Name: She's the First
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Big Idea: She's the First is an international organization that inspires millennials to host fundraisers for girls seeking education in the developing world.
Why It's Working: The company is growing dramatically, from sponsoring 36 girls in its first year of operation to 136 last year. In 2012, the non-profit hopes to sponsor 300 girls in the developing world.
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In developing countries, the luxury of an education is one that cannot be afforded to every single child in a family. So, odds are that boys receive the benefit of such a precious resource. U.S.-based non-profit She's the First is giving girls in the developing world the opportunity of an education by offering a full sponsorship.
"For so long, boys have come first," says Christen Brandt, director of international operations at She's the First. "When a family is choosing which of their children gets to go to school, it's always the boy because the boy is going to stay in the family. She's the First is finally giving girls an opportunity to be the first."
Only in its third year of operation, She's the First is already funding more than 100 girls all over the world -- with an ambitious year-end goal of supporting 300 girls this year. The non-profit is able to do this by targeting millennial women and encouraging them to hold fundraisers. Participants are not only able to pick their specific funding route (whether it's a bike ride or a lemonade stand), but also can designate which country to donate to. Brandt says the women who are holding She's the First fundraisers have been particularly creative in reaching out to their communities.
"We've had groups of students get together and hold 5Ks," Brandt explains. "They've done a ton of bake sales -- we have a special fundraiser in the fall where they all make tie-dye cupcakes and sell those for fundraisers."
From the money that is raised through these fundraisers, 100% of it goes towards funding girls in the developing world. A scholarship from She's the First not only covers the cost of education but also books, uniform, food and, in some cases, health care. The money is deployed to already-installed programs and charities that have been fully-vetted for the She's the First mission. Brandt adds that she often travels to countries and maintains contact in order to get an accurate vision of the impact the non-profit is making.
"There's a lot of communication happening constantly, all the time: videos, pictures, in person contact," Brandt says. "It's really not a mystery where our money is going."
And that impact has, even in a short time, been measurable. Brandt says that in feedback from girls in the program indicates that they are not only receiving the education they have desired, but also are proliferating their new sense of empowerment to their friends, siblings and even parents.
"The whole idea of She's the First is that we're breaking barriers," Brandt says. "These girls are breaking the cycle. But what we're finding is that we don't have to wait for that to happen."
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This story originally published on Mashable here.
