Volunteer Resources

To ensure you have everything you need to be successful in your role, the following resources are available to our volunteers.

Need to contact the council? Find who you're looking for in the staff directory.

Guides and Handbooks

Troop Team's Guide to Success: This document contains helpful information for everything from volunteering with GSCSA, starting a new troop, planning troop meetings and events, working with girls and their families, and much more!

Volunteer Essentials: This robust document is here to help answer your questions about the troop experience, engaging families, safety, and more.

Volunteer Handbook: Read our council's volunteer policies and expectations, as well as detailed volunteer position descriptions.

Safety Activity Checkpoints: Safety checkpoints tailored for each activity girls might participate in. Updated fall 2022.

Troop and Service Unit Activity Approval Form: Submit this form for the following activities:

Any travel beyond your normal meeting location
Approval for high risk activities
Approval for international travel
Purchasing insurance for trips lasting more than 2 nights, insurance for non-member participants at any event, and insurance for international travel

Outdoor Education: This page is dedicated to helping troops get the training and information they need before they venture outdoors with their troop.

Encampment Manual: Plan the best campout in service unit history! It’s filled with helpful information on how to reserve camp, plan activities, manage a budget, sample timelines, checklists, and more! Updated October 2020.

Blue Book of Basic Documents: This publication contains all of the basic documents of Girl Scouts of the United States of America. It is the foundation for the work of all Girl Scout councils. Available online or in print by request.

Zoom License Request Form: Hosting virtual troop meetings? GSCSA is offering Zoom licenses to volunteers for $36/year! Troops can opt-in throughout the year!

Honor Troop Application: Each year, troops who complete the Honor Troop requirements and submit a completed application will receive a patch and year bar for all the girls in the troop.

Super Service Unit Application: Service units who achieve Super Service Unit status will receive a Super Service Unit patch, the opportunity to create a service unit logo that will be printed on a shirt or tote bag, a volunteer teambuilding day at their closest camp, be featured in GSCSA communications, and be strong contenders for the nationally-recognized President’s Award (separate application).

PRAY Chart: Religious recoginitions created by the faith communities for their members who are Girl Scouts

Tip Sheets

Attention-Getters: Encourage girls to listen in creative and fun ways.

Girl Led: This tip sheet introduces you to some practical ways to foster a successful, girl-led troop environment.

Learning by Doing: Girls learn best when they can try new things and make mistakes, so let them!

New Volunteer Checklist: Use this document to guide new volunteers in getting started with Girl Scouts.

Planning trips: Partner with girls to plan exciting outings, near and far!

Product Sales: Learn what you need to do to be prepared (and when) for the Girl Scout Fall Product Program and Cookie Program.

Reflection: Reflection is an important part of the troop experience, for both girls and adults, and these activities will help make reflection more meaningful.

Songs: Get some quick tips on how to lead a successful Girl Scout singalong, and where to find good songs!

Training

Troop Team training: Each role in the Troop Team is important! If you’ve newly joined a troop, please complete Volunteer Orientation online. If you’re going to be a Girl Program Mentor or Troop Administrator, make sure to register for in-person training in the Activities section.

Outdoor Education trainings: Our outdoor education classes are 4 in-person classes designed to get you ready to go camping anywhere with a troop. You can attend classes separately or all at once. One approved volunteer must take this AND complete the Camp Policies take-home exam. Register in the Activities section.

Registration tip: You can select Advanced Search and filter the listings by type of event, training, or program.

Check out our NEW online learning platform, called gsLearn, by logging in to your myGS account (at the top of this page, in yellow). There are plenty of online learning videos for every volunteer role!

Troop Finances

Troop Banking
Visit our page dedicated to all things troop banking!

Troop Budget
Download a Troop Budget Worksheet to customize and use for your own troop.

Troop Fund Development
Troops and service units may now participate in the following fundraising events without informing the council:

Bake sales
Pancake breakfasts, spaghetti suppers, or other meals
Car washes
Yard/garage sales

Please refer to the Money Earning Guide for more information.

The council must be informed about any other money-earning events other than those listed above through the Money Earning Project application. We ask that this be completed 30 days prior to the event, when possible. This allows us to be sure that we are following GSUSA guidelines and IRS guidelines and standards. Plus, we’re eager to see your success in money-earning events.