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Volunteer Toolkit (VTK)

The Volunteer Toolkit (VTK) is a comprehensive digital tool accessible via the web on your home computers, smartphones, and tablets that provides troop leaders, service unit volunteers, parents, and Juliettes/individually registered members with access to Girl Scout programming, badge and award requirements, meeting plans, resources, and more! 

How to Access the Volunteer Toolkit

You can access the VTK using any internet enabled computer or mobile device. If you experience any difficulty, first try using a different browser or clearing your browser cache. If you need help or don't have the right access, reach out to Member Services by emailing info@gsnorcal.org or 800-447-4475, ext. 0. Our hours are Monday-Friday 9AM-5PM.

1. From the GSNorCal website www.gsnorcal.org click MyGS.

2. Log in using the username and password you created when you set up your Girl Scout member account.

3. Once logged in, click My Account in the upper right-hand corner of your screen.

4. Select Volunteer Toolkit from the left side menu.

Need help logging in? Contact our Member Services team at info@gsnorcal.org or 800-447-4475, ext. 0.

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Who Has Access to the Volunteer Toolkit (VTK)

Troop Leaders

Volunteer Toolkit Access

  • Troop leaders who are currently registered and background cleared, and assigned the Troop Leader role in our online registration system have access to the Volunteer Toolkit (VTK).
  • Troops may designate more than one adult in the Troop Leader role to gain shared access to the VTK for co-management of the troop.
  • If you are a Troop Leader and don't have access or would like to add this role to your membership contact our Member Services team at info@gsnorcal.org or 800-447-4475, ext. 0. Our hours are Monday–Friday 9AM–5PM.

The Volunteer Toolkit (VTK) gives troop leaders access to Girl Scout program, badge requirements, and other resources to manage your troop planning all year long—and keep it going smoothly! 

Here's how it will save you time and help you plan:

  • Choose and customize your year plan by adding in badges and Journey Awards that girls are interested in earning
  • Plan, track, and share your Girl Scout calendar year by setting your meeting dates, frequency and locations.
  • View, download, or print Daisy through Ambassador Journeys and badges (to plan for troop meetings)
  • Access and customize individual meeting plans that show a breakdown of every meeting, including a list of materials needed and editable time allotments for planning each activity within a meeting, and choose betwen different virtual, outdoor, and global activities
  • Email and share plans, resources, and materials with troop adults, parents and girls from within the VTK

You can also: 

  • View your troop roster, renew memberships for the troop, and update troop members contact information
  • Add custom troop activities or events to the troop’s calendar
  • Track girls' attendance and achievements
  • Manage troop finances 
  • Easily locate resources both national and local council resources, such as Safety Activity Checkpoints

Resources for Troop Leaders:

Troop Treasurers

Volunteer Toolkit Access

Active volunteers registered in the troop treasurer role for the current Girl Scout membership year with a current background check on file with GSNorCal have read-only access to the VTK Year Plan tab and editing and submitting access to Finances tab. Troop treasurers will be able to enter their year end annual troop income and expenses and submit their Annual Troop Finance Report through the VTK.

Resources for Troop Treasurers:

Parents and Caregivers of Girl Scouts in a Troop

Volunteer Toolkit (VTK) Access

Each parent or primary caregiver of a girl in a troop has access to their troop’s VTK account. They have read-only permission for the meeting schedule and agendas, troop finances, plus additional resources.

NOTE: Caregiver accounts can only be accessed if the troop leader has set up a year plan.

The Volunteer Toolkit (VTK) is your digital key to all the amazing things your girls will experience this year! Stay up to date with your girl’s achievements and discover how you can help her make an impact! 

Resources for Parents and Caregivers:

  • VTK User Guide: Caregiver/Parent  | PDF
  • VTK Video: Parents—Caregiver Dashboard | Video
Parents and Caregivers of Girl Scouts Not in A Troop (Juliettes/Individually Registered Members)

Volunteer Toolkit (VTK) Access

  • Parents or Caregivers of girls not in a troop and who are registered as Juliettes or Individually Registered Members (IRM) have access to the Volunteer Toolkit.
  • If you are a parent or caregiver of a Juliette or Individually Registered Member and don't have access to the VTK contact our Member Services team at info@gsnorcal.org or 800-447-4475, ext. 0. Our hours are Monday–Friday 9AM–5PM.

