Invest in Girls
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Invest in Girls and CHANGE THE WORLD 2019 ANNUAL REPORT About the Cover Photo THE GIRL In the summer of 2019, Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana received a $25,000 SCOUT grant from United Parcel Service PROMISE: to assist in funding our Zones of Hope program. Launched in 2017 On my honor, I will try: in partnership with the Gheens To serve God and my country, To help people at Foundation and Women 4 Women, all times, And to live by the Girl Scout Law. Zones of Hope provides the Girl Scout leadership experiences to girls THE GIRL SCOUT LAW: in at-risk zip codes who otherwise I will do my best to be: Honest and fair, Friendly and would face significant barriers for helpful, Considerate and caring, Courageous and participation. strong, And responsible for what I say and do, And to Our other funding partners include: Respect myself and others, Respect authority, Use Lift a Life Foundation, KY. Social resources wisely, Welfare Foundation, and private Make the world a individuals. better place, And be Our additional partners for this a sister to every Girl Scout. program include: Jefferson County Public Schools Diversity, Equity, and Poverty Programs, the Louisville Urban League, Boys and Girls Clubs, area Housing Authorities, and the Family Scholar House. At Girl Scouts, everything she’ll do is designed with, by, and for girls. www.gskentuckiana.org 2019 ANNUAL REPORT LETTER FROM CEO Dear Friends, In 2019 we served 10,383 girls in Western Kentucky and Southern Indiana. Our Girl Scout Leadership Experience is a one-of-a-kind leadership development program for girls, with proven results. It is based on time-tested methods and research-backed programming that help girls take the lead — in their own lives and in the world. Jackie ford We help every girl discover who she can be and what she can do, wherever she chooses to put her energy. The journey begins with the Girl Scout environment itself. To discover who she can be, she needs access to caring and wise adults who both inspire her and respect her. Our 5,000 volunteers do this every day! As we moved into our 2020 membership year, we noted that our volunteers and girls are returning to Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana in record numbers. We ranked 14th in the country for retention of our girl members and our first-year retention was the highest it has been in 10 years. In addition, our fund development efforts surpassed all their goals and we increased volunteer participation on committees, task groups and think tanks. In closing, thank you to everyone for your support, whether through a financial donation or through a donation of time as a troop leader, camp volunteer or committee member. It is this support that helps our girls’ dreams come true. And, with your help and support, girls will develop leadership skills that will last a lifetime! Sincerely, Jackie Ford Chief Executive Officer Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana 1 2019 ANNUAL REPORT LETTER Dear Friends, In our 2018 annual report back to the community published last March, we reported that in 2018 we completed our Strategic Alignment plan with the help from the community, girls, volunteers, parents, and board members. Through this process we identified our strategic priorities. On the next two pages, it is my pleasure to provide you an update on our work and progress achieved in these areas during 2019. You will see many accomplishments listed for our council, Sharon Handy as 2019 was very successful in many ways, from camp improvements, increased cookie sales and participation, to fundraising goals exceeded and many successful programs throughout our 64 county footprint. That said, we still have work to do to reach as many girls as possible so they can experience the benefits Girl Scouting offers. Nevertheless, we have much to celebrate thanks to our volunteers, staff and everyone who provides their time, talent and treasure to make our work possible. At the end of the day, we all volunteer, work extra hours, and go the extra mile in order to make our council the best it can be for our 10,000 girl members. They are the reason we come together in the spirit of Girl Scouts. We are fortunate to see first-hand how when we invest in girls, we change the world. Please know that your support and dedication to our mission does not go unnoticed. We simply cannot do our work without you. In closing, I would like to thank our retiring Chief Executive Officer, Jackie Ford, for her work during the past five years on behalf of our council. Jackie’s knowledge of Girl Scouts has brought a sense of stability and direction to our work and we appreciate all that she has done to improve the Kentuckiana Council. Again, thank you for your investment in our girls. Please know that as board chair, I welcome your feedback and always have an open door for you to reach out to me with your comments