Gold Award

Change the world, Girl Scout

Gold Award Girl Scouts are rock stars, role models, and real-life heroes. How do they do it? By using everything they?ve learned as a Girl Scout to solve a problem in their community or make a lasting change in their world.

Seniors and Ambassadors who want to go for the Gold Award build a team of trusted adults, peers, and leaders in their community to guide them through challenges and support their success.

Plus? Nothing beats that feeling of seeing real, lasting, and sustainable change and knowing it was you who made it happen. It changes the way you see your place in the world?and how the world sees you.

You can become a Gold Award Girl Scout if you:

Are in ninth, tenth, eleventh, or twelfth grade
Are a registered Girl Scout Senior or Ambassador
Have completed the Silver Award or a Senior/Ambassador Leadership Award

ambassador high school girl scout wearing sash outside against green background

Become a Gold Award Girl Scout

Ready to change the world, for good?

GET STARTED

How to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award

Let our council know you want to earn it.
Find an issue in your community or the world that you care about.
Learn everything you can about that issue through research and trusted sources.
Form a team by identifying experts and people in your community who could help you.
Think about the root cause of an issue, then make a plan of how you could tackle it.
Submit your project proposal to our Girl Scout council for approval.
Lead your team and carry out your plan.
Reflect on the change you?ve created in your community and the world, share your story, and inspire others to make a difference, too.

Resources

Your Guide to Going Gold (PDF)
Gold Award Project Proposal (PDF)
Gold Award Final Report (PDF)
Gold Award Guide for Leaders (PDF)
Gold Award Guide for Adults (PDF)
Gold Award Guide for Project Advisors (PDF)

Highest Award Prerequisites & FAQ

Leadership Awards

Celebrate all the ways you lead–yourself, your team, and your community–with new and updated leadership awards.

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Highest Award FAQ

Going for your Bronze, Silver, or Gold Award? Get answers to the most common questions to get started.

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Hey, grownups!

When you support Girl Scouts earning their Gold Award, you’ll help them see their own power and be by their side as they make a lasting change in their community. Download a guide to get started today.

More Resources

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Gold Award Training: Part 1

Gold Award Training: Part 2

Gold Award Training: Part 3

Gold Award Quiz

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Your Guide to Going Gold will provide you with all the details you need to complete the steps of the Gold Award. The Gold Award rubric is also a great resource to help you (and the Gold Award committee) decide if your project meets the Gold Award standard.

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GoGold has many digital tools to keep your project organized. It is the official tracking tool for hours, finances and project details. If you're raising funds for your project, you'll need to submit a Money-Earning Project Application before you begin.

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Proposals are submitted in GoGold. Upon receipt, council staff will review your proposal and contact you with next steps. Proposals received by the first of each month will be scheduled for the next available committee interview.

Proposals for twelfth graders must be submitted by March 1.

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Final reports are submitted in GoGold. Upon receipt, council staff will review your report and contact you with next steps. Reports received by the first of each month will be scheduled for the next available committee interview.

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You can attend a committee meeting in person at the Wichita Girl Scout office or via Microsoft Teams.

At your scheduled interview, you will have the opportunity to share additional details about your project. During a proposal interview, the committee will likely have questions about your project as well as advice to help you meet the Gold Award requirements. During a final interview, the committee will likely have questions about your project, any challenges you overcame and the successes you achieved.

Plan to spend approximately 30 minutes with the committee. If you like, you can prepare a PowerPoint presentation or other media to organize your thoughts. The committee loves to see before and after photos of your project. By the end of the interview, you’ll know if your project is approved for the next step.

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The committee typically meets on the second Thursday of each month from 6 - 8 p.m. and can see four Gold Award candidates per meeting. During high volume months, the committee may schedule an additional meeting for the fourth Thursday. The committee typically does not meet in December or over the summer. Submit your proposal or final report in GoGold in order to be scheduled for the next available committee interview.

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Proposal deadlines:

Current freshman, sophomores and juniors can submit at any time. The recommended year for the bulk of your Gold Award work is during your junior year of high school, with a proposal in spring of your sophomore year or fall of your junior year.
Current seniors must submit their Gold Award proposal by March 1 of their senior year. Note: council recognition and scholarship eligibility will not occur until the following year.

Final report deadlines:

Current freshman, sophomores and juniors can submit at any time.
Current seniors have tiered deadlines based on participation in council recognition and scholarship eligibility during their senior year.
- Recommended timeline: fall of your senior year.
- Deadline to be included in council recognition during your senior year and scholarship eligibility for your first year of college: January 1.
- Deadline to complete the project before leaving for college: May 1.
- Absolute final deadline: September 1.

Your official Gold Award class is based on the membership year in which you achieved your award. The membership year is from October 1 to September 30. For example, awards earned in October of 2022 and September of 2023 are both members of the 2023 Gold Award class. A few recognition and scholarship requirements are based on the class dates and generally have specific dates based on the timing for the recognition or scholarship.

Council recognition deadlines:

Social Media celebration: occurs soon after your approval by the committee; you will need to provide a photo.
Annual Meeting: usually occurs in April, includes those who have earned the award from February through January; must submit final report by January 1 and be approved at the January committee meeting.
Spark publication: follows same timeline as Annual Meeting.

Council scholarship requirements:

Scholarship eligibility is based both on your current grade and when you earned the Gold Award.
Current seniors who earned their Gold Award by January of their senior year, including seniors who earned the award earlier in their high school career.
Current college freshman who earned their Gold Award between February of their senior year and September of their college freshman year.

Submit the application, transcript, and references by the deadline posted on the Scholarship page.