Getting Started
Whether this is your first cookie season or you’re a seasoned pro, the Cookie Program can be very overwhelming. It’s full of so many moving parts and things to keep track of. This manual is here to help! This should be your first stop when a question arises.
Here are some quick tips for a smooth Cookie Program:
Materials
As the SUCBC, you will receive a few materials to help you through your role. First, you’ll get a blank template for the spreadsheets you’ll submit with booth sites for upload to eBudde. You’ll also receive an introduction letter (customized for each state) to use when introducing yourself and the program to potential booth locations. Next, you’ll get a booth site agreement which you’ll fill out with the business owner/manager/property manager/etc.. You’ll also get a record of last year’s booths, divided by SU. You’ll use all of these materials regularly to set your SU up for success with booths.
See something, say something.
Girl Scouts are stewards of our movement in the community and cookie booths are a very visible opportunity to show people what we’re all about. We encourage our youth members and adults to behave according to the Girl Scout Law and represent our organization well when conducting booth sales. When you’re out in the community and come across booths, please take note and report any behavior not in alliance with how Girl Scouts are expected to behave. We want to treat our booth locations with respect and leave them better than we found them.
Making the “Ask”
You are a marketer and can explain the value and importance of the Cookie Program for youth members. It is more than making money (though that is a benefit). Always mention the 5 Skills learned through the cookie program! You are serving as an advocate for ALL youth members and troops within the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital!
Keeping records
Documentation is an important part of every role but especially this one. Keeping your own records of which businesses you’ve reached out to, where you’ve scheduled, points of contact, etc.. will help ensure your success and the success of anyone following you when you move on.
Having a critical eye
A clean and correct spreadsheet is absolutely critical when it comes to getting booths submitted and eventually uploaded by council staff to eBudde. When there are errors, it slows the process down and could result in the upload of your sheet being delayed. Make sure you double and triple check spreadsheets bef b i i d b k h d l eer to lend their eyes as well!
New for 2024-25
Program Updates
Price Increase: $6 across all varieties
In the 2024 season, our contract costs increased by 10% compared to 2023, and in 2025, we are facing an additional 14% increase. Last year, we absorbed the increase in cost but faced with more rising costs, we must adjust our cookie prices accordingly.
New Proceeds: For the 2025 season, base rewards will be increased to $1.00 with rewards taken and $1.05 without rewards. We will still offer our tiered proceeds along with this increase, as well as the Super Troop and IO Revenue Share Proceed. Along with the Spring Renewal and Fall proceed incentive the new max that troops can reach will be $1.33 for 2025.
S’mores Retiring: This will be the final year for the Girl Scout S’mores cookie ABC bakers are also retiring the Toast Yay cookie
Membership Reward: We heard how much the Membership Renewal Reward was appreciated last year and heard the feedback about making it available to troops who are opted-out of rewards so this year, it’s a Final Troop Reward. For troops that reach a final Per Girl Average of 265, the membership dues will be paid for each SELLING youth. Each troop will also receive a $25 GS Shop coupon.
Booth Coordination Change
Cookie Booth Site Agreement Form: This year, we are requiring completed Cookie Booth Site Agreement forms to be included with booth spreadsheet submissions. When things happen such as locations cancelling booths at the last minute or security showing up and asking troops to leave, it’s disruptive to troops and we (troops, volunteers, council staff) have to have it in writing from businesses that we are allowed to be there to protect ourselves and our youth.
Important Dates
12/13: Initial Order taking begins
1/1: Booth Scheduler Spreadsheets due for first and second rounds of selection (11:59)
1/4: eBudde Booth Scheduler open for FIRST round of troop selection (7:00am)
1/5: eBudde Booth Scheduler open for SECOND round of troop selection (7:00am)
1/7: Booth Scheduler wide open (7:00am)
1/13: ASSN Deliveries begin
2/1: Cupboards begin to open (all open by 2/5)
2/7: Booths sales start
3/16: Cookie Program Ends
3/17-21: Limited cupboards open
3/23: Direct Ship closes in Digital Cookie *Full
Glossary
(Automated Clearing House) The method of paying Council for their portion of cookie revenue. What your troop owes Council will be debited from your troop bank account according to a pre-determined schedule. Council will also credit troop accounts if necessary.
