Most people think they know Girl Scouts because of one thing: cookies.
In Episode 143 of the Charity Charge Show, Stephen Garten sits down in person with Paula Bookidis, CEO of Girl Scouts of Central Texas, to talk about what the public rarely sees. Yes, the cookie program is a powerhouse. But the real story is how Girl Scouts builds courage, confidence, and character through a leadership experience that blends entrepreneurship, STEM, outdoors, and life skills.
Girl Scouts of Central Texas serves more than 12,000 members across 46 counties, runs with about 75 full-time staff, and relies on roughly 10,000 adult volunteers. It is a serious operation, and it runs on a model many nonprofits talk about but few actually execute: sustainable earned revenue tied directly to mission outcomes.
Overview
The cookie program is not a fundraiser. It is a leadership system.
Paula makes this point clearly. The cookie program works because it is not some random side hustle tacked onto the mission. It is the mission in action.
Girl Scouts calls it the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world, and the program teaches five core skills:
- Goal setting
- Decision-making
- Money management
- People skills
- Business ethics
If you lead a nonprofit and you are tired of chasing the same grants and running the same year-end appeals, this is the hard truth: earned revenue works best when it is built into the actual experience you deliver, not stapled on as a quick fix.
That is why selling cookies has lasted for more than 100 years, starting as a bake sale to fund camping and becoming a national institution.
The numbers are real: 60 to 70 percent of revenue can come from one earned stream
Girl Scouts of Central Texas brought in close to $12 million in revenue last year, and Paula shares that roughly 60 to 70 percent typically comes from cookie sales in their region.
That is a huge percentage, and it funds two things at the same time:
- Girls and troops: Many girls can fund their entire Girl Scout experience through cookie earnings, including badges, trips, camp, and community service projects.
- Council operations: Cookie revenue also supports the staff, infrastructure, and programming that goes beyond what a single troop can provide.
Here is the part many people miss: earned revenue is a blessing, but it can also become a branding trap.
Paula explains the “double-edged sword” problem. When an organization is famous for earned revenue, donors can assume you do not need philanthropy. That is wrong. Cookies fund a lot, but not everything. Especially not community programs designed to reach girls who would not otherwise get access.
What Girl Scouts actually does beyond cookies
Stephen pushes the conversation where it needs to go: past the product and into the program.
Paula frames Girl Scouts as a leadership experience built around four pillars:
- STEM
- Outdoors
- Life skills
- Entrepreneurship
The point is not that Girl Scouts does four separate things. It is that they create an integrated system where learning leads to action.
One example they share is a STEM challenge at camp sponsored by Samsung, designed like a high-energy, narrative-driven experience. Girls work in teams on survival-style challenges like:
- Building a boat that floats using limited materials
- Creating a water filtration solution
- Solving hands-on engineering problems outdoors
This is smart program design. It meets kids where they are, uses storytelling, and still gets them off screens and into real-world problem-solving.
Technology, phones, and the reality parents are dealing with
Paula does not dodge what has changed. She points to research showing mental health is a top concern for parents of girls right now.
Their approach is balanced and intentional:
- Some skill-building is fully unplugged
- Some includes tech, including badges on cybersecurity and online safety
- They are building around AI, robotics, and workforce-relevant skills
- Camps and outdoor experiences are increasingly phone-free spaces
This matters for nonprofit leaders because it shows a practical principle: you do not “fight technology” by pretending it is not there. You create clear boundaries and design experiences that give kids something better than scrolling.
How a federated nonprofit model stays locally relevant
Girl Scouts of the USA is a national organization, but it does not deliver local programming directly. The work happens through 110 councils that cover every county in the U.S.
That structure has two strengths:
- Scale where it counts: shared brand, program framework, and national resources
- Local relevance where it matters: councils adapt to community needs and build local partnerships
Paula explains how national Girl Scouts is currently funding and guiding innovation at the council level. Councils pilot new approaches, collect data, and feed lessons back into the broader network.
If you work in any chapter-based nonprofit model, this is a useful playbook: national sets direction and invests in experimentation, locals execute and report outcomes.
Running a real organization: culture, staffing, and leadership at scale
Leading a $12M nonprofit with 75 staff and a huge volunteer base is not “cute nonprofit work.” It is serious management.
Paula calls out a few realities that hit close to home for any executive director:
1) Maintaining culture across a wide geography is hard
Girl Scouting looks different in Austin than it does in San Angelo, Waco, or other parts of their 46-county footprint. Communities have different needs and different expectations.
