Service Unit Booth Champions are important members of the SU Cookie team. Volunteers like you are the champions, role models and cookie coaches who help girls discover their amazing potential and take steps towards achieving their goals.
What do Booth Champions do?
Complete your Booth Champion Agreement
Work in partnership with your SU Cookie Team.
Assist in educating Troop Cookie Champions (TCC) and Co-Leaders, as needed, about Cookie Booth processes and procedures.
Contact local community merchants to request cookie booth locations, dates and time periods.
Coordinate fair allocation of booths to troops using a lottery system, as needed.
Submit booth location spreadsheet to GSCB on or before deadline.
Incorporate Juliette Girl Scouts and outreach troops in booth lottery, if applicable to your Service Unit.
Coordinate with GSCB in working with other SUs to fill booth slots available in eBudde’s booth tab and across SU lines, when needed.
Thank businesses for their support in person (when/if possible), with letter or with PR cookies available from the SU.
Have ability and willingness to utilize Microsoft Excel to fill out booth spreadsheet.
Booth Champion Program Timeline
- Attend training session online via gsLearn
- Contact local, high-traffic businesses to secure booth/drive-thru sites. You can utilize our template introductory letter, if needed.
- Be sure to secure dates, times and locations of booths
- Send follow-up letter to store manager with dates, times and locations arranged with them so you both have details surrounding the agreement.
- Use the Booth Merchant Agreement Form to help gather all these details on the same page to send with your letter. Have each location sign and return so you can provide them with an electronic or printed version.
- Set up procedures for troops to sign up for booth locations – create and schedule your booth lottery as needed.
- Jan. 7th – Cookie Program Initial Order begins
- Prior to January 27th, hold your booth lottery/selection
- Jan. 27th – Booth spreadsheet due to GSCB. Please email directly to Colleen at cgilmore@cbgsc.org.
- Feb. 3rd – Booth selection opens in eBudde
- Feb. 10th – Direct Sale begins, Cookie Cupboards open
- Ask for SU Booth Sleuths to volunteer to visit cookie booths (or attend a few yourself) throughout the booth period.
- March 12th – Direct Sale ends
- If troops fill out evaluations for booths, collect evaluations for SU booths.
- Send or deliver thank you notes/baskets/cookies/etc. to businesses that allowed cookie booths at their location(s).
Booth Champion Need-To-Knows
Tips for Establishing Locations and Avoiding Council/GSUSA Sponsored Locations
- Develop a list of all available booth locations for the Service Unit from previous years (GSCB will provide last year’s spreadsheet upon request.)
- Be creative, remember that booth locations should:
- Be by busy pedestrian traffic areas
- Have little or no competition between locations/other troops
- Be in places where customers may be more receptive to purchasing cookies (grocery stores, home improvement stores, craft stores, convenience stores, etc.)
- Be scheduled during peak traffic times and after school hours (Friday afternoons, evenings, and weekends)
- When considering a location, ask yourself “Does this booth help Girl Scouts stay true to the brand values like leadership and inclusion?” or “Will this location send the wrong message to the public?”
- Utilize Booth Coordinating Template Letters
Timeline
Booth lotteries for troop selection should be held during the beginning of the month of January (or earlier, if necessary).
Best Practices
Many Service Unit’s hold a lottery based on a few different factors, but you can utilize whatever fair way you choose for booth selection. Some give more chances to troops who have completed certain steps such as renewals from last year, attendance at Service Unit meetings, etc. Troops that meet those standards get more entries than those who have not.
A booth template spreadsheet is provided and should be used to turn in any and all secured SU Cookie Booths. Spreadsheets should include the troop numbers and the time slot(s) selected.
Deadline
Booth spreadsheets are due to council on January 27th, 2023 by end of business (5pm EST).
Format
- Booth spreadsheet formatting should not be changed. A few sample lines are provided by GSCB to help guide you.
- A simple naming convention should be used. Please do not add details about the location name in the “Name” column. (For example, in the name column should appear “Walmart”, no spaces or dashes. The same goes for other locations such as “Redners” and “Wawa”. Simple is better!)
- A separate training may need to be completed to better understand the correct way to format the SU Booth Spreadsheet.
- Last year’s spreadsheet will be provided upon request.
