She's the First
She's the First is a US-based nonprofit founded in 2009 that partners with 900+ community-based organizations across 62 countries to advance girls' education, rights, and empowerment in the Global South through free certification, grassroots funding, and girl-led activism; it merged with Girl Rising in April 2026.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What She's the First does
She's the First is a US-based nonprofit organization founded in November 2009 by Tammy Tibbetts and Christen Brandt that partners with grassroots leaders and community-based organizations to advance girls' education, rights, and empowerment in the Global South. Its core programs include the Girls First Institute (a free professional development certification in girl-centered design, feminist mentorship, and sexual and reproductive health programming for women-led organizations), the Partner Coalition (transformational funding and capacity support for 15 CBOs across 10 countries engaging 15,461 girls), STF Campus Chapters (122 girl-led clubs globally), the Girl Activist Fellowship, and the Girls Advisory Council (girls ages 14–22 participating in governance, including two seats on the Board of Directors).
The organization's underlying methodology is a girl-centered, anti-oppressive design framework ("nothing about us without us") codified through a proprietary content library including the Feminist Mentorship Manual, Listening to Girls Toolkit, Girl-Centered Risk Register, Discover Your Power Journal, My Period Diary, the "What Would You Do?" card game, and co-organization of the Global Girls' Bill of Rights (presented to the United Nations in 2019, translated into English, French, Spanish, and Swahili). Distribution occurs through digital self-serve channels (website and Girls First Institute platform), in-person training events (annual Girls First Summit, Ellas al Frente in Spanish), and direct CBO partnerships across East Africa, West Africa, Latin America, and South Asia.
She's the First is funded primarily through individual donations, corporate grants, and foundation support, with no disclosed pricing model (all programs are free to participants). Over 16 years it reached more than 1.1 million girls through 900+ community organizations and 295 chapters in 62 countries. Effective April 2026, She's the First officially merged with Girl Rising under the Girl Rising brand, with Co-CEO Kate Kiama transitioning to VP Global Programs and Co-Founder Tammy Tibbetts serving as Chief Advisor for a one-year transition; the combined entity targets 500,000+ adolescents reached in-person and 7 million online over three years.
She's the First firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- She's the First
- Legal name
- She's the First, Inc.
- Website
- https://shesthefirst.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- She's the First is a US-based nonprofit founded in 2009 that partners with 900+ community-based organizations across 62 countries to advance girls' education, rights, and empowerment in the Global South through free certification, grassroots funding, and girl-led activism; it merged with Girl Rising in April 2026.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
She's the First industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Nonprofit Girls' Education and Empowerment
- NAICS
- Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Gender Equality & Women’s Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (BPAGABAF), Gender Equality & Women’s Rights (BPADAGAF)
Keywords
Where She's the First is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
She's the First business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Donations and Grants: She's the First is a nonprofit organization that funds its operations through individual donations, corporate grants, and foundation support. The organization provides grants to partner organizations in the Global South and accepts donations through GirlRising.org.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free Professional Development Certification for Women Leaders |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
She's the First product offering
Product offeringCore offering
She's the First is a nonprofit organization that delivers girl-centered empowerment programs combining direct girl activation (Campus Chapters, Girl Activist Fellowship, Girls Advisory Council) with organizational capacity building for women-led community-based organizations (Girls First Institute certification, Partner Coalition grants). It also publishes a portfolio of free downloadable toolkits covering mentorship, sexual and reproductive health, risk assessment, and activism, distributed to grassroots partners and girls in the Global South.
