Who can earn the Girl Scout Gold Award?
Any registered Girl Scout Senior (grade 9,10) or Ambassador (grades
11,12) can earn the Girl Scout Gold Award.
Can individually registered girl
members or Juliettes earn the Girl Scout Gold Award?
Any girl, who meets the grade-level and membership requirements,
can work on her Girl Scout Gold Award.
What are the prerequisites to earn
the Girl Scout Gold Award?
A girl must complete two Journeys OR earn one Journey and have
earned the Girl Scout Silver Award. In our council, a girl must take
Gold Award training before she begins her Gold Award project.
Does a Senior or Ambassador need to
do the two journeys in any particular order?
No. She can complete two Girl Scout Senior level journeys, two Girl
Scout Ambassador level journeys, or one of each, or the Silver Award
plus one of either journey. She must do a Journey for the grade level
she is in currently when she does the Journey requirements.
How do girls know when a Journey is “completed?”
A Journey is completed when a girl has earned the journey awards,
which include creating and carrying out a Take Action project.
Are girls required to take training to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award?
Yes. Girls are required to take Take Action Award: Gold Award
training to become familiar with the process of earning Gold in our
council and to fully understand the requirements. These provisions
help to ensure that every girl who wants to earn the Gold Award will
be given the greatest chance of success.
When can a girl take her Gold Award training?
A girl can take the training any time after she is officially
registered as a Senior Girl Scout but she must take the training
before she begins her Gold project. Girls may complete their
pre-requisite Journeys before they’ve taken Gold training.
What is the GSHCC Highest Award Committee?
The GSHCC Highest Award Gold Committee is a group of volunteers from
the community who want to help girls achieve Girl Scouting’s Highest
Award. The Gold Committees meet regularly to review girls’ Gold Award
Proposals and Final Reports.
What is a Gold Award Project Advisor?
A Gold Award Project Advisor is someone in the girl’s community that
has expertise or experience in the content area of the girl’s project.
For example, if she is building a shade shelter, her Project Advisor
may be an engineer or someone who manages construction projects. If
she is starting a library, her Project Advisor may be a librarian or
an educator. The Project Advisor may not be her Girl Scout leader or
someone who is related to her. A girl needs both a Project Advisor and
a Gold Committee Mentor to assist her with her Gold Award.
What are the money guidelines that
girls and troops need to follow?
All of the established guidelines found in Volunteer Essentials
should be followed by troops and girls working on their Girl Scout
Gold Award projects. Of particular importance are these two:
1. Girl Scouts may not raise money for
any other organization, in their roles as Girl Scouts. This means that
Girl Scout Gold Award projects may not be about raising money for
someone else. This is a guideline that is necessary to protect the
non-profit status of our organization.
2. Girls may raise money or request
donations for their Gold Award project expenses, but need to follow
all safety guidelines. Girls must have an approved Girl Scout
Volunteer or parent or guardian with them at all times during any Girl
Scout activities, and only adults may ask for donations on behalf of a
girl’s project. Girls may explain the project to another adult, but
then an adult – the leader, project advisor, or parent – has to
actually ask for any donations of goods or services. For more
clarification on this, please contact a GSHG council staff member.
What Internet browser should I use to
access GoGold?
Please use the latest version of Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari for
the smoothest experience.
What is the submission deadline for
proposals to be reviewed?
Gold Award proposals are reviewed on a rolling monthly basis. To be
considered for that month, the project is due by 5 pm on the first of
the month using GoGold Online. If the first falls on a weekend, the
due date is the first business day after that weekend. Make sure you
give yourself plenty of time to complete the online Gold Award
proposal. Do not wait until the last minute to begin. It can take up
to a month to receive approval or feedback.
Does time spent working on the
proposal count towards a girl’s final hour tally?
Yes, the proposal is considered a part of the planning process and
can, therefore, be included in a girl’s final hour tally. Girls can
include 10-15 hours of planning time towards their final tally,
including time writing the proposal.
Do Girl Scouts have to complete a
proposal before starting their project?