and suggestions. You can reach me at [email protected] or [email protected]. Sincerely, Sharon Handy Sharon Handy Chair, Board of Directors Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana 2 OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES Strategic Accomplishments from Alignment January 2019 to Update December 2019 Our Strategic Alignment placed focus on the following areas in 2019: Reach More Girls Increased Investments Higher Impact Programs Effective Operations Strong Brand We are pleased to report the following successes that were accomplished in each area in 2019: REACH MORE GIRLS • Girl Retention is at 67%, • Adult Retention is at a record high a strong 71.5% • First Year Girl Retention is • First Year Adult Retention is at 64.5%, a record high at 53.7%, a record high • Early Bird Renewal Goal • Zones of Hope program surpassed at 102% expanded through Louisville, of goal Bowling Green, and Paducah HIGHER IMPACT (Programs) • Over 3,000 attendees for • Resident Camp at 60% Festival of the Arts capacity on first day of • Over 200 activities listed in registration opening the Spring/Summer Program & Training Guide 3 OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES Strategic Alignment Update Accomplishments from January 2019 to December 2019 INCREASED INVESTMENTS FALL PRODUCT • Desserts First raised over • Sales up 14% $56,000 (up 30% from 2018) • Girl participation up 16% COOKIE PROGRAM • Troop participation up 13% • Girl participation up 3% DEVELOPMENT • Per girl average (PGA) goal • Give for Good Louisville was surpassed at 102% raised over $27,000 in only of goal 24 hours (double the • Record number of Operation: amount raised in 2018) Cookie donations made at • Tough Cookie raised over 27,658 packages $46,000 (up 63% from 2018) EFFECTIVE OPERATIONS • Troop leader, parent, and girl satisfaction is up significantly according to the 2019 Voices Count Survey taken by our members. STRONGER BRAND • Social Media engagement and/or featured Girl Scouts increased from 2.7% to 5.5% of Kentuckiana and we • Council-wide Earned (free) received over $250,000 Media increased significantly in coverage with several in 2019 million webpage impressions • Throughout our 64 counties, via the media and digital 145 stories included media coverage 4 Girl Scout USA CEO Visits the Kentuckiana Council The national CEO of Girl Scouts USA, Sylvia Acevedo visited Louisville on April 29th to receive a national award during the opening ceremonies of the VEX Robotics World Championship. Following the opening ceremonies, Sylvia spent her time with Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana, attending our Older Girl Ceremonies, meeting with staff, volunteers and community members in addition to hosting a book signing for her book, “Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist.” Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer attended a reception for donors and community members for Sylvia and presented Sylvia with her own proclamation to honor her visit to Louisville. Republic Bank Supports Operation: Cookie For the past 13 years, Republic Bank and Trust has partnered with the Kentuckiana Council and has provided financial support to our Operation: Cookie program. Thanks to their support the Kentuckiana Council is able to send a large shipment of our beloved cookies to our members of the military overseas each year. On February 27, 2019, Republic Bank and GSK held a join press conference with Republic Bank to kick-off the 2019 Cookie season. We want to thank former Miss America and Girl Scout alumna Heather French Henry and Republic Bank President Steve Trager for being a part of our Operation: Cookie press conference. Kentucky Derby Festival Parade Preview The Kentucky Festival Parade Preview event is one of the most popular events during the two weeks leading up to the Kentucky Derby. In 2019, the Kentuckiana Council was one of the sponsors of the event. It was a great success with thousands in attendance including a huge representation of our Girl Scouts. During the event, attendees were able to get a sneak peek of each float and inflatable entry. Each float and inflatable entry was displayed in all their splendor, complete with dancing, costumed characters. Photographed is WAVE3 TV Anchor Woman and Girl Scout alumna Dawne Gee with a group of Girl Scouts. 5 HIGHEST AWARDS Gold Awards Olivia Botner Troop 8 - Metro Louisville Project Title: Sketchings and Actions Preventing Allergic Reactions • Troop Leader: Susan Botner Project Advisor: Dr. John Riehm, Family Allergy & Asthma • Root Cause: Lack of food allergy education Summary: My project brought awareness to food allergies. I saw a lack of education in my community when it comes to this topic. I made an activity-coloring book that covers the physical, mental, and social challenges people with food allergies face every day. It also covers what food allergies are, their dangers, and how to be a friend to someone with a food allergy.