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Silver Award

Silver Award Deadline Extension

The Silver Award extension applies to Silver Award teams and Girl Scout Cadettes who were in 8th grade on March 31, 2020 and will bridge to the next program level (Seniors) on September 30, 2020.

For 8th grade girls whose Silver Award projects were underway during the development of COVID-19, the deadline to complete their project and submit the Final Report is extended to September 30, 2021.

To complete the Silver Award, individual girls or Silver Award teams should submit the Final Report to council for final approval no later than September 30, 2021.

Reward Card Conversions for the Silver Award will still be available throughout this extension. Troop Leaders and girls, please remember that all money for awards must be processed through the troop, and it must be agreed with the troop ahead of time how much money is earmarked for award projects. Once decided, money set aside or earned for awards may not be spent another way.


Have you ever looked around your neighborhood, school, or broader community and wondered how you could make a change for the better? Going for the Girl Scout Silver Award—the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette can earn—gives you the chance to do big things and make your community better in the process. The Girl Scout Silver Award is a Take Action Project that addresses an issue at its root cause and makes a long-term impact in the community.

You can pursue your Girl Scout Silver Award if: 
  • You're in sixth, seventh, or eighth grade (or equivalent)
  • You're a registered Girl Scout Cadette
  • You have completed a Cadette Journey (including the Take Action project at the end)
  • You have completed a GSNorCal Silver Award training (online training or live webinar)

Steps to Become a Silver Award Girl Scout

  1. Complete a Cadette Journey (including the Take Action Project at the end).
  2. Complete the Silver Award training with your Troop or individually with an adult (each team member and their Troop Leader is required to take the training before starting a project). You may take either the online training or attend a live webinar.
  3. Build your Silver Award project team (1-4 Girl Scouts).
  4. Brainstorm an issue that you care about, and then investigate it thoroughly by exploring your community and conducting research. Your Troop Leader can help you by using the Silver Award Rubric for Troop Leaders.
  5. Find a Project Advisor (an adult expert on the issue you are addressing, or the solution you are trying to implement).
  6. Create a plan and work with your Troop Leader to get their approval to start your project. You and your Troop Leader should review the Silver Award packet and utilize the Silver Award Rubric for Troop Leaders to make sure your project will meet all the requirements and follow all the rules/regulations. Make sure you clearly identify your issue, its root cause, and how your project will specifically address these.
  7. Take Action! Once your Troop Leader has approved your project to start, you can begin enacting your plan. The Girl Scout Silver Award takes a minimum of 50 hours of work per team member.
  8. Once your project is complete, submit your Final to the Council via the Silver Award Final Report submission form. The Signature page is no longer required. Your final report will be reviewed, and you will receive questions, feedback, or further instructions in a phone call or email from Council staff. Your project must be submitted by the deadline (September 30th after any member of your team completes 8th grade). The review process typically takes 4-8 weeks.
  9. You will receive official approval when you have met all the requirements of the Silver Award.
  10. Celebrate!

Money Earning for Your Project

Girl Scouts can finance or obtain needed materials for their Silver Award projects in a number of ways, including by participating in Product Program. Before starting out, you are responsible for reviewing money-earning and donation requirements on pages 17-18 of our GSNorCal Silver Award packet. 

Our Council’s money-earning application can be found here.

Our Council’s donation form can be found here. 

Frequently Asked Questions

I have a group of 5 girls that wants to work together. Can more than 4 Girl Scouts work on the same Silver Award project?

No, there is a maximum of 4 girls to one team, no exceptions. The group will need to divide into multiple teams of 1-4 and work on different projects.

Can multiple teams collaborate to work on different parts of one really big project?

No. Each Silver Award team (1-4 Girl Scouts) should complete their own unique project that is separate from that of the other teams in their Troop.

Do girls need to get approval from the Council to start their projects?

No, their Troop Leader will approve their project to start work. The Council only reviews Final Reports.

If the Girl Scouts or Troop Leader is not sure if a project will meet the requirements for the Silver Award, can the Council look at their project ideas ahead of time?

Troop Leaders are responsible for approving Silver Award projects to start and should make sure that they take the Silver Award training, review the Silver Award packet, and review the Silver Award Rubric for Troop Leaders to familiarize themselves with the rules and requirements. If after taking the training and reviewing all of the resources we provide you are still feeling uncertain, we can help you! The best way to get in touch is by emailing awards@gsnorcal.org.

Can girls donate money to another organization as their Silver Award project? Can girls donate money that is left over after they have completed their project?

No. Girl Scouts are not permitted to raise money for or donate money to any organization, group, or individual for their Silver Award project, or as part of their Silver Award project. Making monetary donations is not allowed, period. If Girl Scouts raised money for their Silver Award and have some left over, it must either be returned to the person or organization it came from, or used to further the Silver Award project.

Who can be a Project Advisor for the Silver Award project?

The Silver Award Project Advisor is chosen by a Girl Scout Silver Award team to help plan and implement their project. The Project Advisor provides guidance, experience, and expertise to the girl(s) as they work to complete their Take Action project. The project Advisor must be someone with knowledge and experience in either the issue/root cause girls are addressing or the solution they want to enact. Parents or immediate family members of the Girl Scouts Silver team may not be Project Advisors.

What work can girls count towards the 50 hours they have to complete?

Time that may be counted as part of the final Silver Award project includes: time spent researching your issue/root cause/solution, talking with your project advisor about your plan, recruiting and leading a volunteer team, money-earning for your project (see regulations in the Silver Award packet), enacting your project plan, and finally, educating and inspiring others. Time that may NOT be counted towards the final Silver Award project includes: time spent completing pre-requisites, taking the Silver Award training, participating in Girl Scout product sales, travel time, writing your final report, and the hours that any volunteers on their team spent working on the project. Most of your project hours should be for enacting your plan!

What is a Take Action Project, and how is it different from a Community Service project?

The Silver Award is a Take Action project—NOT a community service project. Community service projects address an immediate need in a community, for example, donating food to an animal shelter, or re-building a broken down bench at a park. These projects are awesome, but Take Action asks girls to go further and solve an issue at its root cause, making a long-term impact on a problem. Projects that do not meet the Take Action requirement will need to be complete additional work before they are accepted by the Council. Please review How to Spot the Difference: Community Service Projects vs. Take Action Projects to better understand the Take Action requirement of the Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards! 

If girls get busy or otherwise run out of time to complete their Silver Award project, can they ask for an extension?

No, we do not accept late submissions or grant extensions on Silver Award projects if girls were not able to find time to fit the project into their schedules. In extreme cases, such as catastrophic illness or loss of your home, we do consider extensions on a case-by-case basis. If you find yourself in an extreme situation, please contact the Council directly before the deadline to discuss it.

What if our Final Report is not accepted by the Council?

If a Final Report does not meet the criteria for the Girl Scout Silver Award, the Council will not immediately accept it. Sometimes this happens because the project does not follow the Girl Scout rules and regulations, which may occur if girls do not review the rules regarding money, safety, media, etc. before submitting. Sometimes Council staff have a lot of questions about a project because it doesn’t seem like it addressed a real issue in the community (this may happen if girls choose a project before exploring their community or conducting research. Explore and conduct research first, then choose a project)! If the Council does not accept your project, you will be required to do additional work before earning the Silver Award. To prevent this, pay close attention to the rules and review the Silver Award requirements throughout your project.

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Still have questions? Contact us by emailing awards@gsnorcal.org or calling 800-447-4475 during regular business hours.

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