Welcome to the fourth edition of The Cookie Press for the 2024 Cookie Season! |
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Read on for information about Cookie Booths, Gluten-free Cookie Exceptions, Juliette ID's & Deposit Slips, Smart Cookies & Digital Cookie Access, TCM Training & Responsibility Form, TCM Guidebook, Council Sponsored Cookie Rally & Family Cookie Business Meeting.
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Cookie Booths 4-1-1
- Gluten-free Cookie Exception Requests
- Juliette ID's and Deposit Slips
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Smart Cookies and Digital Cookie Volunteer Access
- Troop Cookie Manager Training and Responsibility Form
- Troop Cookie Manager Guidebook
- Council-Sponsored Virtual Cookie Rally
- Cookie Family Business Meeting
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For Service Unit Cookie Managers:
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Ordering Additional Cookie Supplies
- TCM Responsibility Forms Deadline
- Juliette ID's and Deposit Slips
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It’s time to shift gears from baking holiday cookies to ordering those famous Girl Scout Cookies! January will be filled with cookie activities, from picking up your cookie supplies to completing training, the Family Cookie Business Meeting, and the initial cookie order. Rest assured; we’ll keep reminding you of those important January deadlines right here in The Cookie Press We’re ready to rock 2024 with the best cookie volunteers in the country!
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Cookie Booths not only increase public awareness of Girl Scouts, but they are a whole lotta fun! Girl Scouts put those famous five skills - goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics – into action as they participate in booth activities. Check out your Cookie Booth & Sales Kit in your cookie materials for the full scoop on booths. Plus, use the Smart Cookies Guide to review the step-by-step instructions on all things related to cookie booths.
The first important deadline of the cookie booth season is the cookie booth lottery. The lottery opens for selections in Smart Cookies this Sunday, January 7. Here are the top three key updates when it comes to cookie booths:
1. Cookie Booth Lottery and First-come, first-served (FCFS) Council-Secured Booth Schedule
The selection schedule is now available for both the lottery and first-come, first-served (FCFS) Council-secured booths. If any dates change, we will notify you. Here’s a look at the current schedule:
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For each round of first-come, first-served booths, the selections will close at 4 pm before the following round opens at 7 pm. For example, Round 1 opens at 7 pm on 1/17, and closes at 4 pm on 1/18. We will upload any newly secured booths between 4pm and 7pm which will be reflected in the next round of FCFS booths. You can run the Available Booth Sales Summary Report in Smart Cookies to review all available time slots and locations for each round. You can filter the report to hone in on a specific location if needed.
2. Council-Secured Booth Partners Status
Most of our council partners, including Cub Foods, area Malls, Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Chuck & Don’s, GNC, JoAnn, Goodwill, and Dunkin are happy to have us back again this year. If there is a specific council-secured location you are curious about, first check the “do not contact” list on the Cookie Booths section of Cookie Central. If the location is not on the “do not contact” list, feel free to reach out to us and we can let you know the status. We will again host cookie booths during select Minnesota Wild hockey games this year. These booths are added to the lottery as “premium booths.” This means Troops can only win one of these opportunities, encouraging fairness at one of our highest sales-per-hour booths.
3. Troop-Secured Booth Requests
Is your Troop interested in setting up a booth with a business in your area? Booths that are arranged by the Troop Leader are called “Troop-secured Booths.” Now that you have access to Smart Cookies, you can log in and start entering Troop-secured Cookie Booth requests. We will begin reviewing these requests before our first round of FCFS booths on January 17th, with the hopes of getting as many approved before the Initial Order deadline on January 19th. After we get through the first large group of requests, you can expect your booth approval to be processed within three business days.
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Gluten-free Cookie Exemption Requests |
Troops had the opportunity to participate in our pre-order for the gluten-free Caramel Chocolate Chip cookies in Fall of 2023. We used this information to place our order for this variety with ABC Bakers. For Troops that participated in the pre-order, we’ll be reaching out to you to remind you of your order next week (week of January 8). Troops that did not participate in the pre-order are limited to two cases of the Caramel Chocolate Chip on their Initial Order. This cookie variety is only guaranteed to be available on the initial cookie order. If your Troop would like more than two cases of gluten-free Cookies, here’s the scoop on how to request an exception. Follow these two important steps:
1. By January 19: Complete the Gluten Free Exemption Form to let us know of your request.
2. By January 19 at 11:59 pm: In Smart Cookies, as part of your Initial Cookie Order, enter the total # of cases of gluten-free Cookies you wish to receive. This date and time is the deadline for the Initial Cookie Order.
During the week of January 22, we will email you to confirm the request was successful or alert you if we cannot fill it.
