White Paper Hub Bub
National Governance, National Operations, Opinions 19 Comments 
2004 restructure, core business strategy, councils, farthest north council, gsusa, j-low, leader issues, redcoat band, samona
Recently, a white paper written by the CEO of the Farthest North GS Council has been making the rounds on Facebook and volunteer discussion groups and is causing quite a stir among volunteers and apparently GSUSA alike. One particular FB group called “GSUSA, Are You Listening?” was apparently asked indirectly by GSUSA to remove the link to the white paper and has refused to do so.
I’ve also uploaded it: Reversing the Membership Decline in Girl Scouting While Regaining the Trust of the Membership and Movement (geez, that’s a long title)
This blog post will highlight some parts of the white paper along with my comments. If you haven’t read the white paper, then I highly suggest you do so at the very least, even if all four of five of you who read this blog aren’t interested in my ramblings. 😉
Let me preface by sharing my background so that you can understand where I’m coming from. I have a background in Information Technology and marketing and have previously worked for major corporations and international businesses. I do not have any experience with non-profits; therefore, I cannot speak to the areas of fundraising and things of that nature. I’m very familiar with business and marketing plans. Buzzwords, acronyms, and jargon do not speak to me and turn what should be 20 minute meetings into hour long ones. I recognize PR campaigns for what they are.
I’ve been leading a GS troop for six years starting with Daisies in 2010. I also serve on our service unit team, and I’m about to enter my third year as a delegate for my council. While my troop is my first priority, I also enjoy helping other leaders, especially new ones. I grew up as a Girl Scout starting as a Brownie in 1982 to a Senior and earned the Gold Award in 1989 (did you know that Samona? 😉 ). Between 1990 and 2009, I did not serve or volunteer with the Girl Scouts in any capacity and did not keep up with it. I became a leader in 2010 after the merger and realignment, so I feel that I have a somewhat unique perspective that cannot be brushed aside or dismissed with the excuse that I’m an “old timer” or as someone that’s unwilling to embrace change. If anything, I always make an effort to understand both sides of an issue before making a decision on where I stand. If someone has a different point of view and is sincerely interested in having a discussion without rhetoric, I attempt to back up my stance with concrete examples and logic.
I am very much a traditionalist. There is much to learn about what speaks to people through the years. There are traditions for a reason. Why reinvent the wheel when you can build on success?
I will be sharing some personal experiences and observations. A few involve my council. However, I will refrain from specific criticism because this is not the avenue to do so.
Now, enough about me! On to the paper!
Overall, I agree with it. The criticism of GSUSA is very to the point, but it also offers viable solutions. It was extremely interesting to me to read what happened in the years that I was not involved. I realize it’s just one perspective, but it’s a point of view at a higher level than what I’ve been exposed to thus far.
As you must recognize, although the Girl Scouts is an icon, a national treasure and the 17th most recognizable brand in the world, it is on the tipping point of collapse. – Pg 1
I don’t know that I would say that GS would ever be on the verge of collapse. There are too many of us that are fiercely loyal and creative enough to allow that to happen as evident by the backlash from volunteers. It doesn’t give us enough credit.
As I listened to the faulty research from the “gap teams,” faulty data impressions from demographers, and well-meaning people attempting to re-brand our organization, I was worried. It seems a crisis was being communicated when there wasn’t one. In fact, in 2004, the Girl Scouts were experiencing a 25-year high in membership. – Pg 1
I had assumed this whole affair was due to an overreaction to declining memberships, but apparently this was not the case. Looking up membership level trends from 1990 to today is still on my to do list just out of curiosity.
At this point in the white paper, there’s a timeline of what happened starting in 2004 under the Core Business Model. Since (I’m assuming) membership levels were not what precipitated this major overhaul, what did? Was it due to personnel? How did this leadership to come to power? Culpability of why these changes were allowed in the first place should be addressed at some point before any restoration can take place.
