Troop Cookie Team Training
Welcome to the
2016 Cookie Program
Service Unit Product Program Team
Get to know your Service Unit Product Team!
Why the Cookie Progam is Important?
It’s More Than Money
Girls develop lifelong skills to successfully navigate through life.
The Five Skills
• Decision Making: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
• What to do we want to do?
• A long or short term goal?
• Fun or educational? A little bit of both?
• Goal Setting: Cooperation and Team Building
• Goals to accomplish what girls want to do for the year.
• Broaden travel goals.
• One year goal to visit Disneyland; 5 year goal to visit New York City
Why the Cookie Progam is Important?
• Money Management: Practical Life Skills
• Counting boxes
• Making change
• Creating a budget and business plan
• People Skills: Healthy Relationships and Conflict Resolution
• Talking to customers
• Learning to articulate
• Learning that it’s okay if a customer says, ‘no thank you’
• Business Ethics: Positive Values
• Philanthropy and supporting her Council
• Communication and inventory Management
• Customer appreciation
Cookie Activity Pin
•
All participating girls earn the annual Cookie Activity Pin. Girls
should share accomplishments in the 5 Skills:
 What was her goal?
 Did she work as a team?
 Did she help develop her troop budget?
 Did she develop an ‘elevator speech’?
 How does the troop give back to the community?
Cookie Business Curriculum
• Girls develop specific business skills through the
‘learning lab’ of the Cookie Program.
• Girls work through the Cookie Business badges in
the Girl Guides, online Toolkit and Digital Cookie
Platform.
• Badges are earned in a cookie season, not one or
two meetings.
The Cookie Program is a
brand promise to all Girl
Scouts and it supports all
Girl Scouting in the
Council!
Council Goal
90% Girl Participation
in the Cookie Program
Girl Rewards-Tools to Promote the Program
Cookie Contests- Tools to Promote the Program
•
Cookies Worth Sharing: Girl Guided Training Challenge. Earn a chance to sell cookies at the Cookie
Kick-Off on January 9 at the GCU. Entries due December 14.
•
Flat Stacie Collage Contest: What does selling cookies look like to you? Experience the cookie sale
with your friend, Flat Stacie! Share your story with your sister Girl Scouts and enter into a raffle to
win tickets to a fun spring festival. Entries due February 28.
•
Cookies on the Go: Send us a picture of you decked out wagon, scooter, stroller or anything without
a motor. Entries due March 9.
•
Mystery House: There is a ‘Mystery House’ hidden in every Service Unit. The first girl who finds the
house on her walkabout will win a Mystery Prize!
•
Bling Your Booth: Send us a picture of your blinged out Cookie Booth to enter the contest. Entries
due March 9.
•
Mighty Mints Club: Sell 2000+ packages of cookies and receive special recognition at the 1000+ super
sellers event along with a one-of-a-kind trophy. C’mon, join the club!
For more information visit our website at:
http://www.girlscoutsaz.org/en/cookies/cookie-contests-events.html
What’s New This Year
•
Digital Cookies
•
Initial Order due December 15!
•
Savannah Smiles are back
•
Troops cannot turn in a Parent Guardian
Outstanding Balance Form in for unpaid
balances of more than 120 packages.
•
Toffee-tastic orders
•
Service Unit Bonus
•
Troop-to-Troop Transfer Link
Running the Cookie
Program in your Troop
Same Great Price!
$4.00 for the Super 6 Cookies
(Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs, Dos-si-dos, Trefoils, and Savannah Smiles)
$5.00 for Toffee-tastics
Where does the money for a box of cookies go?
$1.17 Membership Support
$1.04 Cookie Program costs- includes cost of cookies and distribution
.75 Troop Proceeds
.13 Girl rewards and SU bonus
.45 Girl programs and activities
.29 Volunteer trainings and support
.17 Camp facilities and programs
Where do you find information?
• Emails- Watch your emails through the Cookie Program
• eBudde Dashboard
Website: http://www.girlscoutsaz.org/
Initial Order Calculator
http://www.girlscoutsaz.org/en/cookies/for-cookie-volunteers/initial-ordercalculator.html
Visit the Cupboard Link on our website to get real time information about your
local cupboard.
• Hours
• Inventory
• In real time changes or updates
• Addresses will not be posted on the cupboard link
Use the new Troop-to-Troop Transfer Link to network with sister troops.
