Girl Scouts

A national nonprofit youth organization that helps girls build leadership, confidence, practical skills, and community impact through girl-led experiences.

Last updated November 4, 2026

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Overview

Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA), commonly known as Girl Scouts, is a national nonprofit youth organization serving girls in the United States, its territories, and American communities abroad. Juliette Gordon Low established the first American Girl Guide troop in Savannah, Georgia, on March 12, 1912, after becoming familiar with the broader scouting movement in Britain. From its beginning, the organization was designed around girls’ participation and leadership rather than simply providing a junior version of an adult institution. Girl Scouts operates through a national organization and a network of local councils. Councils deliver membership, volunteer support, camps, troop activities, community projects, and product programs in their territories, while GSUSA develops national strategy, program resources, training, brand standards, and the shared Girl Scout identity. The organization is governed by a national board and led by a chief executive officer, with professional employees and a large volunteer base supporting local delivery. Its central proposition is experiential leadership development. Girls participate in activities spanning outdoor education, science and technology, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, civic engagement, creative work, and community service. The Girl Scout Leadership Experience emphasizes that girls should discover interests, make decisions, take action, and reflect on what they learn. The program has expanded beyond traditional badges to include contemporary STEM, cybersecurity, environmental, outdoor, and entrepreneurial content, while retaining ceremonies, troop traditions, uniforms, badges, and progression across age levels. The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the organization’s most visible public-facing activity and a major source of funding for local councils and troops. Licensed commercial bakers manufacture the cookies, while girls conduct sales through personal networks, booths, digital tools, and other approved channels. The program is presented not merely as a confectionery business but as a practical learning experience in goal setting, customer communication, money management, decision-making, and business ethics. Product names and assortments can vary by licensed baker and market, with Thin Mints, Samoas or Caramel deLites, and Tagalongs or Peanut Butter Patties among the best-known offerings. GSUSA has repeatedly modernized its public image in response to membership pressures and changing expectations about youth organizations. National messaging has increasingly highlighted girls as innovators, risk-takers, entrepreneurs, and leaders, while social media and digital cookie-selling tools have broadened recruitment and customer access. The organization also maintains a strong emphasis on inclusion, mentorship, outdoor learning, civic participation, and helping girls define their own ambitions. It is independent from the Boy Scouts of America and other scouting organizations. As an active nonprofit, Girl Scouts combines membership services, volunteer-led programming, camps, educational resources, branded merchandise, and licensed product fundraising rather than operating as a conventional consumer-food company.

History

Girl Scouting in the United States began when Juliette Gordon Low organized the first Girl Guide troop in Savannah, Georgia, in 1912. Low sought to create a durable organization in which girls could develop independence, practical competence, confidence, and civic responsibility. Early Girl Scout activity combined outdoor instruction, domestic and vocational skills, public service, and structured group leadership. The movement grew during a period when American women lacked full national voting rights, making its emphasis on girls’ capabilities and public participation especially significant. The organization expanded rapidly during the 1910s and 1920s, developing a national structure of troops, local councils, and a central office. By 1920 it had nearly 70,000 members, and by 1930 membership exceeded 200,000. Local councils became the operational foundation of the movement: they recruited and trained volunteers, served troops, managed camps, and adapted national materials to local communities. GSUSA later received a congressional charter, formalizing its national role while preserving the importance of council-based delivery. Girl Scouts developed a recognizable system of age levels, uniforms, badges, ceremonies, patrols, and progressive leadership opportunities. Its public profile grew through service projects, camping, national events, and generations of alumnae. Membership reached major public milestones, including two million registered Girl Scouts in 1953, three million in 1957, and four million in 1970. More than 50 million American women have participated in Girl Scouts over its history, according to historical accounts cited in reference material. Fundraising through cookie sales became increasingly important. A public Girl Scout cookie sale was held in Philadelphia in 1933, and the national organization adopted cookie sales as a broader opportunity several years later. Over time, licensed bakers, standardized branding, council distribution systems, and digital ordering tools transformed the activity into one of the world’s most recognizable youth entrepreneurship programs. Revenue is distributed primarily through the council and troop system, while licensed bakers pay royalties for use of Girl Scout trademarks. From the 1970s through the 1980s, GSUSA used identity, public-service, and membership campaigns to maintain relevance and attract new participants. In the twenty-first century, the organization broadened program content in STEM, entrepreneurship, outdoor education, cybersecurity, and civic action. Under Sylvia Acevedo, more than 100 new STEM and outdoor badges were introduced over a three-year period. The organization also made greater use of social platforms, digital fundraising, and mobile tools such as a Cookie Finder. GSUSA has faced structural and financial pressures, including declining membership, changing volunteer patterns, council consolidation, and disputes over the proposed sale of some camps. Since 2007, many local councils have been consolidated into larger regional entities, a process intended to strengthen capacity but criticized by some families and members as weakening local accountability and threatening historic camp properties. These tensions illustrate the challenge of governing a federated nonprofit while preserving local relationships. Today, Girl Scouts remains an active national organization with a central headquarters in New York City, a national board, professional staff, volunteers, and more than 100 local councils. Its current identity combines traditional scouting practices with contemporary leadership, technology, inclusion, mental-well-being, entrepreneurship, and community-impact themes. The Girl Scout Cookie Program remains its most familiar public touchpoint, but the organization presents itself principally as a leadership-development movement rather than a food brand.