Despite the real facts, the “gap teams” were suggesting unprecedented and unnecessary changes to six core areas: (1) Girl Program; (2) Pathways of delivery; (3) a new Governance Structure including radical changes to the jurisdictional boundaries of councils, also known as Realignment; (4) a new Funding Model; (5) an entirely different method to on-board and support Volunteers; (6) and, a new Culture for the organization. GSUSA also believed that changing all of these categories, at once, without phasing-them-in, was the best way to rip off the band aid and quickly flip the organization into a 21st Century success. – Pgs 1-2
I have seen these type of business plan miscalculations before, and unfortunately they seem to be becoming common in the past two decades. They are extremely short sighted, and frankly, lazy and shallow. I’m sure dissertations can be written about the cause, and it could be anything from generational reasons to financial theories. In my experience, it has everything to do with pride and ego. Usually they are wrapped in fancy buzzwords that set off my BS detector.
This alone took its toll and council CEOs were averaging less than a year on the job before throwing in the towel, unloading the impossible task of managing their “high capacity” council onto another executive just as inexperienced. This turnover continues today. – Pg.2
I don’t know if it’s due to this same reason, but our council has experienced this as well but not necessarily on the executive level.
To add to the confusion, councils had an entirely new program for girls and a new delivery system to conquer. Every book and badge that girls and volunteers and staff had ever known was gone. What replaced the program was something foreign to anyone with Girl Scout experience and history. – Pg.2
This definitely describes what I encountered when I first began as a leader. I was completely bewildered by the Journeys and Girl Guides and didn’t understand why things were so different from when I was a Girl Scout. I was told that “girls are just different these days,” but that just didn’t ring true for me. It still doesn’t. It didn’t matter that I had been a Girl Scout for seven years – I still had that deer in the headlights look that I see in new leaders all too often.
When GSUSA management changed in 2011, there was an opportunity to implement change that could have reversed this unimaginable spiral downward, seemingly out of control. The critical component missing was a failure to admit the Core Business Strategy was a mistake and take steps to reverse the damage done. Instead, GSUSA propelled forward into new initiatives, patchwork fixes and an even larger corporate mentality. – Pg. 3
Back to the culpability issue – why was GSUSA allowed to have this kind of power in the first place, and why wasn’t there some kind of built-in mechanism to halt mismanagement in its tracks? According to this white paper, the death spiral continued in 2011, which again, is just part of the self-consuming cycle that usually starts with the dreaded “reorganization.” Had everyone become too comfortable prior to 2004?
I am confident this organization can be brought back to its former glory with a true appreciation and humble respect for its original mission to be a movement directed by its members. – Pg. 4
A similar thing happened in college to another organization that is near and dear to my heart. The University of Georgia Redcoat Band has a long history stretching back to 1905. It is one big family, and traditions are so important to keep these ties strong. One director and his wife in particular was instrumental (no pun intended) in creating this close knit group over many decades. After he retired, an associate director that was already part of the band took over. In my opinion, he was threatened by the memory of the former director and set out to turn it into “his” band. In order to do this, many traditions were thrown out the window and deemed childish. Logos were discarded and new ones created. Alumni were ignored. The band no longer had a family feel, and members began to drop out. The coup de grâce was the complete redesign of the uniform which looked nothing like the historical uniform. Eventually this director left, and slowly but surely, the band attempted to rebuild its base. I don’t know if it’ll ever be the same as it was before the 90s, but the current board of the alumni band has done a good job. However, the damage was done, and it took quite a lot of work and a little over 10 years to build it back and patch things up. You can still see the effect of this director by the lower numbers of 1990s alumni attendance and involvement. But the Redcoat Band is bigger than any one person. The same thing applies to Girl Scouts.
At this point in the white paper, ten steps are presented as a solution to the issues facing Girl Scouts. Anybody can criticize and complain, but it takes thought and creativity to come up with fixes. Many of these steps are on a national level, so I won’t highlight any of those.
The days of needing to prove to corporate and governmental America that we are a player with power are over. The funding model of Girl Scouts rests with the members and they are the only ones we need to impress. – Pg. 4
Do what you do, and do it well. Scouting may never be what it once was due to societal changes, but it can still impact lives. Girl Scouts is unlike any other organization, so let’s not take the cookie-cutter (no pun intended here either) approach. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t ever evolve, but there’s no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater when changes are needed.