Business owners and store managers give permission in advance for Girl Scouts to sell cookies in front of their stores during the months of February and March. A Service Unit Cookie Booth Coordinator (SUCBC) will schedule all booth sales and contact businesses. Use the BOOTH SITES tab in eBudde for booth selection. Do not contact stores on your own.
Case
Cookie Rewards
Cookie Sale Audit
Each case of cookies contains 12 individual packages of the same variety of cookie.
Where you can pick up additional packages of cookies. Cupboards are geographically dispersed throughout the Council and run by volunteers (Cookie Cupboard Managers).
There are two options for rewards: (1) Cumulative Rewards—individuals receive items based on individual accomplishment up to the selling level reached; (2) Additional Proceeds—Troop votes to opt out of the Cumulative Rewards and chooses to earn an extra five cents per package sold. Troop must vote and majority rules. Only youth members earn rewards.
Daisies and Brownies cannot opt out of rewards.
Council attempts to verify that all cookies ordered, Cupboard transactions, and ACH payments are correct on each troop sales report. Troop cookie records should be retained by troop leadership for three years.
Online selling platform for Girl Scouts to set up individual and troop storefronts to sell to customers near and far. Feeds to eBudde and allows customers to purchase for Girl Delivery or Direct Ship. Hosts Digital Order Card (DOC). Note: we do NOT use the Digital Cookie App - this is a different platform.
Internet-based product sales software used to track sales, inventory, booth sites, booth scheduling, rewards, and payments. Every facet of the cookie program is managed within eBudde.
Gift of Caring (GOC)
Initial Order (IO)
Little Brownie Bakers
This is a great way for troops and their customers to help others in their community. While selling cookies, girls ask customers to purchase cookies to donate to a charity that the troop has selected. Customers do not select a specific variety and the troop uses the extra packages they have at the end of the sale to fill the Gift of Caring. The troop is responsible for distribution if participating in the Hometown Heroes option.
Information submitted via eBudde by the Troop Cookie Manager. The Initial Order includes the total number of packages of cookies needed to fill the individual orders from their order card (both paper and digital) and booth sale needs. The Initial Order rounds up to full cases.
Nation’s Capital Council’s cookie bakery partner located in Louisville, KY. Only two bakeries produce all Girl Scout Cookies in the USA; the other baker is ABC Bakers.
Booth Sales
Cookie Cupboard
Digital Cookie/M2
eBudde
Guidelines and Consequences
All youth and adults must follow the guidelines found in the following documents:
Parent/Guardian Permission and Responsibility Agreement
Family Guide
Troop Cookie Manager Manual
Volunteer Essentials
Any other published communication by the Product Program Team
The guidelines are put in place for youth safety and to ensure a successful, fair, fun, and safe cookie season. There will be consequences for those that do not follow the rules.
Assume Good Intent
If you see someone not following the rules:
Report the behavior to your SUCM/ACM or Council. Include troop number, date, time and place, who was there, and what was occurring. Use good judgment if interfering (where appropriate) and always stay neutral!
Refrain from actively looking for problems.
Trust in the process troops/youth not following the rules will be addressed appropriately.
Consequences
Troops found to be disregarding Cookie Program guidelines may be subject to a forfeiture of a portion of their troop proceeds, including the Super Troop, Spring Renewal and tiered IO proceeds.
Volunteers may be dismissed from their roles or may not be reappointed for a following year as a result of misconduct.
Most common examples of guidelines not complied with are as follows. NOTE: This is NOT an exhaustive list, only a few examples. If it is not listed as an approved selling technique in this manual, ask your ACM for guidance.
Selling cookies before the program begins.
Selling cookies for the incorrect price.
Selling cookies outside of authorized areas.
Selling at a booth location/store not scheduled for your troop in eBudde and/or without first submitting and receiving a special request approval.
Youth selling or delivering cookies alone.
