But why don't Brownies sell brownies?
Feb. 19th, 2007 12:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
penfieldWho do you think would win in a gang fight: the Keebler Elves or the Girl Scouts? I think the Elves would have superior organization, guile and technology, while Girl Scouts would have the advantage of size and sheer ruthlessness.
Yes, it's Girl Scout Cookie season again. The Girl Scout Cookie program is designed to teach young women the value of teamwork, entrepreneurship and using your cuteness to sucker money out of people. This is why the cookies are not available for online orders 365 days per year; the scouts are forced to put forth the effort and promotion and we are forced to interact with the little vendors.
Which means I have to stock up now for the lean summer and autumn months. I have probably mentioned in this space that my favorite ice cream combination is vanilla with mashed-up Thin Mints. For more traditional cookie usage, however, I am all about the All-Abouts.
D.C.-area cookie lovers can search for their next and nearest sales venue here.
Yes, it's Girl Scout Cookie season again. The Girl Scout Cookie program is designed to teach young women the value of teamwork, entrepreneurship and using your cuteness to sucker money out of people. This is why the cookies are not available for online orders 365 days per year; the scouts are forced to put forth the effort and promotion and we are forced to interact with the little vendors.
Which means I have to stock up now for the lean summer and autumn months. I have probably mentioned in this space that my favorite ice cream combination is vanilla with mashed-up Thin Mints. For more traditional cookie usage, however, I am all about the All-Abouts.
D.C.-area cookie lovers can search for their next and nearest sales venue here.
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From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-02-22 02:00 pm (UTC)Re: From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-02-22 05:09 pm (UTC)It's not simply a matter of tradition, though I think that's important. It's a matter of economics. Speaking as a person who tried selling fruit as a high school choir fundraiser, the only way the Girl Scouts could raise $200 million by selling Florida oranges is if scientists figure out a way to fuel SUVs with them.
Re: From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-02-26 07:21 pm (UTC)Now I'm just being difficult. But maybe it's because I haven't bought Girl Scout Cookies in five years or so. I never saw what all the hub-bub was about. They're good cookies, but definitely not worth the price, even factoring in whatever money goes to the local organization (about 3.5 cents box, if memory serves).
Re: From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-02-26 07:29 pm (UTC)-- Josh
Re: From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-02-26 07:37 pm (UTC)Re: From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-02-26 09:30 pm (UTC)Q: When I buy Girl Scout Cookies, where does the money go?
A: With every purchase, approximately 70% of the proceeds stays in the local Girl Scout council to provide a portion of the resources needed to support Girl Scouting in that area, including a portion that goes directly to the troop/group selling the cookies. The balance goes directly to the baker to pay for the cookies.
Q: What portion of the cookie revenue is shared with the troop/group selling cookies?
A: That decision is made by each local Girl Scout council, so the portion varies from one council to another. Nationwide, an individual troop/group receives from 12-17% of the purchase price of each box sold. The troop holds the money earned in its treasury, and its girl members vote on how to use that money.
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I don't know or understand the difference between the "local Girl Scout council" and the "individual troop/group," so I don't know who's getting 70% and who's getting 12-17%.
Re: From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-02-27 07:30 pm (UTC)DL004D asked me, what does it matter? In case anyone else wants to know why I'd care:
Asking 9-year old girls to "volunteer" to sell a product in order to pay salaries and rent for the national organization is essentially a violation of child labor laws, packaged in such a way that it's scandalous to even suggest something untoward is going on.
(I can imagine someone saying, "But they're Girl Scout Cookies! Everyone LOVES Girl Scout Cookies? Why do you have to take the fun out of everything? If anyone reading this is thinking that: you're proving my point. It is specifically because the reputation of the product is somehow unimpeachable, some have decided that we shouldn't ever wonder about the fat content or whether asking 9-year old girls to sell a product -- any product -- is an appropriate way to pay the salaries of purportedly non-profit professionals.)
In the wake of the numerous United Way scandals, or more recent revelations about the lifestyle of the Smithsonian's director, I can't imagine why anyone would turn a blind eye to where this money actually winds up. If the girls are getting 17 percent of the net profits, then they should be getting 18. If they're getting 70 percent, they should be getting 71. They (along with their families) are the ones doing all the work.
Re: From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-02-28 02:32 pm (UTC)Re: From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-02-28 08:08 pm (UTC)Re: From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-03-01 01:13 am (UTC)For the record:
A) how can you guys NOT understand the National vs. Local Council vs. Troop?? Think of this as the Feds, the States and the city. Josh--as per EP's post on the FAQ's above, the NATIONAL GIRL SCOUT COUNCIL does NOT get any money from the sale of the cookies.
B) In Madison, my girl scout troop belonged to the Black Hawk Council, which serves 9,000+ girls in 9 counties in Wisconsin. This council owns property (some of my fondest girl-scouting memories were spent at a converted farm house called Echo Valley) and equipment like tents for camping. Money that goes to the local councils goes into salaries, but also upkeep, new equipment, training, etc. etc. etc. How is this any different from any other non-profit? For an individual troop, whose enrollment numbers shift from year to year, paying for these things is just not feasible. Plus, since most troops were formed (in my day) by mothers whose daughters were in them, once the daughters are no longer scouts, what would happen to all that equipment?
I don't mean to rant, but if the girl scouts didn't make money in some way, there would be no scouts--no one to pay the bills and buy new equipment, no one to make sure that the leaders all had first aid and CPR training. I understand that there have been scandals recently about the extraordinary compensations that CEOs of other non-profits (Mr. Small being a prime example), but making money from selling cookies helps themselves not just some person in the front office.
Oh, BTW, at $4.00 a box (which is about what the cookies cost--again, I think that each council sets the price), the troop makes $0.72 per box sold. I sold 250 boxes one year, which would be $180 for the troop. I don't remember what we did with the money, but I assume that some went to scholarships for the girls in my troop who couldn't afford the nominal fees.
I promise to stop posting only rants to EP's blog, starting.... now! (unless Josh says something equally ridiculous again)
Re: From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-03-01 02:04 am (UTC)Re: From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-03-01 02:29 pm (UTC)I paid $3.50 per box.
Re: From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-03-01 09:00 pm (UTC)Where do you get yours?
Re: From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-03-01 09:56 pm (UTC)Re: From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-03-02 02:28 pm (UTC)Re: From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-03-02 02:33 pm (UTC)Re: From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-03-06 07:14 pm (UTC)Re: From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-03-06 07:39 pm (UTC)Re: From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-03-06 08:24 pm (UTC)(I don't know who Anonymous is, but he definitely is not in an accelerated nursing program in which he has 12-hour shifts on clinical rotations throughout the night in addition to taking the class-load of an entire senior year of college in one semester.)
(I am assuming Anon is a man.)
Re: From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-03-06 10:22 pm (UTC)Re: From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-03-06 10:39 pm (UTC)But tonight I am recommending a tomato soup (perhaps fortified with heavy cream and meat of your choice) and Caesar salad combo.
Re: From today's New York Times
Date: 2007-03-06 11:38 pm (UTC)