Cookies Now!
• Girls can begin selling with cookies on hand
on January 18.
• Girls should not take pre-orders or sell before
January 18!
• Girls can announce that cookies are coming.
First things First: Make sure your troop is
ready for Cookie Season!
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•
•
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•
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The Troop Product Manager Agreement is signed online.
Troop Training: Overview, eBudde, and Digital Cookies.
Review the Cookie website (everything they need is there!)
You are familiar with the Cookie Manual, Troop Supplement,
and eBudde Manual.
Girl Program: Cookie Badges
 Girls Guide to Girl Scouting
 Cookie Manual
 Digital Cookie Platform
Access to eBudde.
Troop Success!
Hold Cookie Meetings:
 Girl Meeting: Let girls decide their goals and develop an action
plan to sell cookies.
 Parent Meeting: Discuss cookie inventory and communication,
Girl Program, girl safety and financial responsibility.
 The Cookie Manual is great resource to help develop Parent and
Girl cookie meetings.
 Product Program Parent/Guardian Permission and Financial
Responsibility Agreement is signed for each girl and kept on file
with the troop.
Troop Success!
What girls need to do to participate in the Cookie Program:
 Girls must be registered for the current Girl Scout season. This
year, troops will not be able to add girls to eBudde.
 Girls’ families have signed a Product Program Parent/Guardian
Permission and Financial Responsibility Agreement (good for
both Fall Product and Cookies).
 Girls and her Parent/Guardian have agreed to communicate
cookie inventory status with Troops and turn money in weekly.
Selling Cookies!!!
Sale Dates:
January 18- February 28
Girls may promote the Cookie Sale prior to January 18 (i.e. Cookies are Coming…)
The Gift of Caring Program- Marketing Tool
•
A customer cookie donation opportunity.
•
Girls ask customers to purchase extra packages for the
Gift of Caring program.
• Through participation, girls sharpen their philanthropy skills.

Some customers would rather donate the cookies than eat them.

Some customers will purchase an extra box or two to donate.
• Gift of Caring purchases are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Two Gift of Caring Programs
Council Gift of Caring
• A ‘virtual’ Gift of Caring option; Council handles all the details.
• Purchases are recorded and money is collected at the time of purchase.
• Troop Product Managers record the transaction in the C_GOC column in
eBudde.
• Council donates cookies to:
 Local Food Banks including St. Mary's Foodbank, St. Vincent de Pauls,
and United Foodbank.
 The USO and Packages from Home
Troops do not take possession of the product; Council handles cookie distribution.
Two Gift of Caring Programs
Troop Gift of Caring
• Troops select a non-profit organization they would like to support.
• Troop Product Manager contacts the organization to verify they can accept
the cookies.
• Troops use unsold inventory at the end of sale to fill Gift of Caring orders.
• If Troops need additional product to fulfill order:
 Troops should check girl inventory.
 Troops should check troop to troop transfer link.
 Pick up additional cookies from the cupboard.
• Troop Product Managers record the transaction in the T_GOC column in
eBudde.
Troops handle cookie distribution.
Digital Cookies Girl Program Overview
• Parents will receive an email inviting them to register their daughter for the
program.
• Parents need to register girls for the program.
• Girls 13 and over must a have a separate email account.
• All girls and volunteers must watch the safety video.
• Parents must sign the terms and conditions.
• Girls and parents must read the cookie pledge. Girls 13 and over will be
sent a copy of the pledge.
• Girls will set up her website, enter her goals, enter customers, work on age
appropriate Cookie Badges, learn about email marketing cycles, test her
cookie knowledge, create a marketing video, and much more!
Digital Cookies Volunteer Overview
• Troop Leaders and Parents are sent a registration email about Digital
Cookies. Volunteers with multiple roles can switch between them.
• Digital Cookies are shipped directly to the customer from the Bakery.
• Once an order has been placed and the payment clears, the information is
sent to eBudde for troop records. There is nothing else the troop leader
needs to do. DOC amounts are treated as a deposit for the full sales prices
of the cookies. Council will cover the credit card fees for DOC cookies.
• Minimum order for shipped cookies is 4 boxes. Shipping and handling will
be applied.
For more information on Digital Cookies, please see the website for additional
webinars.
Ways to Sell: Standabouts
Lemonade-style stands in front of residences on private, noncommercial property.
