Support Your Local Girl Scouts

The Girl Scout Cookie Program® prepares girls with the business smarts they need to prepare for adventure.

The world may have changed, but one thing remains the same: Girl Scouts love adventure! And that’s exactly what you’ll find in every delicious bite of iconic Girl Scout Cookies.

Did you know the Girl Scout Cookie Program is the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world?

When you buy delicious Girl Scout Cookies, you’re supporting Girl Scout entrepreneurs and funding future adventures for Girl Scouts.

And guess what? Proceeds stay local.

Every purchase you make guarantees that Girl Scouts capture the experience of life and leadership.

 Girls Scouts Learn Five Essential Skills

The Girl Scout Cookie Program® helps Girl Scouts learn five skills that are essential to leadership, to success, and to life. 

Skill #1—Goal Setting
"I know I can do it!" 

Girl Scouts learn how to set goals and create a plan to reach them!

Girl Scout Cookie entrepreneurs are always on a mission. Whether it's through an exciting new adventure, a service project to improve their communities, an amazing summer at camp, or an eye-opening STEM activity, the goal is always to power amazing experiences for themselves and their troops all year long, while helping others too!

Skill #2—Decision Making
"I make smarter decisions."

Girl Scouts learn to make decisions on their own and as a team!

Girl Scout Cookie entrepreneurs are leaders in the making. They make decisions about how to run and promote their cookie sales, interact with customers, and spend their earnings. And when it comes time to make decisions in their personal lives, they’ll use what they learned selling cookies to make the best choices.

Skill #3—Money Management
"I make change happen!"

Girl Scouts learn to create a budget and handle money!

Girl Scout Cookie entrepreneurs are always sharpening their money smarts. By running their own cookie businesses, they learn how to make correct change for customers, count and manage their cash flow, and create a budget to fund the experiences they want to have with their troops. 

Skill #4—People Skills
"I get a lifetime supply of confidence in every box."

Girl Scouts find their voice and build confidence through customer interactions.

Girl Scout Cookie entrepreneurs are relationship builders. By running their own cookie businesses, they gain valuable practice communicating with customers; talking about their product and goals; and resolving conflict in a positive, productive way—all skills that will help them succeed in school, in business, and in life. 

Skill #5—Business Ethics
"Selling cookies is more than just business."

Girl Scouts learn to act ethically, both in business and in life.

Girl Scout Cookie entrepreneurs are honest, fair, and responsible. Through their cookie businesses, they learn to always do the right thing by their troop members, customers, and communities—lessons that will carry them for a lifetime of leadership.

All of the revenue earned from cookie activities—every penny after paying the baker—stays with the local Girl Scout council. Each council determines its own revenue structure depending on its cookie cost, local retail price, and the amount that is shared with participating troops and groups. On average, Girl Scout council net revenue is approximately 65–75 percent of the local retail price, and the amount that is shared with participating Girl Scout troops and groups, referred to as troop proceeds, is approximately 10–20 percent of the local retail price. Cookie program revenue is a critical source of funding for local Girl Scout councils, and it is often what makes it possible to serve girls in hard-to-serve areas, and maintain camps and properties.

Girl Scout troops and groups must pool their proceeds to pay for program supplies, activities, and group travel. Girl Scouts may not earn proceeds as individuals; however, Girl Scout councils offer a wide variety of recognition items, program- and store-related credits, and travel experiences that girls are eligible to earn individually based on their sales. All troop proceeds and other rewards earned through participation in the Girl Scout Cookie Program must be used to enhance each girl’s Girl Scout experience.

Is my purchase of Girl Scout Cookies tax-deductible?

No, if you keep the cookies. If you buy Girl Scout Cookies and take the cookies home (to consume them), you've purchased a product at a fair market value. For this reason, no part of the price of a package of Girl Scout Cookies used in this way is tax-deductible.

Yes, if you leave the cookies with Girl Scouts as a donation. Many Girl Scouts ask customers to pay for one or more packages of cookies for use in their Take Action/Service projects or "Gift of Caring" programs. Customers not receiving Girl Scout Cookies don't benefit directly from paying for them, so those individuals may treat the purchase price of the donated cookies as a charitable contribution. Additionally, customers may wish to donate cookies they have purchased from a Girl Scout to another organization, which may qualify as a donation to the organization receiving the cookies and may therefore be tax-deductible.