CEO Memo | GSUSA Membership Dues Proposals

Hello Girl Scouts San Diego Members,

I hope you all had a fun, relaxing summer with your loved ones and are ready for another exciting Girl Scout membership year to begin on Oct. 1, 2024. I appreciate your input and need your assistance and feedback on Girl Scout membership dues.

As a membership organization, membership dues are a key avenue for Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) funding. Girl Scout membership dues have remained steady for eight years and now reached a point where the increasing costs to deliver programs, technologies, and services has outpaced funding. This has resulted in GSUSA running on a deficit budget, which is not sustainable for the national Girl Scout Movement.

Along with the increased costs to deliver the current services, there are several necessary investments that GSUSA has identified to enhance and build new programs and services. The initiatives fall into the following categories:

Engaging communities so every girl who wants to join Girl Scouts can join
Ensuring the girl experience is fun, welcoming, and relevant
Simplify and make the volunteer experience more rewarding
Amplify the value and impact of Girl Scouting

Bringing these initiatives to life requires financial investment. While the National Board has recommended that membership dues for girls be $85 and for adults $45, the proposals provided to our National Council Delegates do not have specific amounts attached to them. Delegates will gather together from across the movement to discuss and make a dollar-amount recommendation based on what’s in the best interest of our council members (you) and the Girl Scout Movement. We can do this best if you take the time to give us your input.

As CEO of Girl Scout San Diego, I am honored to serve as one of your ten national delegates. Among the delegates are girl members and volunteers from San Diego and Imperial counties. Our delegation is in its third year of a three-year term and recently experienced a National Council Session in 2023. A key aspect of the Girl Scout democratic process is how we represent all members by gathering your feedback and understanding the diverse perspectives throughout our service area.

To gain greater understanding around membership dues and where our local members see the value of membership, we are collecting feedback via this survey through Sunday, Oct. 13. In addition, we will be hosting a virtual town hall on Monday, Oct. 7 at 6:30 p.m. where our delegates will share additional context and information on the proposals, answer questions, and gather your feedback. Please RSVP for the town hall here , a link will be sent to those who registered on Friday, Oct. 4.

I appreciate you and thank you for your commitment to our mission. Together, we will continue building girls of courage, confidence, and character that our world needs.

Yours in Girl Scouting,

Carol M Dedrich
Chief Executive Officer