Staff Reports | Community Updates
Girls Mentorship, a Scottsdale-based youth leadership and confidence-building organization, has received federal tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status and plans to expand its programming for preteen and teenage girls.
Founded by Jill Petersen and Mary Frances, the organization provides leadership, confidence-building and life-skills programming for young women. The new designation is expected to support expanded programming, partnerships and fundraising opportunities, according to a press release.
The founders said the organization was created in response to a need for structured emotional and leadership development for girls navigating challenges such as peer pressure, self-doubt and social comparison.
Girls Mentorship combines youth mentorship and leadership development with training focused on emotional well-being and life skills. Its programming includes summer camps, peer leadership pathways and year-round activities.
“We started as a two-day summer camp in 2021, and seeing the incredible glow-up from uncertain campers to confident preteens in one short week, we knew there was potential to reach more girls by creating opportunities beyond summer,” Jill Petersen, co-founder of Girls Mentorship, said. “Now, our after-school programs are rapidly growing and this fall we’ll be partnering with the Rancho Solano Preparatory School to lead an elective course that equips high school students with these important life skills.”
This spring, Ms. Petersen and Mary Frances, co-founder of Girls Mentorship, completed the process of obtaining nonprofit status, a move they said will help broaden the organization’s reach and strengthen support from community partners.
“We’ve had numerous local businesses tell us they really respect and appreciate what we’re doing to empower and educate preteens at such an important stage of life,” Ms. Frances said. “In many cases, that interest turned into donations and contributions that directly benefitted our girls, but in other cases, those businesses were limited because we weren’t officially a tax-exempt organization. Now that barrier is removed and we’re excited to build more relationships in the community.”
With its nonprofit designation, Girls Mentorship plans to expand scholarship opportunities, develop additional school and community partnerships, and grow programs focused on leadership development and facilitation skills.
The organization has set a long-term goal of reaching 1 million girls through its programming.
“What started as a two-day camp in Scottsdale is growing into a movement, and this designation is the key that unlocks the next chapter,” Ms. Petersen said.
