Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Shipping drives
Girl Scouts’ cookie prices
Question: Girl Scout cookies are on sale again. Only thing, it costs $4 a box here in Hawaii, while in Oregon it's $3 a box. How come we have to pay more for the same thing? Also, I understand that the girls and their troops only get a small portion of the profits; the Girl Scout Council gets the bulk. Why is that? The girls would be better off selling Zippy's chili.Answer: Each of the 365 Girl Scout Councils across the nation gets to set its own cookie price, and Hawaii's is "definitely driven by shipping costs," according to Gail Mukaihata Hannemann, executive director of the Girl Scout Council of Hawaii.
The Hawaii council is not the only council selling the cookies for $4 a box, but "we're one of the higher ones, and that has a lot to do with the fact that it costs more to send (the cookies here), unfortunately," she said.
There is no set formula as to how the proceeds are split between troops (not individual scouts) and the council. Each council makes it own decision on distribution.
Locally, "The whole concept of selling cookies is to really to deliver the Girl Scout program," Mukaihata Hannemann said, whether on the troop level or on a statewide level.
She explained that the IRS considers the cookie fund-raiser as a "'program,' which the public never sees." That means the girls "have a whole set of skills they learn" in selling cookies, including setting goals and how to achieve those goals.
Another "huge" aspect of the program is delivering the program throughout the state, she said, noting that Hawaii is only one of two or three councils in the nation that is statewide.
In terms of cookie proceeds, "it looks like a huge portion coming back to the council," but the Hawaii council is responsible for all expenses related to the cookie sales, including buying the cookies to sell, Mukaihata Hannemann said.
She declined to say what the percentage split may be, but said troops "get (money) proportional to how much they do sell."
So if one troop sells 100 boxes and another sells 1,000, the latter troop would get a bigger cut of cookie proceeds.
She also declined to say how much the council hopes to raise during the cookie sale period -- Jan. 17 to Feb. 17 -- saying, "We don't like to put pressure on the girls publicly because it's not just about the money, although the cookie sales do provide revenue for the (troops) and the council, but it's really about the whole program."
(It was reported in 2000 that about $725,000 was raised in Hawaii the year before.)
Mukaihata Hannemann acknowledged that people can buy cookies anywhere, so "we appreciate the fact that people are buying (Girl Scout) cookies basically to support the Girl Scout program. We know that there's more to it than the money exchanged -- it's someone wanting to help promote the Girl Scout program to allow girls to have a great experience."
There are about 6,000 Girl Scouts participating in more than 500 troops in Hawaii.
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