Girls First Fund

What Girls First Fund does

Girls First Fund is a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) philanthropic donor collaborative founded in 2018 to end child marriage by channelling pooled donor capital to underfunded community-based organizations. It operates as a fiscally sponsored program of Capital for Good USA, which provides administrative, legal, and financial infrastructure including HR, accounting, and compliance. The fund aggregates commitments from institutional donors and individual contributors (donations routed exclusively through partner VOW for Girls) and deploys flexible, multi-year core grants to girl-centered and gender-transformative CBOs in six focus countries — Dominican Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Nepal, Niger, and Uganda — with operations beginning in Guatemala in 2024. Since inaugural grants in 2019, Girls First Fund has committed over $30 million to 177 active grantee partnerships across 15 countries, with 87% of grants going to women- and girl-led organizations and 17% led by women aged 30 and under.

The fund runs two principal grantmaking tracks. Its core country program provides multi-year core funding, mentoring, and knowledge-sharing to CBO partners. In 2024, Girls First Fund launched Changemakers, a global grantmaking program offering $25,000–$100,000 grants renewable for up to three years to organizations across the global majority, with the first cohort of 12 women-led organizations spanning Pakistan, Haiti, Mexico, Mali, Burkina Faso, Bangladesh, and Nigeria. Strategy and selection are co-designed with a Girls Council of 11 girls aged 16–25 drawn from grantee-partner communities. The fund is co-founded by Mabel van Oranje, advised by principal partners including NoVo Foundation, CIFF, Ford Foundation, Kendeda Fund, Dutch Postcode Lottery, and the Packard Foundation, and in March 2023 joined a high-profile alliance with the Clooney Foundation for Justice, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Obama Foundation's Girls Opportunity Alliance. Fanta Touré is transitioning out of the Director role after six years, with Françoise Moudouthe appointed as incoming Director effective August 3, 2026.

Girls First Fund's go-to-market is trust-based and relational rather than commercial: outreach occurs through a multilingual website (English, French, Spanish), email and newsletter, social media, earned media generated by high-profile alliances, and event presence at convenings such as Women Deliver 2023 and the Girls Deliver Pre-Conference. The organization employs 11–50 staff and reports cumulative donor mobilization exceeding $60 million since 2018.

Name

Girls First Fund

Legal name

Girls First Fund (fiscally sponsored program of Capital for Good USA)

Website

https://girlsfirstfund.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Trust Funds & Multi-Donor Pooled Funds (BPADAOAE), Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB), Social Impact & Inclusive Finance Funds (FSANAJAH)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• Girls rights advocacy
• Child marriage prevention
• Donor collaborative
• Community development grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Donations and Grants: Girls First Fund raises philanthropic capital from institutional donors (foundations, philanthropists, government donors) and individual donors. Donations are accepted through fiscal sponsor Capital for Good USA (a 501(c)(3) public charity) and through partner organization VOW for Girls. 100% of donations received are used to support grants and in-country costs. The fund also receives multi-year institutional grants from major foundation partners.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Girls First Fund is a philanthropic donor collaborative that pools capital from institutional and individual donors and channels it as flexible, multi-year core grants to community-based organizations (CBOs) working at the local level to end child marriage and early unions. The fund operates its core Grants Program in six focus countries (Dominican Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Nepal, Niger, and Uganda, with Guatemala added in 2024) and the Changemakers Global Grants program launched in 2024 to expand support to organizations across the global majority.

Product overview

Girls First Fund is a philanthropic donor collaborative dedicated to ending child marriage through grantmaking to community-based organizations. The organization operates two main funding programs: its core Grants Program providing flexible multi-year support to organizations in six focus countries (Dominican Republic, DRC, India, Nepal, Niger, and Uganda), and the Changemakers Global Grants program launched in 2024 which expands support to organizations worldwide. Programs are designed collaboratively with adolescent girls through the Girls Council initiative.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Changemakers: A global grantmaking program launched in 2024 that provides resources to organizations across the global majority working to end child marriage. Grants range from $25,000 to $100,000 with renewals up to three years.

