Inside the Girl Scout cookie machine
February 21, 2008
St. Charles County, MO
Girl Scout cookies were delivered yesterday to troop cookie managers. Cars, mini-vans and pick-up trucks were packed to their limits with cases of annual favorites. This cookie-selling operation has been refined over the years and runs like clockwork.
The information in this article is not usually published. As defined in an activity plan book, volunteers are not to speak to the media about anything whatsoever. All communication with the media must be referred to the council.
Troops receive 15% of the sale price on each box sold. For example, for a 530-box sale, Girl Scout Council receives $1,351.50. The troop’s portion is $238.50. Another way to look at it is: for every $3 box of cookies sold, the troop receives 45 cents.
From December through April, troops spend much time selling, distributing and staffing cookie booths. A troop can easily spend 55 hours to sell those 530 boxes.
Each scout selling cookies receives a cookie patch, no matter how many boxes she sold. Prizes are offered at certain quantity levels. This year, if a scout sells 110 boxes, she will receive a night light. The top prize this year is a megaphone, for those who sell at least 750 boxes.
Volunteer-run cookie cupboards usually open the same day cookies are delivered. Cases of cookies tower in volunteers’ homes, usually piled high in dining rooms and garages. These cookie cupboard volunteers receive a steady stream of visitors, troop representatives filling extra orders. These cupboards ensure the sale of the most possible amount of product. After initial orders have been submitted, scouts are still able to sell, filling their orders by making trips to these cupboards.
Cookie booths will soon be sprouting throughout the area at local stores and businesses. Troops must calculate very carefully the amount of cookies to order for their booth inventory. If there are leftovers after their booth sale, the troop must “eat” the loss as extra boxes are not allowed to be returned or exchanged.
The Girl Scouts in the St. Charles County area belong to the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri. This council is part of the Girl Scouts of the USA, headquartered in New York City, with over 400 employees.
There are over 300 local Girl Scout Councils or offices, 236,000 troops and 986,000 adult volunteers. Girl Scouts of the USA is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.
For recipes using Girl Scout cookie favorites, visit this site.
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