SHE-CAN Global

As of November 2018, SHE-CAN has helped empower 46 young women from post-conflict countries with over $12 million in full-ride scholarships, including 17 graduates who are already rising leaders in their fields at home. With these first graduating classes already launching their careers, it has become even more evident that scale matters in what SHE-CAN does; the more SHE-CAN sisters emerging from the program equipped with the tools to lead, the stronger and more capable for change their in-country networks become.

This is why SHE-CAN plans to scale its program so it is accepting 10 scholars from different 5 post-conflict countries by 2023, therefore graduating and sending home 50 empowered female change-makers every year.

In order to lay the groundwork to be in five countries by 2023, SHE-CAN kicked-off its expansion plans in early 2018. In partnership with the staff, a Brown University intern was hired to design and execute a research study into 14 potential new markets. The final report short-listed three countries that the Board of Directors voted on; Liberia was selected as the front-runner and the Executive Director went on a reconnaissance trip in March 2018. After returning from the trip, the Executive Director compiled a report on her findings and recommended Liberia as the new market. The Board voted once again and Liberia was officially selected as the newest SHE-CAN country in April 2018, with the first cohort of scholars being selected in fall 2018. SHE-CAN plans to scope one of the two remaining short-listed countries from the report in spring 2019. The staff plans to identify the final country after the next two markets are launched.

To prepare for this influx of new scholars, SHE-CAN plans to grow the other parts of the program as well. Starting with the SHE-CAN Scholarship Coalition, SHE-CAN plans to scale the Coalition to 60 schools. In order to reach this target, SHE-CAN's Executive Director will visit universities and invite them to join the Coalition. SHE-CAN has also hired a Communications Associate who will focus on building the national awareness of the Coalition through PR. Furthermore, SHE-CAN plans to scale the mentor program by cultivating new regions. They started by hosting an event in New York in early 2018, successfully recruiting three mentor teams, and plan to host recruitment events in other major hubs like Los Angeles, Chicago, and more.

Additionally, SHE-CAN plans to expand the services offered to existing scholars in order to ensure their success both during and after the program. In 2018, SHE-CAN’s Program Manager kicked-off the SHE-CAN Graduate Program by hosting a conference call with the program’s alumnae. The program alumnae will self-govern and self-lead this group that will keep them connected post-grad. Additionally, SHE-CAN hired a new Community Builder in 2018 who is working to launch the SHE-CAN Employer Consortium in 2019; this group will consist of potential employers who will provide invaluable internship and in-country job opportunities for the scholars. Finally, SHE-CAN will continue to offer its biannual leadership training to all program beneficiaries in order to strengthen their leadership skills.

SHE-CAN has a strong and influential network that grows organically. Starting with the mentors, there are currently 220 professional US men and women who have committed to mentor a scholar for five years. A few notable mentors include the CEO of Torani Syrups and Flavors, the former CMO of Intuit, an EVP of a private wealth management organization, and more. These high-level professionals are not just great mentors to the scholars, they also help provide access to new opportunities and connections to help SHE-CAN grow. Similarly, SHE-CAN has a donor base of over 1000 people who provide both invaluable funding and connections.

The 12 members of the SHE-CAN Scholarship Coalition are the cornerstone of the program and make it possible for the organization to operate. Coalition members have committed at least one full-ride scholarship to a SHE-CAN scholar so long as she meets minimum admission requirements. It is an equally beneficial relationship because SHE-CAN is an expert in identifying high potential young leaders, preparing them for college entrance exam testing, and building and maintaining a successful support system so that they can thrive in school. This maximizes the universities' scholarship dollars because SHE-CAN scholars have the support needed to succeed and because the school is able to push their scholarship dollars further down the socio-economic pyramid to the low-income international students that they often cannot find. As a result, this partnership has allowed SHE-CAN to leverage a relatively small amount of donor funding into $12 million in scholarships for low-income young women in post-conflict countries and growing these partners will strengthen SHE-CAN's capacity to serve scholars.

SHE-CAN also continues to build relationships with NGOs, US government agencies, and thought leaders who are developing and funding programs addressing issues around women's empowerment, global female leadership, and women's education in order to prepare for scaling.

Since 2011, SHE-CAN has selected 46 scholars from Afghanistan, Cambodia, and Rwanda. Scholars have won a total of $12 million in scholarships and have attended a total of 23 schools. Additionally, ten new candidates from Cambodia and Rwanda have been selected and are applying for 2019 admittance.

Of the 46 scholars, 17 are graduates and all are thriving in impressive careers and several are emerging as leaders including the Personal Assistant to Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Secretary to Rwanda’s Minister of the Interior, and a Manager of Social Impact & Healthcare at Kasha, a Kigali social impact start-up. To ensure the continued success of the graduates, SHE-CAN will launch an Employer Consortium in 2019. The network will include international companies and government agencies committed to hiring our bright scholars. This will enable graduates to obtain high-level jobs in their home countries and have an immediate impact on their community.

In 2015, SHE-CAN saw an opportunity to engage US schools as partners and formed the SHE-CAN Scholarship Coalition, comprised of partner schools who have each committed to award full scholarships to SHE-CAN candidates who meet their minimum admission requirements. The Scholarship Coalition now includes 12 schools, including: Bucknell, Beloit, Gettysburg, Lafayette, Lewis & Clark, Muhlenberg, Northwestern, Oberlin, Spelman, University of Minnesota, University of Portland, University of San Francisco.

Given their success, SHE-CAN expanded the program to Liberia in late 2018. For the 2020 academic school year, they plan on selecting 5 scholars from Liberia and 10 from Cambodia. They will scope their fourth country for its expansion potential in spring 2019.