I am making a donation to my daughters Girl Scout troop and calling it a day! The troop will gets more money that way!

I am taking a break this year and not because the Samoas aren’t called Samoas anymore (they’re now Caramel deLites), and I certainly do not have anything against the Girls Scout organization because we are a participants. I am just taking a break and here’s why.

When parents sell the cookies for their kids, I honestly feel as an entrepreneur that the kids lose the valuable lesson of selling and running a cookie business. I have bought over 50 boxes in the past just so my daughter can get the badge and we support the troop. We also have gone door to door and sold.  I see people haranguing, friends family and co-workers to buy. Maybe they should just ask for a donation for the troop. I know being a Girl Scout that that every troop likes selling a lot of cookies, but the reality in Westchester according to The Heart of the Hudson, for every $4.00 box sold  only .70 goes to the troop. This is one reason why I am going to forgo selling,  forgo walking around door to door with my daughter and just make a donation to the troop. The troop will then have more money and I will have less responsibility. We have already learned cookie selling skills from participating over the past five years selling for The Girl Scouts of America.

I know she wont get her 100 cookie badge or the applause from the troop but I do think this is what works for us this year.  Friends and family, will have no problem finding the cookies in this over saturated GS cookie sale war zone. I love the Girl Scouts, but its business they are not going to turn down the sales, but I think they agree according to my research.

 When parents sell for the girls:“It’s a constant source of conversation,” said Michelle Tompkins, manager of media relations for Girl Scouts of the USA. “We love that the parents want to help their kids. There’s no malintent, but it is selling the kids a little short, not letting them learn the skills they want to teach.”goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and ethics, according to the Girl Scout cookies website

In NYC offices some buildings are becoming a cookie war zone. One woman told me she has to buy from four different women because they are her friends and she bought  from them last year. She said "I feel obligated, even though I do not want the cookies." Another father said the first thing his daughter says when he walks in the door is "HOW MANY DID YOU SELL DAD?". I think that says it all. 

I am an entrepreneur and do have a website for my business G2 Organics, but I do not think it's smart to set one up for cookie sales. There is also the threat of hackers who often view non-profit organizations as prime targets, said Akli Adjaoute, chief executive of the San Francisco-based security firm Brighterion. Compared to banks and mega-retailers — whose systems have been compromised in recent years —  criminals assume that non-profits "have no resources and no heavy investment on security,"  Adjaoute said. "And they're right." Im a mother and always a Girl Scout but this year, my gut tells me save the calories and make a donation.