Troop Management

Leadership is more than “being in charge” or having a title; it’s recognizing that you’re part of a team and understanding that team’s needs and interests. Here’s how you’ll do that with your troop!

Your Role as a Volunteer

The Girl Scout Leadership Experience is based on three keys—discover, connect, and take action—but it’s not just for your troop! As a Girl Scout leader, you’ll embark on your own leadership journey as you help girls develop the vital leadership skills they’ll use to make the world a better place. Here are a few basic concepts that outline what leadership means in Girl Scouting.

Leadership is teaching girls:

That they can do and be anything!  
That they are decision makers and should own their decisions.  
How to live the Girl Scout Law by modeling it for them.

As a leader, see yourself as a coach who:

Advises, discusses, and cheers on your troop, not as a teacher with a planned lesson or activity. 
Ensures each member understands and can carry out their responsibilities within the troop.  
Encourages Girl Scouts to build their skills and their ethics.  
Gives more responsibilities to the girls as they grow and develop.

It’s important to remember that:

You cannot know everything that your Girl Scouts might ever want to learn.
You’ll explore and learn alongside your girls and grow your confidence in the process.
You’re not expected to know everything about Girl Scouting, but you should know where to go for information—and to ask for help when you need it.

Your responsibilities as a Girl Scout volunteer include:

Accepting the Girl Scout Promise and Law.
Understanding and coaching the three keys to leadership that are the basis of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience: discover, connect, and take action.
Sharing your knowledge, experience, and skills with a positive and flexible approach.
Working in a partnership with Girl Scouts so that their activities are girl-led and that they learn by doing, individually and a group. You’ll also partner with other volunteers and council staff for support and guidance.
Organizing fun, interactive, girl-led activities that address relevant issues and match girls’ interests and needs.
Providing guidance and information regarding Girl Scout group meetings with girls’ families on a regular and ongoing basis through a variety of tools, including email, phone calls, newsletters, blogs, other forms of social media, and any other method you choose.
Processing and completing registration forms and other paperwork, such as permission slips.
Communicating effectively and delivering clear, organized, and vibrant presentations or information to an individual or the group.
Overseeing with honesty, integrity, and careful record-keeping the funds that girls raise.
Maintaining a close connection to your volunteer support team as well as your council.
Facilitating a safe experience for every Girl Scout.

Planning for Your First Troop Meeting

Depending on the ages of your girls, you might take the lead in guiding the structure and experiences of your troop—from how and when meetings are held to how the troop communicates, from steering girl-led activities to setting financial expectations. You’ll make these decisions collaboratively with your volunteer team or co-leader, as well as with input from the girls and their parents and caregivers.

Use these questions to guide your conversation with your troop committee volunteers or co-leader before discussing these topics with parents and caregivers.

When will we meet and for how long? How frequently should we schedule troop meetings?
Where will we meet? Your meeting space should be somewhere safe, clean, and secure that allows all girls to participate. Some great meeting space ideas include schools, places of worship, libraries, and community centers. If working with teens, consider meeting at coffee shops, bookstores, or another place they enjoy.
Which components of the uniform will families need to purchase?
Will our troop be a single-grade level or facilitated as a multi-level troop with girls of many grade levels combined into one troop? If multi-level, how will we make sure they each get an age-appropriate experience?
How will we keep troop activities girl-led? Use the Volunteer Toolkit (VTK) to help you through this process by exploring options for activities and reviewing the meeting plans and resources lists.
How often are we going to communicate to troop families? Which channels will we use to keep families in the loop? Effective communication will help set expectations and clarify parent/ caregiver responsibilities.
Will our troop charge dues, use product program proceeds, and/or charge per activity? How much money will we need to cover supplies and activities? What should our financial plan look like?

Choosing a Meeting Place
What makes a great meeting space? It depends on your troop, but here are a few considerations as you visit potential spaces:

Cost: The space should be free to use.

