Ringing in the 2018 Cookie Program

In the spirit of the new year, GSWPA welcomes you to Cookie Program Countdown!

 As we count down to the launch of the 2018 Cookie Program over the next five days, we will be remembering how cookie proceeds supported local troops in 2017. We’re ringing in the 2018 Cookie Season by spotlighting the cornerstone of the cookie program—the 5 Skills—and talking about how to build on each of them to make the most of this year’s program!

First skill, first! Before you come up with your new year’s resolution, think about your 2018 Cookie Program goal.

Goal Setting: Girls set cookie sales goals, and with their team, create a plan to reach them. 

1. Begin by thinking about what you want to use your cookie proceeds to do. Are you working together as a troop, or does each girl have an individual goal? Is it camp, community service, travel, or maybe another new adventure? 
2. How much will your adventure cost? This planning will help you figure out how many boxes of cookies you’ll need to sell. 
3. Once you know your selling goal, set mini-goals throughout cookie season to keep you on track!

Goal setting is an important takeaway for Girl Scouts because it is the foundation to understanding and believing that they can succeed in school, on the job, and in life.

Share your goals with us! Leave it in the comments here, or on Facebook. GSWPA wants to know what you’re working towards this year!

2017 Cookie Program Shout Out: Troop 40304 in Somerset County put their cookie proceeds to great use by brushing up on their science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills at an overnight event at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh. Way to go, girls!

Digital Cookie: Supporting the 5 Skills and cookie sales

The Digital Cookie™ platform is in its fourth year, and it has taken cookie sales beyond the booth with online and mobile channels that make it easier than ever to support the success of a Girl Scout.

Check out these highlights of the Digital Cookie platform!

Learning Modern Business Skills: The Digital Cookie platform supports each sale by making it easy for the Girl Scout to share her Girl Scout experience, her selling goals for the year, and how the proceeds will give her the opportunity to break the mold, take on a new adventure, and create change in her community. Girl Scouts and their parents use the site to track customer information, orders, and data. The Digital Cookie Platform is an awesome introduction to modern business strategies.

Digital vs. Distance: Digital wins—every time! It doesn’t matter if it’s a next-door neighbor or Great Aunt Claire in Utah, Digital Cookie allows customers to pay by credit card and have their order shipped directly to their door. Customers are also able to donate boxes online to Operation: Sweet Appreciation!

• New this year! Customers can pay for their cookies through Digital Cookie and still have their Girl Scout deliver the cookies to their door. Don’t worry—parents will need to approve these orders for safety and practicality reasons. Ask your troop leader for more information.

Achieve those goals! With all of the tools and resources available through this site and the opportunity for Girl Scouts to cast a wider net than ever before, it’s no surprise that a girls’ success could grow and expand—which means more exploration, learning, empowerment, and inspiration for her!

I’m so excited for Digital Cookie! How do I get started?

Gather customer information: You may not be able to set up your site just yet, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t steps to take to get ready! Girl Scouts and parents should sit down and talk about who their digital customers might be—out of town friends and family, cousins in college, or mom’s co-workers! Do you have a current email address for them? You’ll need it in order to invite them to your Digital Cookie site.

Register on the platform: Your invitation to join the platform will come through email at the end of December. Emails are specific to each girl and can’t be shared. The email will come from “Girl Scout Cookie Program.”

• Be sure to check junk/spam/promotions inboxes, but if you don’t receive an invitation by Jan. 1, go to digitalcookie.girlscouts.org and click “Forgot password/Need a registration” link.

Work together! Once your site is registered, Girl Scouts and parents should work together to set up their Digital Cookie site before the program kickoff on Friday, Jan. 5. Share your favorite things about Girl Scouting and write about how your proceeds from selling cookies will help you to keep doing those amazing things! You can even make a video welcoming friends and family to your Digital Cookie site.

For more information about the cookie program, visit gswpa.org.