girl Scouts of the USA. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  12. ^ "Good Question: Where Does Girl Scout Cookie Money Go?". February 3, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2020.