Girl Up

What Girl Up does

Girl Up is a global nonprofit adolescent girl campaign founded in 2010 and operated as a fiscally sponsored initiative of Global Fund for Children, a 501(c)(3) public charity. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the organization supports the empowerment of girls and young women through leadership development, advocacy skills training, and community organizing across 155 countries. Its primary beneficiaries are adolescent girls and young women ages 13-24, organized through a decentralized network of 7,850+ volunteer-led clubs in schools, universities, and communities worldwide, supplemented by flagship programs including annual Leadership Summits, Regional Leadership Summits, WiSci Girls STEAM camps, the Teen Advisor program, and Project Awards.

Girl Up does not operate proprietary technology products; instead, it leverages third-party platforms including Hivebrite for community management (community.girlup.org), Givebutter for fundraising, and Bonfire for merchandise. Its core 'technology' is the programmatic framework of leadership development curricula, event programming, and the global club network. The organization reaches over 1 million supporters globally and has trained more than 430,000-500,000 young leaders since founding, with active presences on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Girl Up's revenue model is entirely philanthropic, comprising individual donations, corporate grants (e.g., OLLY's $1.5M three-year commitment announced May 2026), and foundation support. All programs are delivered free of charge to participants. The organization maintains strategic partnerships with the United Nations Foundation (its founding affiliate), Global Fund for Children (its fiscal sponsor), and various corporate and foundation partners. Leadership includes co-executive director Anna Blue and Senior Director of Global Community Sia Nowrojee.

Name

Girl Up

Legal name

Girl Up (fiscally sponsored by Global Fund for Children)

Website

https://girlup.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Girl Up is a fiscally sponsored nonprofit initiative of Global Fund for Children that empowers adolescent girls and young women through leadership development, a global network of 7,850+ clubs across 155 countries, summits, and STEAM camps, funded entirely by donations and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Leadership Development

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Student Organizations & Club Administration (EDALAHAB), Youth-to-Adult Transition & Life Skills (Independent Living, Soft Skills) (EDAAAFAN)

Keywords

• Youth leadership development
• Gender equality advocacy
• Nonprofit adolescent programs
• Global girls empowerment
• STEAM education camps

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations and Fundraising: Girl Up generates revenue through individual donations from supporters worldwide. The organization runs annual fundraising campaigns including the 'Future to Fund' initiative celebrating 15 years of impact, targeting donors who want to invest in feminist leadership development for girls.
2. Corporate Grants and Partnerships: Corporate partners provide grants to Girl Up as part of larger charitable initiatives. For example, OLLY committed $1.5 million in grants over three years to nonprofit partners including Girl Up as part of mental health awareness campaigns.
3. Fiscal Sponsorship by Global Fund for Children: Girl Up is a fiscally sponsored initiative of Global Fund for Children, a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 56-1834887). GFC provides administrative oversight, legal framework, and operational support while Girl Up maintains programmatic autonomy.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Girl Up is a global leadership development initiative that empowers adolescent girls and young women (ages 13–24) through grassroots clubs, in-person summits, STEM-focused camps, and a Teen Advisor program. The organization delivers advocacy training, public speaking skills, community organizing tools, and global networking opportunities to over 500,000 participants across 155 countries, entirely free of charge. Programs are funded via individual donations, corporate grants, and fiscal sponsorship from Global Fund for Children.

