The Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest award in Girl Scouting. It symbolizes outstanding accomplishments in the areas of leadership, community service, career planning and personal development. A girl must be a registered Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador and have successfully completed specific requirements before she may begin working on the Girl Scout Gold Award project. This special project is an extension and a compilation of all that she has learned in Girl Scouting. Would you like to learn more about the History of the Girl Scout Gold Award?

Do you have a project in mind but don't know where to start? Make sure you are registered for a GSCI Gold Award Workshop!

Gold Award Overview

A Girl Scout Gold Award project is an individual project; not a group project.

• Complete two Journeys (Senior or Ambassador) or Earn the Silver Award and complete one Senior or Ambassador Journey (Journey 1 & 2 working through the 10 sessions, each session is approximately 60-90 minutes of program development activities)
• Individually girl led; girl selects and recruits Project Advisor
• Take action on a community issue the girl cares about
• Leadership Award training is required. (Provided by the council) Attendance of training becomes a girl’s Intent to complete a project.
• Help and guidance provided by Volunteer(s)

Project Hours

In addition to these requirements, the suggested minimum hours to complete the steps to the Girl Scout Gold Award are 80 hours. These suggested hours are a guide, not a rule. Not all projects will require the same length of time to complete, from planning to sharing and celebration. The time it takes to earn the award will depend on the nature of the project, the size of the support team, and the support of the community. Quality projects should be emphasized over quantity of hours.

Take Action Project

• Individual Take Action Project that makes a lasting difference in the local community, region, or beyond.
• Puts the Promise and Law into action

Proposals

Girls must submit Gold Award Project Proposals to the council office for approval by the GSCI Award Committee. Paperwork deadline, review dates, and Gold Award interview dates can be found at the bottom of this page.

Sustainable

Take Action Project includes provisions to ensure sustainability.

Global

Girls identify national and/or global links to their selected issue. They learn from others and develop a plan to share the results of their project beyond the local community.

Gold Award Resources

Are you ready to start on your Gold Award Project? GREAT! Below are all the forms you will need to get going and propose your project.

Gold Award Troop Advisor/Project Advisor Guide
Gold Award Girl Guidelines and Toolkit
Gold Award Toolkit for Girls
Gold Award Project Proposal
Gold Award Final Report
 

Benefits of Earning the Girl Scout Gold Award

A young woman who has earned the Girl Scout Gold Award has become a community leader. Her accomplishments reflect leadership and citizenship skills that set her apart. An increasing number of colleges and universities have recognized the achievements leadership abilities of Girl Scout Gold Award recipients by establishing scholarship programs for them.

Although Girl Scouts of the USA does not award scholarships to Girl Scout Gold Award recipients, GSUSA does publish the Scholarships for Girl Scouts Directory, which lists these schools and community organizations which offer financial assistance.

Girls who have earned the Girl Scout Gold Award often enter the four branches of the United States Armed Services at an advanced level and salary, having been recognized for their level of leadership shown in earning the Girl Scout Gold Award. The achievements of Girl Scout Gold Award recipients are acknowledged by many government and non-profit organizations.

For further information about the Gold Award, or for assistance, contact Billie Waddell at (309) 662-5384, ext. 1105 or bwaddell@girlscouts-gsci.org.