I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The agency description section in the business plan focuses on what the legal name and
type of business it is. It also includes the mission statement along with the overall description of
the agency. Included in this section as well are the services such as programs, products, and
activities that are provided by the agency in detail.
The agency data section consists of the assessment of the community base and the needs
of the community that the agency is serving. In this section, it also focuses on the level of current
and expected competition. Also this section identifies the size, growth, and maturity of the
agency along with any significant achievements.
GSNCCP markets their programs around young women who want to pursue social
activities with their peers. These programs entice young women to enjoy the outdoors and other
activities subject to camaraderie. There are many effective ways to reach the target market and
the most significant in today’s world is the website. Anyone can access it and it holds viable
information for the program objectives and goals. And to make the Girl Scout camp more custom
to camaraderie, many of the programs are held at outdoor areas to ensure unionship.
GSNCCP has been running summer camps for many years. They have the worked
through all the scenarios that could happen to complete a budget and have a successful summer
camp season year after year. The organization operates their camps in a way that allows more
girls the opportunity to attend a summer camp session by making it affordable and having
resources available to financially help those who need it. Some challenges are outside factors
that they cannot control like economic impact caused by jobs lost, natural disasters or people just
not having all the information. They provide a quality program for all girls to benefit. The
mission is a driving force to keeping the bottom lines balanced.
The overall GSNCCP long-term camp goals are to continue improving the quality of
camps, increasing enrollment, to continue to provide opportunities to go to camp for any girl that
wants to go, and enhancing the quality of staff and services along with many more goals. The
short-term goals at GSNCCP are to increase girls’ participation in pathways, camp capacity,
girls’ retention and county representation. To help these goals get achieved staff need to analyze
statistics from past years, to increase membership, and to increase cookie sales. These goals may
be affected by the unsteady economy. With the combination of the low camp prices and the great
support system of adult volunteers will help keep the camp move smoothly no matter what the
economy is like.
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II. AGENCY DESCRIPTION
Girl Scouts North Carolina Coastal Pines
Non-Profit Organization
Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character,
who make the world a better place.
The Girl Scouts North Carolina Coastal Pines offers girls between the ages of 5-17 several
different programs such as Summer Camps, Leadership Camps, and also the Girl Scout
leadership experience. At each of these Camps girls can learn how to work together and the
importance of responsibility and how to make the world a better place.
Camps Products
Camp Graham
Camp Care Packages
Camp Hardee
Camp T-shirt
Camp Mary Atkinson
Trading Post
Camp Photo
Girl Scout Cookies
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Camp Graham
Camp Graham is located on scenic Kerr Lake in Vance County. Camp Graham sits on a
beautiful 155 acres of lakefront, with open areas and woodlands. The camp has four camping
units that have shelters, picnic tables, and fire grills. Amenities that are offered at camp graham
are lake trails, volleyball courts, archery range, outdoor stage, and a tie-dye studio. The most
popular amenity that is offered at camp graham is the lake. It offers residents of the camps with a
chance to swim, canoe, sail, and enjoy the water trampoline.
Camp Hardee
Camp Hardee is located along the Pamlico River in Beaufort County. The camp sits on a
95-acre open space that has a beautiful riverfront and vast woodlands. Camp Hardee is the only
camp that has cabin units with electricity and air conditioning. Each cabin area has picnic tables
and grills for girls to enjoy while at the cabin. Camp Hardee also has a dining hall, swimming
pool, volleyball and tetherball court. With the camp sitting along the Pamlico River it offers
opportunities for canoeing, kayaking, and sailing.
Camp Mary Atkinson
Camp Mary Atkinson is the largest camp that GSNCCP has to offer. It is located near
Clayton in Johnston County. The camp is on a 262 acre of vast woodlands. There is a total of
four camping units that have shelters, picnic tables, and grill. At Camp Mary Atkinson is the
home to the challenge-by-choice Alpine Tower, a horse program, and is the home to the Girl
Scout Leadership Center. Other camp amenities are a pool, a pond for canoeing, kayaking, a
waterslide, hiking trails, sports courts, and an archery range.
Products
The GSNCCP offers several different kinds of products one can enjoy while attending
summer camp. Parents can purchase a camp care package for $30, which is a bag of goodies for
their camper. The care package includes a journal, pen, small games, and a camp photo that can
be added to the care package for $8. Camp T-shirts can also be purchased at the trading post
where campers can also purchase patches, stamps, stuffed animals, flashlights and other camper
needs. The main revenue source that the girl scouts has to offer is Girl Scout Cookies. The sales
from the girl scout cookies helps fund the camps, and it also helps girls who cannot afford the
can be able to attend and enjoy the fun.
