She's the First
EVERY GIRL HAS THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE HER OWN FUTURE.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
STF has always served girls who are striving to be the first female graduate in their families; girls who have as much potential as anyone else but were not born into opportunity. Over the years, we’ve gotten smarter about how to address this problem: by investing in community-based girls’ organizations. CBOs have always been on the frontlines responding to girls’ struggles and caring for their families. This strategy was especially critical during the pandemic, as governments reduced their aid. We face two main problems. This first was exacerbated by COVID-19. 130 million girls were already out of school worldwide, and now, the latest estimates are that an additional 20 million will drop out of secondary school. Data has yet to quantify how many girls have been abused, raped, or impregnated. The second problem is systemic: Grassroots, women-led organizations are the key to reaching the most vulnerable girls, but these organizations are chronically underfunded and overlooked.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Partner Coalition
A cohort of CBOs from 12 countries working toward a shared set of goals for girls’ rights. We provide them with flexible funding and customized trainings.
Girls First Summit & Ellas al Frente
Two training programs, one in East Africa and one in Latin America, which focus on delivering girl-centered design principles, resources, networking and education to non-profits serving girls.
Girl-Led Incubator
We train, mentor, and fiscally sponsor a cohort of young women who started projects to serve girls in their community. Alongside their teams, they learn about organizational development and feminist leadership. This helps build the pipeline of locally-led girls’ programs. There are hardly enough!
Girl-Led Advocacy
We believe in the power girls have to advocate for themselves. Their ideas matter and they are more than ready to lead. Here’s how we’ve created platforms for them:
- Since 2010, we’ve mobilized a campus chapter community all over the world.
- We’ve built toolkits with and for girls (with more on the way!)
- In addition to the Global Girls’ Bill of Rights, we’ve spearheaded other influential media campaigns, including the #GirlsGetLoud social media challenge (every October 11th) and “She’s a Girl First,” which helped local activists overturn a ban against pregnant girls attending school in Sierra Leone.
STF Campus
Over 100 chapters of high school and college students around the world get together to advocate for girls's rights and education. Local chapters take on issues in their local communities and that they are most passionate about. She's the First supports local chapter with trainings, resources, in-person conferences and a platform to amplify their local advocacy into a global stage.
Where we work
Awards
DVF People's Voice Award 2013
Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation
30 Under 30 in Education 2012
Forbes
Millennials on a Mission 2013
Forbes
League of Extraordinary Women 2012
Fast Company
People’s Voice Award 2014
Diane von Furstenberg Family Foundation
Torino Award 2014
United Nations
Outstanding Philanthropic Organization Award 2015
The Association of Fundraising Professionals
Recognized by Michelle Obama 2018
The Girls’ Opportunity Alliance
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of clients participating in educational programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This number represents students reached through programs funded or created by STF.
Number of girls engaged in STF Campus activities, receiving activism training and toolkits.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
STF Campus
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
High school and college/university students all around the globe belong to the STF Campus community. Learn more here: https://campus.shesthefirst.org
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
STF’s ultimate vision is a world where girls experience their rights and choose their own futures. That is possible when:
1. Girls access education and learn life skills and sexual & reproductive health information
2. Local organizations more effectively implement and advance girl-centered programs
3. People learn about the issue, change their attitudes, and change their behavior in support of gender equality
Therefore, when STF talks publicly about making sure that girls are educated, respected, and heard, they know that requires a multi-pronged and holistic approach. It requires a combination of subgranting direct service programs for girls, capacity building to strengthen the quality of those programs, and shifting public attitudes and behaviors. After all, girls can be taught to speak up, but the world needs to listen.
In order to accomplish these goals, STF works closely with local partners on research (especially in program reviews and focus groups with girls), as well as on training. STF believes that the global challenges facing girls have local solutions, and so building strong equitable partnerships with local organizations is what allows the model to succeed and thrive.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Within our pillars of strengthening the ecosystem of community-based girls’ organizations and driving girl-led advocacy forward, our core activities are to:
- Provide flexible funding, networks, and girl-centered training and tools to women-led CBOs
(Current Examples: Girls First Network, Girls First Summit in East Africa, Girl-Centered Risk Register, Listening to Girls Toolkit. Future Examples: New partners in South Asia and Latin America who will receive grants and training, along with Ellas al Frente in Guatemala, a three-year program for CBO leaders to improve their organizations in the areas of girl-centered programs, sexual and reproductive health education, and feminist mentorship.)
- Provide women-led CBOs, girls, and partners with opportunities to strengthen and elevate local solutions
(Examples: Site-based trainings for partners based on a specific need, i.e. reducing drop-outs rates with increased quality of sexual health and reproductive rights programming; the Girl-Led Incubator. Future Examples: Strengthening our Girls First Network)
- Develop and disseminate toolkits, resources, and networks to girls and their allies to support their advocacy for girls’ rights
(Examples: STF Campus Community, the Global Girls’ Bill of Rights and toolkit, the Discover Your Power Journal
Future Examples: Toolkits on healthy relationships (for girls) and measuring impact with girls (for CBOs))
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
She's the First operates from a headquarters in New York City and, in 2020, we shifted our programs team to the Global South by opening an office and hiring a Director of Programs in Nairobi, Kenya. In 2022, we aim to have 7 U.S.-based and 7 non-U.S. based employees (full and part-time). We are in pursuit of multi-year grants that will increase the stability of our funding and thus far have a diverse revenue community and engaged community of funders, as well as global brand recognition. Most of all, we have a 12-year track record of working effectively with community-based organizations and being a standard-bearer in the girls' rights space.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
She’s the First grew from a small scholarship-based initiative serving 400 girls into a powerful and influential girls’ rights organization, now annually serving ~140,000 girls and 300+ community-based girls’ organizations (CBOs) across 26 countries. Our team now operates out of New York City and Nairobi, Kenya, with vibrant partner hubs across East and West Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, and girl-run campus chapters in every hemisphere of the earth!
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
She's the First
Board of directorsas of 06/15/2023
Tara Abrahams
She's the First
Term: 2018 -
Tom Kerns
Christen Brandt
She's the First
Tammy Tibbetts
She's the First
Harish Nataraj
York Capital Management
Arianna De Lorenzi
Bayer Pharmaceuticals
Ezinne Okoro
Wunderman Thompson
Mercy Nzioki
Population Council
Lisa Sepulveda
Edelman
Syeda Areesha Fatima
Jr. Student Board Member
Elsie Chacha
Sr. Student Board Member
Christen Brandt
Co-Founder of She's the First
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data