Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana

The organization provided activities to 32,000 girls and 15,500 adults in troop/group settings located in Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana. Our Girl scout leadership experience is where girls: discover a strong sense of self; connect to develop healthy relationships; and take action in identifying community needs. Girls actively engage in a variety of activities including those in steam (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math), financial literacy, healthy living (which reflect the connection between physical health, emotional health and self-esteem), arts, travel and the environment.

The product sales program is an integral part of our business and financial literacy initiative, which helps girls learn life skills such as goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics. Such programs include the cookie program and the fall product sales program. 6,200 girls participated in our fall product program in which girls sell candy, nuts and magazines generating revenues of $2,090,433 against costs of $1,370,588. 24,000 girls participated in the cookie program selling 4,018,294 boxes of cookies. Gross revenues amounted to $20,091,470. Costs incurred in running this program amounted to $8,937,687. The council maintains 7 retail shops for the purposes of selling Girl scout merchandise and program materials for all levels of Girl scouting. Revenues associated with these shops were $1,345,700 and costs of merchandise were $813,712. Gross revenues and expenses related to these program services are shown on form 990, part viii, lines 10a & b.

Girl scout troops and groups used camps in Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana for camping and outdoor activities. Girl scout camp gives girls of all backgrounds an opportunity to grow, explore, and have fun under the guidance of trained adults. Through camp and outdoor activities girls discover leadership abilities, build skills, and develop a deep appreciation for the environment.