...Explanation
BACKGROUND: This legislation authorizes the Director of the Department of Development to enter into a grant agreement with the Columbus Fashion Initiative, a non-profit organization, in an amount up to $450,000.00 in support of the organization’s Made to Grow youth workforce development and education programming, and to authorize the payment of expenses starting July 1, 2024.
The Columbus Fashion Initiative’s mission is to create, connect, and move fashion forward. By cultivating education, community, imagination, and opportunity, Columbus Fashion Initiative strives to become a fashion manufacturing and innovation leader while building an alliance of stakeholders from across all domains of the fashion and retail ecosystem.
Columbus City Schools (CCS) students currently do not have access to skills-based curriculum in the fashion industry, and many fashion and retail programs at colleges and universities are financially out-of-reach for CCS graduates. Columbus Fashion Initiative seeks to address this gap and catalyze economic development and through the creation and sustainability of fashion and retail businesses and by convening members of the industry ecosystem. Columbus Fashion Initiative has demonstrated a deep commitment to the ecosystem by investing more than $1.5 million in programs and initiatives including but not limited to stipends to youth participating in workforce development and education programs and micro-grants to emerging entrepreneurs.
The Made to Grow (MTG) workforce development and education program serves transition age youth (ages 16-24) who are Columbus residents and Columbus City School (CCS) students. The goal is to provide career exposure, training, credentials, and mentorship that support initial placements, career advancement as well as related post-secondary educational pathways.
This grant agreement will support the implementation and expansion of Made to Grow. MTG is designed to help low-to-moderate income youth to...
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