Size: Make sure the space is large enough for the whole group and all planned activities.

Availability: Be sure the space is available for the day and the entire length of time you want to meet.

Resources: Ask if tables and chairs come with the room and ensure that the lighting is adequate. A bonus would be a cubby of some sort where you could store supplies or a safe outdoor space for activities.

Safety: Potential spaces must be safe, secure, clean, properly ventilated, heated (or cooled, depending on your location), free from hazards, and have at least two exits that are well-marked and fully functional. Also be sure first-aid equipment is on hand.

Facilities: It goes without saying, but make sure that toilets are sanitary and accessible.

Communication-friendly: Check for cell reception in the potential space and whether Wi-Fi is available.

Allergen-free: Ensure that pet dander and other common allergens won’t bother susceptible girls during meetings.

Accessibility: Your space should accommodate girls with disabilities as well as parents with disabilities who may come to meetings.

Need a few speaking points to get started? Try:

“I’m a Girl Scout volunteer with a group of [number of girls] girls. We’re doing lots of great things for girls and for the community, like [something your group is doing] and [something else your troop is doing]. We’re all about leadership—the kind that girls use in their daily lives and the kind that makes our community better. We’d love to hold our meetings here because [reason why you’d like to meet there].”

Stuck and need additional support? Contact your council or your service unit support team for help with a troop meeting place.

Girl Scout Troop Size
The troop size “sweet spot” is large enough to provide an interactive and cooperative learning environment and small enough to encourage individual development. Research has shown that the ideal troop size is 12 girls; recommended group sizes, by grade level, are:

Girl Scout Daisies: 5–12 girls
Girl Scout Brownies: 10–20 girls
Girl Scout Juniors 10–25 girls
Girl Scout Cadettes: 5–25 girls
Girl Scout Seniors: 5–30 girls
Girl Scout Ambassadors: 5–30 girls

A Girl Scout troop/group must have at minimum five girls and two approved adult volunteers. (Double-check the volunteer-to-girl ratio chart to make sure you’ve got the right amount of coverage for your troop!) Adults and girls registering in groups of fewer than five girls and/or two approved, unrelated adult volunteers, at least one of whom is female, will be registered as individual Girl Scouts to more accurately reflect their status and program experience. Individual girls are always welcome to participate in Girl Scout activities and events.

Registering Girls and Adults in Girl Scouting
Every participant (girl or adult) in Girl Scouting must register and become a member of Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA). GSUSA membership dues are valid for one year. Membership dues cannot be transferred to another member and are not refundable.

Preregistration for the upcoming membership year occurs in the spring. Girls are encouraged to register early to avoid the fall rush. Early registration allows for uninterrupted receipt of forms and materials from the council, helps girls and councils plan ahead, and gets girls excited about all the great stuff they want to do as Girl Scouts next year. Girl Scout grade level is determined by the current membership year beginning October 1.

Lifetime membership is available to anyone who accepts the principles and beliefs of the Girl Scout Promise and Law, pays the one-time lifetime membership fee, and is at least 18 years old (or a high school graduate or equivalent).

Adding New Girls to Your Troop
Growing your troop is a great way to share the power of the Girl Scout experience and there are many ways to get the word out, like hanging posters at your girl’s school, using social media to reach families in your community, or including your troop in your council’s Opportunity Catalog or Troop Catalog.

[Council: Provide contact information for council representatives who can give troop leaders information about marketing and recruitment materials for adding new girls to their troops. This should include details about how to list their troops in a troop opportunity catalog.]

[Council: Provide contact information for council representatives who can give troop leaders information about marketing and recruitment materials for adding new girls to their troops. This should include details about how to list their troops in a troop opportunity catalog.]

Creating an Atmosphere of Acceptance and Inclusion

Girl Scouts is for every girl, and that’s why we embrace girls of all abilities and backgrounds with a specific and positive philosophy of inclusion that benefits everyone. Each girl—without regard to socioeconomic status, race, physical or cognitive ability, ethnicity, primary language, or religion—is an equal and valued member of the group, and groups reflect the diversity of the community.

