Network Aimed at Ending Child Marriage Recognized With $1.25-Million Skoll Award

The award: The Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, which supports people whose work has the potential to help solve pressing economic and social problems

The winner: Girls Not Brides, a network of more than 300 nonprofits that work in 50 countries to end child marriage. It is one of seven recipients, along with B Lab, a nonprofit that operates a certification program for socially and environmentally responsible businesses, and Global Witness, an organization that investigates corruption in countries rich in natural resources.

What winners get: $1.25-million

Spotlight on Girls Not Brides

What it does: The group supports local nonprofits in promoting the education of girls, advocating for legal changes in laws to prevent marriage by children under the age of 18, and using methods such as street theater and rallies to educate people about the negative effects of child marriage.

Why the group won: Renee Kaplan, chief strategy officer at the Skoll Foundation, credits Girls Not Brides with driving changes to curb child marriage. “This whole issue of child marriage is at a global inflection point, similar to where banning landmines was in the early 90s.”

Plans for the future: Mabel van Oranje, founder of Girls Not Brides, says she hopes the increased visibility from the prize will attract more money and other support. “If you’re making progress in child marriage, you’re making progress on girls going to school, decreasing maternal deaths, and decreasing HIV deaths,” says Ms. van Oranje.