Corporate Cookie Connections Program

A new way for Girl Scouts to reach their goals, build their entrepreneurial spirit, and make business connections!

The Corporate Cookie Connections Patch Program is designed to help Girl Scouts build their skills in communication, organization, and responsibility as they learn about cookie partnerships and closing a deal! Girl Scouts will learn to identify business prospects and create strategies for engagement. They’ll create a proposal to guide their pitch to prospective clients. Plus, they'll receive tools that can be used once a sponsorship is secured to thank their clients and create long-lasting partnerships.

Selling Girl Scout Cookies® is one of the most iconic activities Girl Scouts engage in. And the Girl Scout Cookie Program is the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world. Girl Scouts are finding more and more ways to build their business and think outside the box. The Corporate Cookie Connections Program helps our Cookie Bosses connect with Girl Scout Cookie™ fans everywhere!

Follow the four "P" steps for building strong corporate cookie connections:

1. Prospect toggle arrow

The first step in building strong corporate cookie connections is to identify prospects. A prospect is a company that is a potential sponsor for your Girl Scout Cookie sale. Below are a few prompting questions and ideas to help you brainstorm cookie sponsorship prospects.

What businesses do you frequent?
Have you seen businesses highlighted in the local news?
Do you have family and/or friends who work for a local business?
What businesses have made donations to the community before and, therefore, may do so again?
Are there businesses that could utilize cookies as client gifts, employee appreciation, etc.?

Brainstorm: Identify three prospects.

After identifying your prospects, it is important to create a strategy for each of them. Use the questions below to help you think of the best way to approach each business- no two are alike! You may have to do some research.

What are the business’s values? How do they align with yours/Girl Scouts?
What level of sponsorship do you think best suits them?
What are some of the best ways they could utilize the cookies?
Who might they want to donate cookies to?
Have they previously had a connection to Girl Scouts?

Research: Summarize your strategy for each of your three prospects.

Now that you have identified your prospects and strategy, it is time to reach out! If you already have a contact at the business, connect with them to set up a time to meet with the owner, manager, and/or whoever is responsible for sponsorship decisions. If you do not already have a contact, try visiting the business, giving them a call, or writing a professional email to set up a meeting. Then, head on to step two to prepare for your meeting!

2. Proposal & Pitch toggle arrow

To prepare for your meeting with the business leader(s), you must create your proposal and pitch. Your proposal includes all the information your prospect may need to know! You should include information on the Corporate Cookie Connections program, what levels of sponsorship are available, and the benefits to the business for participating. You may also want to share about the Girl Scout Cookie Program, your Cookie Sale goals, and your Girl Scout experience.

Your proposal may be a printed document, perhaps a flyer, or a pamphlet you design. You could also create a digital proposal document, website, or presentation to share. Print out the Become a Corporate Cookie Connections Partner flyer to give to your prospects during your pitch. It lists all the sponsorship levels and benefits they receive and access to the Corporate Cookie Connections Sponsorship Form.

Proposal: Plan what to include in your proposal.

While providing a proposal is key, you will also need to prepare for what to say during your meeting- this is your pitch! You should cover information similar to what is described above for your proposal, and provide them with the proposal before, during, or after your pitch as support. During your pitch, you also should make your ask—let them know how they can help you towards your goal and what it would require of them!

Below are tips for perfecting your pitch.

Practice, practice, practice! If possible, practice with an audience who can help provide you feedback.
Avoid filler words like “um,” “like,” and “so.” Writing out and practicing your pitch can help you grow confident in your words and avoid fillers, but if you feel the urge to say them, try to take a brief pause instead!
If you make a mistake, that is okay! Just pause, take a deep breath, and keep going.
Dress for success (your Girl Scout uniform would be a great touch!) and stand/sit up straight so that you look and feel confident.
Make eye contact with your audience. If that seems a little scary, an easy trick is to look at someone’s forehead so that you are still acknowledging them but do not make yourself uncomfortable.

Pitch: Write out what you will say in your pitch.

After giving your pitch, it is time to close the deal! Head on to step three to learn more.

3. Procure toggle arrow

To procure means to obtain, and in this case, you are procuring a sponsorship! After providing a proposal to your prospect and giving your pitch, try to get that yes! Before that point, it is likely the business leader(s) will ask some questions. Answer them as honestly as you can, should you know the answer. If you do not, simply let them know and offer to get back to them at a later time with the answer.

If you haven’t yet gotten a yes, try one of the four closing strategies below to finish your sale! Pick the one(s) you feel will work best for you:

Summary Close – This closing technique is great when trying to help your prospect visualize the offer and its benefits. You will want to reiterate the key points from your pitch and/or answers you provided to their questions, stressing the value and benefits of the deal, before asking if they are ready to commit.
Soft Close – If using this technique, you do not want to put a lot of pressure on your prospect. Allow them time to make their decision and offer them your adult’s contact information so they can reach out if they have additional questions and/or are ready to commit. (With this technique, be sure you make the prospect aware of the deadline for commitment.)
Question Close – This technique invites you to ask a probing question of your own to the prospect. This question should help them understand the value of what you are offering and drive them to commit. For example, you could end with, "Would you agree that donating to our Cookies for the Military program aligns with your business’s mission to give back?”
Now or Never Close – When using this technique, you are trying to create a sense of urgency to drive the prospect to commit then and there. If you have the cookies with you, you could offer to deliver them on the same day. If you do not, you could offer to do it by the end of the week.

