Michelle Obama’s Girls Opportunity Alliance Celebrates International Day of the Girl by Providing More Than $1 Million in Support to More Than 25 Girl-Serving Organizations Around the World
October 11, 2026 at 12 a.m. CDT
CHICAGO – In celebration of International Day of the Girl, The Obama Foundation announced a new commitment by Girls Opportunity Alliance, an initiative founded by the former First Lady, to support organizations that educate, empower and advocate for the rights of adolescent girls around the world.
The Girls Opportunity Alliance will support 25 organizations in 15 countries with a total of more than $1 million. These organizations support girls by offering scholarships, mentorship, after-school programming, and more. These organizations join the 10 Chicago-based organizations that received $500,000 in funding and organizational support to expand their programming and impact during the back-to-school season this year.
In a new video released today, Michelle Obama honored girls worldwide and the organizations who support them. “I’ve always believed that every girl holds a unique promise—a special way that she can change the lives of those around her, maybe even the world. And that’s why investing in girls isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s an investment in our shared future. That’s the work the Girls Opportunity Alliance has been committed to for years: lifting up the grassroots leaders and groups that are helping girls around the world get the education they deserve.”
“When we create safe and supportive spaces for girls to thrive and achieve their full potential, we create a spark for positive change in communities across the world,” said Valerie Jarrett, CEO of The Obama Foundation. “The Girls Opportunity Alliance is proud to support these extraordinary organizations who are empowering girls around the world through education, resources, and so much more, to achieve their dreams and become the future leaders they have always had the potential to be.”
With the support of the Girls Opportunity Alliance, these organizations will expand their programming and impact — examples include:
Girls First Initiative, Tanzania: Supports girls’ economic empowerment and education to help break cycles of poverty. With this support, Girls First Initiative will establish school-based leadership clubs in four secondary schools. Through weekly club sessions, girls will build confidence, self-awareness, and communication skills using interactive methods such as discussions, debates, presentations, and goal-setting exercises. The organization will also engage mentors, parents, and teachers to strengthen support for girls’ leadership within their school communities. Girls First Initiative will directly engage 200 teenage girls and will reach 400 parents, teachers, and community members.
Squash Dreamers, Jordan: Supports refugee and underserved girls through sports, education, and wellbeing programming. With this funding, Squash Dreamers will provide a safe and consistent space where girls can learn, play, and build relationships. The project will provide academic enrichment and training, squash and fitness lessons, and mental health support for the girls to reach their full potential. Squash Dreamers expects to reach more than 150 girls and community members through these programs.
Haiti Adolescent Girls Network, Haiti: Invests in adolescent girls by creating safe, structured environments where they can build essential skills free from violence and discrimination. With this support, the Haiti Adolescent Girls Network (HAGN) will recruit and train community mentors and establish 10 adaptable safe spaces for weekly sessions on health, leadership, violence prevention, and financial literacy. The project will also provide girls with direct financial support for educational and vocational endeavors. HAGN expects to reach 700 adolescent girls and 3,000 community members through this project.
Asociación Soy Niña, Costa Rica: Empowers girls living in vulnerable communities through after-school programming and educational opportunities. Through this support, Soy Niña will create safe spaces and provide mentorship and academic support to girls through its after-school clubs to help girls stay in school. The program also engages parents and caregivers to understand adolescent development and the importance of investing in girls’ education and leadership. This project will reach more than 200 adolescent girls and more than 200 caregivers and community members.
Hamro Palo, Nepal: Invests in adolescent girls’ education, leadership, safety and agency, to advance gender equality in primarily rural and underserved areas of Nepal. With this support, Hamro Palo will create safe, supportive spaces for girls in the country’s Bardiya district. Through school-based sessions, mentorship, and public speaking circles, girls will strengthen their communication, decision-making, and advocacy skills. Hamro Palo expects to reach 300 adolescent girls and 700 community members through this project.
The Girls Opportunity Alliance works to empower and educate adolescent girls so they can reach their full potential and drive lasting change in their families, communities, and countries. Through its work, the Alliance connects leaders, strengthens grassroots organizations, and raises awareness about the importance of investing in girls. To date, it has supported more than 265 grassroots projects across 50 countries, reaching more than 190,000 girls.
In addition to funding, leaders of these organizations join the Girls Opportunity Alliance Network, a community of more than 5,000 leaders around the world, which facilitates the exchange of ideas, information, and resources to enhance organizational capacity and sustainability. As Network members, these leaders also gain access to capacity-building opportunities, equipping them with the latest data, strategies and tools to strengthen their work on girls’ education and empowerment.
Learn more about all of the organizations in the Girls Opportunity Alliance Network here .
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About the Girls Opportunity Alliance:
The Obama Foundation’s Girls Opportunity Alliance seeks to empower and educate adolescent girls around the world, allowing them to achieve their full potential and transform their families, communities, and countries. The program works to connect girl-serving leaders and strengthen their impact, inspire action and commitments globally, and empower adolescent girls to learn and take action. When girls get the opportunities they deserve, our whole world benefits.
About The Obama Foundation
The Obama Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world. That mission begins on the South Side of Chicago, where the Foundation is building the Obama Presidential Center. But that approach extends to all our work, whether it’s holding leadership training sessions in communities throughout the U.S., bringing local leaders together in countries around the world, working to support the global education of girls, or ensuring young men of color have pathways to opportunity. From every corner of the globe, our program participants are working together to address some of the biggest challenges of our time—from renewing our democratic institutions, protecting LGBTQ+ rights, fighting climate change, and so much more.
Contact: Emily Bittner, press@obama.org