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The Girl Scouts of the USA could be about to implement a huge hike in annual fees amid financial struggles and declining membership numbers.

This weekend, 900 delegates of the GSUSA’s National Council will vote on whether to raise the membership dues for the first time in eight years with the proposed bump up from $25 annually to $85, a whopping 240 percent hike.

“We have collectively acknowledged that a membership dues increase is needed which is greater than the 25 percent (or $6.25) the National Board has authority to approve in a single triennium,” GSUSA President Noorain Khan and CEO Bonnie Barczykowski said in a handbook for the delegates who are set to cast their votes.

(Video: CBS Texas)

“Over the past few years, costs have increased everywhere, and neither GSUSA nor our councils have been immune to this pressure,” the handbook states, noting that costs have been covered by the National Board tapping its financial reserves.

According to the handbook, the GSUSA had a $4.4 million deficit in 2023 with the shortfall expected to be $5.6 million by the end of the current fiscal year.

Several factors have contributed to the financial woes, not the least of which has been a decline in membership at least partially due to the COVID pandemic. The rebranded Boy Scouts of America which has changed its longtime name to Scouting America began allowing girls to join in 2018, a highly controversial change.

The move is being panned by critics who worry that the increase will further impact the organization’s membership.

“It’s an enormous increase,” Girl Scouts of Western Ohio troop leader Sally Bertram said, according to CNN. “It’s like, what are you people thinking? You are going to run yourselves out of business.”

“We get nothing for this money. We don’t get our uniforms; we don’t get our badges. I just started a new little troop with my youngest granddaughters. I had to ask the moms for $20 to cover expenses,” added Bertram who was once a Girl Scout and is now a troop leader for her three granddaughters.

“(If the dues are increased) I think that these girls could lose a lifetime of experiences,” she told WCPO.

Bertram, who has been a troop leader for three decades, said that she could understand if it went up to $35 but described the proposed $85 rate increase as “insane.”

“We will dissolve our unit,” she said. “If it goes to $85, we’re just going to start our own little girls club out here and follow on and do our own little things with them.”

“Ensuring that Girl Scouts can be here for girls (now and in the future) requires financial resources. Girl Scouts has not raised membership dues in over 8 years. This is not a decision we take lightly, which is why 900 delegates representing Girl Scouts’ membership are coming together to weigh options and vote to ensure that Girl Scouts thrive and that, most importantly, every girl has access to the Girl Scout experience so desperately needed today,” the organization said in a statement to Fox Business.

“Our commitment to providing an experience that is impactful and engaging to the members we currently serve—and those we will serve in the future—is unwavering. We look forward to building on our strong history, delivering new ways to ensure a sustainable and thriving future, and remaining relevant to girls now and in the future,” the spox added.

Chris Donaldson
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