She’s the First and Girl Rising share a deep commitment to girls’ rights, using the power of storytelling, education, and mentorship to drive change. By uniting, we will multiply our impact, combine our strengths, and reach more than 500,000 adolescents over the next three years with in-depth, in-person programming.

At a time when girls’ rights face growing threats and funding gaps continue to widen, this merger is a bold step toward greater collaboration and collective strength. By coming together, we can scale proven, community-led solutions and meet this moment with the clarity and coordination it demands.

This merger is driven by foresight and purpose. We asked ourselves: What barriers will a girl born today face in 10 or 20 years if we don’t act now? In a world where her rights are increasingly in danger, this merger ensures we have the strength and scale to help her overcome the formidable challenges ahead.

Girl Rising admires She’s the First for their deep commitment to girls’ leadership development and their powerful work supporting community-based, women-led organizations that center girls. She’s the First is forward-thinking with their training, platforms and resources to support girls in speaking up for their rights in their homes, schools, and communities—a perfect complement to our Ambassador program. We’ve long respected how they turn girls’ ideas into action and give girls a seat at the table, even on their Board of Directors (which Girl Rising will now do!).

She’s the First also has a well-established presence in Kenya, where we’re excited to grow, now that the RISE curriculum is accredited by the government. In East Africa, as well as Latin America and South Asia, we love how She’s the First has found effective and creative ways to support grassroots leaders in teaching girls sexual and reproductive health and rights. Their long-term investment in community organizations has correlated with girls showing increased confidence, agency over their futures, academic success, and decreased pregnancy rates.

By joining forces, we are excited to integrate our education programs into their extensive grassroots networks, creating a stronger continuum of support for girls and their communities.

She's the First will fully merge into the 501(c)(3) of Girl Rising. Girl Rising’s name and brand will continue, with some tweaks to our look and feel to reflect our expanded work and team. She’s the First’s history, name and legacy will continue to be alive within Girl Rising in meaningful ways.

We will be supporting an expanded community of girls, educators, and communities, now with greater shared resources. We will integrate our flagship RISE program with She’s the First programs for community-based organizations and girls to create a full continuum of support for girls—from life-skills education in schools to mentorship activities in the community, to leadership opportunities that create generational change.

Our core programming will not change. Our geographic focus for RISE will sharpen to prioritize areas we have overlap with She's the First: India, Kenya, and Latin America. We will be creating different pilots to integrate our programming in each region, with learning agendas that will inform future scaling.

Student Ambassador programming will go under the umbrella of our new Girls' Leadership Program department, alongside She's the First's Chapter and Fellowship program for girls. We will also stay connected to alumni of our Future Rising Fellowship Program and past partners from our education programs, uniting them with She's the First's program alumni for more robust networking and shared resources.

A new Board of Directors will be appointed, consisting of both current Girl Rising board members, current She’s the First board members, 2 Girl Board Members, and 2 new members. Christina Lowery and Nidhi Shukla will become Co-CEOs. Kate Kiama will serve as VP, Global Programs. After 16 years at the helm of She’s the First, Tammy is delighted to step into a one-year transitional role as Chief Advisor, setting the Executive Leadership Team up for success.

She’s the First and Girl Rising both have well-respected brands with nearly two decades of history; it wasn’t strategic to invent a new name for our merged entity. And while both organizations bring different but equal strengths to the table, we ultimately decided Girl Rising would be the clearest choice due to the continuity in executive leadership and significant multi-year funding sources.

• October: She’s the First and Girl Rising publicly announced our merger, in celebration of International Day of the Girl.

• November - December: Behind the scenes dotting i’s and crossing t’s as well as approval from the state boards that govern non profits. Our teams will be engaged in integration activities and collaborating on a joint end-of-year fundraising campaign.

• January: Girl Rising will relaunch its website and branding, infused with the team, programs, and influence of She’s the First.

You can help by amplifying our message, introducing us to new individuals or communities, continuing your financial support if you’re able, and extending grace as we work through the complexities of merging. Your partnership ensures we stay focused on our mission while building something stronger together.