The Million Girls Moonshot is a transformative nationwide movement that will close the gender gap in STEM by engaging 1 million more school-age girls in high-quality, afterschool STEM learning opportunities over the next 5 years. The Million Girls Moonshot will provide grant funding and in-kind resources, such as technical assistance, educational resources and mentorship from STEM experts, to afterschool networks in all 50 states in order to increase opportunity and access to hands-on, immersive STEM learning experiences for girls.

Unlike other STEM programs and initiatives, this movement will truly change the face of STEM in the U.S. through a collaborative, collective impact approach led by STEM Next Opportunity Fund, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Intel Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and working closely with the state afterschool networks in all 50 states.

The Million Girls Moonshot is led by the STEM Next Opportunity Fund, which is the legacy organization of Robert Noyce, one of the original founders of Intel. The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Intel Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation have joined as inaugural partners.

The inaugural funding partners (STEM Next Opportunity Fund, the Intel Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation) will provide grant funding, programmatic support and in-kind resources to the afterschool networks in all 50 states. The Million Girls Moonshot initiative also leverages more than $300 million in investments made by the Mott Foundation in the past two decades to advance afterschool programs and systems, which includes the development of these 50 state afterschool networks.

STEM Next Opportunity Fund is the legacy organization of Robert Noyce, one of the original founders of Intel, and the leading engine powering the Million Girls Moonshot movement. In addition to annual grants to all 50 state afterschool networks to support the Moonshot goals, STEM Next is providing leadership, connectivity, financial management, partner and sponsor recruitment, oversight and accountability.

The Intel Foundation is one of the inaugural funders and a visionary leader of the Million Girls Moonshot. In addition to monetary funding, the Intel Foundation will be providing in-kind resources, technical assistance and thought leadership. The Intel Foundation will serve as a leader of the Moonshot Champions Advisory Board, which will work together to create a coalition of like-minded organizations sharing the STEM equity vision. The Million Girls Moonshot will also engage Intel employees as STEM role models and mentors for youth in afterschool, summer learning, and other out-of-school-time programs.

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation is the charitable organization of Gordon Moore, the other original founder of Intel and an inaugural funding partner in the Million Girls Moonshot. The foundation is providing monetary funding and thought leadership that will support creating pathways and transition points to build a continuum of STEM learning experiences.

The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation is a key partner, supporting the Million Girls Moonshot’s mission. The C.S. Mott Foundation’s significant annual investments have helped create the national infrastructure of state afterschool networks that the Million Girls Moonshot will leverage to deliver innovative, out-of-school STEM learning opportunities to school-age children across the nation. The Initiative will also leverage Mizzen by Mott, an app that provides afterschool educators free access to high-quality content. By working with the robust state afterschool networks, the Million Girls Moonshot has the potential to reach millions of school-age children and provide high-quality, immersive STEM learning experiences not only for girls, but for all young people living in communities that have historically lacked access to high-quality STEM education.

Sharing the Million Girls Moonshot vision and spirit of collaboration, programmatic partners joining the movement include NASA, Technovation, National Girls Collaborative Project, Jobs for the Future (JFF), Techbridge Girls, and Lyda Hill Philanthropies with the If Then/She Can initiative. Qualcomm Incorporated is also supporting the movement as a funding partner. Together, these organizations are investing in systemic, nationwide and collective impact approach to change the trajectory of women and girls in STEM. We welcome a diverse group of cross-sector partners to join in collaboration with us to broaden the scale and deepen the impact of this movement.

For more than a decade, state afterschool networks, supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, have helped support the growth and quality of afterschool programming.

Children spend less than 20 percent of their waking hours in school. Reams of research demonstrate that afterschool programs keep children safe, inspire them to learn, and give working parents peace of mind that their children are safe and constructively engaged when schools are closed. Afterschool STEM opportunities can almost double the time some students have to question, tinker, learn and explore STEM topics and careers.

Just as people need to be immersed in real-world situations to learn a new language, children who explore STEM outside of the classroom begin to fully understand and become fluent in STEM subjects. Afterschool programs are skilled at providing the kind of immersive, hands-on learning experiences that are critical to helping students gain fluency in these subjects.

High-quality afterschool STEM experiences cultivate interest, build real STEM skills, and help students connect STEM to their lives and future careers. Afterschool STEM boosts students’ proficiency in math and science, increases their likelihood of graduation, and puts them on the path to pursuing careers in the STEM field.