Welcome to the twelfth edition of The Cookie Press for the 2024 Cookie Season! |
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Read on for more information about Lemonades Stand Weekend Coming March 9-10, "Smells Like Cookie Spirit" and Cookie Pro of the Week Award Winners, Managing Cookie Inventory, the Troop Shipped Cookie Link, Council Cupboard Schedule and Planned Orders, Troop Cookie Booth Requests, the Forward to Families, our Upcoming Cookie Chat, Personalized Cookie Patches, and more!
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- Save the Date Lemonades Stand Weekend March 9-10
- “Smells Like Cookie Spirit” Award Winners
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Cookie Pro of the Week Winners
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- Managing Troop Cookie Inventory
- Troop Shipped Only Cookie Link
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- Council Cupboard Schedule & Planned Orders
- Troop Cookie Booth Requests
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Cookie Chat on March 5
- Cookie Combo Personalized Patches
- Forward to Families
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For Service Unit Cookie Managers:
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- Assisting Troops with Cookie Finances
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Save the Date: Lemonades Stand Weekend March 9-10 |
It’s time to squeeze the day! This has been the mildest cookie season on record with River Valleys and warm weather calls for Lemonades™! Join in our River Valleys Lemonades Stand Weekend coming March 9-10. What is a Lemonades Stand? It’s a booth set up at the home of a Girl Scout or close family member. Troops or individual Girl Scouts can hold a Lemonades Stand at a park in their neighborhood or their own front yard. Enter your Lemonade Stand as a troop-secured booth in Smart Cookies by noon on March 8. Promote your Lemonades Stand by posting fliers or on social media in a neighborhood group. All Girl Scouts who participate in the Lemonade Stand Weekend event will receive our exclusive Lemonades Stand Weekend vinyl sticker and will be entered into a drawing to be randomly selected to win one of six grand prizes: An inflatable stand-up paddleboard perfect for that summer weather that is soon to come!
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Other important notes for your Lemonades Stands:
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- Girl Scouts must always have adult supervision.
- Cookies and money should never be left unattended.
- Lemonades Stand must be entered in Smart Cookies and held March 9-10 to receive the Lemonades Stand vinyl sticker. You can start entering your Lemonades Stand as early as today!
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Lemonades Stands can appear in the GSUSA Cookie Finder for the public to see if you title your location “Lemonades Stand” and then enter the address of where you will be.
- If you do not wish to have your Lemonades Stand appear in the cookie finder, title your location as “Lemonades Stand Residence.”
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When you add the location details, you must also enter the # of Girl Scouts participating in the Booth Notes. That’s how we will know how many vinyl stickers to send.
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Vinyl stickers will be mailed directly to the troop. Got questions? Don't hesitate to reach out to Girl Scouts River Valleys. Stay tuned for more exciting cookie opportunities all through the month of March! We are pulling out all the stops to make sure your troop and Girl Scouts can still reach their cookie sales goals this season.
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“Smells Like Cookie Spirit” Award Winners |
Our cookie volunteers have spirit, yes they do! It’s time to congratulate our “Smells Like Cookie Spirit” Award winners for week #1!
Jodi Dempsey: Jodi has done an outstanding job with taking questions on Digital Cookie. She and her teammates have sent emails outlining how to handle all the things in D.C. Easy to read and a great recap for all of us. She also has been checking the FB sites and answering any questions. She is also a troop leader and doing her own cookie booths and personal selling with her daughter. She is a joy to work with and I appreciate her patience, dedication, and knowledge about all things Cookies. She is so deserving of this award.
Kim Davis: Kim has provided above and beyond effort identifying and coordinating setup of new troop secured booth locations for this year. Plus...so much cookie spirit during opening weekend booths! Wearing our cookie costume, encouraging the girls, being extra friendly and cheerful to customers. Even one customer who was questioning the price increase, Kim had a well-informed response that made the customer very happy. She also made lots of signs for our drive through booths!
