GIRL RISE FOUNDATION

What GIRL RISE FOUNDATION does

Girl Rising is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organisation headquartered in New York with regional offices in New Delhi and Nairobi that uses storytelling — anchored by its 2013 documentary film and subsequent content library — to advance girls' education through three interlocking programmes: Girls Leadership Programmes (Fellows, Advisory Councils, Consejo de Niñas, 100+ US Chapters), the RISE Education Programme operating in India, Kenya, and Cox's Bazar, and the Girls First Institute, which trains and certifies the 1,300+ community-based organisations in its network. Core products include the Girl Rising films and discussion guides, the What Would You Do? card game for sexual and reproductive health (English, Spanish; Kiswahili and Hindi in progress), the Global Girls' Bill of Rights Toolkit, and Project Naserian, the integrated post-merger programme in Narok County, Kenya. Underlying delivery infrastructure spans digital storybooks co-created with NABU, a WhatsApp-based mobile learning platform built during COVID-19, a RISE digital literacy module, and the #Power2Choose podcast, supported by integrations with Google Analytics, GoSquared, Dropbox, and the Tides Foundation-hosted Girl Rising Impact Fund. The organisation funds itself primarily through individual donations, corporate and foundation partnerships (with an Official Partner threshold stated at $250,000+), and film screening licences priced at $350 for a one-month public screening; the 2024 merger with She's the First consolidated leadership, education, and CBO-partnership programming under the Girl Rising brand, with cumulative reach stated at 3,000,000+ youth, 55,000+ educators and mentors, and 1,300+ community-based organisations globally.

Name

GIRL RISE FOUNDATION

Legal name

Girl Rising 501(c)(3)

Website

https://girlrising.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Girl Rising is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers storytelling-based education, leadership programmes, and community training to advance girls' rights, operating through hubs in the US, India, Kenya, and Guatemala and reaching over 3 million youth globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Girls' Education Nonprofit Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (BPAGABAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD), International Development & Donor-Funded Education Programs (EDADALAB), Gender Equality & Women’s Rights (BPADAGAF)

Keywords

• Girls education programs
• Nonprofit education
• Storytelling education
• Leadership development
• Girls rights advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Girl Rising primarily funds operations through donations. Funds are deposited in the Girl Rising Impact Fund at Tides Foundation.
2. Film Screening Licenses: Public screening license for the Girl Rising film costs $350 for one month of unlimited screenings at the original location. Private screening licenses also available.
3. Corporate and Foundation Partnerships: Corporate sponsors are listed in event programs and on initiatives they have supported. Official partnerships require significant financial contribution generally $250,000 and above.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Girl Rising is a nonprofit that uses documentary storytelling, school-based curricula, and community mentorship to advance girls' education and rights. It delivers three interconnected program lines—Girls Leadership Programmes, RISE Education Programme, and Girls First Institute—across four hub countries (Guatemala, India, Kenya, US) and additional programme countries, supported by digital resources, films, and toolkits that partners and educators can deploy directly.

Product overview

Girl Rising is a girls' education non-profit operating across Guatemala, India, Kenya, and the US (with additional programme countries including Cambodia, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Thailand, and Uganda). The organization delivers a unified portfolio of three interconnected programmes: Girls Leadership Programmes (Girl Rising Fellows, Girls Advisory Council, Consejo de Niñas, Girl Rising Chapters), the RISE Education Programme (RISE India, RISE Kenya, RISE Cox's Bazar), and the Girls First Institute (Certification Programmes, Convenings, Resources). Core offerings include the Girl Rising documentary films and discussion guides, the 'What Would You Do?' card game for sexual and reproductive health and rights, the Girls' Bill of Rights Toolkit, and Project Naserian. Following the merger with She's the First, Girl Rising now also leads the Ellas al Frente programme in Guatemala, the Naserian integrated programme in Kenya, and 100+ Girl Rising Chapters across US schools and universities. Reach statistics include 3,000,000+ youth, 55,000+ educators and mentors, and 1,300+ community-based organisations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• RISE Education Programme: School-based education program focusing on building life skills among girls to improve education outcomes, addressing gender bias, and building a community of girls' education advocates.
• Girls First Institute
• Girls Leadership Programmes
• Ellas al Frente
• Project Naserian
• NABU Digital Storybooks
• What Would You Do? Game