We believe inclusion is an approach and an attitude, rather than a set of guidelines. Inclusion is about belonging, all girls being offered the same opportunities with respect, dignity, and celebration of their unique strengths. It’s about being a sister to every Girl Scout! You’re accepting and inclusive when you:

Welcome every girl, and focus on building community.
Emphasize cooperation instead of competition.
Provide a safe and socially comfortable environment for girls.
Teach respect for, understanding of, and dignity toward all girls and their families.
Actively reach out to girls and families who are traditionally excluded or marginalized.
Foster a sense of belonging to community as a respected and valued peer.
Honor the intrinsic value of each person’s life.

If you have questions about accommodating an individual girl, please contact Customer Care at customercare@girlscouts-gsci.org or 888-623-1237.

As you think about where, when, and how often to meet with your group, consider the needs, resources, safety, and beliefs of all members and potential members. Include the special needs of any members who have disabilities or whose parents or caregivers have disabilities. But, please, don’t rely on visual cues to inform you of a disability: Approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population has a disability—that’s one in five people of every socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, and religion.

If you want to find out what a girl with a disability needs to make her Girl Scout experience successful, simply ask her or her parent or caregiver. If you are open and honest, they’ll likely respond in kind, creating an atmosphere that enriches everyone.

It’s important for all girls to be rewarded based on their best efforts—not on the completion of a task. Give any girl the opportunity to do her best and she will! Sometimes that means changing a few rules or approaching an activity in a more creative way. Here are some examples of ways to modify activities:

Invite a girl to complete an activity after she has observed others doing it.
If you are visiting a museum to view sculpture, find out if a girl who is blind might be given permission to touch the pieces.
If an activity requires running, a girl who is unable to run could be asked to walk or do another physical movement.

Focus on a person’s abilities—on what she can do rather than on what she cannot. In that spirit, use people-first language that puts the person before the disability.

Questions?? Contact Customer Care at 888-623-1237 or customercare@girlscouts-gsci.org

If you want to find out what a girl with a disability needs to make her Girl Scout experience successful, simply ask them or their parent or caregiver. If you are open and honest, they’ll likely respond in kind, creating an atmosphere that enriches everyone.

It’s important for all girls to be rewarded based on their best efforts—not on the completion of a task. Give any Girl Scout the opportunity to do her best and she will! Sometimes that means changing a few rules or approaching an activity in a more creative way. Here are some examples of ways to modify activities:

Invite a girl to complete an activity after she has observed others doing it.
If you are visiting a museum to view sculpture, find out if a Girl Scout who is with visual impairment might be given permission to touch the pieces.
If an activity requires running, a Girl Scout who is unable to run could be asked to walk or do another physical movement.

Focus on a person’s abilities—on what they can do rather than on what they cannot. In that spirit, use people-first language that puts the person before the disability.

Say . . .	Instead of . . .
She has a learning disability.	She is learning disabled.
She has a developmental delay.	She is mentally retarded; she is slow.
She uses a wheelchair.	She is wheelchair-bound.

When interacting with a girl (or parent/caregiver) with a disability, consider these tips:

When talking to a Girl Scout with a disability, speak directly to her, not through a family member or friend.
It’s okay to offer assistance to a Girl Scout with a disability, but wait until your offer is accepted before you begin to help. Listen closely to any instructions the person may have.

Leaning on someone’s wheelchair is invading their space and is considered annoying and rude.
When speaking to a Girl Scout who is hearing impaired and using an interpreter, speak to the person themselves, not to the interpreter.
When speaking for more than a few minutes to someone who uses a wheelchair, place yourself at eye level.
When greeting someone with a visual disability, always identify yourself and others. You might say, “Hi, it’s Sheryl. Tara is on my right, and Chris is on my left.”

