Bringing the Girls Inc. experience to more girls

As adults, it is difficult to process the violence we’ve witnessed around the world in the last days and weeks. It’s hard to explain violence, tragedy, and injustice, but these are the times when our young people need us most in their lives.

We are all grateful to you - our donor community - for your support that enables us to be present in the lives of girls, to provide them with caring and trusted mentors and a safe haven. We feel a great responsibility to create a positive place for girls to process what they are thinking and feeling and find an outlet for their desires to make things better.

As we work together to address the broader challenges we face as a society, we redouble our efforts to be a part of the solution. With you, we know that we can.

In my previous reports to you, I shared our bold goal for the future, which animates and guides our work:

Girls Inc. is the leading advocate in advancing rights and opportunities for all girls. Each year, we employ a proven, dynamic model to empower 250,000 girls from low-income communities to discover their strengths and thrive.

We envision a world where every girl values her whole self, discovers her innate abilities, can push past obstacles, and achieve her goals; a world where Girls Inc. plays a tangible role in closing the gender gap, increasing girls’ abilities to navigate social, economic, racial, and other interconnected barriers.

Vision is important. Action is imperative.

For as many girls who have trusting relationships with mentors at Girls Inc., there are tens of thousands more we want to reach. For as many girls who are empowered to change their lives and set a positive path for themselves, there are tens of thousands more who would benefit from the holistic way in which Girls Inc. works with girls... We recognize that girls need individual attention, and a variety of skills and possible paths to college and career. With the successful completion of our last five-year, network-wide strategic plan, Girls Inc. is ready to dramatically accelerate our growth as both advocates for all girls and direct service providers.

As we begin our new plan, we will be making strategic investments directly in our network, to expand into new communities or deepen our presence in current communities, to help more girls break the cycle of poverty. In keeping with our core values, these grants will have clear metrics and accountability tied to them. We also will focus on developing local strategies to successfully sustain this funding, after the initial infusion from our Growth Capital Campaign. We aim to invest significantly in about three-quarters of our local Girls Inc. programs, building their capacity to expand the highest level of service to girls. Together, the Girls Inc. network will double the number of girls who receive the intensive, holistic, long-term supports needed to thrive. We are confident we can achieve this because of all that your past support has enabled us to accomplish already.

With each of my reports to you on the impact of your giving, I hope you take pride in what we are achieving together, and understand the care we take in stewarding your gifts in ways that make a lasting and tangible difference at Girls Inc. With this report, I hope you also know how grateful I am personally to have you as a partner, as we all work to bend the arc of history toward justice.

Warm regards,

Judy Vredenburgh

President & CEO