As Girl Scouts of Utah prepare to enter a new cookie season, they are also preparing for increases in membership fees. On Oct. 19, the Girl Scouts of the USA approved an increase of membership fees in a special National Council session that will be implemented over the next two years. Delegates from Utah, who were elected, were able to weigh in on the decision.

The current membership dues for participants are $25 a year, an amount that has been unchanged since 2018. The future increase in dues will be implemented over a two-year span, increasing to $45 in 2026, and $65 starting in 2027. There will also be an increase for adult volunteers from $25 to $30 a year.  The dues will remain at $25 for the year 2025.

Leaders, volunteers, and parents were notified via email on Oct. 21 of the decision by the National Council. Despite the increase, the email ended as follows: “We are committed to providing financial assistance to all who
need it.”

According to GSUSA, “We will explore other membership dues options such as family plans, differentiated pricing for volunteers/adults, differentiated pricing by Girl Scout age, and multi-year memberships as part of our three-year strategy.”

Expanding the programs

Beyond selling cookies, girls as early as kindergarten age and as old as 12th grade, participate in weekly or biweekly troop meetings and work towards badges in one of the four pillars of the Girl Scout program: STEM, outdoor, life skills and entrepreneurship. 

GSU Board Chair Joelle Creager said the National Council of GSUSA has strategic plans for the membership increase.

“Those national membership dues, they use those...they build the program, and then we are the implementers,” Creager said. “That will help us to be able to expand our programming into areas that we haven’t even
dreamed of.”

One of the expansions in programming is the Daisy box, launched in August of 2024. The once-a-month kit is complimentary, and goes out to all the Daisy troop leaders, providing all the resources needed to be able to earn badges within the four pillars of the Girl
Scout program. 

Adorned with daisy petals on their blue vests or tunics, the rank of Daisy is for ages kindergarten through first grade, after which, the Girl Scout advances to the widely recognized rank of Brownie. The Daisy rank was introduced into Girl Scouts in 1984.

“Growing and sustaining our ‘movement’ requires consistent and prudent investment—and our Girl Scouts expect and deserve to be invested in,” the Girl Scouts USA responded in an email. “To continue to maintain our core programming and make the necessary investments to provide an unparalleled experience for our current and future members and volunteers, we routinely need to reevaluate how we fund our mission.”

No matter the rank, the Girl Scout organization is a girl-led program. All decisions about what activities to participate in and what badges to work towards are decided upon collectively by the girls within a troop. 

According to the Girl Scout website, “When girls step up and take ownership of their decisions, they grow into confident leaders who can make informed and empowered decisions—a valuable skill they’ll carry throughout their lives.”

Once a Girl Scout herself, Creager found the program at 10 years old. She recalled a lot of life changes around that time, causing her to feel as though she did not fit in. With encouragement from a friend, she “leapt at the chance,” and joined as a ‘Junior’ in the
fifth grade.

“Girl Scouts really offers a wide variety of activities,” Creager said. “We’re not holding just one skill. We’re encouraging them to taste a little bit of everything.”

GSU Chief Executive Officer Lisa Hardin-Reynolds has been with the organization for 31 years in various roles. With a background in social work, Hardin-Reynolds highlighted the aspects of Girl Scouts that she believes are the most impactful such as, “helping girls to have a voice and to see girls realize what they are capable of.”

Interests and increases

Growing up in New Mexico, Briana Tate and her sister participated in Girl Scouts and continued participating after moving to Utah. Now a mother herself, Tate’s fourth grade daughter has been a Girl Scout since she was in kindergarten and started in the rank
of Daisy. 

“I love that it teaches them so much personally,” Tate said. “It gives them exposure to so many things that they otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to be exposed to.”

Tate and her daughter had been active in their South Jordan troop until this past fall, now participating only occasionally, as other extracurricular activities have taken
precedence. 

For the past two years, Tate relied on the Utah council’s early bird renewal to keep her daughter’s membership status active.  The Utah council paid for the $25 memberships outright for the troops who renewed their membership status before it expired, typically around the month of April.

Before that, Tate applied for financial assistance from GSU to pay membership dues. Financial assistance is available for troop dues, uniforms and other materials.

Tate was surprised by the decision to increase the dues, and felt there were other means to launch Daisy boxes. With the increase in dues, coupled with their sporadic participation, Tate is unsure how they will proceed with GSU in the coming years.

“If I have to go through some extra process to just get the financial assistance for a program that she’s not currently really using, it seems kinda pointless,” Tate said.

Alia Criddle didn’t get the opportunity to participate in Girl Scouts when she was young but has watched for the past seven years as her eldest child participated, as well as a younger child who is currently a Daisy.  

Criddle said that both her kids’ troops have been very girl-led and have let the girls explore their interests without being “pushy” about badges or even cookie sales. For her older child, that troop has realized the potential for more community engagement and impact.

Not only does Criddle have two kids participating in GSU, but she also had a child in Boy Scouts, where the membership fees are $85 annually. In evaluating the cost comparison, she admitted that she has spent a lot more money for Scouting than she has done for
Girl Scouts. 

“I love being able to say yes to my kids,” Criddle said. “For my family, [the price increase] is not going to be an impact or a resistance for them participating or for me
volunteering.”

In addition, Criddle emphasized the opportunity that she has had to apply for scholarships for the various day camps throughout the years. 

“Girl Scouts of Utah has been so inclusive over the years and so generous and clearly well managed,” Criddle said.

Criddle said she expects that the scholarship opportunities will be well communicated moving forward, as well as the possibility of future training opportunities that can match local businesses with nearby troops in the hopes of acquiring sponsorships.

GSUSA also commented the following in an email response: “We remain committed to ensuring that every girl who wants to participate in Girl Scouting has the option to do so.”

A brief history

The Girl Scouts program was started in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low in Savannah, Georgia. Her nickname was ‘Daisy.’  The GS website reported the following about what society was like back then.

“At a time when women in the United States couldn’t yet vote and were expected to stick to strict social norms, encouraging girls to embrace their unique strengths and create their own opportunities was game-changing.”

According to the 2023 GSU annual report, there were 6,457 girls with a total adult membership of 3,684. The largest group of girl scouts was the ‘Brownie’ rank, for those girls who are in second to third grade at 1,661.

The Girl Scout mission is that “Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place.”  The Girl Scouts make the world a better place as they live the Girl Scout law:

“I will do my best to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, courageous and strong, and responsible for what I say and do, and to respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout.”

Hardin-Reynolds believes that girls need Girl Scouting more than ever, and her dream is that every girl will come to see the value of Girl Scouts. The answer to the question, how do Girl Scouts make the world a better place? It’s in the connection.

“Girl Scouting saves girls lives,” Hardin-Reynolds said. “It’s a sisterhood, people need that connection.”

For more information about how to get involved either by participating, volunteering, or donating visit www.gsutah.org. λ