These stands can also be decked out to draw attention!
Lemonade-style stands are not entered into eBudde.
Ways to Sell: Tried and True Methods
Telephone:
Girls can call friends and family and take orders over the phone.
Businesses: Girls may approach local business and sell in the
workplace.
How Girls can sell at Mom or Dad’s workplace:
• Girls can make posters about the Program and her goals
• Girls can write a letter explaining her goals and aspirations.
• Girls can make a live pitch.
• Girls can make a video recording of her pitch.
Ways to Sell- Self Scheduled Booths
Troops are encouraged to self-schedule booths at
businesses without a corporate agreement with Council.
Think Outside the Box….
Faith based events
Local sporting events
Theaters
Restaurants
Dance Recitals
Auto Stores
Car Washes
Drugstores
Beauty Salons
Hardware Stores
Car Shows
Craft Shows
Farmer’s Markets
Ways to Sell- Self Scheduled Booths
They must be entered into eBudde.
Troops may not contact:
Bashas’, Food City, AJ’s Fine Foods, Walmart, Sam’s Club,
Albertsons, Safeway, Fry’s, or ASU.
Booth locations must be girl appropriate. Gun Shows, marijuana
dispensaries, bars, etc. are not appropriate booth sites.
Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors
• Older Girls may booth at a 1:1 Ratio: One adult to one girl.
• The adult must be a legal guardian who is a registered Girl Scout
and has been background checked. Sisters may booth together.
• Recommendations:
 Girls should use their own inventory (not troop inventory).
 1:1 ratio booths are self-scheduled.
 1:1 ratio booths are entered into eBudde by the Troop
Product Manager.
 High volume booths should be used for an entire troop.
Council Booth Selection Rounds
All rounds start at 9:00: Pick One Only- All Rounds
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Open
11/21
11/28
12/5
12/12 – booth selections are open
During booth rounds, you will NOT be able to add booths when the boot round
closes Fridays at 3:00 pm. The next round will reopen at 9:00 am on Saturdays.
Booth Guidelines
We are guests at the stores! Demonstrate our promise and law, especially during
conflicts.
What if two troops arrive at the same booth location?
• Troops with written proof of eBudde scheduling have priority.
• Troop without written proof from eBudde must leave the property.
• Troops who schedule with a store manager and do not enter the booth into
eBudde must leave.
• Do not ask store managers to mediate. This has damaged relationships with
our supporters.
• Do not argue in front of the girls or customers.
• If neither troop has eBudde documentation, both troops must leave.
Booth Guidelines
Be polite:
• Do not booth before January 18, 2016.
• Cancel your booth in eBudde if you can’t make it!
• Do not wear or bring competitor store items with you.
 Don’t bring a Trader Joes bag to Fry’s.
• Check in with the store manager when arriving and leaving.
• Follow store set-up rules.
Booth Guidelines
• Appoint someone to safeguard the cash box.
• Fanny bags may be preferable to a cash box.
• No more than $100 in the cash box.
• Do not accept bills over $20. Council will not replace counterfeits
over $20.
• Two adults and two girls at a booth.
• No more then 4 girls at a booth at a time.
Booth Guidelines
• Do not arrive more than 5 minutes before your shift and do not
stay after your shift.
• Siblings/friends are not allowed.
• Wear Girl Scout identification.
• Do not allow girls to shout at customers.
• Clean your area when you leave.
• Leave a thank you card with the manager.
Emergency???
• Follow the instructions on the MS-27 Emergency Card.
• Care for the immediate needs of the victim.
• Secure help, call 911.
• Contact your Troop and/or SU Product Manager if needed.
• Contact Council at 602 452 7000. After hours call the emergency line at 602
531 5935.
• Do not issue statements to the media.
• Do not post statements on social networking media.
Booth Inventory
How does a troop know how many cookies to pick up for a
booth?
Predicting may be difficult
• A “good” booth sale could sell 20-30 boxes an hour
• A “great” booth sale can sell up to 50 boxes or more
Booth Inventory
There are many variables to consider…
• Location
• Girl preparation and attitude
• Beginning or end of sale
• Weather
• Time of day, availability of varieties, etc.
• Age of girl
Communicate with an experienced troops about specific
locations.
Booth Sale Recorder App
• Free App to record cookies sold from your smartphone.