The Volunteer Toolkit (VTK) is your digital portal for easy, fun, Girl Scout activities year-round!  With the VTK, you’ll discover how you can help your girl take her Girl Scout experience to the next level!

With the VTK you can:

  • Plan your own Girl Scout year with the badges, and activities that you want to do!
  • Access the badge, Journey, and award requirements for all program levels

Resources for Parents and Caregivers of Juliettes or Independently Registered Girls Not In A Troop:

  • VTK User Guide: Juliette/ Individually Registered Girls | PDF
  • VTK Video: Caregivers to Juliettes or Individually Registered Members - The Year Plan Tab | Video
  • VTK Video: Caregivers to Julettes or Individually Registered Members- The Explore Tab | Video
  • VTK Video: Caregivers to Juliettes or Individually Registered Members - Meeting Plan Overview | Video
Service Unit Volunteers

Service unit volunteers are adults who hold a service unit role and support troop leaders and families in their respective geographical area.

Volunteer Toolkit Access

  • Service unit volunteers who are currently registered and background cleared, and assigned these roles in our online registration system have access to the Volunteer Toolkit (VTK):    
    • Leader Support Manager (LSM)
    • Membership Support Manager (MSM)
    • Program Support Manager (PSM)  
  • If you are in one of these roles and don't have access, contact our Member Services team at info@gsnorcal.org or 800-447-4475, ext. 0. Our hours are Monday–Friday 9AM–5PM.

The Volunteer Toolkit (VTK) gives service unit volunteers access to Girl Scout program which they can use to provide program activities and events to the girls and troops in their service unit. VTK access helps service units support troop leaders with VTK functions.

What you’ll see:

  • Year, Meeting, and Resources Tabs will display with all functionality
  • Explore Tab to access badge and Journey requirements for all program levels
  • Finance Tab available for demonstrative purposes 
  • Drop-down will allow navigation between roles (SU, Troop Leader, Juliette/IRM)

Resources for Service Unit Volunteers:

  • VTK User Guide: Service Unit Volunteers | PDF
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What Can Troop Leaders Do in the VTK?

What's New In 2021?
Involve Girls in Planning and Decision Making

Deciding which badges and Journeys to work on and planning your Girl Scout year should be a troop decision. Keep it girl-led by involving girls in the planning and decision-making process.

Step 1: Review the Year Plan options with the girls.
Girls can choose from Pre-selected Tracks for Badges, Journeys, or they can Select Their Own and customize their year!

Step 2: Make A Troop Decision

  • Ask girls to vote on their favorite badges and Journeys.
  • Find a track that most closely matches the interests of the girls, select that track and customize it or start from scratch and "Select Your Own".

Step 3: Customize Your Year Plan

Volunteer Toolkit Resources

The VTK is the most comprehensive place to access all badge and Journey requirements for all program levels.

Check out these resources to learn how to navigate the Volunteer Toolkit.

  • VTK User Guide: Troop Leader | PDF
  • VTK User Guide: Service Unit Volunteer | PDF
  • VTK User Guide: Parents and Caregivers of Girls Not In A Troop (Juliettes or Individually Registered Girl Members ) | PDF
  • VTK User Guide: Parents and Caregivers in a Troop | PDF
  • VTK FAQs | PDF

Did you know?  Some badges and Journeys are only available in the Volunteer Toolkit! Check out these resources to learn how to access badge and Journey requirements.

  • VTK Tip Sheet: Choosing and Customizing Your Year Plan | PDF
  • VTK Tip Sheet: 2021 New Badges and Journeys | PDF
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Finance Tab

New This Year: Troop Treasurer Access! The VTK Finance tab will be live starting in March. Start preparing now, Annual Troop Finance Reports are due May 31st. Learn more below!
VTK Finance Tab Access and Permissions

Troop Leaders and Troop Treasurers:

Active volunteers registered in the troop leader or troop treasurer role for the current Girl Scout membership year with a current background check on file with GSNorCal have full access to the VTK Finance Tab. Troop leaders and troop treasurers will be able to enter their year end annual troop income and expenses and submit their Annual Troop Finance Report through the VTK.

