side menu icon

Troop Resources

Welcome to the 2021 Girl Scout Cookie Program resource page for troops and volunteers. The 2021 Cookie Program will help girls as they learn entrepreneurial and leadership skills that will last a lifetime. Now that you are part of the largest girl-run business in the country - are you ready to get started?

Getting Started
Welcome to the 2021 Girl Scout Cookie Program!

Please refer to your Troop Envelope for a comprehensive collection of everything Girl Scout Cookie.

The Cookie Program is an amazing opportunity for your Girl Scouts to participate in a quality council-sponsored program that will develop life skills and help raise for their own troop activities. When you guide girls through a cookie sale, you will get a firsthand look at the skills and confidence girls develop along the way. Your support during the program makes all the difference and we truly appreciate your time and dedication to the girls in your troop.

This year's Cookie Program runs Feb 18 - Mar 21, 2021

While troops won't have cookies until just a few days before the sale begins, they can use their paper order cards to begin marketing their sale starting December 1, 2020 - as long as your troop has completed training and received the materials. While girls may secure support for their sale, they may not deliver cookies or collect money before February 18, 2021. Girls can, however, set up and use their Digital Cookie site starting December 1, 2020.

It Takes a Team

The Girl Scout Cookie Program is a group effort. A troop leader will need a troop cookie sale manager that runs the logistics of the sale. A troop cookie sale manager will need parents to help with picking up Girl Scout Cookies, chaperoning booth sales, and more. Build your team and you will build a great experience for the girls - minus the stress!

In order to participate, a troop will need:
  • One GSUSA registered adult to manage the Cookie Program for your troop. A co-leader or parent is ideal. It is always good to have a back-up person who can help during the program.
  • The Troop Cookie Manager must attend training before your troop will be allowed to participate. If the back-up can also attend, that is helpful.
  • Participating girls must be registered Girl Scouts for the 2021 membership year and must return a signed Parent/Guardian Permission Form before they can begin selling.
  •  Each girl should be given girl materials to take home. Parents should make the decision whether they would like their daughter to participate in the program.  
Cookie Program Timeline

Please refer to the 2021 Girl Scout Cookie Program Troop Envelope for more information and a handy checklist!

November/Early December
Start preparing and get your ducks in a row. Host a parent meeting, receive signed permission forms, and distribute girl materials. Make sure you have a current ACH Banking Process Authorization Form with a valid troop check on file with our council. Make sure this same information is reflected on the vendor site (Ebudde under Settings Tab). Confirm your email is up-to-date with GSSEF in order to receive your Digital Cookie log-in information.

December 1
Digital Cookie sales begin, so make sure your girls have their online sites all set up! Girls can also start marketing their Cookie Program on the digital site. Keep in mind that they can ask people to support their sale, but can not deliver or collect money before February 18, 2021.

January 24
Troop initial orders are due in eBudde. Check out the Cookie Cruncher tool to help you calculate your initial order.

February 13 - 14
Initial order delivery and count 'n go time!

February 16
Pre-ordered cookies can be delivered and the friends & family door-to-door sale begins.

February 18
The first day of the Cookie Booth Program and re-order deliveries begin. Cupboards are also open in eBudde where you can check their hours of operation and schedule your pick up time in advance (required).

March 16
GSSEF will withdraw, via ACH, from your troop account, 60% of the initial order that your troop placed on January 24. If you earned the initial order reward, the ACH withdrawal will be 35%.

March 21
The final day of the 2021 Cookie Program (both booth and online sales), and the last day for CSA troops to opt-out of rewards.

March 30
Final ACH payment is due

April 13
Troop reward selections are due in eBudde

Cookie Program Resources
Initial Order
How Much Do I Order?

Troops should plan their sale with a specific goal of selling enough cookies to generate the proceeds they need for planned activities or by using an average number of boxes girls can be asked to sell. The average number of boxes sold in 2020 was 268 boxes per girl.

Tip: Use the Cookie Cruncher Tool to help calculate the number of boxes you will need of each variety for your troop initial order.  

Worried About Over Ordering?

Most troops only order about 75% of what they need for the sale through their Initial Order. Then they make one to four trips to the cupboards to pick up the additional cookies they need throughout the sale. If you are a returning troop, base your Initial Order on what your troop’s final sales were the previous year. If this is your first time selling cookies, talk to your SUPSM. They can assist you in deciding on a good Initial Order based on your troop size. Doing this will ensure that you have plenty of cookies to see you through the first and second weekends of the sale.

Tips for Initial Order Pickup Day

Initial Order Locations

When choosing a delivery date and time, please pick what works best for you, but please arrive on-time so we can have a SAFE delivery day.

Palm Beach Agent: U & Me Moving: 3300 Electronics Way, West Palm Beach, FL 33407

NEW Broward Agent: Armstrong located off Sample Rd and Turnpike (behind Festival Flea Market): 3101 NW 27th Ave, Suite 111, Pompano Beach, FL 33069

If your troop is ordering 600 cases or more, please choose the delivery site called "600 Cases Broward" OR "600 Northern Agent." This is a placeholder and the delivery agent will call you to make special arrangements for home delivery!

Pegasus, Gemini, Sea Star, and Indian Treasure Service Units have dedicated locations. Please select a location in your area, otherwise, you will need to drive to the place that you picked, since your cookies will be waiting for your there.

Digital Cookie Orders

The Digital Cookie platform is a great resource for for contactless payment and coordinating porch deliveries to keep your troop safe. We have added a NEW incentive this year, too! Have all girls in your troop sell at least 15 boxes of cookies using the Digital Cookie platform and the troop will receive an additional penny per box for their entire 2021 sale! 

Council Programs and Promotions
Social Media Resources

Looking for some help promoting the Cookie Program on social media?