• The App is available on the Apple Store and Android Market.
• How it Works:
 Enter the number of cookie packages sold at a both.
 Select which girls will receive credit and for how many
packages.
 The information is sent directly to your eBudde account.
Cookie Finder: Important reasons to enter ALL
booths into eBudde!
• Customers looking for cookies will directed to the nearest cookie
booth.
• We use this information to impress the stores who support our
cookie booths.
• All you have to do is enter your booths into eBudde.
Bad Behavior
• You are a role model to our girls.
• You belong to an organization with a Promise and Law.
• Always be professional; Arguing, fighting, or pouting is never the answer.
• If you log a complaint with a sister scout, Council will help to resolve the
conflict, but you must be willing to meet face to face with the offending person
and Council Staff.
• If you have a complaint with Council contact us directly.
• Airing your complaints on social media is unprofessional.
• We reserve the right to remove offensive posts.
Initial Order Due in December
Where do you get cookies?
• Initial Order
• Troop to Troop Transfers
• Cookie Cupboard
Placing an Initial Cookie Order
• Adjusting for girl participation, established troops should
place an order based on 80% of last year’s sale.
• New troops should place an 80% order based on the per
girl average for their age group.
• All troops should make a healthy initial order to avoid
council wide inventory shortages.
Managing Troop Cookie Inventory: Placing an
Initial Cookie Order : Existing Troops
Initial inventory calculation example
2015 Troop PGA
170 packages
Girls Selling in 2016
10
(PGA x 80 percent) x girls
selling
(170 packages x .80) x 10 girls =
1360 packages
Managing Troop Cookie Inventory: Placing an
Initial Cookie Order
• The Initial Order Calculator, on our website, will do the
calculation by flavor for you!
• Assign the cookies in the ‘Other’ category in eBudde.
• Cookies will go fast the first few weeks and the calculations
will get your troops set-up with enough inventory for both
individual girl sales and troop booths.
Initial Troop Cookie Order Reward
Troops who have a PGA of 160 or more on their
initial order will earn a t-shirt.
• 1 shirt per girl
• 1 free adult shirt per troop
• Up to 3 additional adult t-shirts may be ordered on eBudde at
time of initial order
• Additional t-shirts are $6.00 each and will be debited from the
with the first ACH on February 11.
Initial Troop Cookie Order Reward
• Troops must place the initial reward order into
eBudde.
• Each girl selling must be assigned one package
of cookies in eBudde under the initial order tab
to be eligible for the initial order reward.
• Troops who do not enter the initial order
reward forfeit the t-shirt reward.
There will be NO ADDITIONAL shirts available through Council for adults or
girls.
All t-shirt orders must be entered into eBudde at the initial order or the t-shirt
reward will be forfeited
Initial Order Due in December
Troop Due to SU
SU Due to Council
Council Initial Order Roll-Up
12/15
12/17
12/18
Once the Initial Oder is rolled up to the Bakery, orders cannot be added and
cookies will need to be picked up from a cupboard. Please ask troops to
pick up any large orders from the Council Warehouse.
Toffee-tastic
• Toffee-Tastics are back again this year.
• Troop were asked to pre-order the amount of ToffeeTastics they wanted in September.
• A limited amount of Toffee-Tastics will be available at
the Council Warehouse only for new troops and IGMs.
Managing Girl Inventory
• Girls and parents must give weekly
inventory updates to the troop.
• Money must be turned in weekly.
• Limit the amount of cookies given
to one girl at one time.
• Do not give additional cookies to
girls without an inventory count
and all money owed is turned in.
Managing Girl Inventory
Use the Girl Cookie Counter to make
inventory communication fun!
You can find it on our website!
Managing Girl Inventory
Or go Green… use a Google Docs spreadsheet to manage
inventory.
Families can access the Google Doc to enter their current
inventory.
Managing Girl Inventory: Girl to Girl Transfers
If a girl is having difficulty selling her cookies, help her!
She can go on a walkabout, contact more friends and family, and if
that doesn’t work…
Transfer the product to a girl who is having more success
selling and wants more product.
But remember, you can’t help your girls with inventory
management if you don’t know what they have!
Before going to the Cupboard...
Be a Sister to All Girl Scouts
Communicate with parents! Use unsold girl inventory before
making a trip to the cupboard.
Troop-to-Troop Transfer Link
Need more cookies? Have to many cookies?
