Girl Scouts is actually a terrific organization in a lot of ways, one thing it's not great at is marketing and leadership support. On top of that We are a famil

Girl Scouts is actually a terrific organization in a lot of ways, one thing it's not great at is marketing and leadership support. On top of that We are a family of scouts and scout leaders, and my wife and I both did leadership for our daughters Girl Scout troop. I am also a leader in my sons Cub Scout pack. Girl Scouts has been fundamentally more inclusive and secular than Boy Scouts. A scout is just a scout in Girl Scouts, no matter their gender or religious identity. The program for the girls has adapted well over time and has some great educational components across all types of activities. There is a real focus on getting the girls inspired by STEM. Our local council sponsored and provided materials and funds for First Lego League, and several troops went on to state finals. They hold science fairs, have great camp grounds (and summer camps) and have fantastic outdoor education from both an environmental and sports/leisure aspect. Unfortunately, they also lack funds, so most of the support goes to the girls. Finding and maintaining good adult leaders and volunteers has become increasingly difficult, and adult leadership is what really makes for a good Girl Scout experience, especially when the girls are younger. And the fewer good leaders, the fewer girls who participate, and as a result fewer funds for the organization so spread around. I was in a "scouting family" when I was a kid, and the level of engagement of the adults back then was much better than today. For whatever reason people are "too busy" these to volunteer for something that benefits their kids, and often seem to want to use scouts as baby sitting :( Also, I understand your sentiment on the cookies, but a surprising amount of the money goes back to the troop and to the girls in the form of rewards and scholarships. In our troop we had several girls who were super motivated to sell as it was the only way for their families to afford summer camp (you'd get if I remember correctly, 10% of your sales as money towards camp) and most of these girls would hustle enough to make all they needed to fully fund camp, which was $300-400. Yeah there's some profit for the cookie company, but I think it's something like 50% goes back to Girl Scouts (the org, the troop and the individual girls.)