Congratulation Jodi and Kim, both will receive a prize pack of Girl Scout cookie scented body care products from Native and a big hi-five from the Product Program Team! Nominate a cookie volunteer for consideration today. All submissions will carry over each week.
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Cookie Pro of the Week Winners
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Our new Cookie Pro Patch Program shines the spotlight on Girl Scouts who are taking the lead, crushing their goals, learning new skills, working hard, and want to share their stories to benefit their sister cookie sellers. Two winners, one from the Daisy/Brownie/Junior level and another from the Cadette/Senior/Ambassador level, will be chosen weekly and announced on Cookie Central and The Cookie Press.
This week's Cookie Pro winners are:
D/B/J Winner: Junior troop 27495: Jane W., Emma G., Reagan M., Havana C., and Hattie C.
Our juniors rocked their morning booth at the Lakeville Fleet Farm! They came with lots of energy and were eager to increase our donations to the children’s hospital and food shelf this year. The girls split up and a couple went to the entrance to promote sales. They made up a catchy cookie cheer and were able to collect a few sales right at the entrance! At the table the girls were sharing their favorite cookies with customers. One of our girls would describe Adventurefuls in detail - starting with the brownie cookie, chewy caramel, chocolate drizzle and a sprinkle of sea salt! We sold a whole case! They also made sure to let customers know we were taking donations and collected money to donate 20 boxes! It was a team effort to get closer to their season goals and most of the troop rotated through our 4 hour shift. I’m super proud of these girls. They’ve grown a lot over the last couple of seasons and are becoming very good at approaching and talking to customers.
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C/S/A Winner: Juliette Cadette Rowan F.
Rowan is a hardworking 11-year-old Juliette Girl Scout who carefully planned her goals before the start of the 2024 cookie season and brainstormed strategies to sell as many boxes as possible through online-only sales. After researching online, she determined that her biggest goal this year is to sell cookies to customers in all 50 states in order to earn her "50 States Cookie Challenge" badge - a fun and engaging challenge that would help keep her motivated as she works towards her high sales goal.
Rowan created image advertisements as well as basic video "commercials" to share with her community. She learned how quickly she was able to reach people through the power of social networks. Most of her sales have been the result of her contacts sharing with their friends and family, and those friends and family then further sharing with their own network. Through these networks, she has already been able to reach customers in 44 of the 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., our nation's capital. Less than 3 weeks in, she has almost completed the challenge to earn this badge, and in the process, she has already sold over 1200 boxes to more than 200 customers!
Rowan wants other scouts to know that they can achieve their goals if they stay motivated. She shares her biggest tip: find a special challenge to achieve, like the 50 States challenge, because, "You will have fun! It makes each sale doubly rewarding, and customers feel good helping scouts reach our goals!"
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Girl Scouts in the winning troops will receive the 2024 Cookie Pro patch and all weekly winners will be eligible to win "Cookie Pro of the Year" which is a grand prize of a $200 credit towards admission of either an Escape Room or Trampoline Park. Submit your troop’s story today.
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Managing Troop Cookie Inventory |
How do I use Smart Cookies to see what transfers I have completed? How many cookies does each Girl Scout have? How many cookies does Smart Cookies think I have left? There are many useful reports in Smart Cookies that will help in keeping tabs on troop inventory and much, much more! All reports are accessed by clicking Reports > Current.
Troop On-Hand Inventory Report: This report tells you the total amount of cookies that are in your troop’s inventory that has not been allocated to girls. Tip: It is best to change the ‘Unit of Measure’ from Cases to Cases/Packages or Packages to get accurate numbers.
Girl Cookie Totals Summary Report: This tells you how many cookies Girl Scouts have been allocated so far in the sale. The ‘Total Pkgs’ column includes allocated cookies and the Cookie Care Program donations. The ‘CShare’ column shows the number of Cookie Care Program package/virtual donations the girl has received. The ‘Balance Pkgs’ are cookies that have been allocated to the girl.