2023
Bonnie Barczykowski becomes CEO
[7]Bonnie Barczykowski becomes CEOgirlscouts.org
Bonnie Barczykowski was appointed chief executive of GSUSA.
2016
GIRL positioning campaign introduced
[5]More Than Cookie Sellers: The Girl Scouts Buff Their Imagenytimes.com
GSUSA promoted GIRL as an acronym for go-getters, innovators, risk-takers, and leaders while refreshing its public image.
1970
Four-million-member milestone
[4]Girl Scouts archival publicity and media campaignsarchives.girlscouts.org
The organization marked the registration of its four millionth member.
1953
Two-million-member milestone
[4]Girl Scouts archival publicity and media campaignsarchives.girlscouts.org
Girl Scouts publicized the registration of its two millionth member.
1933
First public cookie sale in Philadelphia
[6]First public cookie sale in Philadelphiabillypenn.com
A Philadelphia council held an early public cookie sale; the national organization adopted the opportunity several years later.
1920
Membership approaches 70,000
[3]Girl Scouts of the USAen.wikipedia.org
The young organization had expanded to nearly 70,000 members.
1912
First Girl Guide troop organized in Savannah
[3]Girl Scouts of the USAen.wikipedia.org
Juliette Gordon Low organized the first American Girl Guide troop, establishing the foundation of Girl Scouts in the United States.

Products and positioning

A girl-led leadership and learning organization offering practical experiences, mentorship, entrepreneurship, STEM, outdoor education, and community engagement.

Fundraising food program · 1933
Girl Scout Cookies
A council-operated, nationally branded cookie fundraising program in which girls practice selling, goal setting, customer communication, money management, and business ethics. Licensed bakers produce the cookies, so assortments and names may differ by market. Thin Mints, Samoas or Caramel deLites, and Tagalongs or Peanut Butter Patties are among the best-known varieties.
Educational recognition
Badges and insignia
Badges and related insignia recognize progressive learning and achievement across areas such as STEM, outdoors, entrepreneurship, civic engagement, creative arts, and life skills. They remain a visible part of the Girl Scout identity while being increasingly connected to hands-on experiences rather than memorization alone.
Apparel and merchandise
Uniforms and branded merchandise
Uniform pieces, patches, accessories, books, activity materials, and other branded goods support troop participation and help communicate membership and progression across age levels.

Marketing campaigns

2026Find What’s Within
United States
GSUSA launched a national positioning campaign focused on helping girls discover their internal strengths, feel supported, and define success on their own terms. Assets were planned for English- and Spanish-language local rollout, with streaming and other paid media.
Outcome. The campaign was announced for national spring activation and local council deployment.
Source
2020That Girl Is
United States
A film campaign created with Lewis Communications encouraged girls and parents to see Girl Scouts as an inclusive place where girls can be themselves, be prepared, and pursue their own possibilities.
Outcome. The campaign supported recruitment and contemporary brand awareness.
Source
2016GIRL
United States
GSUSA repositioned its public message around GIRL—go-getters, innovators, risk-takers, and leaders—to counter perceptions that scouting was dated and to emphasize leadership development beyond cookie selling.
Outcome. The initiative refreshed national positioning while retaining the cookie program as a central public and fundraising activity.
Source
2015#GIRL agenda social campaign
United States
A multichannel social initiative used user-generated content, storytelling, contests, earned media, and virtual activity to show how Girl Scouts develops go-getters, innovators, risk-takers, and leaders while supporting cookie sales and recruitment.
Outcome. The campaign sought to move audiences from online awareness to participation in Girl Scout activities and community action.
Source
2014Real-time social marketing and Cookie Finder
United States
GSUSA used Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram for recruitment, engagement, cultural commentary, and cookie promotion. A Twitter advertising effort promoted the Cookie Finder mobile app and helped consumers locate nearby sales opportunities.
Outcome. The program broadened the organization’s reach beyond existing parents and volunteers and connected digital engagement with local cookie purchases.
Source

Brand decisions

2020
Independent response to Boy Scouts bankruptcyOther
Background
The Boy Scouts of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, creating potential public confusion between the two organizations.
Action taken
GSUSA distributed messaging guidance stressing that it was separately founded, incorporated, and operated.
Aftermath
The organization sought to protect its distinct identity and reassure members, volunteers, and cookie customers.
Source
2016
Shift toward leadership and experience-led positioningStrategy
Background
Membership pressures and perceptions that traditional scouting was old-fashioned prompted a review of how the national organization described its value.
Action taken
GSUSA emphasized experiences, leadership, STEM, entrepreneurship, and the GIRL framework alongside established badges and cookie sales.
Aftermath
National communications increasingly presented Girl Scouts as a contemporary leadership organization rather than primarily a badge or cookie-selling program.
Source
2007
Consolidation of local councilsStrategy
Background
GSUSA began consolidating hundreds of local councils into larger regional organizations in an effort to create higher-capacity administrative structures.
Action taken
The national movement pursued mergers that reduced the number of councils and increased regional scale.
Aftermath
Supporters viewed consolidation as a capacity and sustainability measure, while critics raised concerns about local accountability, member relationships, and the potential sale of camps.
Source

Recent events

2021.08.26
Reported2021.08.26
THOR Industries entered a two-year partnership with Girl Scouts of the USA[14]THOR Industries 与美国女童子军建立为期两年的合作关系prnewswire.com
THOR Industries entered a two-year partnership with Girl Scouts of the USA and will sponsor its Girl Scouts Love State Parks event.
2019.10.28
Reported2019.10.28
Goodwill and Girl Scouts plan Good Turn Day activities[15]Goodwill与Girl Scouts计划开展Good Turn Day活动chillicothegazette.com
Goodwill of South Central Ohio and Girl Scouts planned Good Turn Day activities at Goodwill stores on November 2, including donations and volunteer opportunities for Scouts.

Sources15 sources

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