Cookie Gram 2016 Girl Scout Cookie Program Family Guide
IMPORTANT DATES January 7
Complete, sign and turn in Parent Permission Slip
January 8
Girl Scout Cookie Program begins (please do not start earlier than this date). Girls may continue to take orders through March 13.
January 8
Girl Scouts enter their sales goal at www. abcsmartcookies.com – Click on COCO (girls may begin this process earlier). Please make sure your Girl Scout’s name matches how she registered as a Girl Scout.
January 24
Turn in Order Card to Troop Cookie Manager (REMEMBER, your Girl Scout can continue to take orders throughout the sale).
February 12-18
Pick up initial order. Ask your Troop Cookie Manager for the date, time, place to pick up order (remember to count and sign receipt for the cookies).
2016 COOKIE PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS COCOMobile App
available on all mobile devices. Through COCOdirect (via COCOmobile or COCO eCard), customers can order and pay online for their cookies and have them shipped (page 4).
February 19
Cookie selling directly to the public
February 19 - March 13
Turn in your money to the Troop Cookie Manager as frequently and as often as possible during this time.
February 26-28
National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend - have your Girl Scout wear her uniform and have the Order Card ready to take more orders OR use her mobile device to take customers’ orders or use COCOdirect for customers to purchase and pay for their cookies.
Now Offering: Gluten Free Trios available during Direct/ Booth sales - $5.00 (page 8) 8 variety of cookies $4.00 (page 8)
March 13
Cookie sale ends. Final payment is due to your Troop Cookie Manager.
Please note: Troops may set earlier
deadlines for girls to turn in orders or payments. Please check with your Troop Cookie Manager about turn-in dates for your troop.
Girl Scout National Cookie Weekend February 26-28, 2016
Cookie Gram • 2016 Girl Scout Cookie Program Family Guide
Dear Girl Scout Families, This year’s Girl Scout cookie program theme Dream Design Do! aligns perfectly with the Girl Scout Promise, which encourages girls to make the world a better place. Today’s Girl Scout is more than a thinker. She’s a doer. She’s a dreamer of ideas. She’s a creator of solutions. She believes in herself. This year’s theme embodies the spirit of a creative, innovative, and proactive girl! It incites her to take action, and inspires her to make her dreams a reality. Participation in the cookie program provides your girl with leadership. The cookie program was designed to, and continues to build self-esteem and self-reliance in girls. They learn to be decision-makers and leaders by setting goals, achieving them, and then deciding how to use their individual and troop proceeds. They can fund a community service project, attend summer camp, travel to destinations, and much more! Specifically, the cookie program focuses on five key outcomes – goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics. Your Girl Scout will discover how to make, manage, spend, save, and invest money - while simultaneously learning about teamwork, marketing, planning, and leadership. Your guidance and support is vital to the success of your Girl Scout. Make the cookie program fun, exciting and motivating. We have developed a set of excellent tools and resources to help her set goals and learn about business skills. Help your Girl Scout set and attain her goals. Go to COCO at www.abcsmartcookies to learn more about being an entrepreneur and ‘business’ leader.
Thank you for all you do to support the Girl Scout cookie program. You are part of a team committed to building a legacy of girl and woman leadership throughout South
HOW CAN A GIRL SCOUT WIN HENRIETTA THE GIANT HEDGEHOG? It is all about goal setting!
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She must sell at least 450 packages of cookies to have her name entered into the drawing. 2. For each additional 100 packages of cookies she sells, her name will be entered into the drawing again. For example, if a girl sells 700 packages of cookies her name will be entered into the drawing three times.
Dream Design Do! with Henrietta the Hedgehog!
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Each regional office will have Henrietta the Giant Hedgehog on display. Three lucky Girl Scouts will have the opportunity to win one of three Henrietta the Giant Hedgehog. The drawing will take place at the end of the cookie program in March. Henrietta is here to get your Girl Scout excited about the 2016 Girl Scout cookie sale season.
Cookie Gram • 2016 Girl Scout Cookie Program Family Guide
THE KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL GIRL SCOUT COOKIE PROGRAM IS FAMILY SUPPORT! Girls have great success in Girl Scout cookie program activities when family adults are informed and involved. These tips will help you turn ‘cookie time’ into ‘family time’ and provide important ways you can guide and support your Girl Scout to cookie success! •
Make sure your Girl Scout is a registered member of Girl Scouts of the USA for the current Girl Scout membership year.
