Gold Award Girl Scouts

Are you ready to make a difference in the world?

The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award a Girl Scout can earn. Once achieved, it shows colleges, employers, and your community that you’re capable of changing the world.

You can pursue your Gold Award if:

You’re a registered Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador in ninth through twelfth grade (or the equivalent)
You have completed two Senior or Ambassador Journeys OR earned the Girl Scout Silver Award and completed one Senior or Ambassador Journey (you must complete a Journey that matches your level – a Girl Scout Senior must complete a Senior Journey).
You have completed the online Gold Award Orientation and attended a Gold Award Workshop (in person or virtual).

Girl Scout Gold Award Steps

Identify an Issue
Use your values and skills to choose a community issue that you care about.

Thoroughly Investigate Your Issue
Use your sleuthing skills to learn everything you can about the issue you've identified.

Have you set up your account in GoGold yet? It can help you investigate your issue and find resources. It’s also a great tool for keeping everything in one place!

Get Help and Build Your Team

Form a team to support your efforts and help you Take Action. Keep these tips in mind:

• Your Project Advisor should be a subject matter expert and can’t be a Troop Leader or parent.

• You should aim for at least 3-5 team members with skills and knowledge related to your issue, beyond your Girl Scout
community and family.

Create a Plan
Identify the root cause of your issue, and then create a plan to tackle it.

Present Your Plan and Gather Feedback
Submit your Project Proposal Form to the Girl Scout Gold Award Committee for approval.

green_arrow_32 Your Guide to Going Gold

Gold Award Proposal Rubric

Proposal review timeline

Proposals must be received by the first business day of the month in order to be reviewed at that month’s Gold Award Committee meeting. The committee meets on the third Thursday of each month, so plan accordingly. If you miss the deadline it could be up to six weeks before your proposal is reviewed – and before you can start implementing your project!

Take Action
Lead your team and carry out your plan.

Educate and Inspire
Tell your story and share your results.

By the time you put the final touches on your project, you'll have solved a community problem—not only in the short term, but for years to come! And even more, you’ll be eligible for college scholarships.

Download the new Your Guide to Going Gold

Download the Gold Award Proposal Rubric

Our local Gold Award Girl Scouts are changing the world! Take a look at our 2022 Gold Award Girl Scouts and be inspired to change your community today.

Our Gold Award Committee is accepting applications!

Leaders or Gold Award Girl Scouts: interested in mentoring and guiding an older girl as she pursues the highest award a Girl Scout can earn? Complete the Gold Award Committee Interest form here.

Parents, Troop Leaders and Project Advisors

There are resources available for adults and volunteers who want to help Girl Scouts pursue their Gold Award!

GSUSA Gold Award Guide for Adults

GSUSA Gold Award Guide for Leaders

GSUSA Gold Award Guide for Project Advisors

Before You Start Your Gold Award Proposal

Girl Scout Gold Award Orientation

Girl Scout Gold Award orientation is a required step for Girl Scouts preparing to go Gold. This online training module will provide you with foundational knowledge about going Gold! You should complete this step before attending a Gold Award Workshop.

Parents/caregivers and co-leaders are encouraged to view the orientation to gain helpful information about the Girl Scout Gold Award requirements, paperwork, submission, and approval process.

Girl Scout Gold Award Workshop

Once you’ve completed the orientation, take a deep dive into the Gold Award process, at a Girl Scout Gold Award Workshop. This is the perfect place to really dig into your Gold Award!

Each workshop is facilitated by a Gold Award committee member or a GS-NCCP staff member. They are designed to provide a hands-on experience as you get ready to go Gold. You’ll go through Steps 1-7 of the Gold Award process with a sample issue, utilizing GoGold, the Gold Award Proposal Rubric, and Your Guide to Going Gold to complete each step. We’ll mind map the sample issue to help you understand the process, as well as tackling how to ensure sustainability and track measurability – both of which are critically important to your project. Come ready to ask all your questions!