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III. AGENCY DATA
GSNCCP is located in central North Carolina and serves more than 33,000 girl members
and more than 10,000 adult members in 41 counties. The counties the GSNCCP serves are:
Beaufort, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Chatham, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Duplin,
Durham, Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville, Greene, Halifax, Harnett, Hoke, Johnston, Jones, Lee,
Lenoir, Martin, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Orange, Pamlico, Pender,
Person, Pitt, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland, Vance, Wake, Warren, Wayne, and
Wilson. GSNCCP summer camps serve about 2,000 girls between the ages of 5-17. GSNCCP
strives to improve neighborhoods along with communities to keep its rich tradition of addressing
community needs. GSNCCP takes pride in developing responsible leaders for the future and
builds girls of courage, confidence, and character to make the world a better place.
The level of competition from other organizations is the YMCA summer camps, town
community centers, sport camps, and summer camps. The biggest competitors for GSNCCP are
camps for profit, because they can offer campers with a lot more amenities than the GSNCCP
can offer. However even with the competition the GSNCCP is able to keep girls coming to their
summer camps. Each year there are about 2,200 girls that attend the 8-week summer camp, and
this number has been steady for the past several years due to the high quality camps and well
trained staff. The GSNCCP is able to keep its high quality camps through a certification by the
ACA, which is the American Camping Association. The ACA purpose is to educate camp
owners and directors in the administration of key aspects of camp operation, particularly those
related to program quality and the health and safety of campers and staff. It also makes sure that
each camp that has the ACA certification is meeting the industry-accepted and governmentrecognized standards for camps.
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IV. MARKET DATA
At the Girl Scout Group in coastal pines is an influential organization towards the growth
and development of young females around the country. This non-profit organization’s target
consumers for program participation are young girls between the ages of 5 to 17 years old. This
group targets young female children by giving them the idea that these programs can help assist
in the stimulation and growth of the children through social interaction. They offer the chance to
work with girls their own age and women older than them to help better interact socially in the
future. These programs are targeting girls that want to be a part of something around the country
as rite of passage. The Coastal Pines Girl Scout Group has effectively convinced many young
girls to join the recreational programs through means of positive activities with their peers.
This group has numerous ways to contact and let people about the activities held during
their seasonal programs. Hosting an open house is an effective tool in increasing participant
turnout annually. This strategy gives parents and children a chance to speak with a counselor
about the programs to help minimize any doubt that it may not be safe and secure for their
child’s wellbeing. It also gives possible participants in person understanding of the financial
aspects of the organization on joining as well as scheduled events to manage timing of able
participation.
Another helpful tool in marketing this program is the website that can be found online.
The website offers plenty of information about the organization’s mission and what it has to
offer to its participants. The website gives viewers a positive feel for the organization by
guaranteeing an unbridled level of enjoyment with their peers. Having a Frequently Asked
Questions page helps give a general view of the types of questions most people have asked to
understand the nature of the program to secure the safety of their loved ones.
A very appealing strategy of gaining the interest of children is the mascot used in the
pamphlets, brochures and website of the organization. The mascot changes annually to keep new
fresh view in children and young adults minds to spark interest in the program. The mascot is
something warm and friendly that minors can relate to; this year’s mascot is a s’more which is a
good way to catch young children’s attention towards camping
This Girl Scout Organization is located in the city of Raleigh that is surrounded by many
communities. Due to the organizations’ goal of creating social interaction of growing children,
Raleigh creates a high potential of young women who would participate in this function. This
camp is held in an area where there are numerous geographical sites that can be utilized for
programs. The camp is in the vicinity of a historical landmark Umstead Park; which is used for
many different camp activities.
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V. FINANCIAL DATA
Girl Scout North Carolina Coastal Pines operates their summer resident camps in the
negative. They budget their camps knowing that their bottom line will not be in the black. They
offset their camp costs with camperships, donations, and cookie sales. It is most important and
follows their mission to provide girls with courage, confidence and character. They budget to
come close to balancing, but knowing that the mission is most important they are prepared to
spend more than they bring in revenues with camp fees.
The camp properties are used by troops and groups all year long and summer camps are
only a part of the expenses and revenues that keep the camps running. The council understands
the importance for having camps available at an affordable price for all girls as this is something
that is not available for everyone. The council works with organizations to secure grants to help
with projects that are needed to update and upgrade the camps. A low rope course was installed
on one of the camp property to enhance the opportunities for the girls. Working to secure a grant
to build a rain garden to use as an educational learning tool for girls to work with an engineer
and landscape professionals to plan, build, plant and teach others the importance of cleaning the
rain water before it gets to the lake that is used for recreational purposes. The sale of one of their
camp properties will benefit the other camp locations to increase and provide new things to them.