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Accompany your Girl Scout to support her as she sells.
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Attend her troop cookie training. Be sure to ask your Girl Scout’s Troop Cookie Manager how you can help with meetings or with other tasks.
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Review and discuss safety guidelines.
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Understand the 5 Skills for Girls (goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics) and how they impact your Girl Scout.
Discuss how you can help your Girl Scout reach her goals, such as giving rides when she needs them or safeguarding her cookie money. Remember, closing the sale is her responsibility.
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Work with your Girl Scout to set goals and track her progress. Encourage her to set-up an account on COCO (www.abcsmartcookies. com), your Girl Scout’s online Cookie Command for goal setting, planning and marketing.
Allow your Girl Scout to participate in booth sales and volunteer to help as a driver or supervising adult for a booth sale.
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Check on your Girl Scout’s progress during the sale.
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Help her live by the Girl Scout Promise and Law, and discuss how it applies to business ethics throughout the activity.
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Never do things for your Girl Scout that she can do for herself!
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Encourage your Girl Scout to make a telephone call or email her friends and family. She can create and send eCards from the Online Cookie Marketing section of COCO.
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Coach your Girl Scout in selling techniques, including how to share her goals, and suggest additional reasons to purchase cookies.
You will also discover ways you can support your Girl Scout’s efforts with fun family activities and helpful resources in the family section of ABC at www.abcsmartcookies.com.
SAFETY FIRST Remind your Girl Scout to use these guidelines to participate safely in the cookie program: • • • • • •
Sell only during daylight hours and in neighborhoods with which you are familiar Younger Girl Scouts should be accompanied by an adult at all times; Girl Scout Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors should use the buddy system or be with an adult Never enter the home of a stranger Do not give customers your last name or address Practice pedestrian safety Do not carry large amounts of money
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Cookie Gram • 2016 Girl Scout Cookie Program Family Guide
COCO : IT’S AN ONLINE COOKIE COMMAND CENTER FOR YOUR COOKIE BUSINESS The largest girl-led business in the world, now in the palm of her hand! COCOmobile is a Girl Scout smart mobile sales app! It lets your Girl Scout set cookie sale goals, track her sales progress, and even take orders with her mobile device using an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or Android. Right at her fingertips, girls can get cookie information; enter, view, and edit their orders; track recognitions program progress; and email or text order confirmations directly to her customers! COCO is great way for you to support and guide your Girl Scout through this leadership experience. Encourage her to set up an account in COCO and visit often to track her progress and stay in touch with her troop. Younger girls might need your help to get started, so go to www.abcsmartcookies.com and begin this great goal setting with your Girl Scout. Along with COCOmobile, girls will be able to use the original COCO online as well. Your Girl Scout’s information will be shared between both platforms. The COCOmobile is the result of ABC Bakers’ research into what Girl Scouts want in a mobile app. It’s easy to use, practical, and based on girls’ input. To use COCOmobile, Girl Scouts must have a valid username and password on COCO and use their registered Girl Scout name.