Little Brownie Bakers has put together great resources to help parents and girls promote their sale via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and more. Not only do they provide a variety of graphics to choose from, but also suggested post copy to use. So all you need to do is dowload the image you like, copy and paste the wording, and click post on the social media platform of your choice!

  • 2021 Virtual Cookie Booth Posts includes promotional posts for your Digital Cookie site, donations, contactless delivery, and more
  • Cookie Announcements includes a graphic for each type of cookie
  • Cookie Pride includes graphics for proud dads, moms, volunteers, and fans
  • Cookie Season Phases includes promotional posts for countdowns, pop-up booths, drive-thru booths, and more
  • Holidays includes graphics and suggested post dates for Girl Scout Holidays
  • Profile Pics similar to the Cookie Pride graphics, these images are sized for use as profile pictures on your social media accounts

Girl Scouts, parents, and volunteers are also encouraged to follow and share posts from our council's Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages. As well as GSUSA's offical Facebook and Instagram pages.

Troop Earnings and Finances
Money Handling and Banking Procedures

Payment for Cookies
Payment for cookies may be made by cash, check, or credit card. It is recommended a troop does not accept a check for over $250. All checks must be payable to your troop and deposited into your troop bank account. The following information should be included on the check: Name and physical address (must be printed on the check and not be a P.O. Box), Telephone number, and Troop number (of troop accepting the check)

ACH Withdrawal Schedule
March 16: GSSEF will withdraw, via ACH, from your troop account, 60%
of the initial order that your troop placed on January 24, 2021. If you earned the Initial Order reward, the ACH withdrawal will be 35%. See flyer,
included in the envelope, for details.

March 30: GSSEF will withdraw, via ACH, from your troop account, all
funds due from your troop for the 2021 Cookie Sale. Funds must be in the account no later than February 21, 2021.

Record Keeping
GSSEF will record your ACH withdrawals, as deposits, into eBudde. The deposit and current balance owed will be reflected on your Troop Sales Report. Give parents a receipt for any money turned in during the sale. At the end of the sale, print the Troop Sales Report and verify that all of the information is accurate. The Troop Sales Report should have a zero balance.

Troop Proceeds

All troops will receive a base price of 75 cents per box sold.

Troops who met participation requirements for the 2020 Fall Product Program will receive base proceeds up to 79 cents per box sold.

Troops participating in Early re-registration may be eligible to receive 10 cents in additional proceeds for every box sold.

Cadette, Senior, and Ambassador troops who "opt-out" of rewards will receive an additional 2 cents per box sold. The girls will still be eligible to earn patches, Extreme Team, and Top Seller rewards.

All rewards are based on a girl's individual sale. Sales may not be combined toward any Extreme or Top Seller rewards.

A troop can earn an additional 3, 6, or 9 cents per box if your service unit grows its sales by 3, 6, or 9%. (If the service unit increases the sales volume 3% over the previous year’s total sale, each troop in that service unit will receive an additional 3 cents for EVERY box sold. If 6% over, an additional 6 cents, and if 9% over, an additional 9 cents.) This bonus will be deposited into the troop account after the sale is reconciled.

Clover Go Training

For the 2021 Cookie Sale Program, all GSSEF troops that would like to accept credit card payment will be exclusively using Clover Go. Here are links to the trainings that will help you set and get started: 

Girl Scout Cookie Program Pins and Badges

Cookies and Girl Scout Program Pins and Badges - All girls who participate in the Girl Scout Cookie Program are eligible to earn the annual Cookie Activity Pin, which recognizes the “5 Skills” learned and practiced during the cookie program. The Activity Pin is available for purchase at the Palm Beach County or Broward County Retail Stores.

Cookie Entrepreneur Family Pin - Make Girl Scout Cookie season a family affair!  Earning Cookie Entrepreneur Family pins makes spending time with family easy, fun, and even sweeter during cookie season. Start your collection today, and get ready to rock your Girl Scout pride all season long.

Cookie Relief Program

In an effort to relieve the concerns about families being held financially responsible for large amounts of cookies and unable to sell them due to the pandemic, GSSEF is offering the potential option of the Cookie Relief Program.  The following are the parameters around this program:

  1. The week of March 4, 2021, troops will gain access to a Wufoo form where they can apply for GSSEF’s Cookie Relief Program.  Troops will need to assess if there is any excess inventory they are worried about selling and will be permitted to apply for relief for up to 10% of the troop’s initial order.  Troops must fill out the form by March 7, 2021 to participate in this program.
  2. The Product Sale department will receive this information and assist troops with excess cookies in redistributing them throughout the council to other troops who need cookies or to cupboards during the week of March 8-11 (in time for the final 2 weekends of the sale).
  3. Troops may be asked to deliver excess inventory to another troop or to a cupboard to assist in this process.
  4. If cookies cannot be redistributed, troops will be asked to return the excess for which they applied to a delivery agent or a cupboard on a specific day and time (TBD).
  5. In addition, the council will host a Trade-Out day at the delivery agents on March 10 where all troops can trade up to 10% of their initial order of traditional varieties only.  Additionally, cupboards will also open to trades of up to 10% of initial order beginning March 11. 
  6. If a troop has taken advantage of the Cookie Relief Program, they will NOT be eligible for Trade-out Day participation.
Cookie Chats with our Experts

Join us for a weekly Cookie Chat via ZOOM every Tuesday throughout the Cookie Program where our council experts will walk you through different topics each week! While these chats are for troop leaders and cookie managers, they are open to anyone looking for more information on how to boost their cookie sales (so share this with your troop parents too!).

Register for any of the chats below using this link. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. See you Tuesday for the cookiest chat in Southeast Florida!

Cookie Cupboards
right rail
right rail
right rail
right rail