Current plans to put electricity and fans in their cabins to add in the comfort of the campers. City
water is planned to be installed this spring to help with the water pressure issues they have been
experiencing for the last several years with the well water, new units being built to replace an old
unit that was beyond repair. Upgrading a kitchen and dining hall at one of the properties is also
part of the plan.
Their price is always lower than their competitors are. They offset their costs by
donations, grants, fundraising and cookie sales. They provide the same service and opportunity
as others for about half the price. They struggle to show that they can give the same program for
the lower cost. They work to continue to offer camp at an affordable price and plan to increase
their numbers of campers each year. The trading post on camp properties is offered to have the
experience for the girls to shop but it is not intended to be a large source of revenues. The
council is a non-profit organization that is providing opportunities for girls to experience camp
and the sense of living in a community and working towards a common goal. They are not
offering this opportunity to make money.
The council has a strong business sense and works with outside professionals to ensure
that they are using their resources in the best possible way. Economic hardships for families may
be the hardest and most vulnerable reason girls do not attend camps. The council offers
camperships and opportunities for girls to earn cookie dough through the cookie sales to help
them offset their costs. The council continues to offer camp at the lowest price around but
families need to believe that camps are worth the expense. The camps complete evaluations from
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the campers and the parents or guardians to continually strive to make improvements. They rely
on word of mouth from the campers and their families to share their experiences to others and
increase attendance. The effect of seasonal factors are that summer camps are only offered in the
summer and yes, this makes it a short term to provide the service that takes all year to plan.Girl
Scouts North Carolina Coastal Pines follows the IRS regulations and follow any North Carolina
State laws or regulations. They have a 501 (c) 3 status. They must submit an annual budget that
balances between revenues and expenditures with profits going back into the organization. They
are managed by a policy making board of directors that are elected.
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VI. MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS
The overall GSNCCP long-term camp goals are to continue improving the quality of
camps, creating more facilities and increasing enrollment for each camp. GSNCCP wants to
continue to provide opportunities to go to camp for any girl that wants to go. The long-term goals
also include raising more funds for donations for “camperships” to support girls who cannot
normally afford to go to camp.More long-term goals for the GSNCCP camps are to grow with
the wants and needs of the campers, implement safe environments for girls to learn in, maintain
low incidents reports by having safe environments, retaining staff from year to year, and
enhancing the quality of staff and service each year. Girl Scouts has been making a meaningful
impact on young girls and wants to continue to be the largest girl-serving organization
committed to building girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better
place.
The three short-term goals at GSNCCP are to increase girls’ participation in pathways,
camp capacity, girls’ retention and county representation. This supports the program operating
goals found in the action steps. The action and goal steps for increasing in girls’ participation is
to initiate new program opportunities for girls that involve the Journeys, the GSLE and council
initiatives that will attract non-members and continue to engage current members. After research
and analysis, it cancelled programs and events from previous program years to determine
common themes of what would and would not be successful. Then GSNCCP developed a
detailed series framework that can measure through outcomes for different programs. The
development of tools, resources and a more transparent system for direct service empower its
volunteers to take the lead with the travel pathway.
The action and goal steps for increasing camp capacity are to review and analyze
statistics and evaluations from past 5 years and develop a plan to meet gaps that show. After
realizing where the gaps are the next step is to develop and implement comprehensive marketing
and incentive plan to reach and attract girls in all pathways and non-girl scouts. Another way to
increase the capacity is to create and implement consistent training for day camp volunteers to
increase volunteer support as well as administer a system for volunteer re-appointment in the day
camp setting.
The action and goal steps for girls’ retention are to highlight the importance of earning
the Girl Scout gold award through marketing and promotional efforts decided on by GSNCCP.
This is highlighting how achieving this award creates a better future for girls. Another step
would be to complete a full audit of the gold award process from start to finish streamlining the
process. The last step would be to plan, organize and deliver the Girl Scout gold award
celebration. The action and goal steps for county representation are to analyze the past 5 years of
data in regards to counties served in GSNCCP jurisdiction to identify underserved areas. By
researching these underserved areas GSNCCP can expand the reach of pathway opportunities to
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them. The next step would be to develop a targeted marketing plan to raise awareness and attract
members to participate in underserved areas.
