Watch Here to see how girls can Safely Participate in
the Girl Scout Cookie Program!
Although the cookie program might look a little different this year
due to Covid-19, the tried-and-true ways to reach customers can be
easily adjusted for girls to participate safely. Girls/families should
consider which reach out methods they are comfortable using.
The most important thing to remember when participating in the
cookie program is to follow the Four Pillars of Safety that we are
following during this pandemic:
- Wear a mask
- Maintain social distance of at least 6
feet
- Frequently wash your hands
- Follow current local
and state health guidelines
In addition to the guidelines listed here, girls should have a
completed Annual Consent form and Covid-19 Informed Consent form on
file with the troop. All the usual safety guidelines for cookie
sellers should also be followed. See the Cookie Program Safety
Guidelines in the drop down menu above.
Making a potential customer list
A Girl Scout’s community is
full of people who love Girl Scout Cookies! Girls should work with
parents/guardians to create a list of potential customers. New
cookie sellers may be most comfortable starting with family and
friends. This is a great place for girls to practice their sales
pitch and gain confidence talking to people they know best.
Most girls will want to go beyond selling only to family and
friends. Remember: Everyone is a potential cookie customer and girls
should think about people they and their families come in contact with
person and virtually This can include co-workers and friends of
parents and siblings. Also, teachers, paraprofessionals, coaches, and
instructors are great cookie customers. So are people that the family
interacts with at their house of worship and through clubs and
activities. Girls who sold last year will want to be sure they ask the
same customers again this year as they will be looking forward to
getting their favorite cookies!
Reaching out to customers
Once a girl knows who she
wants to ask to support her and her troop by purchasing cookies, she
should decide the most appropriate and safest way to reach out to
those customers. Younger girls and first-time sellers will most
likely need the help of a trusted adult when making these decisions.
Using Digital Cookie: The Digital Cookie online platform
provides a contactless way for girls to reach out to customers.
Customers can pay for cookies with a credit or debit card and choose
to have the cookies direct shipped, donated, or delivered by the girl.
Every girl should set up a Digital Cookie online storefront this year!
Once their online storefront is up and running, girls/families can use
the Digital Cookie mobile app to continue to send marketing emails,
approve girl delivery orders, and monitor their progress toward their
cookie goals!
Girls/families can get started with the Digital Cookie platform by
using the link in the email sent to parents/guardians on December 28,
2020. If the email was not received, contact our Customer Care team.
- Once registered on the Digital Cookie platform, Girl Scouts
can set up their online storefront, enter their sales goal, share
their cookie story, and upload a fun picture or video! Make sure to
save the storefront settings and have a parent/guardian approve the
site. The site is then ready to be published.
- Girls can
also manage their cookie customer list and send ready-to-use emails
inviting people to support their cookie program.
- Girls can
work with their families to share their Digital Cookie online
storefront link on social media
Reaching out by phone, text, and email
All of these
reach out methods provide a contactless way for girls to reach
customers. Girls should decide the best way to reach out to specific
customers. For instance, older girl may decide to reach out to friends
via text. In the case of reaching out to grandparents she may want to
call them directly. When
reaching out to customers, girls should be sure to use a parent or
troop adult contact information customers to place an order. Be sure
to follow the social media guidelines list above.
Creating social media events
In addition to posting on
personal social media accounts, girls should consider hosting events
on social media. For example, girls can set up a Facebook event and
invite all her friends. Another idea is to download Girl Scout
Cookie assets from Little Brownie Baker ( here
) to make
cookie-centric posts. Consider creating fun cookie posts for
Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok – don’t forget to include the link
to a girl’s Digital Cookie storefront in the bio.
Asking for support in person
While all of us are having
less in person contact these days, most Girl Scouts are still seeing
some people in person. These potential customers include family and
close friends as well as teachers and extracurricular activity
coaches/instructors. When talking about the cookie program and
asking for a customer’s support it is important girls remember to
follow the Four Pillars of Safety listed above. We recommend girls
have copies of the printable order card or the door hanger to give
to customers so they can see the available cookie varieties. This
way, girls do not need to exchange their order card and pen with the
customer. Once the customer knows what she/he wants to order, the
girl can write the order down.