2) Perception of fairness can become a constant drag
If one region thinks another is getting “more,” you get friction. That is true whether you are a Girl Scout council or a multi-site nonprofit with branches.
3) Leadership must stay close to the front lines
Paula describes tactics they use to avoid executive blind spots:
- Skip-level meetings
- Regular employee surveys (including Gallup)
- Clear operating rhythms and KPIs reviewed weekly and quarterly
None of this is glamorous. It is how you prevent drift and keep a distributed organization aligned.
Board dysfunction: fix it fast, or it will break you
This section is worth re-reading if you are a nonprofit CEO.
When Stephen asks about dysfunctional boards, Paula’s advice is direct:
- Meet board members one-on-one quickly
- Identify allies who can lead change from the inside
- Make sure board composition matches the organization’s current strategic needs
- Put standards and processes in place for board development and succession
Boards are not static. The board you need while stabilizing finances is not always the board you need when launching a capital campaign or managing real estate decisions.
If your board is causing mission creep, skipping meetings, or refusing fundraising responsibility, you do not “wait it out.” You structure your way out of it.
The pandemic: a blunt reminder that in-person models need contingency plans
Girl Scouts was built for in-person experiences. Like many organizations, they had to pivot fast to virtual programming during COVID.
Paula shares a key detail that saved them in 2020: their cookie program in Central Texas runs mid-January through the end of February. They had just finished cookie season when shutdowns began. Councils that started cookie sales in mid-March 2020 were hit harder, with ripple effects even reaching cookie manufacturing partners.
If you depend on one major revenue season, you need a contingency plan. Even if things are stable today.
What’s next: campaigns, outdoor access, and investing in girls
Paula shares that Girl Scouts of Central Texas is ramping toward a larger fundraising campaign, focused on transforming and expanding outdoor spaces and programs. That includes big ambitions around outdoor programming and activating property they already have.
This ties back to a simple point: Girl Scouts is not about one “C” cookie. It is about the other three Cs: courage, confidence, and character.
Paula also shares a sobering statistic: Texas ranks near the bottom in overall girl well-being (she cites 42nd). Her message is plain: Texas needs to do better for girls, and Girl Scouts is one practical way to invest in that future.
How to support Girl Scouts of Central Texas
Paula lays out three ways people can help:
- Volunteer
- Yes, men can volunteer. Paula even shares that she was a troop leader before becoming CEO, and one of her co-leaders was a dad.
- Companies can also organize volunteer projects, including outdoor work at camp.
- Donate
- Support helps expand access, especially for the roughly 20 percent of girls they serve through staff and community partners, including girls whose families may not be able to participate otherwise.
- Buy cookies
- When cookie season starts in mid-January 2026, buying cookies directly supports Girl Scouts and troop experiences.
- When cookie season starts in mid-January 2026, buying cookies directly supports Girl Scouts and troop experiences.
What nonprofit leaders should take from this episode
If you run a nonprofit, here are the straight takeaways:
- Earned revenue is strongest when it is inseparable from mission delivery.
- Fame can work against you. If the public assumes you “already have money,” you still need to tell the real funding story.
- Volunteer-dependent models are under pressure. Parents have less time. You need to modernize delivery without compromising outcomes.
- Distributed operations rise or fall on culture systems, not slogans.
- Boards need structure, succession, and the right skills for the current strategy.
- Kids need both digital literacy and real analog time. If you do not design phone-free spaces, they will not happen on their own.
Podcast Transcript Q&A
Cookies are just one piece of what we do. I like to say cookies are one “C,” but our mission is really about the other three Cs: courage, confidence, and character. Everything we do, whether it is STEM, outdoors, life skills, or entrepreneurship, is about developing leadership skills in girls so they are prepared for the future.
Q: How many girls does Girl Scouts of Central Texas serve, and what does your footprint look like?
We serve more than 12,000 members across 46 counties in Central Texas. Our region stretches west to San Angelo, north to Stephenville, south to San Marcos, and east to the Bryan–College Station area. It is a large and diverse geography, which means Girl Scouting looks different in different communities.
We do not see it as a fundraiser. The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world. It teaches five essential skills: goal setting, decision-making, money management, people skills, and business ethics. Girls learn how to ask, how to handle rejection, how to plan inventory, and how to run a small business. That is why it has lasted for more than 100 years.
In our region, cookie sales typically account for about 60 to 70 percent of our annual revenue. A portion of that goes directly back to the girls and their troops, often funding their entire Girl Scout experience. The rest supports the operations and programs of the council, including outreach to girls who might not otherwise be able to participate.
