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Become a Gold Award 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 Girl Scout Silver Award or a Senior/Ambassador Leadership Award
How to Earn the Girl Scout Gold Award
To earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, start by fully reviewing GSNCA’s Guide to Going Gold and completing GSNCA’s Online Gold Award Training within six months of submitting your project proposal. Identify an issue in your community or the world that you care about, then research it thoroughly using trusted sources. Form a team by connecting with experts and community members who can help. Analyze the root cause of the issue and create a plan to address it. Submit your project proposal through Go Gold for approval, then lead your team as you carry out your plan. Finally, reflect on the change you’ve created, share your story, and inspire others to make a difference.
Gold Award Resources & Guides
Gold Award Scholarships
Congratulations! You’ve worked hard as a Girl Scout—building leadership and teamwork skills, serving your community, and earning top honors like the Silver and Gold Awards. All that effort pays off when it’s time for college applications and scholarships.
To make the search easier, we’ve gathered a list of scholarships and resources to help turn your college goals into reality.
Council Scholarships
In 2019, Alice Williams—a lifetime Girl Scout member, former council board chair, and children’s advocate—left an estate gift to support girls in our council. Her generosity established the GSNCA Gold Award Scholarship, which awards up to $10,000 each year to Gold Award Girl Scouts from our council.
Eligible applicants include high school seniors (graduating in 2026) or first-year college students who earned their Gold Award after April 1, 2025. The 2026 application period runs March 1–31, 2026.
Final reports must be approved by March 31, 2026, to be eligible for the 2026 scholarship. Gold Award Girl Scouts with reports approved after the application deadline passes will be eligible to apply for the 2027 scholarship.
Scholarship recipients will be announced at the GSNCA Highest Award Ceremony on May 9, 2026.
National Scholarships
The GSUSA Gold Award Scholarship honors one outstanding Girl Scout per council who demonstrates extraordinary leadership and sustainable impact through her Gold Award project.
Eligible applicants include current high school seniors who earned or will earn their Gold Award before April 1, 2026, and recent graduates who earned it after March 31, 2025. The 2026 application period runs March 13–April 14, 2026.
For additional scholarships and awards for Girl Scouts, check out the GSUSA Scholarship webpage. You’ll find a great scholarship search tool, free access to CollegeLab for Girl Scouts, and more.
Leadership Awards
Celebrate all the ways you lead–yourself, your team, and your community–with new and updated leadership awards.
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