Product overview
She’s the First is a nonprofit organization that offers a portfolio of girl-centered programs, professional development resources, and advocacy tools. The core offerings include the Girls First Institute, which provides free certification programs (Essential and Advanced) in girl-centered design, feminist mentorship, and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for women leaders in the Global South; the Partner Coalition supporting 15 CBOs in 10 countries; STF Campus Chapters for girl-led activism; the Girl Activist Fellowship for campaign development; and the Girls Advisory Council for girls’ governance participation. The organization also provides free downloadable toolkits including the What Would You Do? card game, Feminist Mentorship Manual, Listening to Girls Toolkit, Girl-Centered Risk Register, Discover Your Power Journal, My Period Diary, and Beyond Bleeding. The Girls First Summit is an annual training conference, while Ellas al Frente serves Spanish-speaking Latin American practitioners. Effective April 2026, She’s the First will merge with Girl Rising under the Girl Rising brand.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Girls First Institute: Premier skills-building, outcomes-improving professional development program for women who uplift girls in their communities, led by and for women from the Global South.
- Girl Rising
- Global Girls' Bill of Rights
Products and services
- Girls First Institute A premier skills-building and outcomes-improving professional development program designed exclusively for women who uplift girls in their communities, led by and for women from the Global South. Offers free certification in girl-centered design, feminist mentorship, and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights programming.
- Girl-Centered Design Certification Two-level certification program (Essential and Advanced) for organizations to validate professional growth in girl-centered programming, covering program design, mentorship, and SRHR.
- Partner Coalition Provides transformational funding and support to community-based organizations serving girls in the Global South, with an active cohort of 15 CBOs in 10 countries engaging 15,461 girls across East and West Africa, Latin America, and South Asia.
- STF Campus Chapters Girl-led clubs that fight for girls' rights everywhere. Chapters connect like-minded peers globally and organize local action for gender equality.
- Girl Activist Fellowship A world-class training and mentorship experience where girls learn to envision, plan, and execute their own activism campaigns, brought to global audience annually with staff support.
- Girls Advisory Council Council comprising girls ages 14-22 that incorporates girls' voices into programming strategy and communications decisions, with two members appointed as Board of Directors representatives.
- Girl-Centered Incubator Intensive three-year program for recruited organizations that includes training, funding, and coaching as part of Advanced Certification.
- Ellas al Frente Spanish-language program and conference within the Girls First Institute, providing training and resources for Latin American practitioners.
- Girls First Summit Annual one-day professional training for She's the First partners and grassroots leaders. Grew from inaugural gathering in Nairobi in 2017 to hosting more than 180 practitioners in 2025 between 9th edition in Kenya and 2nd in Uganda.
- Girl Talk Blog Platform featuring essays, interviews, art, and resources by and for girls around the world, publishing work from girls within programs and partner organizations.
- What Would You Do? Card Game A card game allowing girls in three age groups to safely explore building blocks of healthy relationships and strategies for creating safe personal boundaries through play and conversation.
- Feminist Mentorship Manual Resource for mentors developing programs, providing four key principles and guidance for designing feminist mentorship styles that work in their settings.
- Listening to Girls Toolkit Toolkit walks organizations through how to hold focus groups with girls to design and evaluate programs for specific communities, including case study and training video.
- Girl-Centered Risk Register Tool that re-envisions a risk register to help organizations analyze and mitigate risks girls in their communities face, recommended for annual updates with groups of girls.
- Discover Your Power Journal Self-empowerment workbook for secondary-school aged girls to develop their voice, learn to build community, identify goals, cultivate safe spaces, and create advocacy strategies. Available in English, French, Spanish, and Swahili.
- My Period Diary One-year manual period tracker for educating girls on menstrual health, designed to be accessible for girls without internet or smartphone access.
- Beyond Bleeding Resource created by girls, for girls sharing sisterly insights and advice on menstrual health and period experiences, written from perspective of an older sister or friend.
Quantifiable outcome
- 179,000+ girls impacted annually across 6 continents (2025)
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use She's the First
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
She's the First technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
She's the First partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Girl RisingcoreMerger announcement effective April 2026. She’s the First and Girl Rising joining forces under the Girl Rising brand to multiply reach and deepen impact. Kate Kiama becomes VP Global Programs; Tammy Tibbetts becomes Chief Advisor for 1-year transition. Combined goal to reach 500,000+ adolescents with in-person programs and 7 million online over three years.