Boothing with the incorrect youth member/adult ratio or inappropriate behavior at a booth location, including leaving trash at the site
Application of Consequences
If a consequence needs to be applied, it will be decided by the appropriate SU/ASSN team and Product Program team. The weight of the consequence will be based on the guidelines broken, impact to others, safety, and if one or multiple infractions were made. Decisions about consequences will be kept confidential and will not be shared with anyone other than the appropriate volunteers and GSCNC staff on a need-to-know basis.
Who’sWho?
Council Product Program Team:
Anna Bradford | Product Program Manager | abradford@gscnc.org
Contact Anna for Bakery or Vendor support, crisis or emergency situations, conflicts, guidelines and consequences, program related questions or assistance and other matters related to the Cookie Program.
Judy Johnson | Senior Product Program Specialist | jjohnson@gscnc.org
Contact Judy for Digital Cookie and eBudde assistance including uploading troops/youth members into eBudde, Cupboards, delivery information and reconciling troop inventories, Troop deposits and ACH, as well as debt reconciliation.
Cheryl Roberson | Product Program Coordinator | croberson@gscnc.org
Contact Cheryl for sample rewards checkout, Troop rewards shortages and overages, certificates of insurance, cookie costume checkout, debt reconciliation and requesting additional program forms.
Kat Michalak | Senior Product Program Specialist | kmichalak@gscnc.org
Contact Kat for eBudde assistance related to Booths including booth locations and site questions, selection process and uploads, volunteer and youth training information, as well as cookie promotions and events.
The Cookie Jar
*General program questions related to eBudde and Digital Cookie can go to any staff member.
For SUCBCs, the first line of “defense” for any issues or questions during the program should be the ACM for their ASSN. Kat is the next-best person!
Who’sWho?
And there’s you!
As a Service Unit Cookie Booth Coordinator, you have the privilege of instilling passion and drive in Girl Scouts so they can achieve their goals and supporting troops in your area through the program. Here are some of the responsibilities of the SUCBC:
Complete volunteer training with your ACM and/or via gsLearn. Familiarize yourself with SU Boundaries.
Make sure you’re up-to-date on any National or Regional booth agreements (example: Walmart and Safeway)
Meet with your Service Unit Manager. The entire team needs to work together and communicate to set up time to brainstorm booth opportunities and make sure everyone is on the same page about expectations and rules around booths.
Look over booth opportunities from last year and reach out to those locations to get updated contact information and approval for this upcoming year.
Work with SU team to communicate expectations and rules to troops. Booth season runs smoother when everyone is on the same page!
This manual explains all the responsibilities of the SUCBC role. You can also find the comprehensive list on the SUCBC Appointment Letter.
Questions about any of this after you read the manual? Reach out to your Association Cookie Manager.
To make things easier, all of our important forms and resources can be accessed at: https://linktr.ee/gscnc_productprogram
The digital version of this manual can also be found here! It will be updated in real time with any changes. You can also access the manual change log from here.
BoothBasics
eBudde Booth Scheduler
Troops will select booth opportunities in eBudde Booths are posted every Tuesday and Thursday for the duration of the program, with the exception of the first round of booth selection There are restrictions on the # of slots you can choose and the # of slots per business chain during the first week to promote fairness and equal opportunity among troops Please note booth selection cannot be done on the eBudde app until selection is wide open. When selecting booths, remember to be fair and not monopolize one location. Troops found to be monopolizing locations or areas will be asked to release some of their slots.
Types of Booths
Council (Public): Booths in front of businesses, restaurants, etc.. are organized by Cookie Booth Coordinators and uploaded by Council to eBudde for troop selection. All public businesses/areas with indiscriminate foot traffic are automatically considered public booths. Troops MAY NOT approach these types of businesses for booths.
Private: Booths in places that serve a specific community (such as Houses of Worship or membersonly clubs) or have limited exposure to the public are considered private booths They can be requested by troops in eBudde and will be approved/denied by the SUCBC (or other appropriate volunteer)
Private booths cannot be requested in other SUs without prior approval from the SUCBC in that SU.
Drive-Thru Booths: These are booths usually held in the parking lot of a school, church, or otherwise publicly accessible institution. They are usually organized by a few troops within a Service Unit or an entire Service Unit. They are submitted in the same manner as a private booth but are run slightly differently.
