Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council
Troops
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Each troop has a financial coach that mentors younger troops and wants to provide new troops with more support. (Friendswood Service Unit Lisa Dannemiller) highly recommended
 Gone away from mid-year financial because seemed unnecessary but some troops seem lax
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Each troop receives form to fill out and return to coach
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Would hate to have some formal hard deadlines
 Should be simple, local :attitude: I want to help you, not I want to check on you : hands-off approach good/empowering too much hand-holding creates dependent leaders
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Service Unit/ troop coaches-- o Could use more guidance i.e.:
What red flags should you look for? o Service Unit treasurer does great job of communicating. Service Unit Service Team comprises most coaches
 training class, ie finances for Girl Scout 101- could be at Region Level at beginning of year, go over general protocol – i.e. keep original receipts, etc.
 issue: getting people to meet end-of –year deadlines
 non-issue: people mishandling Girl Scout funds/being blacklisted
 will use whichever bank offers free checking account – TX 1 st Bank
 Open new accounts quickly, only charge for checks
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Just started using debit cards because of complaints of using personal cards.
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Just 1 function of coach: for financial accountability so leader doesn’t have too many ppl breathing down her throat
 Sales tax form – very forgettable, hard to remember form, leader often absorbs tax as personal donation
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Each Service Unit Service team member has different roles
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Financial coach includes anything new leader wants to know
 Financial 101 for new leaders Dickinson/Clear Springs
 Service Unit has financial meeting: November, Service Unit treasurer hosts; - tells them how to do and offers office ours to review F-31 in April.
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BLT – should include how to do financial report
Assumption that ppl know how to do it
Needs to show form online – demonstrate a walk-through

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Advice on how to spend troop funds – should troop pay 100% for activity? Parents pay partial? Use for patches – every troop does different.
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$ very important for BLT – if no $, troop can’t do anything!
 Have a packet for $ reference
 Fundraising information
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If you want to follow rules, it’s a lot more difficult – more paperwork/procedures
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Troop leads fell pressure – IRS is watching
 Does Council have any idea how many accounts are out there? How many troops disband/leader walks away?
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Financial Aid: is it available at Council level?
Service Unit has financial aid – burdensome
Can’t give new girl a vest in February! Streamline and expedite - * online financial aid – great because don’t want to ask others
disagree; better at hub/community level; region too big to keep track of all troop accounts.
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Region Level- to link each troop to bank statement
 Fill out forms, send to Council, never hear back. Only rule followers/ “rabid dogs” do forms so if troop disbands following year, someone keep track of all troop accounts can keep track of it
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Way too many banks to choose form – lack of control
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Someone at Region level
 New leader goes with experienced leader to form bank account – have 2 leaders and 1 experience leader – checks and balances – who receives bank statements
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Cookie $ – Council only cares about Council $
Someone needs to ensure troop cookie $ gets in troop bank account
 No accountability for troop bank accounts. could be handled at region level
 Have 01 in personify forced to put in bank account and have to put in every year or can’t register
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$2,000 or $8,000 bank accounts closed or where that $ went
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Troop had account and bank threatened to take $ because it wasn’t touched (was put asidefundraising) how much other dollar confiscated by bank
 Got to have relationship banking
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New rule: corporate can only give troop $500
Someone with 5 girls and someone with 25 girls can both get $500… is that fair?
Why couldn’t donation be per girl?
If a corporate donates dollar that would have been to troop – where does it go? Troops might understand if that dollar goes to a disadvantaged troops verse black hole.
Boy scouts/baseball/etc. can solicit that dollar
 New leaders experience:
 Possibly mishandled funds in trop account because of F-31 – noticed account was lower so someone else can take over
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How do you hold someone responsible for missing funds? Girls are out funds, just out dollars
Troop treasurer did sign position description – how accountable is she by that position description?

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Does do carbon copies of dues
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Can do a report for what checks are for – experienced leaders does this
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Troop leaders post bank statements on troop website
 Troop treasurer – was keeping account exclusive, not wanting to give co-signer debit card use/checkbook
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SNAP. new troop treasurer learned financial stuff as Service Unit treasurer so realized troop account wasn’t adding up
 Bad debt list – how do treasurers find out who’s on the list?
 Small businesses – they buy cookies, when check cashed, it bounces. Would they be on bad debt list?
Have a list of those companies/franchises?
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How do we answer question or finances if we don’t know what the hub/community and region levels look like??
 Local (HUB) accounts separate from regional
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Troop cookie bonus to Service Unit stay local
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How would the region get income to support girls in the non-troop pathway?
 Board of 2-3 people at regional level to approve spending
 Events that don’t make capacity should be cancelled not to lose dollars
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Local or hub level could be charged an assessment to support region expenses
 Information in passport training; computer at training, Login and walk through files
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Advantage to do training locally so you can tell them which bank to go to
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Have a centralized list of banks that won’t charge fees
 Recommend that troops use debit cards
 Leaders not getting consistent information
 Show how to complete reports on the computer
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Financial reports/forms should be made available at beginning of the year/CD
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Can’t find adult training in Golden Link
 Webinar
 Walk through excel file and what categories mean
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Don’t know to have a separate treasurer and auditor in a troop
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Treasurer should have computer skills
 Online tutorial to go with excel report
 Can’t enforce removing volunteer if finance report not turned in
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Give incentive when they turn in report on-line

