Category Archives: Hosting events

Guide to the Engineering Badges

Hosting events

Hosting an Event

Hosting events

You are thinking about hosting an event and you have questions.

First: THANK YOU!  Fun events keep Girl Scouts exciting and interesting.

What paperwork do I need to fill out to host an event?

  • We have a very handy document that will help you make sure you don’t forget anything: The Event Planning Worksheet.
  • If your girls are holding the event as a fund-raiser, be sure you’ve read and understand the Fund Raising requirements.
  • If you think you’ll have unregistered adults or tag-a-longs at your event, you’ll want to get Plan 2 insurance.  Contact Council for details.
  • Afterwards, you must fill out and submit the last page of The Event Planning Worksheet.
  • If you had any injuries, you must fill out and submit a copy of your First Aid Log.
  • If you had any incidents, you must fill out and submit a copy of your Incident and Injury Report.  A copy of this report MUST be submitted to council within 48 hours of any incidents.

Where can I hold my event?
Many local schools and churches will let you use their space.  Parks are another good choice.  Private homes are not a good choice for many reasons, including lack of room, insurance reasons, and the comfort level of other parents.

Do I have to give out fun patches to people who come?
No, but it does give the girls a memory for the back of their vest.  If you don’t know  how many to buy, buy them after the event, once you know how many girls came.

Can my event be a fun event or must the girls earn badges or do community service?
Life is made up of many different puzzle pieces and fun should always be in there somewhere.  Badge and Journey workshops are great, skill building workshops are wonderful, community service opportunities are awesome – and pure fun is fabulous too!

How much should I charge for my event?  Can my troop use it as a fundraiser?
You can host the event as a service project, charging less than it costs to run the event.  You can charge just enough to break even.  And yes, you can charge extra so it is a fund raiser for your troop.
How much you charge is up to you. Think about how much you would be willing to spend to do this activity with YOUR troop.  Think about how much your girls need to raise to do the things they have planned.

How do I spread the word about my event?
We’ll help!  Send us the details, a digital copy of the flyer (if you made one), and a fun image for your event.

Fund Raising

Finances, Hosting events

Your troop has big plans!  And they knock the fall and cookie sales out of the park.  But to make their plans work, they need more funds.

Now what?
Girl Scouts are allowed to fund raise for specific goals.  There are several rules that must be followed.  Among them are:

  • The troop must have participated in the two most recent sales.  The troop must sell at least 12 boxes of cookies and 12 nuts/candies in order to be eligible to hold a fund raiser.
  • Fund raisers may not take place during either of the official sales (roughly October through early November in the fall and February through mid-March in the Spring).
  • Unlike hosting an event, fund raisers must be approved by the Service Unit.
  • Fundraisers can be events where other girls come and learn and do fun things or they can be garage sales and other pure fundraisers.  Be aware that this can not include any games of chance where prizes are awarded to the winners.  If in doubt – ask info@simivalleygirlscouts.org.
  • Fundraisers can not put the girls in a position where they appear to be selling things for a business or raising money for another organization.  This includes (but is not limited to) restaurant fund raisers, catalog sales, and “Tupperware” type demonstration parties.
  • Girls are not allowed to ask directly for a cash donation.  They can collect money to pay for cookies and nut sale items that will be donated through a council-approved donation program.
  • Girls can choose to donate some of the money they’ve raised to another organization HOWEVER they can not actively ask people to donate money to be given to that organization or display signs saying the money will be donated to another organization.
  • Troops must submit a Money Earning Report within one month of the end of the event. Troops who do not turn in this report will not be permitted to hold future fund raisers.

Plan 2 & Plan 3 Insurance

Finances, Hosting events

For most things, Girl Scouts insurance policy covers all registered Girl Scouts.
Tag-alongs ARE covered by the basic Girl Scout insurance for basic troop meetings as long as you have a roster of everyone present and a parent or guardian stays at the meeting.

Examples of things that are not covered include:

  • Everyone – If you have not filled out a trip application, didn’t bother to collect permission slips, forgot to get parents to sign the slip for a high risk activity, or otherwise skipped on some paperwork, then Girl Scouts basic insurance policy probably won’t cover you.  Your own insurance will have to cover you and anyone with you.
  • Tag-alongs – anyone who is not a registered Girl Scout is not covered if the paperwork is not complete or you don’t have a full roster of everyone who is present at the event.  Some examples are siblings who are brought along to an event, friends who “tag-a-long” to a troop meeting, and guest speakers you invite to the event.
  • Buildings – if the location you are meeting at requires an insurance policy (COI), you’ll need to request one from council.  We have one on file already for all of SVUSD’s properties.
  • Longer trips or trips that go out of the country.

For field trips and longer trips, contact council for Plan 3 insurance.  This additional insurance provides extra protection for everyone on the trip.