In the interest of full disclosure, we at The Watchdog confess to a debilitating weakness for Thin Mints (which we are capable of consuming by the box in a single sitting). This both preceded and succeeded our Samoa/Caramel DeLite obsession.
For better or worse, we at The Watchdog have been unable to single-handedly sustain revenues for the Girl Scouts of Orange County. Over the four years between 2005 and 2008:
- Income from the annual cookie sale (which begins today, and pits smiling little girls hawking sweets against one’s New Year’s resolution to lose 10 pounds) dove 7.3 percent - to $4.77 million.
- Total revenue was down nearly 23 percent, to $7.1 million, but that’s not as bad as it seems (the Girl Scouts sold a piece of property for $1.5 million the first year of our comparison, which bulked up the starting revenue figure.)
- Total expenses grew by 12 percent (a pretty average 3 percent per year).
- Net assets - cash in the bank, and the value of its property - grew 6.8 percent, to $20.9 million (which proved useful last year, when expenses exceeded revenues by $567,000.)
- The organization continued to devote about 86 percent of its spending to programs at the core of its mission: Building character and leadership in young girls. (The experts like to see at least 65 to 75 percent of spending here.)
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