Registering Girls with Cognitive Disabilities
Girls with cognitive disabilities can be registered as closely as possible to their chronological ages. They wear the uniform of that grade level. Make any adaptations for the Girl Scout to ongoing activities of the grade level to which the group belongs. Young women with cognitive disorders may choose to retain their girl membership through their twenty-first year, and then move into an adult membership category.

Getting Support for Your Troop

Just as your Girl Scouts rally around each other for support, you’ll also have a dedicated Girl Scout support team, consisting of council staff and passionate volunteers just like you. Your support team, which may be called a service unit at your council, is ready to offer local learning opportunities and advice as well as answer your questions about the Girl Scout program, working with girls, product sales, and so much more.

Before you hold your first troop meeting with girls, consider the support and people resources you’ll need to cultivate an energizing troop experience. Parents, friends, family, and other members of the community have their own unique strengths and can provide time, experience, and ideas to a troop, so get them involved from the very beginning as part of your volunteer troop team. This team is made up of troop leaders (like you) and troop committee volunteers.

Your troop committee volunteers are the extra set of eyes, ears, and hands that help the troop safely explore the world around them. Depending on your troop’s needs, they can play a more active role—for instance, someone can step up as a dedicated troop treasurer—or simply provide an occasional helping hand when you need to keep a meeting’s activity on track.

If a parent or caregiver isn’t sure if they can commit to a committee or co-leader role, encourage them to try volunteering in a smaller capacity that matches their skill set. Just like your young Girl Scouts, once troop parents and caregivers discover they can succeed in their volunteer role, they’ll feel empowered to volunteer again.

Troop Management Tools and Resources

From toolkits and guides to regular contact with experienced people, you’ll have all the support you need to be a Girl Scout volunteer. Here’s a list of some important resources you’ll want to check out.

The Volunteer Toolkit 
The Volunteer Toolkit (VTK) is a customizable digital planning tool for troop leaders and co-leaders to easily manage their troop year-round and deliver easy, fun troop meetings. Accessible via desktop and mobile devices, the VTK saves you time and energy all year long, so that you can focus on unleashing the G.I.R.L (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader)™ in every girl, ensuring she has every opportunity she deserves to build a lifetime of leadership, success, and adventure. 

Girls have more fun when they can shape their own experiences, do hands-on activities, and work together as teams. With the VTK, girls and leaders can explore meeting topics and program activities together, and follow the fun as they plan their Girl Scout year. 

Through the Volunteer Toolkit, troop leaders can: 

Plan the troop’s calendar year and meeting schedule. 
Email parents/caregivers with one click. 
View the troop roster, renew girls’ membership, and update girls' contact information. 
View meeting plans for Journeys and badges, including suggested tracks for multi-level groups (K–5 and 6–12). 
Customize meeting agendas to fit your unique troop. 
Explore individual meeting plans that show a breakdown of every step, including a list of materials needed, editable time allotments for each activity within a meeting, and printable meeting aids. 
Record girls’ attendance at meetings and their badge and Journey achievements. 
Add council or custom events to the troop’s calendar. 
Submit troop’s finance reports (depending on the council’s process). 
Easily locate both national and local council resources, such as Safety Activity Checkpoints.

Parents and caregivers can:  

View the troop’s meeting schedule and individual meeting plans to stay up to date on the badges and Journeys they are working on. 
Renew their memberships, and update their contact information. 
View their Girl Scout’s attendance and achievements. 
See upcoming events the troop is planning or attending. 
Easily locate both national and local council resources, such as the Family Hub. 
View the troop’s finance report. Parents are allowed to see portions of the troop finance report within the VTK.

Get started by visiting www.getyourgirlpower.org.

The Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting
What does it mean to be a go-getting Girl Scout? It’s all in The Girl’s Guide to Girl Scouting. These grade level-specific binders will help you break it down for your girls. It’s part handbook, part badge book, and 100 percent fun!  