Product overview

Girl Up is a global youth leadership development organization focused on gender justice. The organization does not offer a technology product or software platform—it operates as a nonprofit initiative delivering leadership programming through in-person summits, virtual events, regional clubs, and educational resources. Core offerings include the Teen Advisor program, WiSci (Girls STEAM) camps, Project Awards, the Girl Up Alum Network, and the Voices storytelling platform. Girl Up clubs function as community-based chapters rather than a software product, and the organization leverages third-party platforms (Hivebrite for community management, Givebutter for fundraising, Bonfire for merchandise) rather than building proprietary technology products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Girl Up Clubs Grassroots leadership clubs established by local leaders in schools, universities, and communities worldwide; provide free access to Girl Up resources, training, and the global feminist leadership network for adolescent girls and young women.
• Leadership Summits Annual in-person summits in Washington D.C. and regional locations that bring together Girl Up leaders for skills workshops, networking, and engagement with world leaders and decision-makers; offered free to selected participants.
• WiSci Girls STEAM Camps Residential STEM-focused camps in international locations (e.g., Morocco, Southeast Asia) combining leadership development with science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics education for adolescent girls.
• Teen Advisor Program Selective cohort-based program through which selected young women serve as advisors to Girl Up, participate in high-level summits, and represent the organization at global forums including the United Nations.
• Project Awards Grant awards provided to Girl Up clubs to fund local gender justice and community activism projects led by young women.
• Voices Storytelling Platform Online storytelling platform featuring personal testimonials from Teen Advisors, club leaders, and alumni about their Girl Up journeys and activism.
• Girl Up Alum Network Alumni engagement network for former Girl Up participants who continue to give back to and support current members of the movement.

Quantifiable outcome

• 500,000+ young leaders trained
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• OLLYflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2026OLLY, a San Francisco-based wellness supplement brand, partnered with Girl Up as one of four nonprofit recipients in its 'Do What Serves You' campaign for Mental Health Awareness Month. OLLY committed $1.5 million in grants over three years to nonprofit partners including Girl Up, SeekHer Foundation, The National Menopause Foundation, and Postpartum Support International. The partnership aims to encourage women to prioritize mental and physical health without guilt, aligning with Girl Up's mission to advance gender equality and reduce mental health stigma.
• Coubertin meets Dunant FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 June 2025The Coubertin meets Dunant Foundation supported Girl Power's summer camp in Zurich, Switzerland for Afghan women footballers. While Girl Power is a separate organization, this partnership demonstrates Girl Up's ecosystem connections to foundations supporting women's empowerment through sports.
• Global Fund for ChildrencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGirl Up is a fiscally sponsored, hosted initiative of Global Fund for Children (GFC), a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 56-1834887). GFC maintains ultimate fiduciary and administrative oversight while Girl Up operates under GFC's legal and governance framework with responsibility for its own programming and fundraising. GFC headquarters at 1411 K Street, NW, Suite 1200, Washington, DC 20005.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• CARE International:
• UN Women: UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. It shares Girl Up's UN-affiliated identity and policy-advocacy positioning but operates at vastly larger scale with a UN member-state mandate rather than a grassroots club model.
• Plan International: Plan International is a large established global NGO advancing children's rights and girls' equality across 80+ countries. It overlaps with Girl Up on gender justice mission and global footprint but operates as a much broader, multi-issue incumbent with significantly larger infrastructure.

Direct peers

• Girl Effect: Girl Effect, originally founded by the Nike Foundation, is a global organization empowering adolescent girls through brand-driven storytelling, technology, and community programming. It overlaps directly with Girl Up on target demographic (teen girls), global reach, and brand-led engagement model.
• Room to Read: Room to Read focuses on literacy and gender equality in education across low-income countries, with a particular emphasis on girls' secondary schooling. Comparable in targeting adolescent girls' educational outcomes and global nonprofit delivery model, though more concentrated in formal school systems.
• She's the First: She's the First partners with grassroots organizations to support girls' education and leadership in low-income countries, serving a similar adolescent female demographic with a club/chapter-based model in U.S. schools. Comparable mission, age cohort, and grassroots mobilization approach to Girl Up.
• Malala Fund: Malala Fund is a girls' education and empowerment nonprofit working globally with adolescent girls, sharing Girl Up's age cohort (secondary school through early adulthood), advocacy focus, and free-program delivery model. Both organizations position themselves as global girl-led movements with international policy advocacy ambitions.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/girlupcampaign
• Facebookfacebook.com/girlup
• Instagraminstagram.com/girlup
• TikToktiktok.com/@girlup
• Xx.com/girlup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/girl-up

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Girl Up