It’s Cookie Season - the time of year where little girls ask us to buy our favorite fattening and overpriced cookies! Whether you count down the days until you can get your hands on some Thin Mints, or you quickly walk by booth sales trying not to make eye contact, cookies are probably the first thing you think of when you think of Girl Scouts.
As a former Scout I try not to perpetuate the stereotype that all we do is sell cookies, but talking about cookie sales from the seller’s perspective seems like an excellent place to begin this blog.
Here’s four things you don’t know about Girl Scout Cookie sales:
Cookie prices seem to keep rising, but it isn’t the girls who make the money. The price of the cookies and the percentage of profit that the girls make differs between councils. Typically, the girls make 10-20 percent of what you pay for your cookies, while 65-75 percent goes to the council and the rest goes to the baker. When I last sold cookies in the Girl Scouts of Connecticut council, a box of cookies cost $4 and I made 80 cents on the box. Here are some articles from around the country outlining what happens after you get your Samoas and Thin Mints: Minnesota & Ohio.
The older you get, the harder it is to sell cookies. It’s hard to say no to a cute 6 or 7 year old, but when I was 16-years-old and going door-to-door, I got a lot of “I already bought from my co-workers little girl,” or “You’re still a Girl Scout?!” The most ironic part about this is that the older Scouts are often the ones who are fundraising for big trips or community service projects they’re working on.
From the time cookies come in through the end of April, also known as “cookie season,” Girl Scouts are not allowed to organize any other type of fundraiser. As much as people love Girl Scout cookies, hosting a bake sale or a car wash is a much more efficient way to make money because they generate a larger profit. Unfortunately, during cookie season, booth sales are the only fundraisers that council will approve and this can make getting the funds for a summer trip really challenging.
The prizes are less exciting in real life. In movies and TV shows, the Girl Scout is always trying to sell 100 boxes of cookies to “win the bike.” In real life, every cookie season , a new set of prizes comes out. The top prize is usually a stuffed animal, or something not nearly as exciting as a bike, and in order to win it ,you have to sell thousands of boxes. There is also a second option where instead of winning prizes, for each milestone, you have the opportunity to earn an increased amount of profit on the boxes sold. In my opinion, this is better than the unattainable bike.
I could talk a lot more about Girl Scout cookies (and I'm saving my opinion on the different cookie bakeries for its own post).
But here’s the thing, Girl Scouts is about so much more than the cookies. It’s about leadership, community service, practicing skills in a supportive environment, sisterhood, and so much more. Cookies are such a small part of a huge organization and community of people and they don’t define us… even if they are delicious.
Thanks for reading my first post! From here on out, look for a post every Saturday. In until next time, comment any questions or feedback and let me know if there's anything you want me to talk about in the future.
Enjoy the rest of Cookie season! And if you want to know what type of Girl Scout cookie you are, take this quiz!