●
Girls’ participation timeline:
■ Research past program year events to take place from November 2012 to
December 2012
■ Plan for new program opportunities to be submitted by February 2013
■ Additional Series Framework developed in January 2013 and implemented in
February 2013
●
Camp capacity timeline:
■ Research from September to November 2012
■ Plan submitted by January 2013
■ Research to be completed by January 2013
●
Plan implemented in February 2013
■ Day Camp Training Planning sessions to take place in December 2012
■ Training date to take place in January 2013
■ Ongoing support of Day Camps from June 2013 to August 2013
■ Follow-up and Evaluation of Day Camp from August 2013 to September 2013
●
Girls’ retention timeline:
■ Marketing and Promotional efforts ongoing beginning in November 2012
■ Full Audit of Gold Award Process to be completed by January 2013 and
recommendations for updates provided and implemented in February 2013
■ Girl Scout Gold Award Celebration planning beginning in January 2013 and the
event target date April 2013
●
County representation timeline:
■ Analyze and pull data from November to December 2012
■ Development of targeted marketing plan to raise awareness in underserved
counties in January 2013
■ Implementation of marketing plan in February 2013
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The planned assumptions are facilities, equipment, materials/supplies, fees and other
costs. These planned assumptions are the basics of the camp. Each camp has its own set of
facilities, equipment, materials/supplies, fees and other costs to make the respective camps run
smoothly. Without these planned assumptions, the camps would fail to supply the campers with a
high quality service. The lists below show in greater detail the different planned assumptions of
each camp.
Facilities - the facilities that Girl Scouts North Carolina Coastal Pines are all owned by
the organization. These facilities were either a donation or paid off and are listed below:
■ Camp Mary Atkinson: Leadership Center, Commercial Kitchen, Program
Building & Craft Shelter, Staff House, Fox Leap Tent Unit, Lady Slipper Tent
Unit, Owl Hollow Cabin Unit, Raccoon Loft Cabin Unit, CIT Tents and
Encampment Field.
■ Camp Graham: Dining Hall, Commercial Kitchen, Staff House, Whippoorwill
Tent Unit, Kay McGavran Tent Unit, Holly Hill Cabin Unit, Trailblazer Cabin
Unit, Staff Tents, CIT Cabin and Encampment Field.
■ Camp Hardee: Rotary Lodge, Cabin 1, Crisp Cabin, Cabins 2-5, Cabin 6,
Cabins 7-10, Craft & Davenport Shelters and Encampment Field.
Equipment – the equipment that Girl Scouts North Carolina Coastal Pines uses for each
camp are the following:
■
Camp Mary Atkinson: Swimming Pool, Archery, Canoeing, Kayaking,
Waterfront for Swimming and Fishing, and Alpine Tower/Climbing Grotto.
■ Camp Graham: Archery, Sailing, Canoeing, Kayaking, and Waterfront for
Swimming.
■ Camp Hardee: Archery, Sailing, Canoeing, Kayaking, Waterfront, and Swimming
Pool.
Materials/Supplies – these materials and supplies cover the basics of what each camp
needs to provide campers with the highest quality of service and are listed below:
■
Craft supplies, environmental education supplies, program supplies, and food and
beverage supplies.
Fees and Other Costs – the fees and other costs are opportunities for the camps to update
and providing unique experiences for the campers.
■
Replacing old equipment, providing new outdoor opportunities, program fees
(horses), providing cultural diversity by staffing international workers, and other
staffing needs.
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The foreseeable shock from the external factors that may influence GSNCCP is the
unsteady economy. With the economy being weak, people do not have as much money to spend
or more importantly donate to the camps. This could affect the cookie sales and individual
donations. The cookie sales are how the camps are able to reduce the cost for members and the
individual donations are how the GSNCCP is able to have scholarships for girls that want to
come to camp but cannot afford it financially.
Another external factor that could affect GSNCCP is the rise in childhood obesity rates
and the prevention programs that are all over the country. The nutrition site “Fit Sugar” shows
that just four Thin Mints is equal to 160 calories and Thanks-A-Lot only two cookies is equal to
150 calories. This could potentially hurt cookie sales because these programs are promoting
healthier snacks and the cookies are unhealthy.
One opportunity is that non-member girls are able to come and enjoy the camps for a fee.
Another opportunity is that the prices of camp are subsidized to help keep the cost of camp
affordable. Also, over the years there has been an increased use in technology, so now there are
Online forms, brochures, along with other information.
The strengths of the GSNCCP “96% of youth said camp helped them make new friends,
92% said camp helped them feel good about themselves, and 74% reported they did things at
camp that they were afraid to do at first” (Timmons, 2013). These statistics show that camps help
girls strengthen their self confidence. This camp is unique and one of a kind, which brings in
many girls from all over. Another strength is the core team of volunteers. Over the past year,
over 10,066 adult volunteers contributed over thousands of hours of service as troop volunteers,
series volunteers, adult development, day camp volunteers, events volunteers, and travel
volunteers (Girl Scouts).
