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 organisations that centrer 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. We’ve long respected how they turn girls’ ideas into action and give girls a seat at the table. She’s the First has a well-established presence in Kenya. And now as a merged entity, we will continue to grow our work there, including with our first integrated programme - Naserian. 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 organisations 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 programmes into their extensive grassroots networks, creating a stronger continuum of support for girls and their communities.

She's the First has fully merged into the 501(c)(3) of Girl Rising. She’s the First’s history, name and legacy will continue to be alive within Girl Rising in meaningful ways —most critically through the continued expansion of the Girls Leadership Programmes and the Girls First Institute which they have brought to Girl Rising.

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 organisations 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 geographic focus for RISE will sharpen to prioritise areas we have overlap with She's the First: India, Kenya, and Latin America. Following Naserian, we will create additional pilots to integrate our programming in each region, with learning agendas that will inform future scaling. Student Ambassador programming will be absorbed into our Girls Leadership programmes. We will also stay connected to alumni of our Future Rising Fellowship Programme and past partners from our education programmes, uniting them with She's the First's program alumni for more robust networking and shared resources.

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 organisations 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.

You can help by amplifying our message, introducing us to new individuals or communities, continuing your financial support if you’re able. Your partnership ensures we stay focused on our mission while building something stronger together.