“What have we learned so far?”

Asking what we’ve learned so far — as a person, or an organization —?is powerful, because its very phrasing emphasizes that a process or journey is still underway. There is road behind us, and road ahead of us. It’s an opportunity to identify and reckon with our shortcomings, celebrate meaningful progress, and choose our next steps in the most informed, intentional way possible.

Testing and learning and testing some more has always been baked into our DNA at VOW for Girls . This year (our fifth), we’re taking this learning process up a notch, and interviewing our community about what we, collectively, have learned so far about VOW’s ability to empower girls and communities, and to end the practice of child marriage globally. When I say “our community,” I’m talking about everyone from couples who dedicate their celebrations as VOW fundraisers, to wedding professionals who make us part of their businesses, corporate partners who align products with us, individual donors who make us part of their regular giving, and beyond —?an eclectic, cross-industry group united by their dedication to transforming girls’ lives.

We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished together these first five years —?that may be what someone in my position is expected to say, but I mean it with full sincerity. We’ve raised more than $2 million to support local organizations around the globe, all of which has been channeled directly into programs that help girls know their rights and negotiate their futures. But still, child marriage rates, exacerbated by the after-effects of the global pandemic, remain staggeringly high. In the time that it takes you to read this article, more than 50 girls will become child brides.??

Let that sink in.

There is no question that for the sake of girls everywhere, we must accelerate our impact.

So now, we’re asking our diverse community of supporters: Where have we created solutions that work? Where have we fallen short? How can we mobilize more money, more quickly? And how can you help??

Here are a few highlights of what we heard:

Inspired by Love: Our community is inspired by the notion that celebrations of love – especially weddings and anniversaries – can change the trajectory of girls’ lives, creating choice and opportunity.?

Sample quote:

“[VOW has] really created this brilliant strategy to utilize people in the wedding industry to add a mission-oriented lens to their work to address a massive problem.” - Bride who aligned her wedding with VOW

Couples Make a Massive Difference: Couples who choose to align their celebrations with our mission are showing the greatest promise to quickly raise money, meet our mission, and transform the funding landscape for girls. Excluding outliers who raise far more, couples who partner with VOW are raising an average of $1,500 per celebration. Given that 2.2 million couples will marry in the U.S. alone this year, the potential to mobilize funds in partnership with couples is tremendous. Our priority: reach more couples, more quickly, and invite them to partner with us.?

Sample quote:

“We were able to choose everything about our marriage - who, when, where. There are so many girls around the world who don't have that choice. It was really important for us to link our wedding to VOW for girls and channel the joy of our day into helping improve their opportunities.” – Couple who aligned their wedding with VOW

A Thirst for Stories and Impact:? Our partners – couples, event professionals, corporate brand leaders – are expressing a desire for more vivid stories of the difference we’re making together in the lives of girls. It’s now our job to bring this work to life for these partners, and I’m excited to share more about our journey to do this in the coming weeks and months.?

Sample quote:

“[I want] more stories about the girls. Who are we helping? Can we show girls? What are the tangibles of what we did?” – an event professional?

This is just a small taste of what we’ve heard and learned so far. There’s so much more about where we’ve been right and where we’ve been wrong, where we need to tweak and where we need to pivot, and how we can continuously become better partners, communicators, and changemakers.??

That’s the important work ahead.?

In the meantime, if you’re planning a celebration or know someone who is, we’d love your partnership and referrals. This learning journey has reminded me that collective impact is created through a groundswell of individual actions. Join us. Together we can change the trajectory for girls.