The following policy is for youth member(s) leaving a troop and continuing to participate in Girl Scouts within Western Washington.
If a troop has a signed financial group agreement with family members regarding the division of troop funds, that agreement should be maintained. Questions the financial agreement should answer include:
- Will troop funds follow a youth member when they leave the troop? If yes, how will their portion of funds be calculated?
- Are there exceptions to the rule? Example: If a troop is raising funds for international travel does that change how troop funds will be split?
For further ideas or questions, you may want to consider, particularly related to money earning, review our Money Earning Group Agreement.
Without a signed agreement, the remaining troop funds will be divided equally based on the current number of registered youth members at the time the request is made (minus any outstanding debts), with a few of exceptions:
- If a youth member has not yet been part of a fundraising activity, the family would only be eligible for a prorated portion of their troop dues. Example: If the troop dues were $36 for the year and the member had participated for 3 months, the family would be eligible for $27 back.
- If a youth member has participated in an existing troop (a troop that has been running for over a full calendar year) for under a year, did not bring previous troop funds with them, and has participated in fundraising, the family would be eligible for only 50% of their share of the funds.
- Product Program: from the first day of order taking until 5 business days after the final scheduled ACH withdrawal from the troop account, any proceeds earned during a Girl Scouts of Western Washington Product Program remain the property of the troop and will not be considered as part of the existing troop funds. Any payments owed to a troop as part of an ongoing Product Program will remain due to the troop by the youth member/family leaving the troop. Example: If a youth member leaves a troop in the middle of the Cookie Program, the account balance used to determine the youth member’s share of funds will be from the account balance prior to the first day of order taking. The youth member/family will owe any balance due for cookies ordered and will not receive any portion of the proceeds from the ongoing cookie program.
The funds need to be requested within 30 days of leaving the troop and will be transferred directly to either the new Girl Scout troop the member is participating in or onto an Individually Registered Member (IRM) card. Please email your Troop Leader and Volunteer Support Manager with the below information to initiate the request for funds:
- How long your Girl Scout was part of the troop they are leaving
- Whether or not your Girl Scout participated in fundraising for the troop
- Whether your Girl Scout is joining a new troop or becoming an IRM
- The new troop number (if applicable)
The Volunteer Support Manager will collaborate with the troop leadership to determine the amount that will be following the youth member and will respond to the family with the amount and timeline/details of the funds being transferred.
