Volunteer Essentials

As a not-for-profit organization, Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri must follow all IRS guidelines for a 501c3 organization. All Girl Scout troops and service units are an extension of the Council, including the Council IRS not-for-profit status. Therefore, all troop and service unit finances are considered assets of Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri. To ensure compliance with IRS and audit guidelines, Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri has the following policies regarding in-kind, monetary, and other donations from individuals and organizations to troops of Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri.

IMPORTANT: Per the guidelines set by Girl Scouts of USA, girl members may not engage in any direct solicitation for money (see Girl Scouts of USA’s Blue Book of Basic Documents ).

In-Kind Donations Girls cannot ask for donations of money. However, girls and adults may seek in-kind donations of products to support a troop or subordinate unit activity, Award Project or service project. Examples of in- kind donations include, but are not limited to paint, flowers for corsages and craft supplies.

If a donor requests a gift receipt, and the product donation is valued at $250 or more, please send the following information to fund.development@girlscoutsem.org or mail to Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri,

Attn: Fund Development, 2300 Ball Drive, St. Louis, MO 63146: 1. A comprehensive itemized list of products or services secured 2. Full contact information of the donors 3. Full contact information of troop

Monetary Donations/Volunteer Hour Match Program All monetary donations must be turned into Council with the troop number and donor’s contact information. Once the gift is processed, Council will confirm the troop has not exceeded the $250 cap and forward the donation to the designated troop.

For example, a troop that has received a total of $300 in monetary donations during one Girl Scout year would keep $250 and send Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri the difference equaling $50.

All monetary donations exceeding the $250 cap, must be accompanied by the donor form, located on girlscoutsem.org and sent to the Council. Remember, girl members may not engage in any direct solicitation for money. Girl Scout volunteers may apply for their company’s volunteer hour match program to receive monetary donations for their troops. Many employers recognize the hours employees spend volunteering for Girl Scouts with cash contributions. Volunteers may check with their employer’s human resources office or visit girlscoutsem.org/match to see if their company offers a volunteer hour match program. Volunteers who apply for a match must list the designated troop on the employer’s form and email the Council at fund.development@girlscoutsem.org to confirm the match. Please allow 4-6 weeks for processing once council has received the match gift.

Managing Finances 75