Through this process, you must also be prepared for a business to say no to sponsorship. Should this happen, do not be discouraged! Thank them for their time and consideration and provide them with your adult’s contact information so they may reach out if they are interested at a later time.

4. Partner toggle arrow

While the Corporate Cookie Connections program is based on financial sponsorships, it is important to remember that you are forming partnerships with these businesses! In the same way, you want to receive credit for the sponsorship to earn cool rewards, you want to be sure the business is getting all the benefits promised to them.

Print out the Become a Corporate Cookie Connections Partner flyer to give to your prospects during your pitch. It lists all the sponsorship levels and benefits they receive and access to the Corporate Cookie Connections Sponsorship Form. Ensure the business completes the sponsorship form so your partnership is recorded, and the promised benefits will be fulfilled based on the business’s chosen sponsorship level.
Complete, print, and deliver the Commemorative Corporate Cookie Connections Certificate (PDF). You could also get a low-cost frame to present it to them in.) Canva version of certificate here.
Deliver the appropriate amount of Girl Scout Cookie boxes to the business or their donation site of choice. Note: If they chose to donate to Cookies for a Cause, you will not need to deliver any boxes yourself as the sponsorship is allocated to your total

You can also do something special to show appreciation to the business for their sponsorship. This will help you maintain a long-lasting partnership and make it more likely that they’ll sponsor you again next year—maybe at a higher level! We have provided some ideas below.

Write a thank-you note and deliver or mail it to the business
Create a thank you video that you can email to the business
Buy the person(s) you met a box of cookies for them to keep personally, which you can wrap or create a tag for
Create some cookie-themed SWAPS for the business employees and deliver or mail them with an explanation of the significance of SWAPS

You did it! You are now a Corporate Cookie Connections pro! It’s time to bring your Cookie Sale to the next level as you practice and perfect these steps!

Sponsorship Levels & Benefits *Updated 2/6* toggle arrow

$2,100 Platinum Corporate Sponsor: 300 boxes sponsored

Commemorative Certificate from Girl Scout
Listing in GSSC Digital Annual Report
Listing on the program page for a year
Group Signage at GSSC’s annual Holiday Light Show
Company logo in GSSC email to GSSC members and donors at the end of the Cookie season.

$1,400 Gold Corporate Sponsor: 200 boxes sponsored

Commemorative Certificate from Girl Scout
Listing in GSSC Digital Annual Report
Listing on the program page for a year
Group Signage at GSSC’s annual Holiday Light Show

$700 Silver Corporate Sponsor: 100 boxes sponsored

Commemorative Certificate from Girl Scout
Listing in GSSC Digital Annual Report
Listing on the program page for a year

$350 Bronze Corporate Sponsor: 50 boxes sponsored

Commemorative Certificate from Girl Scout
Listing in GSSC Digital Annual Report

Once you have completed the four steps, please complete the Corporate Cookie Connections Survey . This must be completed to qualify your Girl Scout for the Corporate Cookie Connections patch.

Questions? Contact our Product Sales team at productsales@gssc.us.

Sell 500 Boxes Total with Corporate Cookie Connections

And you and one chaperone will be invited to attend the NY Mets Game on April 26th, 1:40 PM, vs. the Colorado Rockies for FREE (2 tickets).

Questions? Contact productsales@gssc.us for more information

Council Finder

Corporate Cookie Connections Program

Corporate Cookie Connections Program

A new way for Girl Scouts to reach their goals, build their entrepreneurial spirit, and make business connections!

Follow the four "P" steps for building strong corporate cookie connections:

Brainstorm: Identify three prospects.

Research: Summarize your strategy for each of your three prospects.

Proposal: Plan what to include in your proposal.

Pitch: Write out what you will say in your pitch.

You did it! You are now a Corporate Cookie Connections pro! It’s time to bring your Cookie Sale to the next level as you practice and perfect these steps!

$2,100 Platinum Corporate Sponsor: 300 boxes sponsored

$1,400 Gold Corporate Sponsor: 200 boxes sponsored

$700 Silver Corporate Sponsor: 100 boxes sponsored

$350 Bronze Corporate Sponsor: 50 boxes sponsored

Once you have completed the four steps, please complete the Corporate Cookie Connections Survey . This must be completed to qualify your Girl Scout for the Corporate Cookie Connections patch.

Questions? Contact our Product Sales team at productsales@gssc.us.

Sell 500 Boxes Total with Corporate Cookie Connections

And you and one chaperone will be invited to attend the NY Mets Game on April 26th, 1:40 PM, vs. the Colorado Rockies for FREE (2 tickets).

Thank You to Our Corporate Cookie Sponsors

Platinum Sponsor

Silver Sponsor

Silver Sponsor