In short, handbooks would bring back traditions of Girl Scouts and an experience for members that resembles the program of the past 100 years, honoring the fact that most of our members join to have the next generation of girls experience Girl Scouts as they did. – Pg. 5
Like the Redcoat Band, Girl Scouts is a big family with a rich history. Tradition brings generations together.
Girl Scouts needs to return to the Troop model for our girls with an emphasis on recruiting year round Troop Leaders. Girls are most impacted positively in this model while Troop Leaders also have a more meaningful experience through long-term relationships. – Pg. 5
GSUSA and councils need to realize that THEY work for US, and not vice versa. I don’t know if that’s the case with most councils, but ours struggles with it. Some of the solutions zero in on this, such as:
Councils would be smaller, accessible to members and give a personal touch. GSUSA would bring back gestures that made members and volunteers feel special such as membership cards, the Leader Magazine and a national Girl Scout welcome booklet that explains the essentials of Basic Leader Training. Councils could count on GSUSA support with national publications such as guidebooks for volunteer on the basics of Girl Scouts, safety standards and monographs (publications with best practices in all facets of the Girl Scout business) – Pg. 6
and:
Council boundaries need a second look. In 2005, GSUSA insisted that 312 councils needed to become 109 (ultimately 112 when three councils refused) high-capacity councils to better serve the girls and volunteers. That hasn’t happened. To that end, the council boundaries would be examined, this time for the council’s ability to reach all segments of their jurisdiction. – Pg. 6
Kudos to Suellen Nelles for writing this white paper. I’m sure she’s faced a lot of heat for publishing it, but it’s great to see someone at the CEO level have the courage to stand up and voice something that is both sincere and constructive. J-Low certainly didn’t sacrifice as much as she did to have it go down in flames due to contemporary pride and feel-good catchphrases. As Nelles points out at the end of the white paper, J-Low said, “Right is right, even if no one else does it.”
Like you, I read through Ms. Nelles white paper many times and I too applaud her courage for publishing it. I am sure she is not real popular right now with the upper echelon, but she has my heartfelt thank you.
I started as a Girl Scout in 1972, earned my First Class as a Cadette in 1979 and the Gold Award in 1982 during my junior year of high school. In 1986 I became my half-sister’s Brownie leader at the age of 21 and led her troop through her first year of Cadettes. I then became the Brownie leader for my newly adopted daughter and took her through to her first year of Cadettes. I stepped out when she lost interest in 1994.
My baby and I joined/re-joined in 2010 when she started Daisies as a 1st grader. I was STUNNED at the changes that took place between 1994 and 2010! Everything I knew and loved about the program was gone. The badges and journeys are a joke and boring. I have re-written just about everything we’ve done or turned to my old Girl Scout books to make it a FUN learning experience for my troops. I am valiantly trying to kee the wonderful traditions of our program alive in this generation of girls – instilling in them the love that I was given for the program. My Cadettes are very proud to be an “old-school” troop that serves their community, knows our heritage, and wants to earn the badges and journeys because “Miss Jen makes it so much fun that we don’t even realize we’re learning something important!”
And my Daisies & Brownies love doing things that they don’t get to do anywhere else in their lives. My nieces are in this particular troop and they are constantly telling me how much they love Girl Scouts and that they are so happy that I am their leader. So I guess I’m doing something right!
Thanks for sharing your Girl Scouting memories with us. I always enjoy reading your posts!
Please do not call our great founder Juliette Gordon Low the nickname J-Low. Her nickname was Daisy.
Please realize I do not mean “J-Low” as being disrespectful. Many of my posts are written with a fond irreverence to both Girl Scouts and Daisy herself – in fact, this particular white paper one is quite out of line with the rest of my blog posts. I think anyone who stood on her head and did cartwheels probably had some fun in her! 😉
I’m an “old timer” and new reader of your blog. Your analogy with the big red band was spot on. Somebody just needs to stand up and say “the emperor isn’t wearing any clothes” then set about stitching up garments that fit, wear well, honor tradition, and motivate the folks watching to join the parade.
