Girl Scouts chapter turns down $100,000 anti-transgender donation

The $100,000 donation to the Girl Scouts of Western Washington would have been enough to send 500 girls to camp, but the gift came with strings: The money could not be used to help transgender girls.

“So the money went back to the donor,” said Megan Ferland, the chapter’s chief executive officer. She didn't hesitate for a moment about the decision: “If a transgender girl wants to go to camp, she's going to go to camp."

But the move left a gaping hole in the budget, so the chapter started an online fundraising campaign explaining that “Girl Scouts is for EVERY girl.” Within days, the campaign raised more than twice the original donation.

As of Thursday morning, people contributed more than $288,000, and support continues to pour in:

• "Including people is more important than money, and having any girl in Girl Scouts is more important than anything money could buy,” said Seattle Girl Scout Emily Chaffee.
• "It's really heartwarming to see Americans embrace transgender girls as the girls they are," said Nick Adams, director of programs, transgender media at GLAAD.