A group-collecting platform like Cheddar Up is the quintessential tool for collecting payments and information for a Girl Scout troop. Quite literally, Cheddar Up has thought through every possible group-collecting use case that a troop might have and has created easy-to-use features to meet those needs.
Top-Five Must-Have Troop Collecting Features
In a troop-collecting scenario (i.e., outings, campouts, gear, events, etc.), there are a few reasons why mainstream peer-to-peer (P2P) payment platforms (e.g., Venmo, PayPal, and Square Cash) simply fall short.
An Unmet Need
Valid needs like these are why Girl Scout councils find themselves bombarded with troop leaders asking, “How should we collect online payments?”. Until now, Girl Scout councils have found themselves a bit flat-footed. Councils aren’t payment experts and shouldn’t have to be.
Plus, how could a council truly recommend a giant mainstream payment platform with no relationship in place. If one of their troops had an issue, they’d have no way to even begin to assist in solving it.
Without an online payment solution to recommend, every new troop leader is left to reinvent the wheel.
Without a solution to recommend, every new troop leader is left to re-invent the wheel and figure out an online payment solution on their own. For a growing number of Girl Scout councils, this inefficiency – and lack of oversight – has become too great, causing them to seek out a better solution.
Councils find a solution
As the pre-eminent group payment platform in North America, Cheddar Up works with hundreds of thousands of groups and communities – from troops to clubs to PTAs to sports teams…the list is truly endless. In addition, Cheddar Up now partners with a growing number of large Girl Scout councils across the country.
Cheddar Up has always made serving troops one of its highest-priority initiatives. Because of this, Cheddar Up’s web platform and mobile apps check off the top-five troop collecting needs outlined above with ease. When councils realize the high-touch service and partnership approach that Cheddar Up offers, combined with the ability for troops to use all of Cheddar Up’s features with no monthly fees, partnership is an easy choice. It’s a true win-win for both troops and the council.
Cheddar up’s growing council partnerships
Girl Scouts of Northern California
Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles
Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta
Girl Scouts, Hornets’ Nest
Girl Scouts, North Carolina Coastal Pines
Girl Scouts of Colorado
Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri
Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana Michiana
Girl Scouts of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho
Value for Both Troops and Councils
Cheddar Up has worked with Girl Scout councils for years and has developed a customized, high-touch offering that delivers value to both Girl Scout troops and councils. This includes:
Custom Tools
Built-in platform tools including council-branded banners, commonly used forms and items – all of which the council can customize and troops can leverage for council-wide efficiency and consistency.
Easy Onboarding
Streamlined troop account creation and underwriting to allow easy onboarding for troops who wish to opt in.
Point-of-Sale
Optional customized point-of-sale experience and reduced fees for product programs.
Training and Customer Support
Cheddar Up-hosted training webinars provided annually, plus ongoing customer support to handle all troop-related questions.
Free Plans
The platform’s highest monthly paid plans for free, which gives troops access to the full functionality of the platform – a value of $432/troop/year (applies to most partnerships).
Oversight and Reporting
Valuable data aggregated across their entire region is made available to the council, which provides insight into the types of events being held, how much is collected, for what, and by whom.
Launch and Marketing Support
Because Girl Scout councils often have limited resources, Cheddar Up offers launch and marketing content (as desired), typically including website content and FAQs, launch email, training webinar email invites, and seasonal eblasts.
Meeting service unit needs
We work with dozens of Girl Scout service units on everything from large events (taking both online and in-person payments) to huge summer camps.
Key to Partnership Success
Upon entering into a partnership, Cheddar Up is all in! Throughout establishing and growing Girl Scout partnerships, Cheddar Up has come to realize the “must haves” that need to be in place on the council side in order for the partnership to thrive.
Most important are the 3 Cs – collaboration, commitment and contact. This boils down to having a key point-of-contact within the council who can serve as Cheddar Up’s main liaison. Via that main point of contact, especially during the launch period, it’s important to hold regular meetings in which to collaborate, plan and execute. Post launch, it becomes important to schedule at least quarterly check ins with the point-of-contact to review communication effectiveness and adoption data and to plan out future efforts.
“Girl Scouts of Northern California’s work with Cheddar Up has been a delight. We knew our troops and service units were looking for a right-fit payment platform, and we’ve been astounded by the adoption and positive feedback about Cheddar Up from our members.
It’s been clear to us from the beginning that Cheddar Up is committed to the success of the program over the long term for Girls Scouts of Northern California and our members, and their team has been instrumental in helping us create ongoing awareness of the platform.”
Marika Bergsund
Senior Director of Membership & Volunteer Support
Girl Scouts of Northern California