I am a long time Girl Scout- I have been a leader, a trainer and staff member. When I retired, I volunteered as a GS troop leader and tried for 2 years to get the girls interested in Journeys. It was only when we junked the Journeys and went to back to the “old” program that our troop was successful.
I would like to suggest that the “new” program stifles the creativity of the girls and severely limits their choices. In addition, it doesn’t have enough content for a new leader to effectively lead a troop.
I agree with Ms. Nelles on 99% of what she says. Regardless, it is evident that GSUSA needs to make a lot of changes if Girl Scouting is to thrive.
Hey! Thanks for speaking up!!!!
Hoping to heck we finally get some press coverage on this.
One side note: A lot of GS members HAVE given up! Or seemingly so! Though I am very much hoping they step up and come back when this finally hits the main stream media.
Great blog and keep it up!
For now, #IStandWithDaisy
-k!
I won’t come back unless they apologize for slandering me and calling me negative when I was against selling our camps.
I am so sorry about your being bullied when you tried to stand up for camp closings. That is not right.
Hello! I am the founder of the Outdoor Girl Scout Project. At first, our goal was to add an Outdoor Journey to the current Journey Program, and many new badges. Now we are working for official Outdoor Program leading to Girl Scouting’s highest awards – – that does not necessarily need to be a Journey, but a great, hands-on Journey that was in the Outdoors would be great, IF there were plenty of badge choices in it.
So… we think there is much of value in the Journeys, but that they are NOT enough. We need more of what Juliette Low knew would help girls – – progressive, great Skills Badges and Programs and Official Outdoor Programs. We can have change (the new Journeys) and also bring back what our Founder believed in.
I have to say, I also was shocked to see that progressive Skills Badges (and MANY other ones) were no longer in the official Girl Scout Program I and many grew up with.
I am an older woman (60 years old) but still active and help with Girl Scouting now and hope to for many more years.
Older Girl Scouts can be a BIG help to their Areas still. And are not “dinosaurs” – – too old to accept change. They are just as important as any Girl Scout Members. Girl Scout Staff and Volunteers MUST form a new partnership for needed change to tackle our problems.
The White Paper has many good points. I applaud the White Paper for being forthright and Suellen Nelles for saying what she thinks. As you might know, the Farthest North Council was either the ONLY council or one of the few that was not consolidated, which has not worked well in some areas.
Be that as it may, I and many others believe that Girl Scouting is still the best girl group out there. There are still many great Areas and Councils out there, and great volunteers working hard to get the girls outdoors and help the Girl Scout Camps too.
There is much to work on. I agree that Girl Scouts is a unique group. I think together, we can turn things around. Saying what we think and not giving up on Take Action ideas is the way that I was taught to work for change as a Girl Scout.
So go, Girl Scout of the Farthest North Council. There is much of value in your White Paper. I will be reading it again too.
The new Outdoor Badges that many councils worked for (by requesting an official Conversation at the 2014 National Council Session about the Outdoors…) are a small, but important start. But we need MUCH more done.
Yes, a voice in decision-making Nationally is also important, and having volunteers help with new Official Program is a must as well. We must believe we CAN work for change within the system. I for one don’t want to defect to another Scouting group while there is hope for needed change.
Love the meme: #IStandWithDaisy too. And want #morethan5 badges. #gsoutdoors – – we ALL want what is good for the girls. I salute Ms. Nelles for her courage.
And everyone (Staff and Volunteers) are invited to join us at the Outdoor Girl Scout Project too. The more people we have working for change, the bigger impact we will have.
Here is our Facebook page – come join us to talk about Girl Scout issues like this AND Take Action at the GSUSA 2017 National Council Session. https://www.facebook.com/groups/outdoor.journey/
The mergers were brought about because there were a large number of councils in the country which were in severe financial trouble. The idea was to consolidate resources and staff to cut costs —thus the highly functioning council concept.
