October 11 marks International Day of the Girl Child – a day to recognize girls’ rights and celebrate their power to shape a better world. But this year, I find myself asking: is there truly anything to celebrate?

Around the world, governments are dramatically slashing their foreign aid budgets. The U.S. alone has reduced its foreign aid commitments by billions of dollars, and other governments, including Germany, France and the U.K., are making similar cuts.

This is a crisis, and we know that women and girls are always hit hardest during any crises.

A March 2025 survey by UN Women of 411 women-led organizations in 44 countries revealed that 90 per cent are experiencing financial strain due to these cuts.

At Together Women Rise, we see this crisis firsthand. We fund grants and partnerships that empower women and girls in low-income communities in the Global South, and our grantee partners are being forced to lay off staff, cut programs, or shut down altogether. And earlier this year, we received more than 600 grant applications – more than three times our usual number.

These aren’t just numbers. These are programs keeping girls in school, protecting them from violence, preventing child marriage, and providing access to maternal care and reproductive health services.  

Consider the story of 15-year-old Maya (name changed to protect her privacy) from a remote area near the border of Nepal and India. Maya feared that she would never have the chance to go to school. With support from a local grassroots program, Maya was able to cover her tuition, school supplies, and other educational costs. She has thrived in school and is focused on her dream: “I want to be a health worker, not only for myself but for the people in my community who have limited access to medical care.”

This is the ripple effect of investing in women and girls, and this is the progress that is at stake when grassroots programs lose their funding.

When governments step back, we must step up for women and girls around the world.  Why? Because when you invest in women and girls, they become powerful agents of change – in their families, their communities, and their countries. A more equal and just world is one that is safer, healthier, more prosperous, and more peaceful for everyone.

If we don’t step up now, around the world millions of girls will continue to live in extreme poverty. 122 million girls will remain out of school. One in 5 girls will be child brides.

That’s why Together Women Rise is launching our most ambitious annual appeal ever: our Rise to Meet the Moment campaign. In response to this global crisis, our goal is to raise $800,000 to fund our usual 12 Featured Grants plus six additional Featured Grants in 2026. The number of extra grants depends on the support of our Rise community and others who care about women and girls globally.

It’s an extraordinary goal for an extraordinary time. And it reflects what makes Together Women Rise so powerful: collective giving. When one person gives, their contribution is combined with thousands of others to create transformational change, an impact far beyond what any of us could do alone.

Perhaps the problem seems too big for one individual to have an impact? In fact, it is individuals – coming together – that make me hopeful, even in the face of daunting global trends. We need a people-powered movement to:

• Elevate girls’ voices by sharing their stories.
• Tell our elected representatives that we care about issues affecting women and girls around the world and urge them to re-commit to funding international health and education programs.
• Write a letter to the editor to inform your communities and convince your elected officials that their constituents strongly support foreign aid for women and girls.
• Donate to grassroots programs that are striving to fill the gap in funding for women and girls globally. They need our support more than ever.
• Join a collective giving community like Together Women Rise where your gift, your voice, and your engagement are multiplied through the power of community. When you give with others, your impact goes further, ensuring that women and girls are not left behind.

Make this International Day of the Girl about action and commitment, not just celebration. A commitment to step up when others are stepping back. To rise to meet the moment. And when we rise together, that’s a future worth celebrating.

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