Safety Activity Checkpoints
Safety is paramount in Girl Scouting, and this resource—Safety Activity Checkpoints—contains everything you need to know to help keep your girls safe during a variety of exciting activities outside of their regular Girl Scout troop meetings.

Tips for Troop Leaders
When you’re looking for real-world advice from fellow troop leaders who've been there, this volunteer-to-volunteer resource, called Tips for Troop Leaders, on the Girl Scouts of the USA website has what you need for a successful troop year.

Girl Scout Volunteers in Your Community
Remember that Girl Scout support team we mentioned? You’ll find them in your service unit! Troops are organized geographically into service units or communities. You’ll find a local network of fellow leaders and administrative volunteers ready to offer tips and advice to help you succeed in your volunteer role.

Customer Care Contacts
Questions? Need help resolving an issue? We’ve got you! Reach out anytime by either clicking on the “Contact Us” form at www.getyourgirlpower.org or email customercare@girlscouts-gsci.org. During business hours Monday 8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., Tuesday-Thursday 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Friday 8:00 a.m. - noon. You can call us at 888-623-1237.

Newsletters/Communication
Once a month, all registered members (volunteers and parents) an email from Girl Scouts of Central Illinois called The Pulse. This will contain information about upcoming happenings around the council. Once a week, all adults registered as Troop Leadership will receive an email newsletter from their Membership team member. This will contain important information for you as a leader about upcoming events and current news to help you lead your troop.

You can also connect with us:
Twitter: @GSCentralIL
Facebook: Girl Scouts of Central Illinois
Instagram: @gscentralil
YouTube: GirlScoutsCentralIL
GSCI Blog

Customer Care Contacts
Questions? Need help resolving an issue? We’ve got you! Reach out anytime either by clicking on the “Contact Us” form at our council site or by email [Council: customer care email]. During business hours [Council: business hours] you can reach a customer service specialist by calling [Council: number]. Newsletters/Communication

[Council: Customize this, including social media addresses.]

Taking Advantage of Learning Opportunities

We know that when you have the knowledge and skills you need to manage your girls, both you and your troop will thrive. Contact your membership staff to ask about ongoing learning opportunities that will help you grow your skills and confidence. Most adult learning opportunities are on our Events Calendar on our website.

To be in the troop leadership role, a volunteer must attend a Basic Leader Training. Those are scheduled directly with your Membership team member. To call to schedule one, please call 888-623- 1237 or email customercare@girlscouts-gsci.org.

One adult troop leader is required to have First Aid/CPR training. These are offered through the council but you can also take this training at any local facility.

Other specialized adult training is available, including:
Basic Outdoor Training. This training prepares you to take your troop camping and is required prior to a camping trip. These are offered each spring and fall through the council. Visit the Events Calendar for more information on times and locations.

Developing your G.I.R.L. This training offers tips and tricks for the troop leader including songs, traditions, and troop management. This training is taught by volunteers like you!

Monthly Service Unit Meetings. Check with your membership team for information on these monthly meetings to keep up to date!

[Council: Add an overview of required and optional opportunities with a link to the appropriate page on your website.]

Knowing How Much You’re Appreciated

Whatever your volunteer position, your hard work means the world to girls, to your council staff, and to Girl Scouts of the USA. We’re calling on all members of society to help girls reach their full potential, and you’ve answered that call. So thank you, from the bottom of our hearts!

Just as you’ll receive support throughout your volunteering experience, when you reach the end of the term you signed up for, you’ll talk with your support team about the positive parts of your experience as well as the challenges you faced, and you’ll discuss whether you want to return to this position or try something new. The end of your troop year, camp season, overseas trip, or series/event session is just the beginning of your next adventure with Girl Scouts!