Lemonade Stands: Booths set up at a private residence or at a neighborhood yard sale are considered lemonade stands. A youth member selling individually with a parent at their home cannot be entered into eBudde as a private booth to be promoted on Cookie Finder. Lemonade stands are not to be set up on the street, sidewalk, street corner, medians or public property. Youth who reside in an apartment, gated community or similar housing must obtain management approval prior to setting up
Things not considered to be a Lemonade Stand: a “pop-up” at a community parade or festival, setting up a table at a public market, etc
BoothBasics
Private Booths
A Private Booth Sale is one that has limited public exposure and limited access for customers: Retail locations are not considered a private booth. A private sale would be something like a special event at a house of worship or a fraternal organization (e.g. a parish picnic or a Kiwanis banquet). There are very few circumstances in which a private booth will be approved at a public location. Troops should speak with their SUCBC or SUCM about these requests.
Troops must request Private Booth sale approval in the eBudde system where SUCBCs will approve or deny said requests. SUCBCs are responsible for setting up the schedule and ensuring that one booth doesn’t interfere with the business of another troop. It hurts booths when booth sales are set up too close to each other. Please do not approach an established business for a private sale. The SUCBC is responsible for contacting businesses and may have already requested slots to which the business had previously decided, for whatever business reason, not to allow Girl Scout Cookie booths. In the absence of a SUCBC, the SUCM will approve/deny requests. If the SUCBC is also a troop volunteer for the requesting troop, the request must be approved by the ACM, to be honest and fair.
What locations can be requested for private booths: churches, mosques, temples, members-only clubs, school sporting events, private (ticketed or registration required) events at businesses or restaurants, private community events, etc.
Locations that CANNOT be requested for private booths: any public business or establishment, public sidewalks, farmer’s markets, town squares, etc.
Private booths on university campuses: Because the landscape of universities is always changing, these requests will be assessed by Council on a one-by-one basis. All requests for colleges and universities MUST be forwarded to Kat Michalak, Senior Product Program Specialist (kmichalak@gscnc.org) before requesting in eBudde.
How to Approve/Deny:
On the BOOTH SITES tab, there will be a list of all requests made by troops in your SU. To the right of the troop # and requested location, there is a drop-down menu. Unless changed, it will default to pending. The other options are “approved” and “denied”. Locations that do not meet the criteria for a private booth should automatically be denied with a note that it does not meet the criteria, along with your initials so the troop knows who denied the request and can follow up with you if they have questions or an appeal.
Requests without lead time of at least a week will be denied.
Council staff will be occasionally auditing private booth requests to ensure rules are being followed.
BoothBasics
Drive Thru Booths
Contact the place of business and secure approval - it helps to highlight the essential skills that the youth members learn and the fact that donations support our Military and local communities.
Materials for booth solicitation can be found in the Booth Coordination rally and are emailed directly to Booth Coordinators.
Submit locations for approval like a private booth - a 4-hour time slot is ideal for high-traffic areas and to be able to rotate Girl Scouts in and out of stations to keep them engaged. A shorter time slot may be better for younger members. This booth will show up in eBudde.
Use Sign-Up Genius or another scheduling platform to schedule booth slots - Make it clear that the youth member and their adult supporter/caregiver are a team signing up for that slot.
Advertising
GSCNC Cookie Finder will populate with drive-thru booth info upon approval. Keep in mind, this is only true when the booth has been properly entered and approved in eBudde Booths not approved in eBudde are considered unauthorized
Don’t forget word-of-mouth - you can verbally advertise to customers (“Thanks for your support If you run out and want more, you can find us again at X site during this date/time”)
When advertising, do not include any identifying information about any of the troop members and exercise caution for the safety of all our youth.
Setting Up Stations
"Greeters/Thank you after-sale" Girl Scouts waving signs at the entrance of the venue with cones directing the flow into the venue and creating a safe barrier between traffic and Girl Scouts.