Going door-to-door
With adult supervision, girls
can visit neighbors in a familiar neighborhood to take orders or
conduct a walkabout sale when cookies arrive.
- Girls can go door-to-door with their paper order card. The
best way to practice social distancing is to put a door hanger on
the door knob, knock, step away, and put at least 6 feet of distance
between herself and the door. When the customer comes to the door
the girl can make her ask while the customer views the cookie
varieties on the door hanger. The girl scout can then write down the
order onto the order card. We recommend the girl repeat the order
back to the customer to be sure she has recorded it correctly.
- If potential customers are not home girls can leave a door
hanger to let her neighbors know she is selling Girl Scout Cookies.
There is space on the door hanger to provide an adult’s phone number
or adult-monitored email address so the customer can place an order
with the Girl Scout. Check out the For Girls and Families drop down
menu above to download the door hanger.
Using Zoom, Skype or other video conferencing apps
During this pandemic, many
girls and their families have become very familiar with Zoom, Skype
and other video conferencing apps. Why not put that new knowledge to
work in the cookie program? Girls/families can set up a call and
invite potential customers. When the virtual meeting starts she can
make her sales pitch and ask for everyone’s support. This is a great
way for a girl to share her and her troop’s goals, talk about what
she has done in Girl Scouts, and what she is learning through the
cookie program. Customers love hearing these details from girls, and
the virtual platform gives girls a great opportunity to speak to
many people at once. A girl may decide to do a short play or sing a
song about cookies during her presentation. Orders can be placed by
customers using chat, emailed to the girl’s parent/ or guardian or
told directly to the girl.
Reaching out to parent/guardian workplaces
Frequently, parents/guardians
will help girls reach new customers by sharing with their co-workers
that their Girl Scout is selling cookies. This year, with many
people working from home, Girl Scouts and their families will need
to get creative to reach these customers. Girls and their
parents/guardians should brainstorm plans for reaching out. These
plans could include making a live or recorded virtual presentation,
emailing co-workers, or having parent/guardian share the sale
information or girl’s Digital Cookie link with co-workers. As
always, Girl Scouts should take responsibility for these orders by
contacting customers, filling orders, writing thank-you notes, and,
if possible, delivering cookies.
Participating in a cookie booth
Cookie booths will not start
until at least February 27, 2021. Check back later for our most up
to date guidelines on participating in a cookie booth sale.
Delivering Cookies
While it is
difficult to predict the effect that Covid-19 will have on our
activities in March, we can anticipate that some safety restrictions
will still be in place.
But, not to worry! Girls can deliver cookies in a safe manner! One
way is to be a “Porch Pixie.” The girl lets the customer know she is
coming to deliver cookies and collect payment, if due. The girl puts
the cookies on the porch or other place near the front door, rings the
bell/knocks/ calls/texts to let the customer know the cookies have
arrived. Then, she steps back and lets the customer retrieve the
cookies and leave payment, if due. The adult with the girl can
retrieve the payment and delivery is complete. Remember: If the
cookies were ordered on a girl’s Digital Cookie storefront, the
cookies have already been paid for the customer’s credit or debit card
and payment does NOT need to be collected by the girl/family.
Some customers may wish to pick up cookies from the girl. The
process would be the same but with the girl preparing the cookie order
and leaving it by her front door when the customer arrives. Remember
everyone likes Girl Scout cookies, including our wildlife friends.
Don’t leave cookies outside unless they are being picked up
immediately or are in a sealed container.
Contactless Payment Options
Troops and families have
contactless payment options this year as well.
Digital Cookie: If the cookies are ordered through a girl’s
Digital Cookie online storefront, regardless of whether they were
direct shipped, donated, or girl delivered, they are already paid for!
The Digital Cookie mobile app can also be used for in-hand purchases
when girls have cookies in March. Remember: The Digital Cookie
platform/mobile app cannot be used to pay for paper order card orders.
Cheddar
Up:. This is an online payment option that troops can use to
collect payments from troop families and for families to collect
payments from customers. Check with your troop co-leader to see if the
troop is using Cheddar Up this year.
Checks and cash payments can also be contactless! Payments can
be placed in a sealed envelope and picked up in the same contactless
way the cookies are delivered. We encourage adults to handle payments
this year.