Workshops are hosted throughout the year across our footprint and virtually. Visit the Activities tab to register for an upcoming workshop.

Girls pursuing the Girl Scouts Gold Award are required to complete both the Girl Scout Gold Award Orientation and a Gold Award Workshop.

Your Guide to Going Gold

Need help telling the difference between community service and Take Action Project, or need a better understanding of how to build your team? Have questions about money-earning or grant writing? Need a checklist to be sure you’ve completed all the requirements? Your Guide to Going Gold is the resource you need to take you step-by-step through the Gold Award process, from writing a winning proposal to submitting a Gold-worthy final report.

Your Guide to Going Gold complements the Gold Award Orientation and the Gold Award Workshop, which is why you’ll receive a copy when you attend the Workshop. You can also download a copy to preview from this page!

Girl Scout Gold Award Proposal Rubric

The NEW Gold Award Proposal Rubric is a tool created by GSUSA to convey nationally consistent criteria for proposal review and approval. Use it as you build your Gold Award proposal to ensure that you meet the standards of a Gold Award Take Action Project. Your Gold Award Committee Liaison will share your proposal’s rubric scoring from the committee meeting to help you create the best possible project.

GSUSA Girl Scout Gold Award YouTube Videos

In these new videos, the 2019 National Gold Award Girl Scouts speak directly to other Girl Scouts, sharing best practices and focusing on how they actually earned their Gold Awards. You can find all these videos on GSUSA's Go For the Gold YouTube page.

Start Your Gold Award Application

Get Ready, Get Set...

So you’ve completed your online Gold Award Orientation and attended a Gold Award Workshop and now you’re ready to begin your journey towards Gold? That’s awesome!

First, you’ll need to set up your GoGold account. GoGold is where you’ll find resources, documents, council forms, and the Girl Scout Gold Award tool kit that includes tips for going Gold, planning guides, and best practices to guide you through each step of your Gold Award.

GoGold even provides you with the resources to help you stay organized and keep everything in one place! GoGold is easy to navigate and helps girls efficiently and effectively capture their Take Action Project, which is why all Girl Scout Gold Award proposals must be submitted via GoGold.

Get started at GoGold. Be sure you have you’re the following information handy to setup your account:

Make sure you use YOUR e-mail, not your parent’s or troop leader’s.
If you earned your Girl Scout Silver Award, have the information about your project and when you earned it on hand.
You’ll also need to know what Journeys you completed and the date or dates they were completed.
Troop leader’s contact information. If you’re a Juliette (individually registered Girl Scout) you’ll need a parent’s or your Juliette mentor’s email address.

Submit Your Proposal to the Girl Scout Gold Award Committee for Review

Proposals and final reports are due by the first business day of each month for review by the Gold Award Committee at the meeting on the third Thursday of each month. Please plan accordingly for these deadlines! If you miss the deadline, it could be up to six weeks from when you submit your proposal until you hear from the Gold Award Committee. Incomplete proposals will not be reviewed; incomplete final reports will be delayed for approval.

Gold Award Help

Hit a Roadblock?

The expertise of the Gold Award committee is just a phone call away! Take advantage of our virtual office hours at your convenience. Virtual office hours are a unique opportunity for girls (as well as parent/caregivers) to call in and get their questions answered by a member of the Girl Scout Gold Award Committee or council staff. Email girlawards@nccoastalpines.org to request a 15-minute time slot to discuss your project with the Program Director or a Gold Award Committee member.

GSUSA Girl Scout Gold Award YouTube Videos

In these videos, the 2019 National Gold Award Girl Scouts speak directly to other Girl Scouts, sharing best practices and focusing on how they actually earned their Gold Awards. You can find all these videos on GSUSA’s Go For the Gold YouTube page.

Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines is committed to ensuring that girls of all abilities are able to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award. Please email girlawards@nccoastalpines.org to request reasonable accommodations.

Forms

GS-NCCP does not accept paper Girl Scout Gold Award Proposals.
All proposal submissions must be completed using the GoGold Online platform.