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Call people (survey) who have not turned report to find out why
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Separate treasurer from SUM/ASUM
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Separate auditor and treasurer
 Uniform procedures across Council
 Troop vote on expenses
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Outline of possible expenses for new leaders with timeline
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New troop sources of money - Fall products; donations; cookies
 Startup money from Council
 Startup money from Service Unit with loan agreement (put Service Unit Treasurer on Troop account)
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Solicit troop/girl sponsor
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Financial rules/statements should be in the Service Unit Way of work
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Service Unit should provide Way of Work to all troops every year. Information changes and old leaders are unaware of the changes.
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Treasurer job description
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Everything rolls up [troop expenses and income reports should roll up to the region and the region’s reports should roll up to Council[
 Be able to find tools online
 Troops are having a hard time finding accounts without fees
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Handle troop/group accounts through Council or Region as line items and use check requests for refunds. This will address the bank issue of minimum money in the account. o Three part deposit slip; troop, region & Council with the Region doing the end of year reports o Debit card per troop etc. with spending limit o Deposit with Region Form for expense category o Financial responsibility at Region level o Forms on line o Preprinted deposit slips with troop/event on deposit slip
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Our Service Unit operates for our troops
 Special Interest group (SIG) – If they fund raise, can split money between troop and SIG
 Series money should be separate
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Expenses will be specific to SIG. It wouldn’t be fair to mingle money with Service Unit money
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Never had an area event (last 6 years)
 If area/region event, then Service Units should share equally
 Set Budget; more advanced planning at region level
 Share resources
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Series should be a line item in the Council budget
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Reluctant to co-mingle funds
 Give us a list of preferred banks without fees and no limit on items per month
 Regional person would have banking mentor/troop financial management; learn what is legal?

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Girls need a way to use Girl Scout money for Destination or back packing (non-troop Girl Scouts activity) o Money shouldn’t all have to through the troop o Accumulate without expiration o Save up for a specific individual account
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Manage first page at Regional or Council level
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Way to find money opportunities on web (i.e. car wash) sample ideas
 Information systems to share information (i.e. list of banks; mentors, money making opportunities; manage girl financial accounts
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Event credits
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SIG should still manage their money
 Use Pay Pal for everything; or some other e-pay system
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Council could give a $1,000 grant for each troop
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Can ask for financial aid
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Service Unit needs to pay Council back for financial aid
 They like having a choice of banks
 Can’t get troop to close bank account.
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Wells Fargo wants endorsed checks
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One person from Service Unit on every troops account; all troops at same bank; not allowed troop debit cards
 Troop treasurer – training
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Service Unit periodic check of finances per troop during Service Unit meeting.
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List of what not to do with troop funds
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Should be able to use troop debit card for registration
 Would like to have someone in Service Unit sign on every troop account.
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Team of treasurers at region with X number of troops
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Financials easy to fill out
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Spreadsheet – can’t make changes easily – messes data [editor note: cut and paste may destroy existing formula]
 Require troop bank accounts
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Service Unit treasurers get information but no audit made; collect and push paper; No authority to enforce.
 If Regional event, collect at Service Unit level and roll up as opposed to charging equally regardless of attendance. [If the service units have an unequal number of participants, then the charge should be per participant instead of per service unit.]
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Training – Financial specific, industry standard
 Same standards no matter what level and Council wide
 Money should follow the girls
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Fund raisers should go to the girl o Track on spreadsheet o Pathway should support that girl for the specific activity

o Boy Scouts can allocate per boy o Youth group also allocate per person
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Service Unit not functioning – MM managed - Bear Creek
 Spread sheets good
 Two signer bank account required
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Appointment letter should go directly to leader
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Steps to open a bank account (step by step)
 List of banks
 Too much grey area; need specific guidelines that are the same across Council
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411 Finance Webinar was really good 2 hours; 7:00 – 9:00pm on weekday
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Need pre-recorded webinar
 Keep activity prices down so more girls can attend
 Hoodies too expensive. $60 each
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Letting troops have own tax ID so they can raise money more easily
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Well-paying fund raisers (50% or more) – needs these
 All troops have bank accounts in Service Unit – financial statements not always turned-in
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Service Unit could manage funds for series events – also fund like an endowment with business plan.
Committee would decide funding if not self-sufficient
 Donation toward series/event programming with registration
 Service Unit income too low to fund outside activities. Using money for recruitment and retention activities.
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How is Service Unit funds going to be merged with Service Unit mergers?
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Service unit uses calling post.com 200 calls for $23.95 (Jane Manegra)
 New infrastructure needs to support financial aid and pay for events
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Sponsor JGL donations and funding for B/S/G
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Must be fair
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Third person to collect Financial Aid reports? Currently if troops turn, they do If don’t they don’t
 School district gives BSA grants, but not Girl Scout – need to have help