Girl Scouts of the USA historically has relied on a self-generating funding system. But as it approaches the century mark, a sweeping organizational transition will mean a new focus on fundraising and an enhanced partnership with its local councils around

By David Mckenna

“I think it’s an 18-month pilot,” Cloninger says. “So the fundraising consultants will capture from those 10 councils the best practices [and] lessons learned, and be able to use those for a sort of broader learning opportunity across all the other councils.”

In one such pilot effort, the national organization partnered with a local council in upstate New York that was a long-time recipient of an annual operating gift from the PepsiCo Foundation. Cloninger and the CEO of the local council approached PepsiCo with studies that indicated a need to promote healthy lifestyles among girls. PepsiCo subsequently provided GSUSA with a $1.1 million grant to develop a program that contributes to the organization’s Healthy Living Campaign.