Gold Award | Girl Scouts

Become a Gold Award Girl Scout

Change the world, change your life, and earn the most prestigious award in Girl Scouting.

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 help address an issue in their community and make a lasting change in their world. And every Girl Scout has what it takes to earn the Gold Award. Girl Scouts who want to earn for the Gold Award will build a team of trusted adults, community leaders and peers who will support them through challenges and cheer on their successes each step of the way. There’s no other program like it.

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. Having the Girl Scout Gold Award on your high school resume can make you stand out when it comes to college admissions, internships, job interviews, and scholarship applications, like the GSUSA Gold Award Scholarship (and many others)!

Get Started

Download the Your Guide to Going Gold then share your contact info so your local Girl Scout council can get in touch. They'll provide additional details and support you throughout the Gold Award process.

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, a Senior/Ambassador Leadership Award, or a Senior/Ambassador Journey

How to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award:

Let your 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 your 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 Adult Guide (PDF)
Gold Award Troop Leader Guide (PDF)
Gold Award Project Advisor Guide (PDF)
Guide to the Girl Scout Leadership Experience (PDF)

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Please fill out the form below and your council will reach out to you about earning your Girl Scout Gold Award.

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Highest Award Prerequisites

Leadership Awards

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

Journeys

Journeys encourage Girl Scouts of all ages to think critically, boost their problem-solving skills, and make an impact.

Highest Awards FAQs

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

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.

Gold Award Guide for Leaders

Gold Award Guide for Adults

Gold Award Guide for Project Advisors

They earned it, so can you.