An order table
A table for financial transactions using cash/Square for those cookies on their "order sheet"
A table for loading purchased cookies in the trunk with a thank you note label affixed with instructions on joining our contact list for future sales
Don’t forget about the fun! - set up a table with extra water, hot cocoa, and snacks. These youth members work hard! Age-appropriate music played at a reasonable volume could also be fun. Add balloons, pompoms, and cookie costumes - get creative If you have drinks/snacks, be sure to keep them separate from cookies
The weather could be a factor so see if troop supporters (parents/guardians/others) have any 10 x 10 tents to lend to protect our Girl Scouts and the cookies too
Recommend at least 6 Girl Scouts at any one time
Closing
Make sure the site is spotless when you leave
Remove posters
Send a thank-you note from the troop to the place of business that hosted your booth
Update eBudde with sales info
Build your database with customer info collected at the sale
BoothSoliciation
Getting Ready
Be creative when searching for locations within your Service Unit’s boundaries or work as a team with ALL the SUCBCs within your Association! Make sure the site is safe, clean and friendly.
Not all businesses are well suited for Girl Scout Cookie Booths. Liquor stores, dispensaries, or anywhere else that a youth member would not be able to enter is strictly prohibited.
Troops may have special connections to local businesses so be sure to ask Troop Leaders and parents for suggestions.
Think of places that have high traffic volume at peak times. It is impossible to provide a comprehensive list of businesses and their rules of solicitation for the entire Council. In some cases, corporate policy may prohibit solicitation but, because of franchise agreements, the business owner has flexibility. See the next page for some information.
Make sure you know your Service Unit boundaries front to back. Many Service Units share shopping centers or high traffic shopping areas and scheduling booths in another Service Unit could cause conflict.
To avoid stepping on anyone’s toes, work with your Service Unit team to identify potential trouble areas and double check your boundaries with the map created by Membership. Map link:
As you begin the process of scouting out potential booth sale sites, talk to the staff and store management. Ask them the process for requesting permission to sell at the establishment. Use the method of communication they prefer. If they need Certificates of Insurance, we have those available. Reach out to Cheryl Roberson to obtain.
Approach businesses with a proposed schedule ready and available. The easier we make it on businesses, the more likely they will be to agree.
Consult the report from the previous year’s booths for the list of businesses that were selected last year in your SU. For a more robust report with information such as recorded sales, you can go to the reports tab in eBudde and run the “Troop Signup Recap” report. The caveat is that this data isn’t perfect because it relies on troops allocating booth cookies properly but it’s better than nothing if you’re just trying to get an idea of what sales were like! For reference, 100 packages in a two-hour booth is generally considered successful!
Please remind troops/keep in mind that if a booth is not approved, troops will not be covered by our insurance and it is a liability problem. This is why it is strictly prohibited to hold booths that are not approved in eBudde.
BoothSoliciation 11
Chain Store Specifics
Please note this information is what we had as of October 1, 2024. As policies change, we will update you via Rallyhood and email.
Safeway: Safeway has requested a regional scheduling model from all organizations wishing to hold booths. As per the agreement reached between them and GSCNC, Council will upload all Safeway booths approved by their corporate office. Last year, this was all Safeway locations in our council boundaries. Unless otherwise specified, this will be the same for 2025. Please keep this in mind when scheduling booth opportunities in shopping centers with a Safeway. Please contact BoothSales@gscnc.org with any concerns about a specific location.
Giant Food: Contact store managers directly to arrange locations, dates and times. Make contact in person and present your request in writing. Please do not contact the manager by phone. Giant Food, Inc. established a policy stating that a non-profit group can only have 2 days per month at each location. Groups are limited to scheduling times on Saturdays or Sundays. Please do not argue with store managers if they cannot accommodate your request. They also prefer that customers be solicited only once at either the entrance or the exit, not both. Some stores schedule more than the two days allowed by corporate so be aware of that and ask for more but be prepared for less.
Food Lion: Last year, GSUSA had a National agreement with Food Lion and these booths were uploaded by Council. As of right now, this will be the same for 2025.
Walmart: Walmart has a space reservation tool accessible to a designated staff member. Kat will request all locations in the council once the tool opens in November/December and update SUCBCs once the locations have been requested and which locations need to be followed up on week by week.
