Collective Conversations: Inside Impact Hour: Scaling a mission without losing what made it work with Girl Power Organisation.

As part of our Impact Hour campaign, we met with the truly inspirational ‘Girl Power

Organisation’.

Right from the outset, we dove straight into the deep stuff. The conversation opened with a challenge many organisation face:

’How do you build and scale a sustainable organisation when your growth has been driven by passion, relationships and impact?’

Girl Power Organisation is a women-led, refugee-led organisation working across Europe and the UK to empower girls and young women through football, leadership education and advocacy. Using sport and transformative education, they champion the empowerment of women and girls from all cultures and backgrounds.

Over the last few years, Girl Power Organisation has grown rapidly in reach, partnerships and visibility, building an impressive network and strong reputation while delivering programmes for girls and young women from refugee, migrant and marginalised communities.

From the very start of the session, the scale of their impact was clear. The challenge was how to create the structure, funding and strategy needed to sustain and grow that impact long-term.

What we heard

Throughout our conversation, several themes kept coming up.

• Impressive growth through strong relationships: Girl Power Organisation has grown rapidly in recent years, supported by a strong network of partners, funders and community relationships e.g. Erasmus+, UEFA, Adidas Foundation. This reflects the strength of their mission and the clear need for their work.

• Building for long-term sustainability: We discussed how Girl Power Oganisation can protect what is working well, while building the structures, capacity and resources needed for the future.

• Communicating impact clearly: Girl Power Organisation already has powerful

  stories, case studies and visible community impact. The opportunity now is to find simple, consistent ways to capture and share that impact with partners, funders and others.

• Balancing flexibility with focus: When organisations grow quickly, it can be

  challenging to balance new opportunities with clear strategic direction. We discussed how clearer priorities can support decision-making, protect capacity and keep the organisation aligned with its long-term mission.

What this showed

What became clear during the session was that Girl Power Organisation is no lacking ambition, ideas or impact! The opportunity now is to think about how the organisation can build the right foundations to scale of their work as it continues to grow.

We often see that with social impact, purpose-driven organisations, growth happens quickly when there is strong community trust, passionate leadership and meaningful work. As organisations grow, there is a natural next step to strengthen systems, structures and strategies that support that growth.

In Girl Power Organisation’s case, the foundations for long-term sustainability are already there. The organisation has a clear mission, a trusted reputation and strong relationships across the sector. The next phase is building on those strengths so the organisation can grow with clarity and continue increasing its impact.

The conversation also highlighted how connected different areas of sustainability really are. Impact measurement, communications strategy, strategic focus and strong governance are not separate challenges. Our session helped to frame them as part of the same wider transition towards a more intentional and sustainable organisational strategy.

What changed

One of the most useful shifts during the session was moving the conversation beyond immediate funding needs and towards a bigger strategic question: “What kind of organisation are we trying to build?”

That reframing opened a different kind of discussion.

Instead of focusing only on immediate funding opportunities, the conversation began exploring:

• which programmes create the greatest impact,

• which activities should become priorities,

• what organisational capacity is needed,

• and how Girl Power Organisation wants to position itself over the next three to five years.

There was also growing clarity around how Girl Power Organisation can continue to

communicate its value to potential partners. The organisation already has a powerful story, strong expertise and clear community impact; the next step is shaping that into a clear and compelling external narrative.

The discussion around impact measurement also helped to identify practical starting points to help the organisation’s ability to communicate its impact.

Perhaps most importantly, the session created space to recognise how far Girl Power Organisation has already come, while beginning to map out where they want to go next and where their energy and focus will be most valuable.

What happens next

Several practical next steps emerged from the conversation.

• Developing a clear organisational strategy for the years ahead. This can help align programmes, partnerships and internal capacity around a shared long-term direction.

• Focusing energy on the activities that most strongly reflect its mission, strengths and impact. This prioritisation can create greater clarity for partners, funders and the team itself.

• Continuing strong communications and storytelling so that Girl Power Organisation can continue to share its value clearly with partners, supporters and wider audiences.

• Developing simple ways to capture and communicate impact

• Finally, there was a shared recognition that sustainable growth is not just about expanding programmes, but about creating the right conditions for people, partnerships and impact to thrive long-term.

Final reflection

What stayed with us after this conversation was the strength of Girl Power Organisation’s mission and the trust they have already built within their communities.

The session was a reminder that when organisations create real impact, the next stage is often about building the systems, priorities and foundations that allow that impact to grow with clarity and confidence.

Girl Power Organisation is already doing meaningful work. The next phase is about creating the structure that allows that work to continue sustainably and intentionally in the years ahead.

Written by Consultants: Lizzie Stanton & Nat Strange