- Purposeful (Sierra Leone)minorCo-created #ShesAGirlFirst campaign video and advocacy efforts to overturn Sierra Leone's ban on pregnant girls attending school.
- Project PIKIN (Sierra Leone)minorCollaborated on #ShesAGirlFirst campaign to support local activists fighting for pregnant girls' right to education.
- The Salone Adolescent Girls NetworkminorPartnered on #ShesAGirlFirst campaign to support Sierra Leonean girls' rights.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
She's the First competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Girl Rising: She's the First's merger partner effective April 2026 under the Girl Rising brand. Girl Rising operates a near-identical mission — advancing girls' education and empowerment globally — through media-driven storytelling and program partnerships, and will serve as the surviving entity post-merger.
- Malala Fund: Founded by Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, Malala Fund advocates for 12 years of safe, free, quality education for girls and invests in local education activists — directly comparable to She's the First's girl-centered advocacy and CBO funding model.
- Room to Read: Global nonprofit focused on girls' literacy and women's secondary education across Asia and Africa. Comparable to She's the First in serving marginalized girls in the Global South with direct programmatic support and system-level interventions.
- CAMFED (Campaign for Female Education): PAN-African nonprofit supporting girls through secondary and post-secondary education, including a young women's leadership network. Highly comparable to She's the First's focus on African girls' education, mentorship, and alumnae engagement.
- Women for Women International: Serves women survivors of war and conflict through training, cash assistance, and advocacy. Comparable to She's the First in supporting marginalized women in fragile states via skill-building and rights-based programming.
- Women Deliver: Global advocacy organization focused on gender equality and the health and rights of girls and women. Comparable to She's the First in its advocacy-first approach and UN-facing policy positioning.
- Global Fund for Women: Public foundation that funds women's rights organizations globally through grantmaking. Comparable to She's the First in mobilizing resources toward grassroots women-led organizations advancing gender equality.
- International Women's Health Coalition: Advocates for women's sexual and reproductive health and rights globally with a strong UN and policy presence. Comparable to She's the First in centering SRHR within a broader girls' empowerment and rights agenda.
Broad incumbents
- Plan International: Large multinational children's rights and girls' equality organization operating across 80+ countries. Comparable to She's the First's girls' rights focus, but at significantly larger scale and broader child-rights scope.
- CARE International: Major humanitarian organization with deep programming on women and girls' empowerment, education, and SRHR. Overlaps with She's the First's mission but operates a much broader portfolio including emergency response and economic development.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
She's the First social profiles
Digital presenceShe's the First financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
She's the First leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
She's the First funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
She's the First M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about She's the First
What does She's the First do?
She's the First is a nonprofit organization that delivers girl-centered empowerment programs combining direct girl activation (Campus Chapters, Girl Activist Fellowship, Girls Advisory Council) with organizational capacity building for women-led community-based organizations (Girls First Institute certification, Partner Coalition grants). It also publishes a portfolio of free downloadable toolkits covering mentorship, sexual and reproductive health, risk assessment, and activism, distributed to grassroots partners and girls in the Global South.
Is She's the First a public or private company?
She's the First is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was She's the First founded?
She's the First was founded in 2009. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is She's the First based?
She's the First is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does She's the First make money?
One revenue line is on record: donations and Grants.
Who are She's the First's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Girl Rising, Malala Fund, Room to Read, CAMFED (Campaign for Female Education), Women for Women International, Women Deliver, Global Fund for Women and International Women's Health Coalition. Broad incumbents are Plan International and CARE International.
Does She's the First have an API?
No public API is recorded for She's the First.
What industry is She's the First in?
She's the First's product category is Nonprofit Girls' Education and Empowerment. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAFAD, Gender Equality & Women’s Rights Advocacy, with a secondary code of BPAGABAF, Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment. Its NAICS code is 813311 and its SIC code is 8300.