Frequently Asked Questions
Was the Girl Scout council losing money by keeping all 7 camps open ?
Troop camping is the most popular program supported by GSNEO. GSNEO is funded primarily through the the girls selling cookies. Girls sell cookies to support the council because the council maintains the camps.
If the money spent on camps is a "loss", then the money spent on staff salary and benefits would have to be considered "losses". Mortgage and utility payments are also "losses". So are consulting fees, advertising, copy machine maintenance, etc.
Camps cost money to run. The members pay a fee to rent campsites. But the rentals are not supposed to cover the full cost. The rental prices are kept low so that troops can afford them. If the council management expects the camps to be financially self-sufficient (i.e., no council subsidy), then by the same token, the members should expect the council to be financially self-sufficient ( i.e., no cut from the cookie sales profits).
Providing a service that costs money is not the same as "losing money". It is simply doing the job that the members have already paid the organization to provide.
THE NUMBERS:
The last year that all seven camps were fully open was October 1, 2008 through Sept 30, 2009 .
Financial information for that year is in the audited financial statement on the gsneo website
http://www.gsneo.org/media/114364/2009%20audited%20financial%20statement.pdf
According to page 3 of the statement, the total revenue for the council that year was over 8 million dollars ( $8,069,183 ).
The biggest sources of money came from:
The girls were the ones selling cookies and fall product. Their parents and leaders are the ones buying retail products at the shop. Therefore, it seems fair to say that about 90% of the council annual budget came directly from the members.
According to page 19 of the Vision 2012 report, the actual combined operating costs for all seven camps in the year 2008/2009 was $869,580.
That's almost 11% of the budget.
According to page 4 of the the audited financial statement for that year, the total cost for staff salary and benefits that year was $3,941,411.
That's almost 50% of the budget.
Given these figures, it does not appear that the camps were the problem, especially since about 50% of the girl membership that year directly benefited from the camps.
What is especially interesting is that the 2009 was a bad year for cookies.
In 2008, 2010, and 2011, cookie sales (after expenses) came to over $8 million, bumping up the total council revenues for those years to over $11 million.
Troop camping is the most popular program supported by GSNEO. GSNEO is funded primarily through the the girls selling cookies. Girls sell cookies to support the council because the council maintains the camps.
If the money spent on camps is a "loss", then the money spent on staff salary and benefits would have to be considered "losses". Mortgage and utility payments are also "losses". So are consulting fees, advertising, copy machine maintenance, etc.
Camps cost money to run. The members pay a fee to rent campsites. But the rentals are not supposed to cover the full cost. The rental prices are kept low so that troops can afford them. If the council management expects the camps to be financially self-sufficient (i.e., no council subsidy), then by the same token, the members should expect the council to be financially self-sufficient ( i.e., no cut from the cookie sales profits).
Providing a service that costs money is not the same as "losing money". It is simply doing the job that the members have already paid the organization to provide.
THE NUMBERS:
The last year that all seven camps were fully open was October 1, 2008 through Sept 30, 2009 .
Financial information for that year is in the audited financial statement on the gsneo website
http://www.gsneo.org/media/114364/2009%20audited%20financial%20statement.pdf
According to page 3 of the statement, the total revenue for the council that year was over 8 million dollars ( $8,069,183 ).
The biggest sources of money came from:
- donations: $808,111 total from individuals, foundations and United Way
- retail sales ( ie the council shop): $233,319 after expenses
- product sales (GS cookies and QSP) $7,218,598 after expenses
The girls were the ones selling cookies and fall product. Their parents and leaders are the ones buying retail products at the shop. Therefore, it seems fair to say that about 90% of the council annual budget came directly from the members.
According to page 19 of the Vision 2012 report, the actual combined operating costs for all seven camps in the year 2008/2009 was $869,580.
That's almost 11% of the budget.
According to page 4 of the the audited financial statement for that year, the total cost for staff salary and benefits that year was $3,941,411.
That's almost 50% of the budget.
Given these figures, it does not appear that the camps were the problem, especially since about 50% of the girl membership that year directly benefited from the camps.
What is especially interesting is that the 2009 was a bad year for cookies.
In 2008, 2010, and 2011, cookie sales (after expenses) came to over $8 million, bumping up the total council revenues for those years to over $11 million.