If you’re ready for more opportunities to work with girls, be sure to let your council support team know how you’d like to be a part of girls’ lives in the future—whether in the same position or in other, flexible ways. Are you ready to organize a series or event? Take a trip? Work with girls at camp? Work with a troop of girls as a yearlong volunteer? Share your skills at a council office, working behind the scenes? The possibilities are endless and can be tailored to fit your skills and interests.

Please contact your Membership team member or Customer Care at 888-623-1237 or customercare@girlscouts-gsci.org for more information or additional opportunities!

Volunteer Appreciation Month
Without our passionate and dedicated volunteers, there would be no Girl Scouting. That’s why we celebrate Volunteer Appreciation Week in April! And get ready to crank up the party as we ring in national Girl Scout Leader’s Day on April 22.

Girl Scouts also celebrates Volunteers Make a Difference Week in conjunction with Make a Difference Day, which takes place during the weekend in autumn that we set our clocks back when daylight saving time ends. What can we say—we love our volunteers!

Girl Scouts of Central Illinois’s adult recognitions system is designed to be a valuable component of our council’s volunteer support system. It offers tangible, visible awards with criteria and requirements, making it a very special recognition for the recipient.

Serving as a Girl Scout volunteer affords you exceptional opportunities, both in the skills you will gain and in the difference you will make in the lives of girls. Everyone involved with Girl Scouts wants to ensure that you are effectively mentoring girls to become world-changing leaders, and the GSCI staff helps you do that by measuring outcomes, evaluating your performance, continuing to give you opportunities to build new skills, and recognizing you for the tremendous work you do.

There are 3 levels of recognition in Girl Scouting:

One on one Thank-You (notes, certificates, small tokens, etc.)
Earned Recognition (Volunteer of Excellence, Years of Service)
GSCI Board Approved Recognition (Appreciation Pin, Honor Pin, Thanks Badge, Thanks Badge II)

Check out the Adult Recognitions section on our council website for more information and necessary forms.

Girl Scouts of Central Illinois celebrates our volunteers with a special event recognition each year in the Spring.

[Council: You may want to customize here for annual appreciation events.]

Without our passionate and dedicated volunteers, there would be no Girl Scouting. That’s why we celebrate National Volunteer Month every April! And get ready to crank up the party as we ring in National Girl Scout Leader’s Day on April 22.

Girl Scouts also celebrates National Volunteer Week, which falls during the third week of April. What can we say—we love our volunteers!

[Council: You may want to customize here for annual appreciation events.]

Girl Scout Participation in Activities with Other Scouting Organizations

The decision by Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to open the Boy Scout program to girls has fundamentally altered the nature of the relationship between BSA and Girl Scouts nationally and locally. Local relationships between BSA and Girl Scout councils that have led to partnerships and joint activities in the past may now create certain risks or challenges for Girl Scouts. For this reason, councils are encouraged to avoid joint recruiting and/or joint participation in community events or activities.

Marketplace Confusion
To protect the integrity of the Girl Scout brand and reinforce our programming as unique, girl-only, and best in class, we must ensure that we take care that the activities in which girls participate are exclusive to the Girl Scout program, are safe and girl-led, and are conducted under the appropriate supervision of Girl Scouts.

Protecting Use of Girl Scout Materials
Girl Scout materials are intended for the exclusive use of Girl Scouts and are protected as the intellectual property of Girl Scouts of the USA. Materials include but are not limited to: Girl Scout logo, tag lines, and/or program and badge requirements.

© Copyright 2009–2021 Girl Scouts of the United States of America.  All rights reserved. All information and material contained in Girl Scouts’ Volunteer Essentials guide (“Material”) is provided by Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA) and is intended to be educational material solely to be used by Girl Scout volunteers and council staff. Reproduction, distribution, compiling, or creating derivative works of any portion of the Material or any use other than noncommercial uses as permitted by copyright law is prohibited, unless explicit, prior authorization by GSUSA in writing was granted. GSUSA reserves its exclusive right in its sole discretion to alter, limit, or discontinue the Material at any time without notice.