We are the largest girl-led leadership development organization for girls in the world and a member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts , a sisterhood of nearly 10 million girls and adults in 150 countries. With programs from coast to coast and across the globe, Girl Scouts offers every girl the chance to practice a lifetime of leadership, adventure, and success.
Girl Scouts of Northern California council serves approximately 19,204 girls and 17,979 adult members in 19 counties in Northern California which include: Alameda, Butte, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Mateo, Shasta, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Tehama, and Trinity Counties. Each county is further divided into service units, smaller geographic regions in which our communities participate in Girl Scouting together. GSNorCal is the fourth largest council in the country, and we are viewed as leaders by other councils.
We have 79 local service units to serve our 19 counties. Service units are led by local volunteers who will be able to assist and support you. Contact Customer Care to find out which service unit you belong to. 1-800-447-4475 ext. 0 or info@gsnorcal.org
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Volunteers and employees are expected to report serious concerns. Concerns may include:
If you become aware of any of the above types of serious concerns, please report them to our Customer Care Department at info@gsnorcal.org and we will direct them to the correct person for handling.
If you want to report anonymously, call our confidential third-party automated telephone service, available 24/7 at TellGirlScoutsNorCal@getintouch.com or 877-767-7781.
Handling of Concerns All reports received will be treated seriously and investigated to the extent possible to determine the facts and circumstances. GSNorCal will contact the individual within five business days, if possible. It will not be possible to acknowledge receipt of anonymously submitted concerns. Actions taken by the Council will include follow-up with the complainant for complete closure.
Our GSNorCal staff are extremely dedicated and committed to making Girl Scouting available to all girls in our nineteen counties. Staff provide services to members and perform council support roles.
Customer Care
For questions and assistance, please contact our Customer Care Department. All calls and emails are tracked to ensure a world class level of customer service is being provided.
1 (800) 447-4475 ext. 0
Much of our staff spends a great deal of time “in the field” away from their email or phones. Each Customer Care Specialist has information at their fingertips via an extensive solutions database. In the unlikely event they are not able to answer your question, they will forward your inquiry to a staff person who can. Help is also available in Spanish.
Our friendly Customer Care staff can help you with your needs and questions including:
Here is an alphabetical listing of other departments within GSNorCal:
Camp and Adventure: Responsible for the summer council-run and volunteer-run Day and Resident Camps. If your service unit or region is interested in or is running a camp, Camps and Adventures can assist and support you. They are also responsible for the operation of our ropes courses and school-year outdoor experience programming. Visit camp.gsnorcal.org for more information.
eLearning: Responsible for creating and maintaining e-learning modules for volunteers, including fall and cookie product training.
Finance: Responsible for paying the bills and keeping track of our income, as well as managing the reporting process for grant projects.
Fund Development: Responsible for soliciting grants and individual gifts to support our girl program. If you plan to solicit donations of goods, services, or funds, you should check with our Fund Development Department before doing so. They can assist you with solicitation and/or acknowledgement letters and ensure that donations are tax deductible for your donors. (info@gsnorcal.org)
Human Resources: Responsible for administering employment processes, including job postings, recruiting, and performance evaluation systems, as well as managing employee on-boarding and benefits. They are also responsible for employee relations programs such as diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, health and safety, and employee policies and procedures.
Marketing/Communications (MarComm): Responsible for recruitment of new members, as well as all interaction with social, print, radio, or television media. They also produce The Trailhead, Volunteer View and other communication pieces. If you’ve been approached by the media, or would like to place articles in your local media, MarComm can help.
Product Program: Responsible for our two largest girl programs, focused on financial literacy and developing an entrepreneurial mindset. The Product Program department supports volunteers and girls in achieving their goals through the Fall Take Action and Cookie Programs, both providing exceptional opportunities for girls to develop life skills, such as resiliency, teamwork, and commitment, along with entrepreneurial skills such as innovation, strategic risk taking, and social impact.
Program: Responsible for ensuring that all girls in GSNorCal have the benefit of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience (GSLE). Program staff partner with service units to deliver program opportunities for girls, manage council-run events offered in the Guide, oversee girl awards, run girl training courses and in-person adult learning courses, and supply Green by Nature (environmental) and Girls Go Tech (science, technology, engineering, & math) program boxes. Staff also serve girls directly through Discover Together (a program for girls in low-income communities), Got Choices (a program for girls involved with the juvenile justice system), and Daughters of Farm Workers (a program for girls and their families in migrant communities).
Property: Responsible for maintaining GSNorCal’s nineteen properties (council camps and program centers). If you rent any of our camp properties, you will meet our friendly site managers.
Risk Management: Responsible for trip and high adventure approval process, management of the Volunteer Essentials, purchase of additional insurance for members/non-members, management of the high-adventure approved vendor list, signing agreements and contracts, fulfillment of Certificate of Insurance (COI) requests, forms creation and editing, and management of the Safety Activity Checkpoints. Contact insurance@gsnorcal.org for any insurance or policy questions. Contact travel@gsnorcal.org for trip or adventure planning questions.
Volunteer Support: Responsible for supporting members and volunteer recognition. Your local Volunteer Support Manager (VSM) or Community Manager (CM) can assist with many basic questions or can help you find who can. They support the volunteer teams that provide services to leaders and girls in local areas and attend Service Unit Team and Leader meetings.
How are decisions made?
Two categories of decisions are made in the Girl Scout organization - governance decisions and operational decisions. Both types of decisions are based on the belief that members should have a voice in major decisions that will have an effect on all or a large part of the membership.
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Governance |
Operations |
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Big picture decisions and direction |
Carrying it out: implementing decisions and direction |
Who |
People in governance:
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People in operations:
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Responsibilities |
People in governance are concerned with:
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People in operations are responsible for:
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Governance
Governance decisions are broad policy decisions made by the Board of Directors to provide stability within the council and to give direction for the way Girl Scouting is implemented in the council jurisdiction. Governance decisions relate to strategic planning, fund development, fiduciary oversight, selection and evaluation of the Chief Executive Officer, and organizational performance appraisal.
Operations
Operational decisions relate to annual planning, budgeting, the selection, placement, and supervision of operational volunteers and staff, the development of systems to ensure the effective delivery of Girl Scout program to all girls within the jurisdiction, oversight of fiscal and physical resources, and the implementation of policies and standards established by the Board of Directors.
Operational decisions are made by the Chief Executive Officer and are concerned with the organization and management of all operational work within the framework of the council’s goals. They are based on governance decisions made by the Board of Directors, as well as reflecting input from volunteers and staff who bring ideas from their experience.
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