Funding your Project
Many Girl Scout Gold Award projects need no, or very little, funding. However, there are other projects that require thousands of dollars to implement.
The very first thing you should do if you have a project you believe is going to need major funding is to check with your council on fundraising and money rules. Every council is different, and you need to know the rules that apply to you and your project. A troop leader will often need to be involved as non-adult Girl Scouts are not allowed to open bank accounts. If you are an Individually Registered Girl Scout or Juliette, working with your council will be even more important. Girl Scouts is a tax-exempt organization and as a Girl Scout member, you need to comply with the rules that are applicable to your council or you could unintentionally cause issues for the entire council.
If your project involves quite a bit of money it will be important to have these conversations with the council even before submitting the proposal so details can be outlined as part of the proposal. If you are applying for grants or other funding, this should also be discussed with your council before applying.
A Gold Award project cannot raise money for another organization (your project partner). Remember if you are fundraising, you will likely be buying something with the funds and then donating whatever you buy to your partner. Clear communication of intent to donors and verification the language works with your council’s regulations is extremely important.
Now – what are some of the opportunities for finding funding for your project?
At the convention in 2017, I met Brooke Yoakam. She is a Girl Scout who created an app called Gift Pocket for managing all your gift cards. Although this project could have been a Gold Award project, that was not Brooke’s path. She received a scholarship from Young Entrepreneurs Academy to help fund her app.
Another resource for STEM-related opportunities:
I’ve seen lots of projects recently building or revamping a community playground. Here are some resources related to those sorts of projects. Keep in mind, since these projects will often involve a community partner in addition to working with the Girl Scout council you will need to involve the partner in the application process.
https://www.playandpark.com/funding/grant-opportunities
https://www.playlsi.com/en/playground-planning-tools/playground-funding/playground-grants/
Butterfly gardens, bee centers, and rain gardens are also popular projects which involve landscaping.
Another reason it is important to work with your council when applying for grants or other funding is to make sure you are not asking for support from an organization that is already supporting the council. Some organizations have rules where they will only donate to a single tax id once a year. You would be making the request using your council’s tax id, so if the resource already has supported your council you could be wasting your time applying. Read all applications rules before applying.
Some of these more general organizations include:
https://corporate.homedepot.com/community/home-depot-foundation-grants
https://toolboxforeducation.com/sample
Your local United Way
Google whatever your project relates to with the word grant and see what you can find. There are many local organizations that will support projects in addition to the larger national organizations. If you receive a grant from a larger organization, use the opportunity to report back the details and outcomes of your project – this is another opportunity for global impact!