Girl Scouts returned $100,000 to a donor who said they couldn't use the money for transgender girls
Jun 30, 2015, 23:31 IST
The Queen Anne Girl Scouts of Western Washington office was initially thrilled when the original $100,000 donation came in, according to the Seattle Met. That kind of money could send 500 Girl Scouts to camp and was a significant chunk of the council's fundraising goal, the paper reported. But the donation turned out to be short-lived.In May, the Girl Scouts changed their transgender policy, saying that "if the child is recognized by the family and school/community as a girl and lives culturally as a girl, then Girl Scouts is an organization that can serve her in a setting that is both emotionally and physically safe." After the announcement, the mystery donor sent a follow-up note, according to the Seattle Met, that said: "Please guarantee that our gift will not be used to support transgender girls. If you can't, please return the money."Council CEO Megan Ferland ultimately decided that she would indeed return the money. "Girl Scouts is for every girl," she told the Seattle Met. "And every girl should have the opportunity to be a Girl Scout if she wants to."
Within a day, nearly 2,000 people had donated to the campaign, which raised over $100,00 at the time of this post. The website is currently down after media attention is sending thousands of supporters to the IndieGogo page.