SEATTLE — The Girl Scouts of Western Washington said it has returned a $100,000 donation because it came with the provision that the money couldn’t be used to support transgender girls.
The group said it sent back the money in late May after the donor had asked that the gift be returned unless the group guaranteed it would not be used to benefit transgender girls.
“Girl Scouts is for every girl, and that is every girl regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion. Every girl is every girl,” Megan Ferland, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Western Washington, said in an interview Tuesday. “It was a sad decision, but it was not a difficult decision. There was no way I would be put in a situation of refusing a girl participating because of a gift. It was really that quick.”
The local council has transgender girls participating in the Girl Scouts, said Kate Dabe, the council’s vice president of marketing and communications. To preserve their privacy, Dabe declined to say how many or provide other details about them.
But $100,000 is a lot of money, the group noted, representing about one-quarter of what it raises each year to provide financial help for girls to go to camp and participate in other activities.
So leaders of the local nonprofit, one of 112 independent local councils across the country and that serves more than 25,000 girls in western Washington, talked about how to they could communicate their needs to the community.
On Monday, the group set up a crowdfunding campaign asking for help to fill the gap. “Help us raise back the $100,000 a donor asked us to return because we welcome transgender girls,” it said on its fundraising page on Indiegogo.com.
By Tuesday afternoon, thousands had given more than $185,000.
“We are astounded,” Dabe said. “We were prepared for a 30-day campaign. We raised our goal in a day.”
Dabe declined to share details about the donor, citing privacy concerns.
Ferland said the donor gave the money a few months back. But in the midst of a national discussion about the Girl Scouts USA being an inclusive organization and discussions about Bruce Jenner’s transgender journey, the donor wrote back with the catch, Ferland said.
In an emailed statement Tuesday, Girl Scouts USA said that the group, “as a movement, has always been committed to inclusivity and supporting all girls.” It said it works with local councils, which are responsible for their own fundraising. “Inclusion of transgender girls is handled at a council level on a case-by-case basis, with the welfare and best interests of all members as a top priority,” the group added.
In Washington state, the local council has heard from both sides on the issue, but the overwhelming majority of comments have been positive, Ferland said.
“I understand that people have different views. We stand by the fact that Girl Scouts is for every girl. We knew going in that not everyone would share that view,” Ferland said.
But plenty of supporters, including current and former Girl Scouts, praised the move on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.
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