By selling Girl Scout products to friends and family, Girl Scouts develop valuable life skills like goal setting, money management, people skills, business ethics and teamwork – and they have fun! Our customers get a great product and get to support girls in their community.

The Girl Scouts of Rhode Island, Inc. sponsors two product sales each year. All Girl Scouts – from Daisies to Ambassadors – are eligible and encouraged to participate.

The QSP/Be a Reader Magazine and Candy & Nut Sale

This sale of magazine subscriptions and high quality, reasonably priced (individual prices range from $5–$7) nut and candy products is held each October. The nuts and candy arrive just in time for Thanksgiving and make great holiday gifts, hostess gifts and teacher “thank you” gifts. By holding a product sale early in the troop year, troops can raise the funds they need for community service projects or field trips.

The Girl Scout Cookie Sale

The $700 million Girl Scout Cookie Program is the largest girl-led business in the country and generates immeasurable benefits for girls, their councils and communities nationwide. In fact, many successful business women today say they got their start selling Girl Scout Cookies!

Girl Scout Cookies come in 8 varieties – including the all time favorite, Thin Mints – and sell at $4 per box. Each council sets its own ‘price per box’.

In our council, girls can begin selling Girl Scout cookies from January through March each year. Some troops choose to sell “directly” – boxes of cookies are immediately available to customers. Other troops choose to take orders from customers and fulfill them once all the orders are in.

Where Do The Proceeds Go?

All of the proceeds – every penny – from a local council’s product sales remains in the area where the products are sold. This revenue is used to benefit girls, some of it directly by remaining in the Girl Scout troop treasury and some of it indirectly by subsidizing the cost of providing the Girl Scout program in the local area. Money from product sales helps the Rhode Island council:

• Recruit and train volunteer adults to work with girls
• Provide the financial assistance needed to make Girl Scouting available for all girls
• Improve and maintain camp and other activity sites
• Keep event/camp fees for all members to a minimum
• Sponsor special events and projects

How Does My Daughter's Troop Benefit?

Every local troop/group is encouraged to set realistic goals, such as planning field trips and community service projects, to accomplish during the year. The money earned from product sales helps the troop/group achieve its goals. Troops earn $1 for each can of nuts or candy sold, $1.50 for each magazine subscription sold, and up to $0.69 for each box of Girl Scout Cookies sold.

How Does The Community Benefit?

Each year, Girl Scouts of Rhode Island selects a Cookie Sale Community Service Project beneficiary. At the end of the Cookie Sale, troops may elect to contribute a portion of the troop’s proceeds to this organization. Last year, troops contributed a whopping $5,500 to the RISPCA's Marvin's Fund, which assists elderly, disabled and less fortunate animal owners (in RI and nearby MA and CT) who are unable to afford veterinary care for their animals.

The 2012 beneficiary is the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation. We selected this organization in honor of our founder, Juliette Gordon Low, who died of breast cancer. Juliette Low founded the Girl Scout Movement 100 years ago, in 1912.

The activity of selling cookies is directly related to our purpose of helping all girls realize their full potential and become strong, confident, and resourceful citizens.

How Will You Keep My Daughter Safe?

The safety and security of our members is always our chief concern. We have strict guidelines for safety. Girl Scouts, depending on their age, must be accompanied or supervised by an adult when selling Girl Scout Cookies and always use the buddy system.

Girls that are doing online marketing (not online sales) read and discuss the Girl Scout Internet Safety Pledge. Girls print out the pledge and ask their parents (or guardians), to read and sign the pledge together. Additionally, we offer letmeknow.girlscouts.org (for adults) and lmk.girlscouts.org (for girls), sites for general help on staying safe online.