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A Study of Council Bylaws

The following is a brief report studying the various bylaws of Girl Scout councils as of March 2023. Council bylaws vary in numerous ways within their jurisdictions. This report attempts to categorize and count the more common requirements and provisions that one could find in a typical nonprofit’s bylaws and in particular, focuses on those bylaw provisions which safeguard the democratic process.

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Follow-Up to Our National Property Strategy Article

Earlier this year, we published an article regarding GSUSA’s national property strategy.  In it, we expressed disappointment that the membership wasn’t consulted for feedback, raised concerns about how GSUSA, using Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) as a partner, would go about its work, and also asked questions based on what we saw happening at other councils such as Southern Illinois and Gateway.

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Thoughts on a Virtual National Council Session

The other day, GSUSA announced: First, we are pleased that the National Board made a necessary decision about the National Council Session (NCS) and accompanying G.I.R.L event and that it made it now.  Many medical authorities and epidemiologists…

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Our Questions About GSUSA’s National Property Strategy

GSUSA is  implementing a movement wide property strategy, and it is doing it without significant input from members.  So what does this mean for our councils’ properties and how they are viewed by our national organization?

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“The Democratic Process: THE Solution to What’s Troubling the Girl Scout Movement” White Paper

The following is a white paper originally published on the Girl Scout With a Cause blog.  Please share this white paper with your council’s leadership, board members, council and National Delegates, and whoever else you think should read it.  A PDF is also available for download and distribution.

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Built-in Civics Education

This is a follow-up to my governance post from February and also a commentary on the webcast GSUSA hosted recently about civics education and how we are missing an opportunity to educate ourselves through our organization’s governance and democratic process. However, it’s been wiped away in many places.

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What Happened to the Democratic Process in Girl Scouting?

We are republishing this post with permission and the original can be found here.  Amy Brown is the author of the blog Girl Scout With a Cause. Last June, I wrote a post called Death Spiral which discussed…

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