Communities know best.
Through the She's the First Partner Coalition, we provide transformational funding and support to community-based organizations (we call them CBOs) serving girls in the Global South.
Our active cohort consists of 15 CBOs in 10 countries, engaging 15,461 girls across East and West Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. Together, we increase girls' agency and leadership through feminist mentorship programs.
Supporting girls' education is only the first step to ensure their futures. It is just as critical that girls learn about their rights, their bodies, and healthy relationships, especially when living in the riskiest circumstances.
This is where grassroots girls’ organizations come in—they are a safe space, led by women from the community who understand the obstacles and discrimination girls face.
To invest in girls, you also need to invest in the skillsets of women who run the programs that protect girls' futures. These women, and the small organizations they lead, are chronically under-resourced and face intensifying external threats: the cascading effects of a global pandemic, climate crises, and increasing poverty. And yet, they are the smartest strategy to break down the systems holding girls back, because of their influence in the community.
The value of our Partner Coalition is that grassroots leaders get to learn and grow alongside each other, while each organization also receives a grant and hands-on support from She’s the First. Our partners are experts in their local contexts; we offer our strengths in girl-centered program design, girls’ rights advocacy, and organizational sustainability to help them get to the next level. The result is stronger outcomes for girls: more graduates, more leaders, more examples of what is possible when you educate a girl.
Trainings and technical support we provide, with the goal of keeping girls safe and educated, span topics such as: sexual health and reproductive rights, feminist mentorship strategies, hosting ethical focus groups, and assessing drop-out risks.
By Location
Latin America
Western Africa
Eastern Africa
South Asia
