Our Goals

We’re a young nonprofit dedicated to increasing access to education for women and girls in developing countries. Our first project was the construction of a secondary school for 1200 girls in Afghanistan, where the female literacy rate is only 12% (UNICEF). Our second project is the renovation of a government-run school for 600 girls in Keiri Reki, Pakistan. While a group of college students and recent graduates fund-raise, organize, and spread awareness at home, experienced collaborators manage construction locally.

Our mission is to equip girls with self-reliance, knowledge, and increased capacities to both enhance their own lives and to contribute productively to their societies. We believe this is the best way to affect positive, global change. Our philosophy is that one school will affect one community, while one community will make a world of change.

Why We're Different

We're meeting a demand

Village elders designated land for the purpose, nearly 1200 students at a nearby elementary school seek secondary education, and the community has protected that school against animosity or attack since its completion in 2004. When Fahima, our local contractor, visited the site in April 2008, girls excitedly asked about our project.

Sustainability

We’ll hire specialty teachers, who will teach our after-school vocational skills, such as making jewelry, silk, noodles, and jam, as well as carpet-weaving. Profits from selling the goods made in class will contribute to the school's operational costs.

Donations support our project directly and transparently

No member of Circle of Women receives compensation for his or her work--every donation has its maximum possible impact on our future students!

Experience

While we have only built one school as an organization, our collaborators and advisors have years of experience—and dozens of charitably built organizations—under their belts.

For more reasons, please download our media kit.

Who We Are

Award winning organization

Circle of Women, represented by co-director Elizabeth Brook '10, was honored with the Social Entrepreneurship award at the Inaugural Kairos Summit in April 2009. The summit featured speeches by Bill Gates and Bill Clinton, who spoke about the potential impact of young entrepreneurs on our future. Susan Koehler, Chief Marketing Officer at Intelius Inc., who sponsored the event, congratulated CoW: "Your program was remarkable in terms of seeing the vision, articulating it, making it real (raising $120K, then building the school and having 1200 students learning) and sustainable with your government education partnerships and teachers." The Kairos Society is a non-profit organization founded by students focused on promoting an entrepreneurial culture among college students and is based on three guiding principles: Inspiration, Experience and Innovation. 

Volunteers

While dozens of volunteers have offered their advice and their time, a handful of college students and recent grads meet weekly to take care of the nitty-gritty. On a strictly volunteer basis, we communicate with our collaborators, organize fund-raising and awareness-raising events, and keep our donors in the loop.

Some of the original folks: Annelie Berner, Izzy Berner, Lizzie Brook, Ashley Camerini, Britt Caputo, Clotilde Dedecker, Megan Dempsey, Noor Iqbal, Honor McGee, Lizzy Nichols, Hannah Motley, Cristina Ros, Emily Walker.

Circumference Program

We're fundraising and spreading awareness with our 27 Circle of Women chapters around the world! Some of our chapters include university students across the US and in the UK, high school students in Buffalo and Seattle, and professional women in New York.  

Westchester NY Multigenerational Circle
Princeton University
University of Florida
Spence High School
Seattle High Schools
WNY Girls Schools' Coalition: Afghanistan Project

Corporations Join the Circle

Thank you to our supporters and partners: Baking for Good, Boston Book Festival, Cambridge 1, The COOP, Foundation Beyond Belief, Good Search, Intelius, Little Gates & Co., ReplyforAll, Smudge Inc, and hopefully many more!

Illustrations by Aliza Stone

Get Involved!