Booth Sleuths are a position filled by an adult volunteer who is willing to visit Cookie Booths throughout the Service Unit and talk to girls about cookies, their booth, a knowledge “quiz”, and/or plans for their cookie proceeds.
- Service Unit’s are provided a limited quantity of patches for Booth Sleuths to hand out to girls at booths. For 2023, the “Super” patch will be utilized. Patches are limited for 2023 and will be given to the SU Cookie Champion.
- Booth Sleuths should be familiar with Cookie Booths so they can engage the girls in conversation.
- As a Booth Sleuth, once you’re ready to leave, you can hand patches to the adult volunteer(s) or to the girls for a job well done.
- Booth Sleuths may visit one or more booths any given booth day, so they’ll need to work with their Booth Coordinator to find out where to go or use the booth finder.
GSCB carries liability insurance in the event that a girl or volunteer is injured while at the booth location or in the unlikely event that damages occur to the booth location property.
- Complete the Certificate of Insurance Request Form or email MemberCare@cbgsc.org for any requests for Certificates of Insurance.
- Include the business’s full name, contact person at the location, the location’s physical address (where the booth will be held) and a contact phone number for the location.
- All requests should be made at least one week prior to the Cookie Booth.
- Certificates of Insurance are not required to host a Cookie Booth, but to cover all those involved, it is always helpful to provide one to the business.
- Once GSCB receives the request, it will be emailed back to the Booth Coordinator, unless otherwise directed.
Communication
Troops should contact the SU Booth Coordinator if any conflicts arise. If the Booth Coordinator needs assistance with a conflict, they should reach out to the GSCB Product Program team for help.
Procedure
- Remind all parties to remain calm, especially in front of girls.
- Determine if the troops involved belong to your Service Unit, or a neighboring Service Unit.
- Attempt to find out how the conflict occurred (get both sides of the story, if possible).
- Offer suggestions to the troop on how to resolve the disagreement, such as setting up a booth at two different entrances (make sure you have permission from the business first) or splitting the booth time evenly.
- DO NOT involved the store manager. This is not their fault and they should not be contacted. The goal is to quickly and peacefully resolve disagreements.
Introductory Letter – Utilize this template to make initial contact with previous Cookie Booth locations you would like to set up a booth at.
Confirmation Letter – Once you have confirmed a booth with a location, send this follow up letter with the location, date and time, so you both have it documented.
Booth Champion Thank You Note Sample – Booth Champions can use this sample of a thank you note to send to booth locations at the close of the program.
Troop Leader Thank You Note Sample – A Troop Leader can use this same of a thank you note to send to the booth location(s) their troop visited.
Editing Booth Spreadsheet Video
Three Key Reports
As a SU user, you will be able to pull a booth report by going to the Reports tab. There are three main reports that will support you in your role as Booth Champion.
Troop Signup Detail
This report shows the troops that have signed up for booth sites in your SU.
From the Reports tab:
- Click to open Troop Signup Detail Report.
- Next to “Restrict to Troops in SU number” type in your three-digit service unit number, click the “Generate New Report” button at the bottom of the screen. Once the report is ready, you will receive an email from eBudde – you will need to refresh the Reports tab to open the report.
- Select View Current XLS Report or View Current PDF Report.
Note that the Service Unit is the only field you should be filling in. All other fields must be blank for this report.
Troop Signup Recap
This report lists all the troops in the service unit and their total number of signups in a summarized view.
From the Reports tab:
- Click to open the Troop Signup Recap report.
- Click the “exportable” button to include all the details on each row of the report. If you don’t click this box, only the first row of the business information will populate.
- Click the “XLSX” or “PDF” button for the type of download you wish to pull.
Available Booth Slots
Prints a listing of council booth sites still available for sign up.
From the Reports tab:
- On the Available Booth Slots report row, select the option (if you choose) for “Future Only” and/or “Exportable” then click the Regenerate button to run the report with the most up to date information. If you click the exportable button, the report will generate the booth location information on each row, otherwise it will only show up on the first row of the business.
- Wait for the system to send you an email that the report is ready to pull.
- Then go back to the “Reports” tab and scroll to that section. Click the XLSX report or PDF report button for whichever version you want and the report will open.
