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Since it is almost Back to Troop time, there have been many posts on Girl Scout Facebook groups about how troops can raise money. Pictures of older troops traveling to New York City, to Savannah, and to Europe fascinate other leaders who want their girls to have the same experience.
Before you go ahead and have your girls plan a fundraiser, check with your Council to see what is allowed and how to the track money. When girls are younger, troop money is troop money, regardless of they sell one box of cookies or 1,000. As girls become Cadettes, separate travel accounts are permitted.
Photo from Pixabay and altered by the author in Canva
If you are looking for easy, no prep Girl Scout fundraisers, read this blog post from earlier this year. There are several things you can do that require very little prep work and expense. It might motivate your troop to take on larger fundraisers when they see their success and a growing bank account. With craft fair season coming around when school starts, this is the perfect opportunity to have a booth and raise some of that much needed cash.
Have a Garage Sale
I used to be an avid garage sale attendee. Being a teacher, and then a stay at home mom on a tight budget, it used to thrill me to be able to get things for my students and my children. I even sold treasures I found on eBay to help out my family.
Don’t be fooled, having a yard sale is hard work. Girls have to ask family and friends for items to sell, make sure they are in good condition, price them, set up the sale and then take it down. If you have leftover Girl Scout cookies, you can sell them by the box or by the bag with a cold bottle of water. Girls can ask family members for donations of bottled water for them to sell. An adult can cook hot dogs and sell those as well.
Photo from Canva
The more items you have, the more money you can make. You can ask on your local Nextdoor and Facebook groups for donations. Tell people in your requests where your sale is to drive more traffic to it.
If you do not want to have the yard sale at your home, set up a booth at a community yard sale that many churches and high schools have in the fall. Just pay for your space and sell!
Parents Night Out
You will need to have your girls figure out how many children they can take in, but having a two hour babysitting date night for parents can be a great fundraiser. Figure out how much to charge per child and how you will entertain the little ones with no television. Crafts, games, and stories will keep younger children occupied. Do not charge per hours, charge per child.
Photo from Pixabay
If you do this event during Valentine’s Day, you have a great theme to work with.
Younger Scout Event
Have your girls plan an event for your Service Unit. It could be a World Thinking Day event, a Founder’s Day event, or some kind of service project. It can even be a kind of Field Day event that has girls getting all of their energy out. You might also want to consider a badge workshop or a Jounrey in a Day.
Gift Wrapping Booth
I have seen older troops in my local mall and at Barnes and Noble have a gift wrap booth during the holiday season. It would be a good idea for girls to practice gift wrapping before doing this. You can ask a local store to donate the large rolls of gift wrap or you can ask family and friends for extra rolls they have around the house. Get tape and ribbon donated as well. Have some construction paper and markers for kids to make gift tags or cards to be taped onto the boxes.
Photo from Pixabay
If you are not sure what to charge, then you can ask for a donation.
Lemonade Day
A few leaders posted this idea and said it was very successful. You can read about the organization here.
Collect Bottles and Cans
For those of you who live in states where bottles and cans have a deposit, you can collect these as you find them and put the money aside. Many years ago, when I was in college, my boss at Spencer Gifts told me that her kids made money after every in town professional football game by collecting the cans and bottles left in the parking lot by the tailgaters.
Photo from Pixabay
Some leaders have shared that their girls went door to door (with adult supervision) in their neighborhood and asked for empty cans. Be sure to have plenty of large plastic trash bags for this.
Trunk or Treat
If a place in your area is having a Trunk or Treat event, ask the person who is running it if your girls can set up a bake sale table. Ask supermarkets for donations of cookies and have them prebagged in sets of two for 50 cents. Add pony waters for 50 cents and you can make a nice profit.
Run a Craft Workshop at a Craft Fair
Another easy fundraising idea is to set up a booth at a craft fair and have the children attending make actual crafts! The craft does not need to be holiday related unless you want it to be. Oriental Trading, S&S Wordwide and Michael’s have clearance sections where you can buy ready made craft kits. Any kits that you do not use can be used at a later craft fair or donated to a shelter of children’s hospital. You can also use Pinterest to get ideas to make inexpensive crafts out of everyday items.
