Explanation
To authorize the City Clerk to enter into a grant agreement with Dress for Success Columbus in support of FABSales
Dress for Success Columbus (DFSC) has partnered with the City of Columbus since 2019. In direct alignment with City Council’s overall vision of “Promoting Workforce Development and Jobs,” DFSC’s career advancement programming moves disadvantaged women toward economic security and resilience. FAB (or fill-a-bag) is a community shopping experience and grassroots fundraiser to support the mission of Dress for Success Columbus.
DFSC recognizes that the rise of fast fashion has serious environmental repercussions. According to the U.S. EPA, an estimated 11.3 million tons of textile waste end up in landfills across the country every year (that’s 81.5lbs/person annually). By design, DFSC’s Styling Sessions -where DFSC provides thousands of women with donated professional workplace attire annually- bring numerous environmental benefits by actively diverting clothing from landfills. One successful green initiative, which has been a recent focal point, are FabSales, where DFSC sells excess inventory from our boutique to reduce waste, engage the community, and generate revenue for the organization.
FabSales started in 2011 as an annual community engagement, and now by popular demand, DFSC will hold three FabSales annually (typically May, August, and November). Building on the success of this initiative, DFSC is in the process of developing a plan to expand environmental sustainability efforts. Because the money DFSC raises from FabSales directly supports programming, 100% of this contribution will support the direct costs associated with delivering and expanding DFSC’s core workforce development programming. DFSC provides all services free of charge and relies on donations, grants, and fundraising revenues to sustain programs. While DFSC services do not generate organizational revenue, they generate substantial community impact that results in in...
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