Girls Forward

What Girls Forward does

Girls Forward is a Dutch non-profit foundation (stichting) founded in 2014 and headquartered in Amsterdam, with ANBI-registered public benefit status. The organization delivers free youth development programs for girls and young women aged 10–27 across six Amsterdam neighborhoods — Centrum, Oost, West, Zuidoost, Nieuw-West, and Noord. Its core offerings include recurring weekly programs such as Girls Night, Healthy Girls, and Women Forward, built on a proprietary methodology that the organization has begun packaging externally through Girls Forward Academy, a train-the-trainer program for other youth workers and organizations.

Programs are delivered free of charge to participants, so Girls Forward has no fee-based revenue model. Operating income is sourced from donations and corporate partnerships, with Nike publicly named as a partner supporting sports and movement-based events. The foundation also operates or participates in international programming through the Confident Futures track and the LIKE international project, signaling an explicit cross-border orientation beyond its Amsterdam base. Impact is reported externally through an annual Impact Report, the most recent being the 2024 edition, and the organization received a Young Amsterdam Award in 2025.

Day-to-day execution runs on a small team of 1–10 employees supplemented by volunteers and partner mentors, which structurally limits per-employee scaling and makes fundraising cycles — rather than product margins — the binding constraint on organizational capacity.

Name

Girls Forward

Legal name

Girls Forward

Website

https://girlsforward.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Girls Forward is an Amsterdam-based Dutch non-profit foundation, founded in 2014, that delivers free weekly youth development programs for girls and young women aged 10–27 across six Amsterdam neighborhoods, funded by donations and corporate partnerships including Nike.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Development Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Child and Youth Services (624110)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights (BPADAGAF), Youth & Young Adult Workforce Programs (Out-of-School Youth) (EDAAAOAD)

Keywords

• Youth development programs
• Girls empowerment
• Community youth services
• Sports and life skills
• Personal development workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam, North Holland

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: As a foundation (stichting) registered in Amsterdam, Girls Forward operates as a non-profit organization. The primary revenue model appears to be donation-based, with a 'Doneer nu' (Donate now) option clearly visible on their website. The organization also receives funding from corporate partners and sponsors.
2. Corporate Partnerships & Sponsorship: Collaboration with companies as partners and sponsors to fund programs and operations. The organization has dedicated pages for Bedrijven (Companies), Sponsors, and Samenwerkingen (Collaborations).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Girls Forward is a non-profit foundation (stichting) in Amsterdam that delivers free, weekly, in-person youth development programs for girls and young women aged 10–27. Offerings include Girls Night (evening workshops for ages 11–15), Healthy Girls (sports and life skills for ages 12+ across multiple neighborhoods), Women Forward (18+ personal development), Mentorship, Girls Keep Moving, and Moeder Dochter (mother-daughter) events, all built on the organization's proprietary Girls Forward Methodiek.

Product overview

Girls Forward is a unified non-profit organization offering a portfolio of youth development programs for girls and young women aged 10-27 in Amsterdam. The core offerings include Girls Night (evening programs), Healthy Girls (sports and life skills), Women Forward (18+ development), Mentorship, Girls Keep Moving (sports), and Mother-Daughter Events. The organization also offers the Girls Forward Academy as a train-the-trainer program and has developed proprietary methodology with workbooks for their programs. All activities are free to participants and focus on personal development, confidence building, and expanding opportunities for young women.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Girls Night: Program for girls aged 11-15 in Oost neighborhood
• Healthy Girls
• Women Forward
• Mentorship
• Girls Keep Moving
• Moeder Dochters
• Girls Forward Academy
• Girls Forward Methodiek

Products and services

• Girls Night Weekly evening program for girls aged 11–15 (and 14+ in IJburg) offering creative workshops, sports activities, and personal development discussions in a safe girl-only environment in Amsterdam.
• Healthy Girls Weekly sports and life skills program for girls aged 12+ running across multiple Amsterdam neighborhoods (IJburg, Oost, Noord), combining athletic activities with personal development.
• Women Forward Weekly program for young women aged 18+ focusing on personal development, financial literacy, and career guidance, delivered in Amsterdam Oost.
• Mentorship Mentorship program connecting girls with older role models to provide personal and professional development guidance.
• Girls Keep Moving Sports-focused program encouraging physical activity and healthy lifestyles among teenage girls.
• Moeder Dochter Events Events designed for mothers and daughters to strengthen relationships and discuss topics relevant to girls' development.
• Girls Forward Academy Train-the-trainer program that empowers external youth workers to better support and coach girls aged 12–27 using Girls Forward's proprietary methodology and accompanying workbooks.

Quantifiable outcome

• Annual impact reports published tracking effectiveness of programs on girls' personal development
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• NikecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNike has partnered with Girls Forward for sport events, as evidenced by a 'Nike X Girls Forward sport event' listed in their summer events calendar for young women aged 18+. This partnership provides access to sports activities and supports the organization's sports and life skills programs.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• She's the First: Global non-profit focused on girls' education and empowerment with similar age-targeted programming and impact-measurement orientation; comparable as a peer NGO in the girls/youth space.

Broad incumbents

• Malala Fund: Globally recognized non-profit advancing girls' education and empowerment; a broad incumbent with thematic overlap on adolescent girls' confidence, education, and future opportunity.
• Girl Effect: International non-profit creating media and programs for girls' empowerment; a broad incumbent with overlapping mission of building confidence and opportunity for adolescent girls globally.
• Plan International Netherlands: Large global and Dutch-registered NGO focused on girls' equality and youth empowerment; a broad incumbent addressing overlapping themes but at significantly greater scale and geographic reach.
• Scouting Nederland (Scouting for Girls): Large Dutch youth organization running regular community-based programs including dedicated girls' divisions; broad incumbent delivering structured weekly youth activities similar to Girls Forward's cadence, though much larger in scale.

Direct peers

• JINC: Dutch non-profit supporting youth self-development and career orientation, including its own branded methodology and Amsterdam activity; directly comparable as a methodology-driven youth development nonprofit in the Netherlands.
• Stichting Spice: Dutch non-profit based in Amsterdam focused on empowerment and personal development for young women in Amsterdam, directly comparable to Girls Forward in mission, geography, and youth-focused programming.
• Defence for Children Netherlands: Netherlands-based non-profit dedicated to children's rights and youth welfare, serving as a directly comparable peer given shared Amsterdam footprint, non-profit structure, and youth-services mission.

Regional players

• Free a Girl: Dutch-anchored non-profit working on girls' rights and empowerment; a regional peer sharing the Dutch funding environment and girls-focused mission though with a different thematic angle.

Others

• Save the Children Netherlands:

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/girls-forward
• Instagraminstagram.com/girlsforward_
• TikToktiktok.com/@girlsforward_

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Girls Forward