This document is for Guiders wishing to plan an independent international or interprovincial trip for members wanting to travel abroad as members of Guiding. Providing girls with the opportunity to travel is a rewarding and exciting adventure; and an experience everyone will remember for the rest of their lives. Thank you for taking the time and energy to enhance our girls' Guiding experience through travel.
These documents will give you some of the basics that you need to plan the trip from a risk management and financial perspective. After you’ve reviewed them, it’s time to talk to the girls in the unit about what they want to get out of their independent trip. Get them involved by reviewing Safe Guide, activity guides, and applicable governance policies with them. Take note of the timing for paperwork as noted on the IT.1 (International Group Trip Planning Timeline). Consider these questions:
Remember to involve parents/guardians in this process as well.
Once you and your girls have decided some of the key details about the trip, it is time to work on the SG.8 package. The package should be submitted to safeguide@girlguides.ca. Also copied into the email should be the Provincial Commissioner and your Area Commissioner.
Once the package is approved by the Safe Guide Assessor, it will be sent by the Provincial Travel coordinator/Advisor and to National GGC (Girl Guides of Canada) Trips. You will receive an official acknowledgment of your SG.8 package once all the required documents have been submitted.
*In addition to providing caregivers with the SG.1, you must also have them sign the SG.2 Parent/Guardian Permission for Non-Regular Unit Activities to indicate that they understand the commitment associated with their girl’s participation in the trip.
Approval of the SG8 package must be obtained by the Responsible Guider before progressing to the next stage.
After your trip’s SG.8 package has been approved you will receive a communication that identifies the trip unit’s name (which is determined by its destination) that should be used on all future communications associated with the trip. You will be directed to complete a Unified Banking Authorization Form to identify who will be your trip unit’s Treasurer and P-Card Holder. A separate form for each position is needed. The Treasurer does not have to be one of the Guiders planning to travel with the trip, however, the P-card Holder does need to be. A separate account from your program unit’s account is necessary to segregate the financial transactions associated with a trip from those of a typical unit’s finances. The budget template that was submitted with the trip’s SG.8 package must continue to be utilized throughout the trip’s lifespan to accurately record all of the revenues and expenses transacted through the unit’s account.
Once the SG.8A has been approved and the bank account opened, the trip can begin more detailed planning and fundraising initiatives. Fundraising cannot begin until the trip has been approved and the bank account has been activated (by identifying a Treasurer). Fundraising for a trip must be initiated by the trip and cannot be deposited to a program unit account and transferred after the trip unit account has been opened.
Here are some items to take into consideration as you enter this phase:
Detailed planning
Fundraising
The preferred method of fundraising is via cookie sales. Trip units order cookies to sell separately from a regular program unit’s order. The profit tier is $25 and dependent on the number of cases ordered/participant rostered to the unit. 25% of all fundraising undertaken by a trip unit must be derived from cookie profits.
All fundraising outside of cookie sales is subject to approval. If your trip unit wishes to engage in additional fundraising, a FR.1 (Application for Fundraising Approval) must be submitted. The submitted FR1 is sent to the Provincial Commissioner nb-pc@girlguides.ca and your Area Commissioner, Once the assessed form is approved the outcome of the FR1 application will be forwarded to the trip unit’s RG (Responsible Guider). Approved FR.1 activities are valid for a maximum of six months. If the unit intends to continue with an activity beyond the approval period, a new FR.1 is required. This should be submitted at least two weeks before the previous approval expires.
One year from your trip’s scheduled departure date, Safe Guide requires your trip to submit an updated set of documents. The purpose of this is to ensure that your trip’s planning is on track and to identify any concerns that may have arisen. The required documents are:
Once the package has been received in full by nb-pc@girlguides.ca, it will be forwarded to your International Safe Guide Assessor for review. The Assessor will work with you to acknowledge the submission. You will receive an official acknowledgement of the successful completion of your One Year Check-in via an email from the office.
Six months prior to your trip’s departure, Safe Guide requires your trip to submit an updated set of documents. The completion of this step results in the IT.3 acknowledgement for your trip to proceed. The documents required in this package are:
Once the package has been received in full, it will be sent to your International Assessor for review. Once she has completed her assessment and signed the IT.3 and IT.4s the package will be forwarded to the Travel Support Coordinator for signature. This process can take up to six weeks. You will receive an official acknowledgement of your IT.3 package via an email from the office.
This step is only applicable to international trips. Two months before your departure date, Safe Guide requires your trip to submit an updated set of documents that reflect any changes that have occurred since the IT.3 approval was granted. The following documents are submitted if there have been any changes made to them:
Once the package has been received in full, it will be sent to the International Adviser for review. You will receive an official approval of your final package via the office. The IT.3, IT.11 and SG.4s that have been approved will be shared by the office with the National office to notify them of your upcoming trip.
After you have received final approval, please ensure that you register with the Government of Canada's 'Canadians Abroad' program. Canadians Abroad is a free service that allows the Government of Canada to notify you in case of an emergency abroad or a personal emergency at home. This service also enables you to receive important information before or during a natural disaster or civil unrest.
Go on the trip, have a fantastic time!
Within 30 days of your trip’s return date, ensure you have a debrief meeting and finalize any expenses associated with the trip. This can include a participant dinner and the creation of memory books you may wish to have done. These are items that should be budgeted for and should have the expenses included when you submit your financials.
In accordance with Safe Guide, you are required to submit the financials associated with your trip within 30 days of the last day of your trip. The items included in this package are:
Once the package has been received in full, staff will reconcile your account. They will contact you within 60 days to provide you with the results and discuss how the balance of funds in the unit account will be handled.
Tips for interprovincial travel are coming soon!