The advantage is sustainability. Cookies are deeply integrated into the Girl Scout experience, so they are not a side activity. The challenge is perception. Sometimes people assume we do not need philanthropic support because we have cookies. In reality, cookies do not cover everything we do, especially community-based programs that expand access for girls who need additional support.
Our leadership experience is built around four pillars: STEM, outdoors, life skills, and entrepreneurship. These are not separate tracks. They are integrated. Girls learn, connect what they are learning to their community, and then take action. Whether they are building a robot, learning financial skills, or spending time outdoors, the goal is leadership development.
Q: How do you blend technology and outdoor experiences in your programming?
We look for intersections. For example, we run STEM challenges at camp where girls are outdoors but solving engineering problems. In one challenge, teams had to build a floating boat using limited materials and create a water filtration system. They are learning engineering, teamwork, and problem-solving while also being in nature and disconnected from their phones.
Q: What changes have you seen in girls over the last several years, especially around technology and mental health?
Mental health is the number one concern parents have for their girls right now. We are very intentional about balancing digital and analog experiences. Some activities are completely unplugged. Others involve technology, including badges focused on cybersecurity, online safety, AI, and robotics. We also prioritize phone-free spaces at camp and in outdoor programs because the research clearly shows how important that time is for kids.
Q: How is Girl Scouts structured nationally versus locally?
Girl Scouts of the USA is the national organization, but we are a federated model. There are 110 Girl Scout councils that cover every county in the United States. National provides program frameworks, research, and support, but councils deliver programming locally. That allows us to be both scalable and locally relevant.
Q: How does innovation happen across the Girl Scout movement?
Right now, the national organization is investing in innovation at the council level. Councils can pilot new approaches, collect data, and share results back nationally. That creates a feedback loop where successful ideas can be scaled while still allowing local experimentation.
Q: What are the biggest leadership challenges in running a nonprofit of your size?
Maintaining culture across a large geographic footprint is one of the hardest things. Communities have different needs, and perceptions of fairness can become an issue. Another challenge is staying connected to what is happening on the front lines. We work hard to avoid executive blind spots through skip-level meetings, employee surveys, and clear operating rhythms.
Q: What advice would you give nonprofit leaders dealing with a dysfunctional board?
Board partnership is critical. If you step into dysfunction, you need to address it quickly. Meet with board members individually, find allies who can help drive change, and make sure your board has the right skills for the organization’s current strategic priorities. Boards need structure, development, and succession planning, just like staff teams do.
Q: How did the pandemic affect Girl Scouts of Central Texas?
Our model is built around being together in person, so the shift to virtual programming was a major challenge. We had to build that infrastructure quickly. We were fortunate that our cookie season ended before shutdowns began in 2020, which gave us time to adapt. Membership did drop, and councils that were mid-cookie season when the pandemic hit faced much bigger disruptions.
Q: How do you think about employee well-being and retention?
We start with the basics. Do people have clarity, the right tools, and a sense of purpose? Flexibility matters a lot to our staff, especially since many are parents. We offer hybrid work, flexible schedules, and opportunities for staff to experience the mission, including outdoor and camp-based activities. Keeping people engaged over time is about letting roles evolve as the organization evolves.
Q: What does your hiring process look like for senior roles?
It starts with clearly defining the role. That sounds basic, but it is critical. We also use applied interviews when appropriate, such as asking candidates to design a program experience. We are transparent about our culture and what it is like to work here, so candidates can assess whether they will be successful and aligned with our mission.
Q: What strategic work happens at the end of the year for your organization?
Our fiscal year starts October 1, so September is a major planning period for us. We operate on a three-year strategic plan that is updated annually. We revisit goals quarterly and review key metrics weekly at the leadership level. End of year is also an important fundraising period, largely because donors expect it and are making giving decisions.
Q: How do you view Giving Tuesday and community giving days?
They are very effective for smaller nonprofits because they provide visibility and a platform to reach new donors. We participate so that people who are looking for us can find us, but we do not rely on Giving Tuesday to drive the bulk of our fundraising. We run campaigns outside of that cycle.
Q: What is next for Girl Scouts of Central Texas?
We are preparing for a larger fundraising campaign focused on expanding access to outdoor experiences and transforming some of our physical spaces. This includes activating land we already have to create more opportunities for girls to get outdoors, take risks in safe environments, and build leadership skills.
Q: How can individuals and companies get involved with Girl Scouts of Central Texas?
There are several ways. People can volunteer, including men. Companies can organize volunteer projects, especially at our camps. Community members can donate to support programs and access for girls. And of course, buying Girl Scout cookies is a direct way to support girls and their troops when cookie season begins.
