How the Girl Scouts Spend Revenue (2022)

The Girl Scouts of the United States of America (Girl Scouts) is a tax-exempt, non-profit 501 (c) (3) based in New York, NY. With more than 2.5 members (an estimated 1.8 million girl members and about 700,000 member volunteers) the Girl Scouts works to build “courage, confidence, and character” in young girls.

There are 28 independent voting members (board members) of the governing body (board), although 29 are listed on the Form 990 (2021 for the year ending September 30, 2022) – 25 of the 29 (86%) listed are female while 4 of the 29 (14%) are male.

In 2022, the Girl Scouts reported total revenue of $120 million (compared to $131 million in 2021, $112 million in 2020 and $122 million in 2019) which came from:

• $20 million:  Investment Income, Royalties, Gains on Sales of Assets
• $37 million:  Membership Dues
• $29 million:  Contributions, Gifts, and Grants
• $21 million:  Sale of Inventory
• $13  million:  Events, Software, Insurance Recovery

It is important to note the Girl Scouts had $188 million in net assets at the beginning of 2020.  In April, 2020 the Girl Scouts received $7.3 million as a payroll protection program (PPP) loan, which was accounted for as deferred revenue but was reclassified as grant revenue when the conditions for the loan were met and the loan forgiven by the Small Business Loan Administration in July, 2021.  In May, 2021, the Girl Scouts received a second PPP loan in the amount of $2 million which was treated as deferred revenue (and forgiven in 2022). By the end of 2021, net assets were $219 million – more than $30 million higher than before the pandemic.

The question begs:  Why  does a non-profit with more than $200 million in net assets get loans of $9 million loan from the government that will be forgiven? The organization could clearly absorb the costs of keeping their employees (as they were also able to pay for first class or charter travel and make gross up payments and provide tax indemnifications in 2020; note these expenses were discontinued in 2021).

In 2021-2022, the Girl Scouts experienced a different crisis that resulted from their investments.  In 2022, the Girl Scouts posted a $39 million deterioration in net assets due to unrealized losses on investments and pension losses, resulting in a decrease from $219 million at the beginning of the year to $181 million at the end of the year that was partially offset by $2 million in unspent revenue in 2022. It is important to note the Girl Scouts had $39 million in investments in Central America and the Caribbean at year-end.

Expenses totaled $108 million (not including $10 million in depreciation) and can be categorized as follows:

• $48 million (40% of revenue):  Compensation
• $21 million (18% of revenue):  Office-Related Expenses
• $19 million (16% of revenue):  Fees for Services (consulting, staffing, and “program services)
• $ 9  million (7% of revenue):  Grants (primarily to related Girl Scout organizations)
• $ 8 million (7% of revenue):  Other Expenses
• $ 3 million (2% of revenue):  Advertising and Promotion

As illustrated above, compensation is the largest expense.  447  employees received $48 million  in compensation (compared to 478 employees who received $42 million in compensation in 2020) – or an average of $107,000 each.  139 employees received more than $100,000.  The most highly compensate employee was Judith N Batty, the interim CEO and ex-officio board director who received $552,933 in compensation.

So, to answer the question of how revenue is spent, note that every $100 in revenue was spent as follows:

 $100:  Revenue

-$ 40:  Compensation

-$ 18:  Office-Related Expenses

-$ 16:  Fees for Services (consultants, temp staff, fundraisers, etc)

-$  9:  Advertising, Travel, and Other Expenses

-$ 83: Subtotal Expenses:  Comp, Office, Fees, Advertising, Travel, Other

 $ 15:  Revenue Remaining

-$  7:  Grants

 $  8:  Revenue Remaining:  To General Fund

As illustrated above, the Girl Scouts spent $83 out of every $100 on organization expenses – primarily compensation for the employees, office-related expenses, and fees for services.  $7 out of every $100 was spent on grants (primarily to affiliates).

To read the IRS Form 990 (2021 for the year ending Sept 30, 2022), click here.