The Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys is a nonprofit organization with a mission to develop girls of courage, confidence, and character. Without family financial support there would be less money with which to serve the girls or train the volunteers.

Once a year, we ask families to invest in their girl’s future and in the Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys by making a financial donation to support programs that prepare girls for lives as active, engaged citizens. This is a partnership - we want to provide the best possible programming, training, experiences and opportunities to each girl and volunteer in the River Valleys service area.

• Did you know that it costs approximately $283 a year to support the programs and activities for one girl in our council?
• The Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys supports approximately 49,000 girls per year?
• The $10 membership fee does not stay here in our area, but goes to GSUSA.
• We are also unable to increase the membership fee to support our council because of GSUSA regulations.
• It is up to us to raise funds for the Girl Scouts in our area. Without the support of families through initiatives such as the Family Partnership Financial Campaign, Girl Scouting in our communities would be greatly diminished.
• Financial assistance covering uniform pieces, handbooks, program materials, camp outings and membership dues This year River Valleys provided assistance totaling $487,000.
• Families only pay a portion of the actual cost of camp and other sponsored activities; the council subsidizes the remaining costs.

Not every family participates in Girl Scouting in an identical way. Families have different resources. However, most families are unaware of the manner in which a Girl Scout Council is funded. Many families assume that a check written out to the Girl Scout Council for membership dues in the fall/spring provides financial support to create and implement programming within the River Valleys jurisdiction. Registration money goes directly to Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) for program development and activity insurance. For the Family Partnership Financial Campaign, we want each family to participate.

Families can give in one of two ways:

1) By joining the Family Partnership Promise Club, which allows families to donate any amount of $10 or more on a monthly budget plan.

2) By making a direct donation in the donation envelope. Cash, checks and credit cards (MasterCard and VISA) are accepted.

Parents/guardians are also encouraged to check with their employers for a matching gift program. Such programs help their gift go even further. If an employer does have a matching gift program, the parent/guardian would need to get a form from their HR department to send in to their local Girl Scout service center, along with their gift. All gifts will be confidential and all envelopes will be turned in to the Council unopened.

Family Partnership is just one of several fundraising initiatives annually implemented by the Fund Development Department in an effort to raise funds for the Girl Scout program. Other initiatives include gifts to the annual fund (this includes donations from alumnae, friends from the community, board of directors and council staff), grant proposals to corporations and foundations, United Way, in-kind gifts and planned giving. This work is important, because a healthy organization must diversify its revenue sources rather than rely on girl-generated income, like the Girl Scout Cookie Program Activity. In addition, in order to receive funding, United Way and many other foundations, corporations and other major donors want to know that an organization’s membership gives to the organization.

Thank you so much for your support in developing girls of courage, confidence and character to make the world a better place. If you have any questions, please contact the Family Partnership Chairpersons for our service unit - Pam W. or Diane R.