Use the new Troop-to-Troop Transfer Link to network with sister troops.
Please be courteous when using the link:
Only add or delete YOUR information and do not modify fonts, spacing,
colors, column/row widths, etc. All changes are saved automatically for
all to see.
Cookie Cupboard Hours and Locations
Exhausted all other ways to get cookies… and need to visit
a cupboard? Council will provide Service Unit teams with
locations and hours.
Visit the Cupboard Link on our website to get real time
information about your local cupboard.
• Hours
• Inventory
• In real time changes or updates
• Addresses will not be posted on the cupboard link
Cookie Cupboards Volunteers
A cupboard is a ‘mini warehouse’ run by Volunteer
Cupboard Managers during the Cookie Program where
cookies can be picked up throughout the sale.
Most cupboards are located in the homes of volunteers.
These volunteers spend countless hours ‘manning’,
stocking, and entering the transactions into eBudde.
Please treat our volunteers with the utmost respect.
Cookie Cupboard Distribution
• Cupboards distribute cookies by cases only (i.e. 12
packages/case)
• Cookies cannot be returned.
• Unopened and sealed cases may be exchanged for a
different flavor
• Damaged cases and packages may be exchanged
Cookie Cupboard Inventory
• Cupboards inventory is not intended to replace initial
order delivery.
• Cupboards cannot logistically stock for the initial order
for over 2,000 troops.
• Cupboards may limit the amount troops may pick-up if
there is a council-wide cookie shortage.
Cookie Identification and Receipts
• Volunteers will be required to show their Cupboard
Authorization card or driver’s license when picking up
cookies.
• Tip: Take a photo of the authorization card with your
phone for easy access.
• Receipts: A paper receipt is signed and retained by the
cupboard and a copy given to the volunteer. The
information is entered into eBudde.
• Troops must assign the cookies to girls.
Financial Responsibilities : Parents
• Parents should update the troop of their inventory
weekly.
• Money should be turned into the troop weekly.
• GSACPC will take all necessary steps to recover all
outstanding debts. Parent/Guardians are financially
responsible for all debt recovery fees.
• Deliberate misuse of funds will result in the prosecution
to the fullest extent of the law.
Financial Responsibilities: Troops
If a parent doesn’t pay for cookies, Troops must complete a
Parent/Guardian Outstanding Balance Form by March 7 or troops will be
held responsible for the unsold cookies.
The maximum amount of cookies that can be checked out and unpaid for
by a girl is 120 packages at any one time. We will only accept forms for
up to 120 packages unpaid
Troops may be asked to provide information on how parent inventory
communication was conducted.
Please include all receipts, emails, voice mails or texts that pertain to the
debt.
Forms can be found on our website.
Financial Responsibilities : ACHs
THREE ACHs for the 2015 Cookie Season
• First ACH: February 11th. $1.00 for all cookies ordered
at initial order and through Feb. 1th. All adult T-shirts
ordered for the Initial Order Bonus.
• Second ACH: February 25. $1.00 for all cookies
ordered at initial order and through Feb. 15th.
• FINAL ACH: March 10th. Remaining balance.
Financial Responsibilities : Parents
• Girls must have a signed Parent/Guardian Permission Form:
Financial Agreement and Program Requirements signed
and on file with the troop to participate.
• Parents/Guardians should only take what their daughter
can sell and are financially responsible for product taken.
• Troops cannot arbitrarily ‘assign’ product to girls or ask
parents to pay for product in advance.
• The maximum amount of cookies that can be checked out
and unpaid for by a girl is 120 packages at any one time
Ebudde Training
Questions! Bring your answers to the Cookie Conference for
an extra raffle ticket!
1. How many times throughout the cookie program should a girl turn in money and
communicate her inventory status to the troop?
2. Can a girl use the Digital Cookie Platform to earn cookie badges?
3. What is the maximum amount of cookies a girl can have unpaid in her possession at one
time?
4. What is the maximum amount of cookies a troop leader can turn in a delinquent parent into
council for?
5. Name the six Cookie Contests and Promotions.
6. Should I throw away my Cookie Manual after the Cookie Program is over?
7. Which manual should the I use to look up a date?
8. Where can I find the eBudde Manual?
9. When is the Initial Order Due?
10. If another troop shows up at my booth, can I ask the Store Manager help to resolve the
conflict?