This COCOmobile app features where girls: •
Can set and track goals
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Take and manage cookie orders
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See a summary of orders and item totals
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View nutritional information with product images
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Track order payment and delivery status
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Email confirmations automatically sent to customers upon new order or updates of order
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View recognitions, identify level achieved, track sales, see what is needed for the next level and celebrate recognition achievement along the way
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Automatically syncs with her online COCO information (available at abcsmartcookies.com)
COCODIRECT WILL MAKE IT EASIER THAN EVER TO BE A PART OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST GIRL-LED BUSINESS. COCOdirect is easy to use. For sales made through COCOdirect, there’s NO money collection and NO hand delivery (as the cookies will be shipped directly to the customers)! Girls can sell using COCOdirect in two ways: • COCOmobile or • COCO Online Marketing where girls can send an eCard to friends and family that includes a secure link to COCOdirect. Girls would: • Choose the COCOdirect eCard • Choose the contact name(s) • Add a message • Preview the card • Hit send and friends and family receive an email with a link to COCOdirect, allowing them to place an order and pay with a credit card! Customers can choose from packaging sizes: • An eight-pack sampler that includes one of each variety (Trios -- Gluten Free Cookie is not part of this sampler); a half-dozen of any one variety; a dozen of any one variety;
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AND for a limited time only while supplies last, they can order ABC’s Trios -- Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Shortbread! Girls who have two (2) or more orders (one order equals 6 or 12 of one variety or an 8-pack sampler) via COCOdirect will earn the Online Patch. Girls will not be held financially responsible for transactions made via COCOdirect. Girls will get credit for the packages, thus impacting her reward items earned. Girls can access COCOdirect sales data via: • COCO Online Marketing – she can see ecards sent and status of each ecard (whether her customers have placed orders or not); • COCO Set My Goals Page – orders that have been taken via the COCOdirect ecard will be reflected in her ecard orders total; • COCOmobile Home Page – orders that have been taken via the COCOdirect ecard will be reflected in her ecards total; and • Girls can sign up for a weekly email
with her COCOdirect sales data for the season COCOdirect will be available for girls to start sending ecards, January 8, 2016, when the start of the Girl Scout cookie program kicks off. COCOdirect is a great way to promote participation in a contemporary way. Doing business online is expected today. And today’s Girl Scouts are living in a digital world, so offering a digital sale is not only relevant but also critical to keeping the cookie sale going for the next 100 years. REMINDER: Your Girl Scout use of a social networking site (such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace) for communication must have parental permission and must meet age limits set by the provider, which is 13 and older in most cases, as per the United States Child Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA) and the Child Online Protection Act (COPA). Check out the 411 on Online Product Marketing under http://girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/ pdf/2012_computer_online_safety_ activity_checkpoints.pdf
Cookie Gram • 2016 Girl Scout Cookie Program Family Guide
COOKIE DOUGH Girls who participate in the Girl Scout Cookie Program and sell 150 cookie packages or more will earn Cookie Dough. Cookie Dough can be used throughout the year in a variety of ways to help pay for some of their Girl Scout experiences. When girls sell 150 packages, they will earn $15.00 in Cookie Dough. For every additional 25-package increment, girls earn an additional $2.50 in Cookie Dough:
EARNING COOKIE DOUGH LEADS TO MORE ADVENTURES
151-174 packages = $15.00 Cookie Dough
Cookie Dough is another great financial benefit girls gain from participating in the Girl Scout Cookie Program. Unlike troop proceeds, Cookie Dough is based on individual effort. Some troops coordinate the use of the girls individually-earned Cookie Dough to pay for the girls’ participation in the council-sponsored program events and workshops listed in FOCALPoint. A new FOCALPoint filled with new and exciting programs will hit mailboxes in late December! We’ve been hard at work creating the programs that girls and their parents want. Parents/guardians are also welcome to encourage their Girl Scout to participate individually or with a friend in council-sponsored EVENT PATHWAY activities they attend on their own, separate from the troop. For more information, see council–sponsored program events and workshops in FOCALPoint or at http://www.gssc-mm.org/ site_media/services/pdf/focalpoint/FOCALPoint_Family.pdf. Another popular and fun way to use Cookie Dough is to pay for day camp fees at Camp Mary Elizabeth in Spartanburg or Camp Occaneechi in the Midlands. Cookie Dough can also pay fees for resident camp at Camp WaBak in the upstate. In addition, several specialty days camps are planned and will be announced in the spring. Our Summer Opportunities booklet – containing all our great summer camp opportunities for 2016 – will be posted on our website AND sent to each Girl Scout household. Cookie Dough reminders: • Unused value may not be redeemed for cash • Cookie Dough may not be used in Girlz Gear shops or camp Trading Posts; and • Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands will not re-issue Cookie Dough if lost, stolen or damaged. 2016 Cookie Dough expires September 30, 2017. REMEMBER: 2015 Cookie Dough expires September 30, 2016.