Note: For Troops that order more than two cases of Caramel Chocolate Chip cookies that did not participate in the pre-order or complete the form to report an exception, your order may be reduced to a total of two cases.
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Juliette Identification Numbers and Deposit Slips Shipping Information |
Juliette Girl Scouts have a unique, six-digit identification number that is used as their troop number to access Smart Cookies. This is the last six-digits of their normal GlobalID. Juliettes do not have bank accounts, rather, they use special deposit slips encoded with their Juliette number to deposit all cookie money into the Girl Scouts River Valleys Wells Fargo bank account. Deposit slips with the Juliette number will be mailed to Juliette Mentors of participating Juliettes before Cookie Go Day.
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Smart Cookies and Digital Cookie Access |
After the holiday break, you may finally find yourself with time to get started in Smart Cookies. Each troop has already had two contacts added to the system, the Troop Leader and Troop Cookie Manager. To add more Smart Cookies users, contact us with your troop # and the name of the Volunteer. Once you log in, don’t forget to:
1. Enter your Troop banking information
2. Confirm your Girl Scouts’ information
3. Enter the # of Girl Scouts selling
You can find step by step instructions for completing these tasks in our Smart Cookies Guide on Cookie Central. All registered Girl Scouts are added directly into Smart Cookies by Girl Scouts River Valleys. If you notice a member of your troop is not in Smart Cookies and is a currently registered member, please contact us. Any Girl Scout listed in Smart Cookies will be also automatically added to Digital Cookie when it opens for the season on February 1. River Valleys continues to add Girl Scouts and volunteers each week to Smart Cookies.
Volunteers will receive access to Digital Cookie on January 22. Look for more information on Digital Cookie coming later this month here in the Cookie Press.
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Troop Cookie Training and Responsibility Form |
Your Service Unit Cookie Manager will connect with you on your annual Cookie Program training options (and to pick up those highly anticipated cookie supplies too 😉). One option is to complete River Valleys Online Troop Cookie Manager Training, which features all the info you need to get started in guiding your troop through the cookie season. Feel free to reference it at any time you need a refresher on program elements during the season too!
All Troop Cookie Managers must complete the online Troop Cookie Responsibility Form by February 1. You will be asked for your Service Unit Manager or Service Unit Cookie Manager’s email address when completing the form. A copy of the completed form will be emailed to you and the Service Unit Volunteer.
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Troop Cookie Manager Guidebook |
The Troop Cookie Manager Guidebook is available online on Cookie Central. This is your ultimate guide to the cookie season-it’s a must read before the sale begins. It includes an overview of your duties, tips on engaging Girl Scouts in sales and managing the cookies, key dates, cookie finances, a quick guide to Smart Cookies, and more important information that you will need throughout the program.
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Council Sponsored Virtual Cookie Rally |
Girl Scouts River Valleys is hosting a virtual Cookie Rally on February 6th starting at 6:30pm with streaming on the Girl Scouts River Valleys Facebook page and YouTube channel. It’s free and guaranteed fun! Share the opportunity with your troop and have them fill out the Cookie Rally Interest Form. For those unable to attend, a recording of the event will be available on the Girl Scouts River Valleys Facebook or YouTube pages.
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Cookie Family Business Meeting |
Before January gets too busy, add the Family Cookie Meeting to your troop calendar. This meeting is a time for everyone to set individual and troop goals, and for caregivers to agree on roles and responsibilities. Don’t forget to use the Troop Family Cookie Business Meeting Tip Sheet, to make preparing for and leading the meeting as easy as eating a sleeve of Thin Mints!
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Ordering Additional Cookie Supplies |
The Cookie supplies have been shipped to Service Units. If you need additional items to cover registered Troops/Girls that plan on selling, complete the Cookie Materials Request Form.
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Troop Cookie Responsibility Forms Deadline |
As you direct your Troops to their Cookie training options, remind them to also complete the online Troop Cookie Manager Responsibility Form. These forms are due by February 1.
Some of you have let us know you're not receiving the confirmation email after your Troop Leaders have completed the form. We encourage Troop Leaders to screenshot the acknowledgement or to forward you their own confirmation email if received. In addition, throughout the month of January we will post in our Service Unit Product Program Volunteers Rallyhood with a comprehensive list of Troops that have completed the form. We welcome you to join this Rallyhood page if you haven't yet and check back each week to confirm any new troops who have filled out the form.
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Juliette Identification Numbers and Deposit Slips Shipping Information |
Juliette Girl Scouts have been added to Smart Cookies. You will be notified if any new Juliettes are added into the system during the season in your Service Unit. Juliettes use specially encoded deposit slips to deposit Cookie money into the River Valleys Wells Fargo bank account. Deposit slips encoded with the Juliette number will be mailed to Juliette Mentors of participating Juliettes before Cookie Go Day.
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