Service Unit Volunteers:

Active volunteers registered in the Leadership Support Manager (LSM), Membership Support Manager (MSM), or Program Support Manager (PSM) roles will have access to the VTK and will have demonstrative access to the VTK to help and support troop leaders to complete and submit their annual troop finance report through the VTK. Service Unit Finance Reports are still due in September through the online form.

Parents and Caregivers of Girls in the Troop:

Parents and caregivers of girls in the troop will have access to the VTK Finance Tab and will have "view only" access to the troop's annual troop financial reports.

How Do I Prepare To Complete My Annual Troop Finance Report?

In April and May do the following in preparation to submit your Troop Finance Report by May 31, 2021.

1. Learn About The VTK Finance Tab.
The VTK Finance Tab will be active from March to June 30th and is the process for troops to complete and submit their Annual Troop Finance Report to GSNorCal.

Learn more with these resources:

  • VTK Finance Tab FAQs | PDF
  • VTK Finance Report Tracking Sheet | Excel | Google Sheets
  • VTK FInance Tab Instructions | PDF
  • VTK FInance Tab: Completing Your Annual Troop Finance Report | Video

2. Verify Your VTK Access.

It is important for troop leaders to verify they have the proper access to manage the Volunteer Toolkit Finance Tab. To verify access, follow these steps.

  • Go to www.gsnorcal.org and click on MyGS
  • Log in using your username and password
  • Once logged in, select My Account in the top right corner
  • Click Volunteer Toolkit from the left side menu
  • Within the Volunteer Toolkit verify that you can see the activated Finances tab 
  • Troop leaders and troop treasurers with proper permission will be able to edit the financial fields in the Finances tab and will see the Submit button

If you are a troop leader or troop treasurer and are having trouble logging in or are not seeing the editable financial fields in the Finance tab, please contact our member services team right away via email at info@gsnorcal.org or call 800-447-4475, ext. 0. Our hours are Monday–Friday 9AM–5PM.

3. Gather Financial Documentation and Reconcile Troop Financials.

  • Troop treasurer’s troop leaders, and other bank account signers should work together to gather all troop income and expense documentation which means gathering all receipts, reconciling your check register, and totaling income and expense categories. 

  • We recommend that troops use the Troop Finance Report Worksheet to assist you in calculating your troop income and expenses which will make it easy for you to enter your troop financials into the VTK Finance tab for submission.

4. Download a Copy of Your April 2021 Bank Statement.
Save a copy of your April Bank Statement to your local computer or device for easy uploading as an attachment with your VTK Finance tab submission.

5.  Enter Your End of Year Financial Totals in the VTK Finance Tab

NOTE: You will only be able to submit your troop financial information in the VTK Finance Tab once for each membership year! It is important that you have all your income and expense totals ready to enter and that your ending balance matches your April Bank statement BEFORE you enter your final financials and submit your report to GSNorCal. 

  • Troop leaders, troop treasurers, and other bank account signers will need to work together to reconcile their end of year income and expenses and to agree on the end of year financial totals that will be submitted to GSNorCal.
  • When you are ready, the troop leader will login to the VTK FInance Tab, complete all the required fields and upload a copy of the April Bank Statement before the due date of May 31, 2021 . 
  • Once submitted, you can download or print a copy of your report for your records using the Download or Print icons at the top of the page. A copy is also saved within the Finance Tab, and can be viewed at any time.
  • Once submitted, troop parents will have “View Only” access to view the troop’s financial information through the VTK Finance tab. You can also choose to email troop parents the downloaded copy or give them a printed copy when sharing year end financials.
  • Make sure to share the troop finances with girls and involve girls in regular discussions on their troop finances and when planning money earning and money spending activities. 
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