Get the Girl Edge!
GIRL EDGE GEAR: A fresh and saucy line of sports gear designed and inspired by girls and women who want to change the world.
About You
Contact Information
Title
Ms.
First name
Rachel
Last name
Schmidt
Your job title
Founder, Global Correspondent and Activist
Name of your organization
Women's United Liberation Front (WULF)
Organization type
women's rights, sports, media, education, mentorship, funder
Annual budget/currency
This field has not been completed
Location
Project Street Address
2151 Oak Road
Project City
Castlegar
Project Province/State
BC
Project Postal/Zip Code
V1N 4S9
Project Country
Canada
Your idea
Choose your sport: (check all that apply)
Other
If you chose "other" for Sport, please define in 1-2 words below
All sports
What approach does your initiative incorporate?
Product
Year the initiative began (yyyy)
2008
Paste your video code here:
If your project has a website, paste the web address here:
Plot your innovation within the discovery framework:
Barrier
Perception shapes the future
Insight
Let girls lead
This field has not been completed. (333 words or less)
Name Your Project
Get the Girl Edge!
Describe Your Idea
GIRL EDGE GEAR: A fresh and saucy line of sports gear designed and inspired by girls and women who want to change the world.
Innovation
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence?
GIRL EDGE GEAR: A fresh and saucy line of sports gear designed and inspired by girls and women who want to change the world.
How many people does your innovation serve or plan to serve? Exactly who will benefit?
Hundreds of players, teams and communities featured on the Girl Edge label will benefit from profits. Each piece of gear in the line will come with a write up on the young woman who inspired the design, information on the WULF and Nike partnership/global campaign and details on the player or team being sponsored.
Do you have any existing partnerships? If so, please list and describe.
WULF proposes a business partnership with Nike, offering our vision for a new label that will reach the teen market, and further expand Nike Goddess. In return WULF will receive from Nike a percentage of profits from the sale of Girl Edge Gear and will use these funds to support girl players and women's teams around the world. Women share a universal longing to live with passion and we want to invest our time, money and energy in pursuits that are supremely important to us. We want sports and fitness gear that works for our bodies but we also want thrilling adventures with companies that share their wealth with communities and take us to the streets, villages, mountains and lives of other girls and women across the world. This is marketing for a new world!
In which sector do these partners work? (Check all that apply)
Citizen sector (non profits, NGOs) , Private sector , Public sector (government).
How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing?
In order to implement the change required at a systemic level and on a daily basis for girls and women, WULF wants to work in partnersip with an expert like Nike to strategically position ourselves in the business market where we can make real money to fund players and sport's programs in developing countries, shift perceptions and influence policy.
Impact
Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact
Foster strong, powerful and talented girl players around the world and cultivate a sport's culture that backs them financially and passionately.
What does impact/success look like? Please list any tangible measures of the impact of your innovation
Girl Edge Gear specifically designed for girl's and women's bodies becomes the hottest fashion statement in sports; similar to the Red Campaign, a corresponding movement builds, where athletes shine a spotlight on important social issues and raise the profile of girl's and women's sports; consumers are inspired to get involved in community and global issues and love the idea of adopting the player or team featured on the label; the label makes a profit for Nike who then provides a percentage to WULF to work with organizations around the world to transform communities and fund girl players and women's teams.
Is there a chance that your project could change policy (within an institution or government)?
With Nike on board, governments, and other socially responsible corporations and sports companies will be much more interested in partnerships and matching sponsorships.
Aside from financial sustainability, how do you plan to grow the initiative or expand your intended impact?
The girls and women featured on the Girl Edge label will become ambassadors and changemakers for equity in sports. The campaign will unite diverse organizations and players working towards a similar goal; the empowerment of girls and women to play the sports they love to play.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Sustainability
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)?
WULF provides a valuable product idea and label to Nike, and works with them to design the gear, and then administers a percentage of profits from the sale of Girl Edge Gear to fund players and teams across the globe.
Financing source
Annual budget
In consultation with Nike, the projected budget will need to include design, production, distribution, marketing and fund administration.
Annual revenue generated
Potentially millions.
Number of staff (full-time, part-time, volunteers)
Four full time WULF staff, which includes two girl athletes to work on the campaign with Nike.
What are the main barriers to financing your initiative, and how do you plan to address these barriers?
Pitching to Nike, selling the idea, demonstrating potential markets and profit margins.
What are the major challenges with regards to partnerships?
Nonprofit values vs. large corporation profits.
The Story
What stage is your project?
Idea phase .
What was the motivation or defining moment that led to create this innovation? Tell us the story.
Uncomfortable gear that doesn't move with the shape of girls and women's bodies. Knowing that thinking big and acting big will have huge impacts on multiple levels for girls and women in sports.
Please tell us about the social innovator behind this initiative
Rachel Schmidt is the founder of the Women's United Liberation Front (WULF), a registered nonprofit society in Canada. WULF's work inspires a world where girls and women have the freedom to speak for themselves and the power to build strong lives with economic independence and creative expression.
Rachel loves to climb mountains and play competitive sports, she has always had a passionate interest in empowering girls and women to be strong in their bodies and play for the love of the game.
(Optional) To be eligible for an additional prize, please select age range
27 or older
 | 177 weeks agoRachel Schmidt said: Hi Holly Thanks so much for your comments and questions, they really push us to flush out the details. You have us thinking, stay ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 177 weeks agoRachel Schmidt said: Hi Kathy Thanks for your supportive comments, and yes to utilizing girls' creative talents to help design Girl Edge Gear. We have ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 177 weeks agoHolly Ramer said: Hi Rachel, I like the spirit of your idea however I would love to push you to think of a few more elements that will make the idea ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 177 weeks agoKathy Webb said: Hi Rachel: I like your idea on using profits from the sale of Girl Edge label to fund female players and teams across the world. ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 178 weeks agoRachel Schmidt submitted this idea. |