175-199 packages = $17.50 Cookie Dough 200-224 packages = $20.00 Cookie Dough 225-249 packages = $22.50 Cookie Dough and so on There is no limit to how much Cookie Dough can be earned. Last summer, one Girl Scout funded her entire week of resident camp at Camp WaBak with just Cookie Dough! The Cookie Dough Table can be downloaded or viewed by going to www. gssccookies.org under Resources Cookie Dough may be used for: • Council-sponsored Girl Scout Day and Resident Camp fees. • Council-sponsored program events designated in FOCALPoint such as Healthy Living, STEM, or Adventure-based outdoor programs. • GSUSA-sponsored destinations. • Council-sponsored trips with regional, national, or international itineraries. • Girl Scout Silver Award or Girl Scout Gold Award project expenses or • Girl Scout Lifetime Membership. Sister-to-sister transfers will be accepted (registered Girl Scout sisters living in the same household).
NOTE: From time to time there are potential council-sponsored program opportunities that become available after FOCALPoint has been published. This year we invite those of you who have (unexpired) Cookie Dough to sign up to receive our periodic Cookie Dough Redemption Opportunities eBlast by visiting: gssc-mm.org/program/letusknow.html
WHAT CAN FIFTY CENTS DO FOR YOUR GIRL AS COOKIES ARE NOW $4.00 PER PACKAGE? The Girl Scout Council of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands will now be selling cookies at $4.00 per package (excluding Trios which will be sold at $5.00). Fifty cents doesn’t seem like much. We know. We did the research! Here are the top 10 things you can buy with fifty cents: 1. 40 minutes of parking downtown 2. ½ a Redbox rental 3. Movie tickets circa the Cambrian period 4. ½ an iTune 5. Not one, but two, bear clase 6. ¼ of a gallon of gasoline 7. Today’s newspaper 8. 1.2 inches of a Subway footlong 9. 2 bags of Top Ramen 10. Large, spirally-delivered gumball
What can you buy with fifty cents these days? We have dollar stores but no fifty-cent stores. The truth is fifty cents doesn’t buy you much. You can’t even download a single song for fifty cents. Taken alone, fifty cents doesn’t get you much. However, when taken together, across our entire council, fifty cents is going to go a long way to help more girls grow into leaders. Fifty cents will help our girls learn 5 Skills: goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics as well as to Discover. Connect. Take Action. Fifty cents is will fund more and more enriching troop activities. Fifty cents will help us improve camp properties, and extend Girl
Scouting to troop activities. Fifty cents will change the lives of girls. Those are the kinds of things that Girl Scouts will make happen with fifty cents. They represent the increase in the price of Girl Scout cookies from $3.50 to $4.00. It may seem like a small thing, but where else can we rub two coins together and impact the so many lives in such a meaningful way?
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Cookie Gram • 2016 Girl Scout Cookie Program Family Guide
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Who can sell Girl Scout cookies? Registered Girl Scouts who have turned in a signed Parent Permission Slip may sell Girl Scout cookies. Participation in the Girl Scout cookie program is optional. Who bakes Girl Scout Cookies? Currently, two commercial bakers are licensed by the national Girl Scout organization, Girl Scouts of the USA, to produce Girl Scout Cookies: ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers. ABC is Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands’ baker. How much are Girl Scout cookies? Girl Scouts of South Carolina – Mountains to Midlands are now selling cookies at $4.00 per package. What are Trios? Trios is the Gluten Free cookie that is being offered during Direct/ Booth Sales for $5.00. This higher cost for Trios is due to the cookie being Gluten Free. When should customers pay for cookies? Customers should pay when cookies are delivered, not when the order is placed, except if ordering via COCOdirect. Does my Girl Scout stop taking cookie orders when she turns in her ‘initial’ order card? Girls may continue taking orders throughout the entire cookie sale, even during booth sales. It is a great way to continue keeping up with her customers to see if they would like to purchase more cookies. Do girls earn Girl Scout awards from participating in the Girl Scout Cookie Program? As part of their experience in any Girl Scout product activity, girls can earn official Girl Scout awards at every level of Girl Scouting, including cookie and financial literacy badges and the annual
Cookie Activity pin. Separately, girls can also earn rewards, Cookie Dough and patches based on their sales activity. What is National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend? National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend is when Girl Scouts across the country raise awareness about the benefits of the largest girl-led business in the country and take more orders. The more people understand how the program teaches girls five essential life skills of business ethics, decision making, goal setting, money management and people skills, the more likely they will be to support Girl Scouts by buying cookies. Can a customer write a check for cookies? Girls should only take checks from people they know and checks should be made out to GSSCMM or Girl Scouts. Girls should only accept checks with the customer’s name, address, and phone number imprinted on the check. Write the customer’s driver’s license number and expiration date on the check. Do not accept checks over $50.00. Can customers return cookies? If a customer believes that a package of cookies is in any way unsatisfactory, the package can be returned to the troop for a replacement or a refund. Ask your Troop Cookie Manager what to do with customer returns. Can girls return cookies? Once a parent/guardian signs for cookies, they cannot be returned for a refund and the parent is responsible for paying for them. Are cookie purchases tax deductible? Yes and no. Cookies purchased for personal or group consumption are not tax deductible. However, cookies purchased for our Cookie for Soldiers program, where the customer does not receive the cookies or benefit directly by paying for the cookies, are tax deductible.