GNC: GSUSA has a national contract with GNC. Many of the locations have presented conflicts so we will not be automatically uploading all locations. SUCBCs should reach out to individual stores.
No Solicitation Chains (that we know of):
Lowes
Home Depot
Target
Trader Joes
Barnes and Noble
Starbucks
*some locations have approved booths in the past despite corporate no solicitation policies so keep this in mind.
BoothSoliciation
Once you have a location:
Identify the schedule with the business and fill out the Booth Site Agreement form, complete with signatures from you and the appropriate person of authority at the business. This is usually the owner, store manager, or property manager. The signature from the business is important/required for liability and protecting our youth and adults from potential conflict when out at booths.
Confirm whether or not there are any set up instructions such as checking in with the manager upon arrival or setting up in a specific spot so you can include this information in the location notes.
Use the blank Booth Scheduler template to fill out the agreed upon schedule. The next page has more information about how to fill out each section of the spreadsheet correctly. Double and triple check spelling, addresses, times, etc!
Compile multiple locations on the same spreadsheet for the initial submission. There is no limit to how many locations you can have on one sheet. If submitting an additional sheet after your first, start fresh with the blank template. Any locations that have already been uploaded will become duplicates and cause problems and confusion. Submit the completed spreadsheet to boothsales@gscnc.org BEFORE the appropriate deadline. The deadlines for the various rounds of submission can be found below. If a sheet is submitted after the deadline, we cannot guarantee it will be uploaded/available in eBudde for troops for that round of selection. Please cc your ACM and attach a signed copy of the Booth Site Agreement form for each location. These can be photographs, scanned copies, or virtually signed PDFs. Keep a copy of the spreadsheet for your own records and keep copies of the signed agreement forms.
1/1/25 11:59pm for 1/4/25 at 7am (First and second rounds)
1/5/25 5:00pm for 1/7/25 at 7am (Wide open selection)
Mondays 5:00pm for Tuesday at 7am release (all weeks after selection is wide open)
Wednesdays 5:00pm for Thursday at 7am release (all weeks after selection is wide open)
Disclaimer: We know that submitting spreadsheets is the last thing people want to do over the holidays. Due to when our Initial Order is due to the bakery, the leap year impacting our schedule, and wanting primary booth selection to be done before the Initial Order is due, January 1st is the latest we could set the deadline. It takes days to upload booths, check for errors, and make sure there aren’t duplicates or conflicts.
Working
and submitting early can help ensure a painless booth submission process.
Booth Spreadsheets
Booth scheduled by the SUCBCs are sent on an Excel spreadsheet to Council at BoothSales@gscnc.org with the locations, dates and booth time frame for upload into eBudde. The spreadsheet has very specific formatting to allow for an easy upload. To make building the spreadsheet more manageable, SUCBCs will receive a report that includes all of the locations from the 2024 program that were loaded into the system for selection. Each column of the spreadsheet is important and “tells” eBudde how to list the booth for troops to select.
The booths from the 2024 spreadsheet HAVE NOT been confirmed for 2025.
It is up to each SUCBC to contact the stores, confirm the schedule and gain approval. Submitting booths that have not been approved for 2025 is strictly prohibited.
Most of the headings on the spreadsheet are obvious (and required) but, to avoid confusion, the first tab on your Booth Scheduler Spreadsheet is a tab which defines each heading and has what info to include. See the table on the next page for the same breakdown.
Things to note when submitting spreadsheets:
1.
Anything submitted after the initial deadline will NOT be uploaded and available for selection on January 4th or 5th. They will be available once selection is wide open. The more locations that are in the system when it opens for selection; the fairer it is for all involved.
2. Booth spreadsheets MUST be sent to BoothSales@gscnc.org as an attached file. Sending links to a Google Sheet or sending spreadsheets to the wrong inbox may result in the submission being lost in our spam filters. If you’re making your spreadsheet in Google Sheets because you don’t have access to Excel, please export the file as an Excel file and send it as an attachment.
