Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
"Success comes to the underdog who doesn't let sleeping dogs lie...
Great companies start because the founders want to change the world...not make a fast buck.
Guy Kawasaki
The Dayton Emerging Fashion Incubator (DE-FI)
The Crown Jewel
Yes, the OG of the fam is still very much present, still very much active, AND is still owned and directed by the same team. The Dayton Emerging Fashion Incubator (DE-FI) simply operates outside of the day to day functions of the incubator programs which is now managed by Dayton Fashion Week.
Fashion Incubator + Goals + Strategic Plan = Fashion Capital
Our Fashion Incubators have made Dayton the Fashion Capital of the Midwest for the development and success of fashion based talent!
A few of our goals include:
- Invest in engaged scholarships to improve impact and reputation of the (DE-FI) brand's transnational and educational programs.
- Conduct commercially viable research on the fashion industry and become the national and international leader in collaborating with industry to drive significant advances for critical societal and economic changes.
- Provide a world-class fashion advancement program becoming and/or maintaining our stature as a top-ten producer fashion-based talent.
- Be a national leader in fashion manufacturing.
- Be a national leader in professional and career development.
- Create and sustain a top-performing, diverse and inclusive Advancement organization that will attract and retain first-rate talent within the framework of an integrated infrastructure and a highly collaborative culture, to optimize constituent engagement, alumni loyalty, and philanthropic revenues.
- Foster awareness of and advocacy for the (DE-FI) Family of Brands to enhance revenue, reputation, and rankings.
- Broaden and deepen constituent engagement with the (DE-FI) Family of Brands to develop more meaningful and loyal relationships that can be leveraged towards increasing philanthropic and other means of support.
- Increase and strengthen corporate/industry partnerships with the (DE-FI) Family of Brands to optimize philanthropic revenues and research grants, as well as to increase experiential learning and career opportunities for students.
- Optimize and maximize philanthropic support of the (DE-FI) Family of Brands towards attaining and sustaining $250,000 in private funds raised annually by or before the end of the following fiscal year.
- Create and sustain an organizational environment that intentionally values inclusive excellence and advances equity.
- Become recognized as a state, national, and international leader advancing diversity, inclusion, and equity in fashion.
- Grow and transform our physical spaces to drive learning and innovation.
- Implement a centric organizational structure in business operations, human resources, and finance to support the strategic goals of (DE-FI) Global INC to ensure services are provided efficiently with a focus on customer service.
- Resource Stewardship.
- Our goals will be supported by the strategic investment of our resources, including financial resources, human capital and infrastructure.
Highlights from our Strategic Plan
- The strategic plan is based on focusing our resources on a robust financial plan emphasizing multi-year investments in support of our mission.
- We will develop diversified revenue streams and maximize our opportunities to leverage our resources across the Ohio, the Midwest and external collaborations.
- We will offer robust mentoring and retention programs for our entire team.
- We will support our team through a strong merit-based compensation program and professional development opportunities.
- We will ensure our operations are efficient and streamlined to maximize our effectiveness. We will ensure our team is highly trained in financial analysis and planning and works in collaboration to manage the financial resources.
Community First
Our Village
In our formative years, (DE-FI) served as a volunteer based organization, providing services to designers and models alike free of charge and in exchange, we asked that all participants volunteered at least 40 hours per year in their respective communities in order to re-invest in others in the same manner that we have invested in them.
Always putting community first we taught self-worth with a focus on inner beauty, while mentoring area youth. In 8+ years outside of the fashion aspect of what we do, we've helped organize drives that fed and clothed thousands of people across the Miami Valley for the holidays; supported and sponsored events and organizations designed to fight substance abuse and improve relationships between under-served communities and the police; we've collected can goods for the hungry, school supplies for low income families; built homes for the homeless; fought cancer by raising money towards a cure as well as hosting bone marrow drives, just to name a few. We've been the change that we wanted to see in our community and we did it all without requiring an audience, media attention, or public validation to do so.
Moving forward, sincere community engagement will always be the cornerstone of our success.
