“Girl power” isn’t just a slogan born from 1990s pop culture. When given opportunity and education, girls truly do wield the power to lift their households -- and their communities -- out of poverty and lead productive lives.

Consider this: Delaying adolescent pregnancy could add 12 percent to India’s GDP (or roughly US$400 billion)* and for every additional year of schooling a girl receives, it reduces infant mortality for their children by 10 percent. Compared to girls with little or no education, girls with a secondary education are six times less likely to be child brides.

But despite the data, India -- with a population of 120 million adolescent girls -- has struggled to support adolescents. Strict mindsets and societal norms are among the reasons, but there has also been a limited focus on adolescents in nonprofit design, poor implementation of existing government policies addressing youth issues and limited funding.

But philanthropy is stepping in to help solve this large-scale issue.

10to19: Driving Adolescent Empowerment Through Collaboration

10to19: Dasra Adolescents Collaborative launched in 2017 with a goal of transforming India into a place where 5 million adolescents “thrive with dignity and equity.” Dasra, a strategic philanthropy foundation in India with a presence in the U.S., pulled together funders, technical experts, government entities and social organizations and aligned its mission with Sustainable Development Goals 3, 4, and 5.

But a lot happens between the ages of 10 and 19, and the collaborative soon realized that a decade of life may have been too broad to focus on with one strategy alone, Dasra Co-Founder Neera Nundy said at a recent roundtable discussion following the 2018 Dasra Philanthopy Forum. Based on these learnings, the collaborative will tailor its approach to address the unique needs of the 10 to 14 age group and 15 to 19 group.

Even with this adjustment, the collaborative will continue to work toward four priority outcomes for adolescents in India, based on a study conducted by Bridgespan:

  • Complete secondary education
  • Delay age at marriage
  • Increase agency
  • Delay age of first pregnancy/birth

To reach these outcomes, experts say it’s crucial to incorporate adolescents into the discussion.

“Find youth leaders in India,” Tamara Kreinin, director of the Population and Reproductive Health program at the Packard Foundation, said at the forum. “Let [youth] lead and guide us.”

Kreinin noted that to be successful, “traditional philanthropy” should embrace a willingness to grapple with hard issues affecting youth, including sex and sexuality.

The 10to19 collaborative is using a two-pronged model to execute its vision. It will provide funding and capacity building to a cohort of nonprofits in India. Secondly, it will provide a platform to key stakeholders so knowledge can be shared, sector-wide initiatives can be supported and collective action with the government can occur.

Let’s Hear It for the Boys

While education for girls receives most of the attention, opportunities for adolescent boys is another important piece of India’s future success. The 10to19 collaborative includes programming for both genders.

Quest Alliance, one of the nonprofits within the 10to19 collaborative, focuses on education and employment for youth in India. Data-driven programs allow schools to identify when a student is at risk of dropping out. Another initiative provides self-learning materials for life skills, workplace readiness and literacy.

But despite some success, funding obstacles exist when it comes to programs for boys and men. According to Nundy, more research is needed and ideological conflicts are proving hard to overcome. Indian feminists, for example, often question why money is directed toward boys instead of girls.

How Philanthropy Can Empower Adolescents:
  • Get involved with long-term and collaborative funding
  • Ensure governments implement policies to support adolescents and help scale nonprofits working in this space. “Go to the government and say ‘walk the streets with me,’” said Kreinin.
  • Support youth-led organizations. “Look at youth leadership as an opportunity to drive change,” said Aakash Sethi, executive director of Quest Alliance.

*Collaborative Force: Empowering 10 to 19 by Dasra