Products and services

• Grants Program Core grantmaking program that provides flexible, multi-year core funding to community-based organizations working to end child marriage and early unions in six focus countries. Includes capacity support, mentoring, and connections to national, regional, and international movements.
• Changemakers Global Grants Program Global grantmaking program that provides $25,000–$100,000 grants (renewable up to three years) to women- and girl-led community-based organizations outside the fund's core focus countries. Organizations are nominated by peer funders and selected by the Changemakers Girls Council.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $60 million mobilized for the field since 2018
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

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

• Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child MarriagecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner providing coordination, field-building, and peer connections across the global child marriage movement. Girls Not Brides provides strategic and financial support to La Mesa a Favor de las Niñas y Adolescentes in Guatemala and collaborates on advocacy, policy, and awareness campaigns.
• VOW for GirlscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary donation collection partner for Girls First Fund. VOW for Girls is a global movement that partners with brands, individuals, and the wedding industry to end child marriage. Co-founder Mabel van Oranje co-founded both organizations. 100% of donations via VOW are directed to GFF grants.
• Capital for Good USAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGirls First Fund is a fiscally sponsored program of Capital for Good USA, a 501(c)(3) public charity. CfG provides administrative, legal, and financial infrastructure including HR, accounting, and compliance. Governance is via a board committee of Capital for Good USA.
• Clooney Foundation for JusticemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-signatory on the March 2023 alliance alongside Girls Not Brides, Girls First Fund, VOW for Girls, the Obama Foundation's Girls Opportunity Alliance, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate change for girls and end child marriage. Led by Amal Clooney.
• Population Council's GIRL CentermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLed the Girls Deliver Pre-Conference at Women Deliver 2023; co-hosted by Girls First Fund along with 18 other organizations. The conference brought together 200+ stakeholders to advance adolescent girls' well-being.
• La Mesa a Favor de las Niñas y Adolescentes (Guatemala)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA national collective of organizations advancing the rights of girls and adolescents in Guatemala. Supported by Girls Not Brides with strategic and financial backing from Girls First Fund.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage, co-founded by Mabel van Oranje alongside Girls First Fund. Operates as a global network and strategic partner providing field-building and advocacy; comparable mission, leadership overlap, and shared grantee ecosystem.
• Malala Fund: Founded by Malala Yousafzai to advocate for girls' education and empowerment. Comparable as a high-profile, donor-funded vehicle channeling resources to girl-centered programs in the Global South, with similar advocacy and grantmaking functions.
• Echidna Giving: A listed principal partner of Girls First Fund and one of the most focused funders of girls' education and empowerment globally. Directly comparable as a girls'-rights-specialist philanthropic funder operating with similar multi-year, locally-led grantmaking philosophy.
• Together for Girls: Global public-private partnership working to end violence against children, including child marriage. Comparable as a donor-collaborative model aggregating institutional funding to advance girls' rights and child protection.
• VOW for Girls: Global movement that partners with the wedding industry to end child marriage. Co-founded by Mabel van Oranje and serves as GFF's primary donation collection partner. Directly comparable in mission, founder DNA, and donor audience.

Broad incumbents

• Plan International: Large international NGO with deep programs on child marriage, girls' rights, and SRHR across 75+ countries. Compares as a much larger, broader incumbent working on many of the same issues GFF's grantees address.
• NoVo Foundation: Major institutional funder and founding partner of the Girls First Fund donor collaborative. Broader portfolio across girls' rights, Indigenous communities, and social justice, but materially overlaps as a funder in the same thematic space.
• Ford Foundation: Major institutional funder of Girls First Fund. Operates a broad global portfolio with significant gender justice and girls' rights programming; comparable as a large incumbent funder with overlapping thematic priorities.
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Co-signatory of the 2023 alliance to end child marriage alongside Girls First Fund. A massive global funder with gender equality programming; comparable as an alliance partner and a major source of field-level funding in the same space.

Emerging players

• International Center for Research on Women (ICRW): Research-focused organization producing evidence on child marriage, girls' agency, and gender equality globally. Comparable as a specialized, smaller-scale organization working at the intersection of research, advocacy, and field-building on child marriage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/GirlsFirstFund
• Instagraminstagram.com/girlsfirstfund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/girls-first-fund

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Girls First Fund