Troop Balance Summary Report:
Shows the current information on:
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- How much inventory has been given to the troop through the initial order and any transfers
- The troop per-girl-average (PGA)
- Troop proceeds plan
- The total number of Cookie Share (virtual donation orders)
- Total number of direct-ship cookies
- The troop proceeds and total troop sales
- Shipped cookie order and girl cookie delivery deposits credited to the troop
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Girl Balance Summary Report: This report tells you how many cookies each Girl Scout has sold at cookie booths and sold individually. You can also see how much money each Girl Scout still owes the troop. Since Girl Scouts are not financially responsible for cookies sold at booths, this report will only show you how much money each Girl Scout owes to the troop from their individual sales.
Pro tip: You can add these reports to your ‘My 10 Favorite Reports’ by highlighting the report name, then clicking the ‘Add to Favorites’ box.
Girl Cookie Order Detail Report: The ABC Smart Cookies Team has developed a new report that will give you more visibility into the Digital Cookie orders for Girl Scouts in your troop in Smart Cookies. This report is the “Girl Cookie Order Details” which lists all girl delivery and shipped cookie orders that have been imported into Smart Cookies. You will notice an “N” in the initial order column and that is okay—our council does not use the initial order function in Digital Cookie.
Manage Orders Screen: A great way to see all cookies that have been received by your troop (from your initial order, cupboard pick-ups, or other troops) and all cookies that you have given out (to Girl Scouts or other troops) is on the Manage Orders screen. In Smart Cookies from the troop leader view, click Orders, then Manage Orders. Then click “Apply Search Parameters,” and all transfers will appear.
Use this screen to verify what was transferred into your troop’s inventory after a cupboard visit, or to see what you have transferred to each troop member. It’s a good idea to regularly compare it to your paper receipts, or any other inventory tracking system you are using. You can even export the report to an Excel spreadsheet. If you see any discrepancies, check your receipts against your troop transfers to look for a data entry error. Check out the Reviewing Troop Orders section of our Smart Cookies Guide or check out this helpful video to help in the process. Connect with your service unit cookie manager (SUCM) to help troubleshoot any inventory issues or reach out to us for help. Catching inventory issues early can help prevent headaches later!
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Troop Shipped Only Cookie Link
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When you approve and publish your troop Digital Cookie site, your troop’s ship only cookie link can be created by the site lead. You’ll find a troop virtual booth and ship only link both on the dashboard of the troop account in Digital Cookie. This link can be used to invite customers to place direct-ship orders by social media, email, or text. The QR code can be placed on a poster at a business that wants to support your troop but may not be able to host a cookie booth. If you click on the View QR Code text you can save the image.
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You can view any sales from this link that are credited to your troop in Smart Cookies by viewing them at Orders>Troop Direct Ship Orders. If your troop receives sales through the Girl Scout Cookie Finder, they will also appear in this location. To distribute the orders to the girls, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on the Distribute orders to girls button. From there, you can credit Girl Scouts with the packages from these orders. This will increase their packages sold but will not increase the money owed since the troop has been credited with the sale.
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Council Cupboard Schedule & Planned Orders |
Council On-Demand Cupboards are ready to serve your cookie needs this weekend. Stop by one of our 7 locations tomorrow from 12pm-6pm plus Saturday and Sunday from 8:30am-12:30pm. Cupboards are stocked and ready for a busy weekend of cookie booths, door to door sales, Lemonades Stands and more!
Planned orders for Regional/Regional Express Cupboards and the Council Express Cupboard in Burnsville and Maplewood are due Monday by 8am. When making planned orders, please remember to order what you intend to sell as these cookies cannot be returned to the baker. This is the final planned order for the Council Express Cupboard and Regional Express Cupboards, which close on March 8.