Any spreadsheets with errors will be sent back for correction. Having to make corrections could mean that booth opportunities are not made available as soon as possible. Please be diligent and thorough when proofreading your spreadsheet before submitting to avoid errors. The most common errors are: incorrect dates (usually when copying and pasting from a previous year), incorrect formatting for the time allotment (this field should only be numbers, not words, and be formatted by minutes - i.e 120 for booth slots that are two hours long, 150 for two and a half hours, etc..). These allotments must also be divisible by the total amount of time submitted. EX: An 8 hour approval can be divided into slots of 1, 2, or 4 hours. It is not divisible by 3 for 3 hour shifts.
3. When submitting multiple files over the course of booth season, please only submit NEW booth opportunities. If you submit a spreadsheet for the first round of upload and end up securing more locations later on, please only submit the new booths.
5.
4. Please name or label your submissions in the following format: SU # 1 (additional submissions should be labelled consecutively)
6. It’s easier for TCMs to select slots if each time slot is listed on a separate line. For example, if there are 3 slots on the same day, there would be 3 lines just for one day. If you’re going this route, please be extra diligent in proofreading dates and times.
8.
Make sure your contact information is listed in the location notes for any booths you coordinate. If troops encounter issues at that site, they will need a point of contact and while Kat is on call for problems, they might not have enough information to be able to help the troop.
7. Booths are submitted in the order they are received with the exception of spreadsheets that are sent back due to errors.
Booth Spreadsheets
Business Name Mandatory Mandatory Must use the standardized formatting
Address Mandatory Mandatory
Please use actual mailing address for the location
Door Optional Optional Use this field if you will be offering multiple doors at the same location (ex: Walmart with Pharmacy Door and Grocery Door). The booths will show as individual sign ups.
City Mandatory Mandatory
State Mandatory Mandatory
Zip Mandatory Mandatory
Email Mandatory Optional
Phone Mandatory Optional
Fax Mandatory Optional
Please use the actual city name where the business is located
Please only use 5 digit zipcodes
This would be the email address for the location's contact. Troops will NOT see this.
This would be the phone # for the location's contact. Troops will NOT see this.
This would be the fax # for the location's contact. Troops will NOT see this.
Preferred Contact Mandatory Optional fax, email, phone, both This is NOT where you’ll put the contact information - this is just identifying the method of communication
Contact Mandatory Mandatory
Location Notes Mandatory Mandatory
Service Unit
Number Required Required
Date Optional Mandatory
Start Time Optional Mandatory
End Time Optional Mandatory
Time Allotment Optional Mandatory
Available Date Optional Optional
Troop Optional Optional
Time Slot Optional Optional
Name of the person you set up the location with. Troops will NOT see this.
This field is optional for upload but REQUIRED by council. This is where the SUCBC lists their contact information and any location specific notes you want troops to know.
List your SU Number as 4 digits. This is how you can get information on the troops signed up for locations in your SU through the reports feature. This is optional for upload but REQUIRED by council.
Please use this formatting - 02/16/22
List the start time for the first booth of the day - ex: 10:00 am
List the end time for all booths of the day - ex: 6:00 pm
Time allotment varies based on the total time available. Be sure your allotment time matches your start and end time evenly. The allotment is always listed in number of minutes only. NO WORDS. Ex: 120;150)
This will only be used for booths submitted after the initial upload. Council staff will add the available date based on the next selection date or, after the system is wide open, the next Tuesday or Thursday (whichever comes first). LEAVE BLANK.
This column is used in very rare instances
Only used if the Troop column is used
This is specific information for the actual booth time slot at a particular location.
Policies/Procedures
Navigating Booth Conflicts
Occasionally, there will be a conflict over a booth location, time, etc When a problem is reported, take these steps to mitigate conflict escalating
Collect any necessary identifying information (troop #, names of individuals involved, booth location, time, etc..) 1
Verify any sign-up information in eBudde (who is supposed to be there and when) 2. Speak to all parties involved 3. Identify whether intervention is necessary 4. If intervention is required, identify whether Council needs to be notified 5. Notify all appropriate parties of the conflict with as much information as possible 6. If it is determined that rules have been broken, notify Council 7. Cases will be assessed by Council/appropriate other parties and any applicable consequences will be discussed and applied on a case-by-case basis* 8.