Thanks – it looks like there are many pieces to this puzzle that led us to where we are today, and it sounds like it all happened relatively quickly. Hindsight is always 20/20, but there have been serious missteps and an extremely heavy handed approach was taken. I cannot fathom why on earth someone would disregard the history and tradition of an organization. Even if you’re not from the “GS Family,” someone obviously didn’t do their homework or did and just ignored it thinking their approach is better (again, ego). People make mistakes. What is most disappointing to me is what I perceive as a disdainful response from GSUSA – which again, points to managerial ego and pride based on what I’ve encountered in my previous employment.
I am a leader of 2 troops. I’ve had to take over my younger daughter’s troop because no one else would.
The journeys are painful. What I’ve done is search for other solutions on line and combine multiple ideas to help guide the girls through. They need the journeys to be able to do the higher awards, but they hate the journeys.
Sometimes, we just kick back during a meeting and let the girls be girls and talk about anything. It’s helpful.
The whitepaper is a good start, but we need GSUSA to listen.
I am also a traditionalist. I know that times have changed and the girls know more about social media than i do. However when they still love and want learning with knives and fire building and first aid and safety and archery (of course). The journeys seem like a way for help leaders not to think about how to train or develop a plan, its all layed out. And i do like the take action projects but that to me is community service.
Thanks for all the posts and opinions.
I agree, these things need to be said. I have always felt the national Girl Scout people were living too high on the hog off the backs of the girls. I have been involved in girl scouts as a girl from 1960 to 1972 & as a leader & service unit manager from 1985 to present. I feel that the girls in our serve unit get a lot out of Girl Gcouts. We have not always liked the things national & our council try to ram down our throats.
I applaud Suellen Nelles for her White Paper and especially for her commitment to traditional Girl Scouting. The current Girl Scout administration would be very wise to take her words to heart and put them into action! For anyone interested in knowing more about the transformations in Girl Scouting over the past decade, read Tough Cookies: What 100 years of the Girl Scouts Can Teach You About Business and Life, by Kathy Cloninger, the CEO of GSUSA who started the whole transformation in the mid 2000s. (I encourage you to check the book out at the library or buy it used so as not to line the pockets of the author). In my opinion the book is a shockingly egotistical and a self-serving account of how the Girl Scout organization became the corporate debacle it has become. It is important to become informed about what has happened so, like Ms. Nelles, we can work to restore our beloved Girl Scouts to the core values Juliette Low established. I am deeply saddened by what has happened and hope that Ms. Nelle’s ideas are implemented on a broad scale.
I do not understand why older girls, especially Ambassadors, cannot have more badges to choose from that are interesting & even exciting. Why do the high school girls get only 11 badges & half of them about cookies & business topics? I was told “because older hs girls do fewer badges.” Well, my daughters & their troops did plenty of badges! And they were on subjects such as Archery. Caving, the Underground Railroad, Geology…yes, we did Councils Own badges, so girls with particular interests could engage them. They liked doing these things as a break from the constant emphasis on school work & college prep, SATs, etc. Good luck using your troop meetings today, as a break from that stuff & a chance to try something intriguing & different.
I was talking about something similar with a leader friend of mine who was also a GS the same time as I was in the late 80s (but in a different council). As Seniors, we seemed to have the same issue where there was more of an emphasis put on these Journeys before they were Journeys called Careers in Exploration, Dreams to Reality, and Let’s Make It Happen. We both thought they were the biggest snoozers. It seemed like there were very few badges for us then which sounds like the same thing is happening now.
I continue to be amazed at the continued whittling away of our democratic process. I am dismayed: to learn we hire women not passionate about our Girl Scout movement but instead they proudly proclaim they have taken the job as a “resume builder” (this common knowledge by those hiring them), by the assumption if one has been a volunteer for several years they are resistant to change and yet those same volunteers have successfully dealt with a multitude of changes during their years of service, to the continued loss of girls and adults as our program continues to look less and less like Girl Scouts, to see rural areas with successful councils swallowed by financially troubled urban councils and now those rural areas are severely underserved by the new council etc. I hope the membership gathers together and our voices are so united that they must be heard before it is too late Our girls need Girl Scouts based on the framework that Juliette Gordon Low began and yes it must remain current for today’s girls that does not mean we throw away our basic and treasured framework