Top 10 Tips to share with your Girl Scout! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Be honest and fair. Wait until January 8th to start selling. Use your order card or smartphone (COCOmobile or COCO)! Be proud! Wear your Girl Scout uniform or Girl Scout apparel. Be cheerful and courteous. Thank people whether they buy or not. Impress and inspire customers with information, not just about cookies, but about what the cookie sale makes possible. Tell customers your goals. Practice selling to your family first. Getting those first cookie sales will build your confidence and help you feel more comfortable when selling to other people.
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Overcome objections by offering options. For example, if someone doesn’t eat sweets you can suggest that they purchase Cookies for Soldiers. If a customer is Gluten Free – inform them about the Gluten Free Trios cookie. Find your list of last year’s customers to get repeat customers. Promote Cranberry Citrus Crisp, Lemonades and Thanks-a-Lot cookies. Tell your customers how Girl Scouts has reduced the amount of packing on these cookies and, as a result, are preventing 450 tons worth of paperboard from being thrown away each year. Ask local business owners to buy cookies to treat their employees.
Cookie Gram • 2016 Girl Scout Cookie Program Family Guide
GIRL REWARDS Our council rewards program is designed to support and reinforce goal setting and to acknowledge each girl’s participation and effort.
Other Available Patches: must have sold 1 or more packages
2+ orders via COCOdirect - 6, 12 or 8 packages sold= 1 order
*Goal Getter: only if
Achievement Bars:
Girls will earn all the rewards up to and including the item at their individual selling level. Please note that girls in the older Girl Scout troops that elected the 50¢ proceeds plan do not receive Early/Main Rewards or double Cookie Dough - patches only (Achievement Bars, Theme, Goal and Booth – if earned).
12+
*Booth Sale: girls
Online: for girls who took
The rewards for the 2016 Girl Scout cookie program were selected by the girls who participated in the online recognitions voting. Rewards are cumulative except patches.
Girl Scout participated in the online activity at www. abcsmartcookies.com COCO Command
in increments of 100 (1003000) - only the highest earned level will be awarded (these are not cumulative)
100+
200+
300+
Early Recognition: Girls selling 300+ packages of cookies during January 8-24, will receive a Daisy t-shirt. This is not available to troops/girls who opt out of receiving rewards.
Dream, Design, Do! patch
scarf
550+
cross-body bag AND lip balm in hedgehog container
1500+
750+
duffle bag OR large plush hedgehog
S ARE D R A W ALL RE LATIVE! CUMU
double cookie dough
1000+
pillow OR hoodie
towel
400+
small plush hedgehog
2016+
OR
$300 Campership
OR
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Non-profit Org. US Postage
PAID
Spartanburg, SC Permit #30
Spartanburg Service Center 349 East Blackstock Road Spartanburg, SC 29301
COOKIES are $4.00 a BOX GOAL SETTING. DECISION MAKING. MONEY MANAGEMENT. PEOPLE SKILLS. BUSINESS ETHICS. Now available in one smart cookie. If you have questions about…
10TH ANNIVERSARY
… how to redeem Cookie Dough and/or become a Lifetime Member, contact your regional registrar: Midlands ext 3732 Upstate ext. 1423 … Girl Scout Silver Award or Gold Award projects, or GSUSA destinations, contact: Kayla Mallett at kmallett@gssc-mm.org or ext. 3736.
Trios
… which program activities you can pay for with Cookie Dough, contact our: Info & Referral Desk at infodesk@ gssc-mm.org or 864-2082720/800.849.4475x2720