Guide biscuits (national GirlGuiding NZ campaign)

Raises money for a national charity

For GirlGuiding NZ only. Since 2019 Guide biscuits are no longer sold by units; Griffin's makes them and Woolworths sells them for a limited time, with $1 a pack going to GirlGuiding NZ nationally.

Typically raises

n/a

Is it right for us?

Money: Under $500
Work: An afternoon
Helpers: 1–2 people
Lead time: A week or less
Red tape: None

Everyone’s done it: a national institution; people buy without being asked twice

People: None for selling; a unit can help promote the campaign online (estimate)
Organiser time: 1-2 hours of social posts and newsletter items (estimate)
Lead time: Watch GirlGuiding NZ announcements; recent campaigns have run in October (Scoop)
Up-front cost: Nothing up front. No stock to buy: GirlGuiding NZ says it does 'not sell them directly anymore' (GirlGuiding NZ contact page).
Risk: None for the unit.

Can suit, but rarely run by: Scouts or Guides

When: Spring (Sep–Nov)

How big a job: An afternoon, 1–2 people

How it works

The money, as an example sum

There is no typical amount for your group on this one. The notes below say why.

From the typical figure on this page. Your result will differ.

Where the money figure comes from

Units no longer keep a share: GirlGuiding NZ ended unit biscuit sales in March 2019 (Stuff; RNZ). Under the Griffin's and Woolworths partnership $1 from each pack goes to GirlGuiding NZ nationally; Griffin's said almost $1.5m had been raised since 2019 and the October 2023 campaign was 'on track to raise another $150k' (Scoop). Before 2019 Guides sold nearly 900,000 packets a year (RNZ). Net to a local unit is $0.

Last checked October 2026. Ran this? Tell us what you raised and we’ll use real results to improve the figures.

Step by step

Check with your district or GirlGuiding NZ whether a campaign is running this year and its dates.
Share GirlGuiding NZ's campaign posts and the in-store dates with your families and community pages.
Explain to supporters that the $1 a pack funds Guiding nationally, not your unit directly.
For money your unit keeps, run a separate local activity, e.g. a baking pre-order or bake stall, and say clearly it is a unit fundraiser and not Guide biscuits.
Ask your district whether national fees or programme costs for your unit are affected by campaign results.
Thank supporters who post their biscuit purchases; it builds goodwill for your own local fundraisers.

Getting the word out

Even a well-run plan fails if nobody hears about it. There are two asks, and the first one goes out first.

Ask for help: Members to pass the order form to family, friends and workmates.
Ask people to buy: People to order before the cut-off.
When to start: Ask for helpers first, as soon as the date is set. Start the public ask about 1–2 weeks out, and book newsletter and paper notices before that: small newsletters close early.

Where to put it

Asking people yourselfMost yeses come from someone asking directly. Give every member a short message they can send to family and workmates.
Email lists and group chatsYour members’ email list and the class, team or church group chats. Short, with one date or one link.
School, club and church newslettersYour own newsletter is free and read by the families most likely to say yes. Check when it closes.
Local Facebook pages and community groupsPost in your town’s community page and local groups (check their rules), and share from your group’s own page.

The full guide to getting the word out: every channel from flyers to the evening news, with lead times and costs.

What you’ll need

Place: Not neededNone needed
Landowner’s permission: Not needed
Council permit: Not needed
Food rules: Not neededNo food sold
Alcohol: Not neededNo alcohol sold
Gambling rules: Not neededNot gambling

GirlGuiding NZ only. Biscuits are sold by Woolworths with $1 a pack to GirlGuiding NZ nationally; units do not sell or keep a share.

Make more from it

Unit baking pre-order alongside the campaign
a few hundred dollars kept by the unit (estimate)
rides the campaign's publicity while raising money the unit keeps

What you can get donated

Not applicable; for local money, units run their own activities (see combines_with).

Tips

Use the campaign's publicity as a hook for a local baking order: 'Biscuits are back in Woolworths, and our unit is baking too' (estimate).
Older supporters remember door-to-door biscuit sales; a nostalgic post about the unit's history gets shared (estimate).

Watch out for

Promising families that biscuit purchases fund the local unit is inaccurate; the $1 goes to the national body.
Old guidance (pre-2019 manuals) on cartons per girl and unit biscuit orders no longer applies.