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Troop Cookie Booth Requests |
We have had increasing numbers of troop secured booth requests coming in over the weekend. Please remind your troops that while we do our best to monitor all requests that come in daily, we are not checking actively on Saturdays or Sundays. If you are requesting a booth that same day or during non-business hours, please be aware we may not see the request in time for your booth to start. During the week, please call us to alert of a same day addition. Any requests that come in over the weekend may not be approved until Monday.
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Cookie Chat on March 5: Cookie Finances |
Join the River Valleys Product Program Team for our next Cookie Chat on March 5 starting at 7:00pm. Our Troop Finance Specialist, Becky Rettler, will chat about cookie finances. Register today If you have any specific questions or topics you would like covered, please send an email to Becky Rettler.
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Cookie Combo Personalized Patches |
Girl Scouts that participated in the 2023 Snacks & Magazine Program and sent 17 emails to friends and family through M2OS during the season are eligible to earn the Cookie Combo Personalized patch. All Girl Scouts that completed this first step of sending 17 emails have received an email from M2 Media as a reminder that they must also sell 380 packages of cookies in order to earn the patch. If a Girl Scout wishes to update her avatar, she can make changes in M2OS until April 1. Patches will be sent directly to the Girl Scout and typically arrive in the summer.
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Here’s the latest information to copy & paste then forward to the families in your troop:
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Have you heard about the LemonAid Program? It’s a chance for Girl Scouts to give back instead of choosing an item at a cookie reward level. With the LemonAid Program, Girl Scouts can choose to make a donation that will benefit Friends of the Mississippi River. Participating Girl Scouts will earn a special patch when they choose the donation option at the 130-package sales level. See the girl rewards information on Cookie Central for all the details on the rewards Girl Scouts may earn through their cookie sales.
- Digital Cookie features the option to turn on/off in-person cookie delivery plus you can turn off cookie varieties too. These actions are completed in your My Cookies tab. Check out the instructions in your Digital Cookie Help Center.
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Girl Scouts River Valleys is holding a special Lemonades Stand weekend coming March 9-10. What is a Lemonades Stand? It’s a booth set up at the home of a Girl Scout or close family member. You can hold a Lemonades Stand at a park in your neighborhood or your own front yard. Promote your Lemonades Stand by posting fliers or on social media in a neighborhood group. All Girl Scouts who participate in the Lemonade Stand Weekend event will receive an exclusive Lemonades Stand Weekend vinyl sticker and will be entered into a drawing to be randomly selected to win one of six grand prizes: An inflatable stand-up paddleboard perfect for that summer weather that is soon to come! Connect with me for more details.
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Assisting Troops with Cookie Finances
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Cookie money can be confusing. Troops may reach out to you with questions on cookie finances. Help them to understand their Troop Balance Summary by reviewing the key information:
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- Packages Sold Per Girl Selling: This is the troop’s PGA
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Proceed plan: Will show either Main Plan, Early Bird Main Plan (for Early Bird Campaign Troops), Opt-Out Plan (for Senior/Ambassador Troops that selected to opt-out), or Early Bird Opt-Out Plan (for Senior/Ambassador Troops that selected opt-out and were Early Bird Campaign Troops)
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Received: This will show all cookies transferred in and out of the troop: Initial order cookies, Cookie Share, Digital Cookie shipped cookie orders, Cookie Cupboard transactions, and troop to troop transfers
- Sales Amounts: Displays the current Troop Proceeds and Council Proceeds for the packages allocated to the troop
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Finances: Displays all ACH, Digital Cookie shipped cookie deposits, and Girl Delivery Credit Card Deposits credited to the troop
- Balance: Displays the current balance due to River Valleys or over-payment owed to troop
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Remind troops that they should make weekly deposits of their cookie money into the troop bank account. The first ACH withdrawal will be made from the troop bank account on March 15. The first ACH is calculated by multiplying $1 by the total packages received by the troop as of March 8 minus any credit card payments made through Smart Cookies. To ensure that the troop is ready for this ACH, they should deposit their money into the troop bank account by March 12. Direct troops to the ACH FAQ’s found on Cookie Central to help answer their questions.
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