The Girl Scouts of Western Washington returned a $100,000 donation check recently after learning that the donor did not want the money to be used on transgender girls.
But social media more than made up for the difference, raising more than
$247,000 in two days on the website Indiegogo.com.
Megan Ferland, the chief executive officer of the
Girl Scouts of Western Washington, told SeattleMet.com that the request from the donor came in late May when news of Bruce Jenner's transition to Caitlyn Jenner was making headlines.
"Please guarantee that our gift will not be used to support transgender girls," the donor's message read, Ferland told SeattleMet.com. "If you can't, please return the money."
Ferland, who said she was initially thrilled to receive such a large donation, said she quickly made up her mind give the money back.
"Girl Scouts is for every girl," she said. "And every girl should have the opportunity to be a Girl Scout if she wants to."
BuzzFeed News reported that the national organization Girl Scouts of the USA supported Ferland and her affiliate's decision to return the money.
"GSUSA works with its local councils to ensure that the Girl Scouts' mission to build girls of courage, confidence and character, extends to all girls," the organization said in a statement to BuzzFeed News. "Inclusion of transgender girls is handled at a council level on a case-by-case basis, with the welfare and best interests of all members as a top priority."
According to Indiegogo.com, 4,879 donors put up $247,092 for the Girl Scouts of Western Washington to make up for the lost donation.
"Together you've made sure 1,000 girls have the support they need to fully participate in all of the many life-changing experiences that Girl Scouts has to offer," read a message posted on the Indiegogo.com website.
The Girl Scouts' position on transgender girls has drawn concern from conservative groups, with the American Family Association starting an online petition May 13 asking the organization to limit its membership to
"biological girls," according to CNN. That petition has more than 40,000 e-signatures as of Monday.
"Please, stop listening to the few individuals who would use young boys as pawns in the culture war and destroy this organization in the process of advancing their social agenda,"
the petition on the association's website stated. "The GSA has the constitutional right to govern and restrict its youth membership only to biological girls . . . and for the sake of its future, it should."
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