Girl Rising and She’s the First: Joining Forces for Girls’ Leadership and Education May 11, 2026 Equality for Women and Girls Photo by Franklin Cholotío In 2025, She’s the First and Girl Rising, both Summit grantees for their respective initiatives in Central America, announced a merger grounded in their shared commitment to advancing girls’ education, leadership and rights across the globe. Both organizations have a long history of working alongside grassroots partners to ensure girls and young women—especially those facing systemic barriers—have the opportunity to learn, lead, and shape their own futures. The decision to join forces comes at a moment when funding for girls’ and women’s rights programming is shrinking globally, even as the need for this work continues to grow. By joining forces, She’s the First and Girl Rising aim to deepen their impact, expand collective action and scale proven solutions to amplify girls’ voices. The Summit Foundation proudly supported Girl Rising’s RISE Guatemala for several years, transitioning in early 2025, and at the time of the merger, we had recently renewed support to She’s the First’s Ellas al Frente Initiative. Central America exhibits high rates of inequality, gender-based violence and femicide, which disproportionately impact Indigenous girls. In response, the Ellas al Frente initiative equips women-led grassroots organizations in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador to design and lead girl-centered programs that address the intersecting challenges girls face, including teen pregnancy, school dropout, and gender-based violence. Through seed grants, coaching and group training, Ellas al Frente ensures that community-based and women-led organizations actively involve girls in shaping programs that impact their lives. To date, over 6,000 girls have been impacted by Ellas al Frente programming across 25 organizations. Ellas Al Frente’s focus on organizational capacity and peer learning advances locally driven, sustainable change Resources: Girl Rising and She’s the First Merger Announcement Ellas al Frente – She’s the First Partner Link: Girl Rising If you are interested in learning more about Girl Rising’s programming in Central America, please reach out to Christina Lowery at christina@girlrising.org, or Ceci Arriaza at ceci@girlrising.org.