Products and services

• Girl Rising Films and Discussion Guide Documentary-style films telling the stories of real girls facing barriers to education, paired with discussion guides for use in classrooms and community programmes; serves educators, programme facilitators, and screening licensees.
• What Would You Do? Game A play-based card game toolkit designed with and for girls across three age groups to explore healthy relationships, consent, peer pressure, and personal boundaries through guided play and mentorship; available in English and Spanish with ongoing translation into Kiswahili and Hindi.
• Global Girls' Bill of Rights Toolkit A toolkit that helps communities turn girls' rights into action by guiding users in creating a local bill of rights, organising events, and amplifying girls' voices online; available in English, Kiswahili, and French.
• Project Naserian Two-year pilot programme in Narok County, Kenya, working with adolescent girls, parents, teachers, and community leaders to strengthen school retention through mentorship, parent dialogue sessions, and community mobilisation across 20 government schools; targets 2,000 girls and 1,500 parents.
• Ellas al Frente Leadership programme in Guatemala providing women with tools to support girls in their communities through education, health rights, and safe spaces where girls can be heard.
• RISE Education Programme School-based education programme (Reaching Improvement through Social-Emotional Learning and Education) building life skills among girls to improve education outcomes, addressing gender bias, and building a community of girls' education advocates; operates as RISE India, RISE Kenya, and RISE Cox's Bazar.
• Girls Leadership Programmes Programmes supporting girl leaders through Girl Rising Fellows (adolescent fellows), Girls Advisory Council (global council of girls), Consejo de Niñas (Spanish-language advisory council), and Girl Rising Chapters (100+ chapters across US schools and universities mobilising for girls' rights).
• Girls First Summit Global annual convening bringing together girls' rights leaders and community-based organisations across Africa and beyond for learning, connection, and collaborative reimagining of how they support and advocate for girls; the 10th annual summit in June 2026 gathered 132 participants from 60 community-based organisations and 30 adolescent girls.
• Certification Programmes Certification programmes offered through the Girls First Institute for community-based organisations and practitioners working with girls, covering girl-centred programme design, feminist mentorship, and sexual and reproductive health and rights.
• Film Screening License Public screening license for the Girl Rising film at $350 for one month of unlimited screenings at the original screening location; private screening licenses also available; licenses include one DVD or Blu-Ray of the full film.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students' confidence in using internet for learning increased from 85% to 98% in RISE India programme
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• She's the FirstcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic merger combining Girl Rising and She's the First to become a stronger force for girls. The merger integrates complementary programmes including Naserian in Kenya, expanding reach and aligning resources for greater impact.
• Tides FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTides Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity that manages the Girl Rising Impact Fund, a Collective Action Fund receiving all donations. Tides provides the grant-making and programmatic platform.
• 1 Million TeachersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to develop an interactive e-learning course focused on gender equity, social-emotional learning, and inclusive teaching practices for educators.
• UtivamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership in Kibera, Kenya introducing adolescent girls to digital skills including user-interface design and coding, expanding understanding of technology opportunities.
• NABUmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-created digital storybooks encouraging young readers to challenge stereotypes, think critically, and imagine more equitable futures through culturally relevant content.
• Murua Girl Child Education ProgrammajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerImplementation partner for Project Naserian in Narok County, Kenya, providing facilitators for parent engagement sessions and community mobilisation.
• Ten Times Ten, LLCmajorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerLicensor of the Girl Rising film for public screenings. Grants non-exclusive rights to screen the film at licensed events for a fee.
• Haven of DreamsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGrassroots organisation in Nakuru, Kenya using the What Would You Do? game for mentorship sessions with adolescent girls.
• Msichana Empowerment KuriaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorKenyan community organisation using the What Would You Do? game during mentorship sessions with girls.
• The Small WorldminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMember of She's the First Partner Coalition in Kathmandu, Nepal, using the What Would You Do? game for girls' mentorship.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Room to Read: International nonprofit focused on girls' education and literacy across Asia and Africa, delivering school-based programming similar to Girl Rising's RISE Education Programme. Operates with comparable storytelling-infused curriculum and a hub-country implementation model.
• Malala Fund: Girls' education advocacy and investment organization founded by Malala Yousafzai, working in similar program countries (Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan, etc.) to remove barriers to girls' schooling. Comparable storytelling-driven advocacy model and donor-supported funding structure.
• WomenDeliver: Global advocacy organization for gender equality and the health, rights, and wellbeing of girls and women. Operates convenings (like Girl Rising's Girls First Summit) and partners with community-based organizations on similar themes of SRHR and girls' empowerment.
• She's the First: Former direct peer and now merged entity (2024) that paired girls with mentors across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Created the 'What Would You Do?' card game now absorbed into Girl Rising's product portfolio.
• Global Fund for Women: Grantmaking foundation supporting women's rights organizations globally with focus on adolescent girls' leadership and SRHR. Comparable grantmaking and capacity-building approach to Girl Rising's Girls First Institute.
• CAMFED (Campaign for Female Education): Pan-African nonprofit supporting girls' education and economic empowerment through school retention and mentorship programs. Highly comparable model operating in sub-Saharan Africa (including Kenya) with similar community-based organization networks.

Broad incumbents

• Plan International: Large international NGO advancing children's rights and girls' equality across 80+ countries. Overlaps with Girl Rising in girls' education, leadership programs, and global advocacy, but operates at much larger scale across broader thematic areas.
• CARE International: Major international humanitarian NGO operating girls' empowerment and education programs across multiple continents. Comparable hub-country model and donor-supported revenue structure, with broader programmatic scope.
• UNICEF: UN agency delivering education, child protection, and gender equity programming in virtually all of Girl Rising's hub and program countries. Competes for institutional donor dollars and government partnerships at scale.

Regional players

• FAWE (Forum for African Women Educationalists): Pan-African NGO promoting girls' and women's education across 32 African countries, with strong overlap in Kenya and Uganda programming. Comparable school-based intervention model and government school partnerships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/girlrising
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/10x10act
• Facebookfacebook.com/GirlRising
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/girlrising
• Instagraminstagram.com/girlrising

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 RISE FOUNDATION