To all girl scout leaders?!?

Question

Why do us leaders have to get a bank account set up just for our troop? and which is better checking saving account for the troop? I really am farily new as a leader I just completed my basic training and am still learning about it all I am so new I havent received my troop number yet! Please help.

I am also a tad concerned about a few other things maybe yall cant help with.. on the cookie sales do my troop keep any of the money from the sales? How can I build up a account right now we have $0.00 so where do we start? I havent collected any money from my troop yet we are still recruiting girls. all help is wanted.

Answer 1

A checking account is definitely the way you want to go because you're going to be writing checks with that money to pay for badges, outings, etc.

ADDITIONAL: I was a troop leader for six years. To build up money right away, charge each of your girls an activity fee. You are allowed to do this if you want. We charged $20-$25 and put that in the account. That money went to pay for whatever supplies we needed for arts and crafts or any outings we might take (inexpensive outings) and badges. If a child cannot afford to pay, don't worry about it ... just let it go. Girl Scouts is for everyone, regardless of their financial abilities. As my girls got older and we built up a nice bank account, we dropped the fee entirely.

Make a snack list right off, assigning each girl a week to provide treats. I had enough girls in my troop that each week, I had two girls assigned to bring snacks -- one brought the snack and the other brought the drinks. If you have that many... fine. If not, just assign one for a snack.

The girls get to keep a portion of their cookie sale money, but I'm not sure what portion anymore. That's a BIG moneymaker for most troops. Give your girls training on how to sell the cookies (even though most parents end up taking the sheets to work) and above all, stress that they are not to go door-to-door cookie selling without a parent or a high school aged sibling ... no matter what!

My troop never did the Fall product sales because they just didn't make any money where I live. I asked another troop leader in our school and she told me not to even bother. She said her troop did it for two years and it went from bad to worse, so they finally dropped it. Some troops do well on it though, so you might want to try it once.

There are lots of craft sites on the Internet that give instructions for inexpensive crafts. Also, begin a craft container for your troop. We got an inexpensive one from a craft store and whenever we had left over glue, felt, beads, etc. from a project, it all went into the craft container for a future project.

We always saved our badges up until the end of the year. Then, we had a tea or bridging ceremony where we invited the parents and sibs with the girls doing most of the work and planning and we passed out badges and awards then.

For the first year, keep your expenses to the minimum. Look for inexpensive crafts and projects and inexpensive things to do in and around the community. Focus on ways the girls can do community service instead. Book drives and food drives are always good and the kids can make posters and put them up around town. During the holidays, you can arrange for them to sing carols at a local nursing home. Keep your eyes open for volunteer opportunities in your community. These are all good but inexpensive ways that the kids can have fun and do something productive. Another thing we did one year was to collect pop can tops for the Ronald McDonald house. If you have one in your area, contact them and see if they're still doing that program. We also got a tour of the Ronald McDonald house. Lots of places are willing to give scout troops free tours -- banks, restaurants, stores, police and fire departments, etc. Call around and try to link a couple of tours in with some badges. Every year, we took our troop to the local fire station for a free first aid course. In the beginning, it was pretty basic, but as the girls got older, it got more involved. They really LOVED those courses and the firemen always ended up letting them climb all over a fire truck.

Answer 2

Hello Renae:

Thank you for stepping up to be a leader. Please remember to keep it simple and make it fun.

You will want a unit account so that there is no question or confusion as to where the money comes from or to where it goes. The Boy Scouts require that the unit treasurer account for all funds, GSUSA may be a little less formal. In this way, the leader is less likely to be accused of 'dipping' into the funds, and the leader is less likely to be 'out of pocket' for some items. A checking account will be less hassle, as a savings account will require you to go to the bank to withdraw. Contact your bank and ask if they will allow you to set up an account for the troop. The IRS requires a taxpayer ID for bank accounts, so to avoid having this account on your tax ID, see if your Council has a tax number you may use.

Emily Dew has some great ideas. I would like to suggest that as the girls earn their awards, they are presented, rather than waiting until the end of the year. Immediate recognition is best at younger ages. You can keep a list of the awards the girls earn, and at your end of year ceremony, you can let the parents know all the activities each girl accomplished.

Keep on Scoutin'

Answer 3

Checking account, you can deposit checks straight into it which is especially helpful during those fundraisers (nut sales, cookie sales). Plus you can write checks for snacks and craft supplies if needed.

Thank you for being a scout leader. My girls are in scouts and if it weren't for people like you, we wouldn't have scouts.