All new Gold Award projects must submit a proposal to the Higher
Awards Committee for review. You can find the form here.
Why must girls complete Journeys before earning a Girl Scout Silver Award?
Earning one of Girl Scouts’ highest awards challenges girls to be
their best. By first completing a “regular” Journey, girls learn what
it takes to successfully complete a Take Action project—so they’re
better prepared to develop, plan, and implement the more involved Take
Action project for their Silver Award.
What do you mean when you say a girl’s Journey is “completed”?
We say a Journey is “completed” when a girl has earned the Journey
awards, which include creating and carrying out a Take Action project.
How many hours should it take to earn a Gold Award?
No two projects are alike, so the time to plan, share, and complete
a project will vary depending on the scope of the project, team, and
community support. The quality of the project should be emphasized
over the quantity of hours necessary to complete it. However, after
fulfilling the required Journey, the suggested minimum number of hours
for a Gold Award is 80 hours. Note that time spent working on Journeys
does not count for the project.
Can girls, or even an entire troop, work together on an award?
The Gold Award is designed to be an individual leadership
experience. This is not to say a girl cannot involve her peers in the
execution of her project. The girl must plan and develop their
project. Again, once the planning is complete, she then can involve
her peers in the execution of the project.
Can girls get a head-start and begin working on their award
projects right after they bridge (transition) to the next level?
Absolutely. Once a girl bridges to the next level, she can begin
working on her award; this includes the summer months.
Is it possible to choose Girl
Scouting itself as the focus of a Gold Award?
The Gold Award may choose Girl Scouting as a focus, however the
issue addressed must be linked to a global or national issue.
What counts as hours?
Any time when you are working on your project, you can count it as
hours. Brainstorming, finding an advisor, and speaking with your
mentor all count as hours. Up to 25% of your hours can come from
fundraising. At least 20% of your hours should come from leadership
and working with others. Helping another girl in your troop with her
project does not count as hours.
What happens when a girl moves to a
new city, state, or country while she’s in the middle of her award
project? Can she still earn her award?
Yes, but she may need to seek special permission. We advise a girl
in this situation to work with her new council and/or Overseas
Committee to complete the project. And we encourage councils and
Overseas Committees to be flexible and serve girls’ best
interests.
Are adult guides just for council
staff and volunteers? Or can parents use them too?
Even though the guides are designed for volunteers working directly
with girls achieving their awards, any adult is welcome to use
them.
What about girls with disabilities?
Is there a different set of requirements for them?
No. Because the Gold Award work is to be done to the best of a
girl’s ability, there really is no need for special requirements for
girls with disabilities. We encourage advisors to be flexible and to
work with the girl individually as she earns her award.
How do you define “sustainable” when
it comes to the highest awards?
Simply put, a sustainable project lives on in the community after a
girl’s involvement ends. How do girls achieve that? They might focus
on education and raising awareness. Or they might develop workshops
and hands-on learning sessions that inspire others to keep the project
going. Working with local government, community groups, nonprofit
agencies, civic associations, and/or religious organizations can also
help ensure the project lasts beyond the girl’s involvement.
Does my project need to be sustainable?
Yes the project must include a sustainable aspect and the
sustainability of a project and the sustainability must be made clear
in both the project proposal and the final report.
Do you have any advice on how to
generate higher-quality projects?
A good first step is to make sure girls and their advisors
understand the difference between a one-time community service project
and a highest award Take Action project that serves an entire
community for an extended period of time. The troop/ group volunteer
or council staff member should also work closely with girls to ensure
that every project meets the quality requirements of the award.
How can we accurately measure the
impact of a highest award project?
Check the award guidelines. We provide tools to help girls identify
project goals for their community, target audience, and themselves
using a “success indicator” matrix.
When is the project final report due?
The project Final Report is due before September 30th of the
year a girl graduates 12th grade. For example, if a girl graduates
12th grade in June of 2022 then the report must be submitted before
September 30th of 2022. There is no deadline for project proposals but
they must be council approved before starting the actual project.