*See the Guidelines and Consequences page of the SUCBC manual for more information.
What happens when a booth is canceled?
When a business owner reaches out and has to cancel a booth location for whatever reason, it’s disruptive to the troops signed up at that location and can ultimately impact their troop experience and in some cases, the troop’s financial security depending on the booth and whether they’ve picked up cookies with that booth in mind
When you learn of a cancellation as the booth coordinator, reach out to Kat immediately. Someone on the team will notify troops via the boothsales@gscnc org email address of the cancellation as soon as they are notified Once troops have been informed, the slots will be deleted from eBudde Please remind troops to be consistently checking their email and eBudde for the most up-to-date information They should not be going to a booth without first checking email/eBudde.
A booth will never be removed from eBudde by Council without notifying troops of a cancellation.
What happens when a business says a troop isn’t allowed to be there (and they have confirmation from eBudde that they’re signed up), the police are called on them, or there is confusion between multiple troops on who is supposed to be there?
If a troop calls you during a conflict and you coordinated that booth, please confirm in eBudde that the troop is supposed to be there. If they are, confirm that you have a signed agreement with the business on file. If you’re able, please reach out to your contact at the business to confirm that we were given permission to be there and when that agreement was signed. If the business or security pushes back (usually in cases where the manager gave permission, but the property manager did not), please advise the troop to leave and immediately report what happened to Kat.
If you did not coordinate the booth in question, please tell the troop to call Kat
What happens if there is an emergency?
If a troop experiences something suspicious or dangerous at/near a booth location, notify Anna Bradford immediately once any first responders have been called (where applicable) Safety comes first and police should be called in instances where youth or adults feel unsafe If a troop is uncomfortable calling the police for whatever reason, please call Anna and our Council Crisis Team will be engaged where applicable
CookieCalendar
December
12/9: eBudde Girl Tab open to TCM for input of newly registered troop members
12/13: Initial Order taking begins (paper order card and Digital Cookie)
January
1/4: eBudde Booth Scheduler open for FIRST round of booth selection
1/5: eBudde opens for troop order input - Save often, submit once
1/5: Online Girl Delivered pauses in Digital Cookie (11:59pm)
1/5: eBudde Booth Scheduler open for SECOND round of booth selection
1/7: eBudde Booth Scheduler WIDE OPEN for booth selection
1/7: Troop Initial Order/Initial Rewards due in eBudde (11:59pm)
1/8: SU Initial Order/Initial Rewards due in eBudde (11:59pm)
1/9: ASSN Initial Order/Initial Rewards due in eBudde (11:59pm)
1/10: Council submits complete Initial Order to LBB
1/13: Online Girl Delivered turned back on in Digital Cookie
1/13: ASSN Deliveries begin - check Delivery tab for information and sign-up
1/13: Troop Transaction Tab open
1/29: Pending orders to cupboards open (check open date/times before placing order)
1/31: ACH test payment
February
2/1: Cupboards begin to open (all open by 2/5)
2/7: Booths sales start
2/17: ACH Reduction Request Form opens
2/24: ACH Reduction Request Form closes (11:59pm)
2/26: ACH Payment (see manual for ACH calculation)
March
3/9: Online Girl Delivered closes in Digital Cookie (11:59pm)
3/12: Final day to opt-out of rewards (contact SUCM)
3/13: Final Rewards tab open - save often, submit once
3/16: Cookie Program Ends
3/17-21: Limited cupboards open for Girl Delivered and GOC fulfillment
3/20: ACH Reduction Request Form opens
3/23: Direct Ship closes in Digital Cookie
3/25: Troop Final Rewards due in eBudde (11:59pm)
3/26: SU Final Rewards due in eBudde (11:59pm) - Troop paperwork due to SUCM
3/27: ASSN Final Rewards due in eBudde (11:59pm) - SU paperwork due to ACM
3/27: ACH Reduction Request Form closes (11:59pm)
3/31: Final ACH Payment (Balance Due)