One weakness that GSNCCP would like to improve in the future would be having air
conditioning at all the camps. Camp Graham does not have air conditioning, Camp Mary
Atkinson only has air conditioning in the dining halls, and Camp Hardee has air conditioning in
all cabins and dining halls. Another weakness they have is a lack of high tech equipment such as
large water toys. To some people the camps are a weakness because, the camps are not
specialized camps.
The GSNCCP has a thirty-five page crisis management or risk assessment plan for each
employee to follow. The camps are prepared for risks such as natural disasters, acts of violence,
health problems, and organizational incidents. The natural disasters they are prepared for are
tornados, hurricanes, flood, earthquakes, severe storms and lightning strikes. Sexual assault,
bomb threats, theft, physical assault, kidnapping, suicide and homicide are some of the acts of
violence they are prepared to handle. Some of the health problems that could happen are heart
attacks, allergic reactions, strokes, seizures, loss of consciousness and pandemics. Lastly are the
organization incidents that could happen towards the organization, examples are acts of
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vandalism, fatalities, workplace violence, terrorism, death of a employee or volunteer, fires and
criminal indictments of a employee or volunteer. This risk assessment plan is in place to try and
plan for potential risks, and how to handle them professionally. When an incident or accident
occurs, it is important that the person at the scene follow these steps in order:
Give priority attention to the care of the injured.
Secure needed assistance … doctor, ambulance, fire.
Ensure safety of others … troop members, campers, volunteers.
Contact the appropriate Council staff person.
Leave a responsible person at the scene. Do NOT disturb the victim or surroundings until
assistance arrives.
6. Make NO statement of ANY KIND (this includes email) to the media or anyone except
the Crisis Management Team or designated key staff. Do not give out any names or
information. Speak only to the police or proper authorities. Ask them to call the Council
office at 800-284-4475.
7. Keep your copies of all permission and health history forms to turn in to the Council
office.
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The organizational structure is set up to give the campers the highest quality of service
and to provide opportunities for them to recreate while giving them the self-confidence that
every girl deserves. The organizational chart is in the appendix. The following is the
organizational structure set up by GSNCCP to give the girls at camp the best experience
possible by creating positions that will enable the campers to learn self-esteem and grow in
confidence.
The first position is the Camp Director who is in charge over keeping everything
running smoothly through leadership and management. The second position is the Assistant
Camp Director that reports directly to the Camp Director and purposes is to further the
mission of camp by assisting the director in planning, leading, and supervising the resident
camp program. The next two positions are the Unit Leader and Assistant Unit Leader who
both report to the Assistant Camp Director. Each of their job descriptions are to supervise
and work with other members of the unit staff to plan, teach, coordinate, and carry out
activities that create and maintain an environment that helps girls grow and develop in
enjoyment and appreciation of nature and the out-of-doors while living and having fun with
other campers. The Program Director’s purpose is to further the mission of the camp through
the planning and delivery of program activities and events. Design and deliver program
activities that are safe, fun, and appropriate to the campers’ age and abilities. Assist in the
management of the overall camp operation at the direction of the camp director.
The Program Director reports to the Assistant Camp Director. The Waterfront
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Director reports to the Camp Director and is responsible for furthering the mission of the
camp through the planning and delivery of activities at the camp’s waterfront that are safe,
fun, and appropriate to the camper’s age and abilities. Provide management to the physical
operation of the waterfront’s facilities and equipment. Waterfront includes swimming pool
and riverfront activities. The Waterfront Director is also in charge of hiring waterfront staff
to assist, such as lifeguards or swimming instructors. The Kitchen Supervisor reports to the
Camp Director and is in charge of the food service manager and directs the overall foodservice operation of the camp including purchasing, preparation, nutrition, service, sanitation,
security, personnel management, customer service, and record keeping. The Cook reports to
the Kitchen supervisor and is in charge of assisting the Kitchen Supervisor in providing
nutritious, well-prepared meals, which are served to all campers and staff.
The Challenge Course Director is in charge of providing the campers with
challenging courses that create a safe environment for learning and physical challenges. The
Challenge Course Director reports to the Camp Director. The Health Supervisor is
responsible for overseeing the health and safety of campers and staff. The Business Manager
directs the overall business operation of the camp, including purchasing, camp store,
personnel record keeping, customer service, and financial records. The position involves
considerable independent work as well as being an effective member of a team. The Business
Manager reports to the Camp Director, the Council Financial Department and the Council
Retail Manager.
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