For Troop Leaders and Troop Cookie Managers

For Community-Area Product Leaders

The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the largest Girl-led entrepreneurship program in the world and would not be possible without you—volunteers who encourage, support, and champion Girl Scouts to reach their goals and power their experiences.

Did you know cookie proceeds not only directly support your Girl Scouts and troops but also keep our vibrant camps, leadership programs, and financial support going strong so all Girls can experience Girl Scouting? Yes, all proceeds stay here, within our local council!

This year, in response to your feedback, technology has been updated to be faster and more intuitive to ensure your Girl Scouts can reach their customers and track their goals. We know customers love this time of year when they can purchase their cookie favorites from Girl Scouts at booths, door-to-door, B2B, and through online channels.

On behalf of all Girl Scouts and staff, thank you! I’m honored to serve as your biggest supporter and I look forward to connecting with you throughout the season! 

Now that the Initial Cookie Order deadline has passed, you may wonder where to go if you need more cookies? River Valleys features a network of Cookie Cupboards throughout our council area where Troops can pick up additional cookie inventory for Cookie Booths and additional sales opportunities from Girl Scouts. Cookie Central will soon be updated with location information and operating hours for our Council On-Demand Cookie Cupboards. We will staff seven total Council On-Demand Cookie Cupboards: Five cupboards in the Twin Cities Metro Area, plus Mankato and Rochester. All Council On-Demand Cookie Cupboards will be open at 12:00 pm on Cookie Go Day, February 21.

Council On-Demand Cookie Cupboards are open to all River Valleys Troops. Find Cookie Cupboard inventory on Cookie Central. Inventory levels are published weekdays at 12:00 pm, 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm and weekends at 8:30 am, 10:30 am and 12:00 pm. Here’s a quick refresher on what to expect when you visit these cupboards:

Regional Cookie Cupboards

Troops in Communities without proximity to a Council Cookie Cupboard are assigned to Regional or Regional Express* Cookie Cupboards. These cupboards are typically located at a volunteer’s home. Troops that utilize these cupboards must place a planned order in Smart Cookies by 7:00 am each Monday to receive cookies later that same week. If your troop is assigned to this type of cupboard, the cupboard location/hours/contact information will be posted on your Smart Cookies dashboard prior to Cookie Go Day. Connect with your Community Product Leader to learn more. Planned orders will open in Smart Cookies on February 20. Review the instructions on how to place a Planned Order in Smart Cookies.

*Regional Express Cookie Cupboards close after week three of the sale.

Digital Cookie registration emails will be sent to all registered Girl Scouts on February 1. Emails are sent to the primary caregiver from email.email@girlscouts.org. Once registration is complete, they can set up their Digital Cookie site before pre-sales and online sales begin on February 12. Our staff will continue to upload newly registered Girl Scouts into Digital Cookie throughout the season. Encourage members who aren’t registered to complete this important step so they can engage in online cookie sales.

Caregivers should check their spam/promo/junk mail folder for the email. If not found, caregivers can connect with River Valleys to re-send the email. You can also request a registration email or password reset right on Digital Cookie. Direct families to the Digital Cookie Help Center on Cookie Central, featuring instructions and videos for working with the system.

Each Girl Scout’s Primary Caregiver will receive an email tomorrow, January 31. Here’s a preview of that email:

Hello Girl Scout Families!

Your Girl Scout is about to embark on an adventure full of goal setting, skill building, and fun during the annual Cookie Program. With your care and support, they’ll embrace all the possibilities this season has to offer. Girl Scouts have options to sell cookies in-person, online, or a combination of both!  Ready to get started? Please complete the Family Cookie Responsibility Form for your troop’s records.

What Comes Next?

Tomorrow (February 1), you’ll receive an email (from email@email.girlscouts.org) to register your Digital Cookie account. Digital Cookie is an online site and mobile app where you and your Girl Scout will manage their cookie business.  