There are multiple ways for girls to participate in a Cookie Booth. Remember that booths are a troop effort and are NEVER conducted by individual family members or girls, with the exception of Juliettes and Cookie Stand Booths. See below:
Traditional Booth
- Set up at high-traffic community businesses or other locations in the Service Unit boundaries
Council/GSUSA Sponsored
- Booths that GSCB or GSUSA assist SU’s in securing the actual dates and times/locations or gather details about booths and offer to the SU to add to their booth selections/lotteries including but not limited to:
- Malls
- Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club
- Wawa
- Joann Fabrics
Cookie Stand Booth
- Girls may work with their caregiver to host a Cookie Stand! A Cookie Stand is similar to a lemonade stand. Girls from one household, with their caregiver, may participate in their own Cookie Stand.
- The caregiver is responsible for the cookies they sign out from their troop, and since they are supervising their own Girl Scout, membership and background checks are not required. This will allow girls to have the booth experience without additional requirements for caregivers.
- Cookie Stands are not permitted to be submitted in eBudde as a booth to be found on Booth Finder.
- For a Cookie Stand, you must have a minimum of one adult/caregiver and maximum 2 girls from the same household.
- Cookie Booth vs. Cookie Stand – Cookie Stands allow for one adult and Girl Scouts from the same household to manage cookie sales on their own property. This does not change the guidelines for traditional booths to have 2 unrelated adults (due to the troop’s financial responsibility and girl-adult ratio requirements).
- Financial Responsibility – The caregiver must connect with the Troop Cookie Champion (TCC) to obtain cookie inventory (and sign receipts) for their Cookie Stand. Any cookies obtained by a caregiver for a Cookie Stand follow our caregiver debt responsibility guidelines.
- Multiple Troops – Household with girls from more than one troop must work with each troop’s TCC for inventory calculations and funds due if girls are working on a Cookie Stand together. Cookie sales through the Digital Cookie app are not transferable between girls in different troops, so be cognizant of how cookie sales occur at stands.
- All general cookie booth guidelines as pertaining to etiquette, setup, teardown and COVID restriction policies must be followed at Cookie Stands.
Milk and Cookies Break
- Milk and Cookies breaks are sales purchased by an employer, in bulk, for their employees. Cookie booths may also be set up at places of employment, with permission, to promote additional cookie sales.
- Troops should inform the Service Unit Booth Coordinator of these cookie booths at all times. If booths are outside of the SU jurisdiction, GSCB Product Program team may need to be informed so they can notify the Booth Coordinator for that location.
- Milk and Cookies breaks follow normal GSCB booth guidelines.
Walkabouts
- Walkabouts are portable Cookie Booths. Girls fill up wagons, trucks, sleds, mini-vans, etc. with the assistance of a buddy and adult(s) to canvas their neighborhood, apartment complexes, senior citizen facilities or local college dorms. Approval from the business/location is required prior to the walkabout and the Booth Coordinator must be informed.
- Girls can use blowhorns, posters, flags and other portable decorations like cookie costumes.
Drive-Thrus
- Drive-Thru booths are a new way to manage contactless Cookie Booth purchases. Locations that are willing to rent out an actual drive-thru for cars for free is acceptable, but you can also create a drive-thru in locations with the help of the business. While at a drive-thru, continue to use appropriate PPE gear including masks, gloves (when handling money), hand sanitizers, etc.
- Locations with large parking lots and/or unused parking could be ideal spots for a Drive-Thru.
- Consider using a pop-up tent and/or posters to draw attention to the booth. Create a line using cones, ribbons, and “Slow”/”Enter Only” signs. It’s important to encourage cars to drive slowly through the drive-thru line.
- Normal GSCB Cookie Booth guidelines still apply to drive-thru booths. Girls should maintain 6-feet of distance between themselves and vehicles while taking orders.
Virtual Booths
- Virtual Cookie Booths are another booth alternative that can be done entirely online. A troop leader can set up a Facebook Live session, a recorded sales pitch, a password-protected Zoom session, or a YouTube video where girls present their cookie booth to customers.
- REMEMBER: All online activity should be done via a private account for the family and/or by the troop leader for girl safety. For online security tips, see GSUSA guidelines.
- Girl’s full names should NEVER be used and under no circumstances should the girl’s booth “location” be shared.
- The troop should use their Troop Virtual Booth Digital Cookie link to take orders, not a specific girl’s Digital Cookie link.
