The Dorothy Fuller Fund — Investing in Chicago’s Fashion Future

Chicago’s fashion industry is experiencing a long-awaited awakening — and at its center stands the Apparel Industry Board Inc. (AIBI), the city’s longest standing nonprofit dedicated solely to fashion, apparel, and sewn-products development.

Founded in 1987, AIBI has spent nearly four decades building real infrastructure for Chicago’s creative economy: training artisans, mentoring emerging designers, opening doors for small businesses, and ensuring that fashion careers remain possible in our city. Today, as we launch new workforce programs and expand access to our Fashion Lab, the need for equitable, affordable workforce readiness has never been greater.

This Giving Tuesday, we invite you to support the Dorothy Fuller Fund, a scholarship initiative honoring AIBI’s Founder, a visionary who believed in and made Chicago's Fashion Industry.
Your gift helps remove financial barriers for the next generation of Chicago designers, makers, and entrepreneurs by funding full or partial scholarships for AIBI’s Cohort Programs.

What Your Support Makes Possible

The Inspire Cohort — Designed for hobbyists, emerging designers, and visionaries with a concept but no roadmap, Inspire teaches the foundations of building a fashion brand. Participants learn:

Concept development and brand identity
Market research and business fundamentals
Sustainability principles
How to prepare for a first small collection
Q&A sessions with industry speakers, designers, and technical experts

Outcome: Every Inspire graduate leaves with a defined brand concept, a first product direction, and the knowledge needed to move confidently into pre-production.

The Growth Cohort — 12 Weeks to Build a Business That Can Scale

The next level for emerging designers who are ready for Ready-to-Wear, manufacturing, and business planning. Curriculum includes:

Business planning with financials
Production cost breakdowns
Manufacturing pathways (local, domestic, and international)
Trend forecasting, merchandising, and pricing
New technologies in fashion, including AI, 3D tools, and sustainable production
Access to industry speakers, manufacturers, and mentors

Outcome: Each Growth graduate completes a full business plan, a production strategy, and a line blueprint that positions them for retail, wholesale, and investor readiness.

Scholarships from the Dorothy Fuller Fund ensure that cost is never the barrier to entering either cohort.

Why We Need Your Help Now

AIBI’s Fashion Lab remains the only public industrial-sewing facility in Illinois — but to meet the demand from students, designers, and entrepreneurs, we must repair, upgrade, and expand our equipment.

This year’s Funding + Equipment Wishlist ($43,628) includes:

Hiring a dedicated Lab Manager
Repairs to key industrial machines (Juki, Adler, Union Special)
New equipment for the Innovation Center including a Tukatech digital pattern system
Updated cutting, sewing, steaming, and finishing tools
Classroom necessities: foldable tables, event chairs, dress forms, fitting rooms
A commercial-grade laser printer and shop vacuum for daily operations

These tools directly support student learning and ensure safety, quality, and professional-level training.

Your Impact

Every donation — whether $25 or $2,500 — directly strengthens Chicago’s fashion infrastructure.

Your support:

Scholarships for aspiring designers who cannot afford cohort training
Repairs and modernizes critical equipment
Helps AIBI hire a dedicated Fashion Lab Manager
Expands capacity for our Inspire and Growth cohorts
Keeps Chicago’s fashion talent in Chicago

When you invest in AIBI, you invest in a stronger, more innovative, more sustainable fashion industry for our city.

This Giving Tuesday, help us open the door for someone who needs a chance.

Support the Dorothy Fuller Fund. Fuel Chicago’s next generation of creators.

Giving Tuesday Fundraiser for AIBI

Apparel Industry Board, Inc.

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