2017 Girl Scout Cookie Program Fact Sheet
When are Girl Scout Cookies available?
Girls Scouts across southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin sell cookies Saturday, February 11
through Sunday, March 26, 2017.
Where can I find cookie booths?
Cookie booths will be held at hundreds of locations including your local Cub Foods store across the
Twin Cities metro area, southern Minnesota, and western Wisconsin from Thursday, February 16
through Sunday, March 26. An online cookie booth locator is available at GirlScoutsRV.org. Download
the free Girl Scout Cookie Locator for iPhone® and AndroidTM.
What skills do girls gain from the Girl Scout Cookie Program?
Girl Scouts who participate in the annual Cookie Program:
 Set goals individually and with their troops, create plans to reach them, and develop
cooperation and team-building skills.
 Make decisions about how to spend cookie proceeds, furthering critical thinking, and problemsolving skills.
 Learn to manage money responsibly and gain practical life skills around financial literacy.
 Develop business ethics by being honest and responsible through every step of the Cookie
Program.
 Improve people skills while interacting with customers. These experiences develop healthy
relationships and conflict resolution skills.
Last year, 21,500 girls from River Valleys participated in the Girl Scout Cookie Program.
 Local Girl Scouts sold approximately 192 packages per girl in 2016. That’s over 4.1 million
packages across the council.
 In addition to fun rewards and Cookie Credits, which can be used toward camp and other Girl
Scout programs (including international travel), local Girl Scouts earned more than $2.7 million
in proceeds to fund troop programs, activities, and community service projects.
How the Cookie Crumbles
Each package of Girl Scout Cookies costs four dollars. Of that purchase price, more than 70 percent
stays with the Girl Scout, her troop, and the council to fund high-quality leadership development
programming that builds girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place.
Where does money from cookies go?
All net proceeds from each package of cookies sold (after baker and Cookie Program costs) stays in
the local community and benefits River Valleys’ Girl Scouts.
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Cookie Program and baker costs:
 Cost of cookies from the baker
 Transportation and storage of cookies
 Staff and temporary staff resources
Troop proceeds, service unit bonuses, and girl rewards:
 $.65 to $.76 in troop proceeds
 $.12 in girl rewards
 $.02 service unit bonus
Camp facilities and programs:
 Financial assistance to provide camp access to all girls
 Maintenance and upkeep of residential camps and program facilities across the region
Girl Scout Leadership Experience:
 Supports GSUSA chartered curriculum with staff, resources, and council-sponsored events
 Supports girls and troops through financial assistance and the Girl Scouts ConnectZ initiative
 Bronze, Silver, and Gold Award project support
Member and volunteer support:
 Support for new volunteers, including background checks, and orientation
 Provides marketing resources and supplies for volunteers to promote Girl Scout membership
 Development of volunteer training to address emerging needs of volunteers
Customer service and support:
 Customer service professionals available to answer volunteer questions by phone and email,
and assist service center guests
 Administrative support for programs for 30,000 Girl Scouts and 9,000 volunteers
 Girl Scout membership and event registration processing as well as data management
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Find Cookies Near You
Cookie lovers can find local cookie booths at their local Cub Foods store, or through the Girl Scout
Cookie Finder app for iPhone and Android. A link to the online cookie finder can also be found at
GirlScoutsRV.org.
Cookie Donation Programs
Cookie donation programs are an opportunity for customers to purchase packages of cookies that are
donated to community organizations. Troops can choose to donate the cookies to a worthy organization
in their community through Cookies for the Community, or they can donate the cookies to members of
the military and their families through River Valleys’ Operation Cookie Care Package.
Cookie Spokesgirls
Girls throughout Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys are available for interviews. For
information or to set up an interview with a Girl Scout in your area, call Tammy Freese at 763-9714051.
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