Take online cookie orders starting February 12.  Your Girl Scout can take cookie orders and share their Digital Cookie site links starting 2/12, so they are ready to deliver cookies to customers on Cookie Go Day!   
 
Set up your Digital Cookie account on your chosen web browser (Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.) Next, follow the 4 steps to activate and publish the Digital Cookie account so your Girl Scout can: 

Cookie & Booth Go Day is February 21. During this time, Girl Scouts can deliver orders, plus participate in cookie booth and in-person sales. The last day of sales is March 30.

Cookie Fast Facts:

Craving More Cookie Info?

Reach out to your Troop Leader or check out Cookie Central where you’ll find resources like the Family Cookie Guide, info on cookie rewards, links to printable resources, our cookie policies, and more. While you’re there, review our safe selling resources and our Digital Sales and Social Media policy.

Let’s make this season the best yet! Together, we’re building the future cookie by cookie.

Yours in Girl Scouting,

The Product Program Team
Girl Scouts River Valleys

Wendy’s Cookie Booth National Partnership

Starting tomorrow, January 31, you can secure Wendy’s booths in Smart Cookies in the First-Come, First-Served (FCFS) booth round. To ensure all have the opportunity, these booths are classified as Premium Booths. Each troop can secure up to three time slots total during this booth round. If your troop already has 1 premium booth, you will only be eligible for two Wendy’s time slots during this round. On February 1, we’ll update the total number of premium booths to 6. On February 3 at 12:00 pm, the total number will increase to unlimited time slots.

Here’s a quick glance at our final First-Come, First-Served Cookie Booth rounds:

After February 1, any new booths will continue to be uploaded on a daily basis at 4:00 pm. If you have questions regarding new council-secured booths, please connect with us at girlscouts@girlscoutsrv.org.

Don’t forget to keep your troop-secured booth requests coming! Our team is actively reviewing and approving booths now through the end of the cookie season. The earlier we can approve your request, the more time Smart Cookies will have to send your booth information over to Digital Cookie. This ensures your troop can be prepared to use the Digital Cookie Mobile App to accept Credit Card, Venmo, or PayPal payments from your cookie customers at your booth.

Join us for Cookie Open House events this Saturday, February 1, at the River Valleys Shop locations in St. Paul from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm and Rochester from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. Test out Digital Cookie, grab some awesome cookie merchandise, enjoy a cookie (or three), register for prizes, and connect with the Product Program Team. We’ll see you there!

Last call for the free, council-wide Virtual Cookie Rally on Tuesday, February 4 at 6:30 pm! Share this opportunity with your Girl Scouts. Complete the information in this form by Monday, February 3 to receive a pre-event email and activity sheet. Tune in to Facebook Live or YouTube that night at 6:30 pm (CST) to join in on the fun and hear from our special guests. Plus, all Girl Scouts engaging in the chat during the rally are eligible to win prizes, including our grand prize of a gigantic Noodles the panda plush!

Troops may be turning to you for guidance to set up their Digital Cookie accounts. Review the resources for families and volunteers so you can guide troops in the right direction. Resources include the Online Cookie Systems Guide for Volunteers and the Digital Cookie Help Center for Girl Scouts and Families. Along with our online resources, you can direct them to the Help resources in Digital Cookie or reach out to our staff for assistance at girlscouts@girlscoutsrv.org.

An important part of the Community Product Leader role is to help connect troops for cookie transfers. Now is a great time to prepare troops on how to report their cookie needs or if they have cookies available for transfers. If you haven’t already, set up a private Facebook group, utilize a Rally in Rallyhood, or create a shared Google Doc to connect troops in the Community. Share the resource with your troops so they are ready to access the resource when needed.

For Juliette Girl Scouts that placed an initial order in Smart Cookies, they will receive information on Juliette cookie money along with the encoded deposit slips in early February. The encoded deposit slips are to be used to deposit cookie money/checks into the Girl Scouts River Valleys Wells Fargo bank account. If a Juliette needs additional deposit slips, or decides to participate later during the sale, please direct them to email girlscouts@girlscoutsrv.org.

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