How Revenue is Spent at the Girl Scouts (2024)

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 1.8 members (an estimated 1.1 million girl members and about 750,000 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 30 are listed on the Form 990 (2023 for the year ending September 30, 2024) due to timing differences – 23 of the 30 (77%) listed are female while 7 of the 30 (23%) are male.

In 204, the Girl Scouts reported total revenue of $118 million (compared to $116 million in 2023, $120 million in 2022, $131 million in 2021, $112 million in 2020 and $122 million in 2019) which came from:

• $25 million:  Investment Income, Royalties, Gains on Sales of Assets
• $39 million:  Membership Dues
• $18 million:  Contributions, Gifts, and Grants
• $24 million:  Sale of Inventory
• $12  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; although 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.

In 2022-2023, there was a modest improvement in net assets which grew from $181 million to $187 million:  not because the organization spent less (expenses actually exceeded revenue by $8 million) but because the organization reported $13 million in unrealized gains and made a $2 million adjustment (a pension gain) to net assets.

In 2023-2024, the Girl Scouts spent total revenue collected ($118 million) but reported $17 million in unrealized gains on investments which was partially offset by a $2 million adjustment to net assets.  The bottom line is net assets increased from $187 million at the beginning of the year to $202 million at the end of the year.

Expenses totaled $118 million (including $8 million in depreciation) and can be categorized as follows:

• $49 million (42% of revenue):  Compensation
• $30 million (25% of revenue):  Office-Related Expenses
• $17 million (14% of revenue):  Fees for Services (consulting, staffing, and “program services)
• $ 9 million (8% of revenue):  Grants (primarily to related Girl Scout organizations)
• $13 million (11% of revenue):  Advertising, Travel and Other Expenses

As illustrated above, compensation is the largest expense.  405  employees (more than 100 less than in 2023) received $49 million  in compensation – or an average of $121,000 each (although the organization also spent $5 million with Salesforce in 2024).  154 employees received more than $100,000.  The most highly compensate employee was Bonnie Barczykowski, the CEO who received $732,514 in compensation.

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

 $100:  Revenue

-$ 42:  Compensation

-$ 25:  Office-Related Expenses

-$ 14:  Fees for Services (consultants, temp staff, fundraisers, etc)

-$ 11:  Advertising, Travel, and Other Expenses

-$ 92: Subtotal Expenses:  Comp, Office, Fees, Advertising, Travel, Other

 $   8:  Revenue Remaining

-$  8:  Grants

 $  0:  Excess Expenses over Revenue

As illustrated above, the Girl Scouts spent $100 out of every $92 on organization expenses – primarily compensation for the employees, office-related expenses, and fees for services.  $8 out of every $100 was spent on grants (primarily to affiliates).

To read the IRS Form 990 (2023 for the year ending Sept 30, 2024), click here.