The Gold Award Proposal form lists the questions that will need to be answered in Go Gold. As you plan your project, please ensure that you are able to answer these questions. Take notes and craft your answers before you enter them in Go Gold.

All of these forms are available in GoGold:

Having issues? Download the FREE Adobe Acrobat Reader DC tool to help solve viewability.

Gold Award Proposal

Gold Award Final Report

Having issues? Download the FREE Adobe Acrobat Reader DC tool to help solve viewability.

Benefits of Going Gold

Benefits of Going Gold

The Benefits of Becoming a Gold Award Girl Scout

When you become a Gold Award Girl Scout, you delve deep into your passions, flex your problem-solving muscle, stand up for what you believe in, inspire others, and make a difference. It’s an opportunity to do something more and to set your sights on true leadership. Here are a few other reasons to Go Gold:

Grow professional skills. Gold Award Girl Scouts become pros in team building, problem solving, project planning, and time management. These are invaluable skills that all professionals need - and all people value. You can highlight these experiences as you apply to schools, jobs, internships, and other opportunities.

Earn scholarships. Many universities and colleges award scholarships to Gold Award Girl Scouts.

The GSUSA Gold Award Scholarship is awarded annually to one Girl Scout from each council. Applications are accepted through GoGold for girls who have earned their Gold Award between the previous April 1 and March 31.
Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines offers scholarship opportunities that you can read about here.
Visit GSUSA’s Scholarship webpage for more suggestions.

Build your network. Gold Award Girl Scouts recruit and lead teams to do amazing things! This experience will give you a network of supporters that lasts a lifetime.

Enlist at a higher pay grade when you join the military.

Gold Award History

100 Years of Extraordinary Projects from Extraordinary Girls

As a Gold Award Girl Scout, you're part of an elite group.

Starting in 1916, the best and brightest have undertaken projects to improve their communities—and the world. The Golden Eaglet insignia, the highest award in Girl Scouts from 1916 to 1939, marked the beginning of a long tradition of recognizing the extraordinary efforts of extraordinary girls. From 1940 to 1963, the Curved Bar Award was the highest honor in Girl Scouts. From 1963 to 1980, the highest award was called First Class. And since 1980, the Gold Award has inspired Girl Scouts to find the greatness inside themselves and share their ideas and passions with their communities.

Over 100 years later, Girl Scouts continue to make a difference in their communities and the world. Looking for inspiration? Meet our 2020 Girl Scout Gold Award Girls.

Going Above and Beyond

Some Ways To Go Above and Beyond

Apply for the GSUSA Gold Award Scholarship, which is awarded annually to one Girl Scout from each council. Applications are accepted through GoGold for girls who have earned their Gold Award between the previous April 1 and March 31.
Power your service project with a grant from Youth Service America
Share your own story to let people know how you’re making a difference! Girl Scouts of the USA’s Map It: Girls Changing the World

Gold Award Adult Resources

The Girl Scout Gold Award is girl led! As the “project manager,” each Gold Award Candidate brings her own unique skills and aspirations to the Gold Award experience.

But there are a lot of different people who participate in and contribute to a Girl Scout’s Gold Award Take Action Project in various ways. Many hands make light work! Here are some ways troop leaders and parents can help their Girl Scout earn her Gold Award:

Be a coach, cheerleader, and sounding board
Help brainstorm ideas for the project, team members, funding, and implementation.
Foster networking, collaboration, and communication with the community. Be an advocate for your Girl Scout and help make introductions if needed.
Encourage regular communication with the Gold Award Committee Liaison.
Parents and troop leaders should NOT make phone calls, send emails, or make decisions for their Girl Scout.
Proof-read the Gold Award proposal or final report, but don’t write it!
Join the team and help make your Girl Scout’s Take Action Project a success!

Check out these resources for adults and volunteers who want to help Girl Scouts pursue their Gold Award!

GSUSA Gold Award Guide for Adults

GSUSA Gold Award Guide for Leaders

GSUSA Gold Award Guide for Project Advisors