Causes: Economic Development, International, International Economic Development, Microfinance, Philanthropy

Mission: The Girls Gotta Run Foundation (GGRF) is an all volunteer charitable organization founded in 2006 to raise money to provide support for impoverished Ethiopian girls who are training to be professional runners. Running is more than a sport for girls and women in Ethiopia. It empowers them to stay in school, avoid early marriage and childbirth, and gain economic self-sufficiency. Besides providing funds for running shoes, GGRF also provides money for training clothes, extra food ("calorie money"), coach subsidies, and other training-related expenses.

Target demographics: adolescent girls and their mothers

Direct beneficiaries per year: 1300

Geographic areas served: Ethiopia

Programs: Girls Gotta Run provides adolescent girls with full scholarships to attend primary and secondary school. The scholarships include a medical subsidy for the students and their moms, daily meals, uniforms, school supplies, tutoring, soap, sanitary pads, showers and space to wash clothes on the weekend. Girls Gotta Run also covers the cost of annual school exams that allow students to graduate into higher levels of education.