**Post-campaign update: Thank you to all the donors who helped us raise $36,420 -- well done, Bay Area ultimate community! Even though we did not reach our (very ambitious) $55k goal, we will run the GURLS program full-speed ahead with efficiency and high quality using the crowdfunding budget through 2018 while we apply for grants for ongoing funding in 2019 and beyond. If you would like to contribute, it's not too late -- go to our main donation page at https://bayareadisc.wedid.it and choose "GURLS Program" as your designation. Thank you!** 

Gender equity is a major issue in Ultimate, especially in the youth division. The GURLS Program seeks to address and disrupt this inequity by creating a generation of strong, life-long female and female-identifying Ultimate leaders who strive to give back to their community, empower other girls and women, and support Spirit of the Game! 
GURLS is free of charge for all participants, so our program expenses need to be 100% covered by this fundraising campaign! In 2016-2017, we piloted GURLS and it was a huge success. Now we're planning to make it an ongoing program, but it won't happen without your support -- we need $55,000 now in order to fund GURLS for 2 full years! 
Every dollar counts. If you believe in these girls' ability to affect change, please donate now. If you talk the talk about supporting gender equity, now is the time to walk the walk. Contribute and spread the word today - thank you! 
 
Gender Equity: An opportunity for progress
In the Bay Area:

• Women comprise 34% of adult players (above the national average). 
• Girls comprise only 18% of youth players (in line with the national average) 
• Women comprise only 26% of youth coaches 

Bay Area Disc has run free girls-only clinics for girls for many years (and girls' camps starting in 2017) to grow the number of girls playing Ultimate. However, our successes have been incomplete because outside of these occasional clinics, the girls' school teams mostly have only Open (mostly boys) teams. Depending on the team environment, these girls may encounter a lack of understanding and have difficulty connecting with their teammates. This situation leads to low retention rates among girls playing ultimate. This problem is self-perpetuating and intensifying, and we need a revolutionary program to reverse it. 
 
Our Solution 
With GURLS, we empower girls with valuable experience in leadership development, coaching strategies, program development, and conflict resolution. We give each participant the skills, tools, and resources needed to pursue leadership in a multitude of situations. By transforming a generation of girls into strong, highly-qualified, and community-driven leaders from diverse backgrounds, we will be able to increase outreach, direct programming, and other services for female and female-identifying individuals.
By providing extensive training, support and resources to these girls and future leaders, graduates of this program will have a deep impact on the community as a whole. In the future, Bay Area Disc will continuously provide opportunities for GURLS graduates to work as coaches, project interns, and eventually (we hope) as program coordinators, managers and directors! 
 
Values
Our mission is driven by four core values (G.U.R.L.):

• Generosity: We strive to give back and improve ourselves and our community, including current and future teammates, leaders, opponents, and players.
• Unity: We believe the ultimate community is one family, one heart, and one team. We will support and value one another, protect one another, and positively encourage one another.
• Resilience: We will never give up. We will always fight for gender equity and diversity in our sport, and to provide more opportunities for female and female-identifying individuals to play ultimate. We will honor the efforts of others and work hard to improve ourselves, our teammates, our community, and our sport.
• Leadership: We will become powerful, impactful leaders in our community. We will preserve and promote the traditions of Spirit of the Game, and continue to push our sport to be the best it can be. We will set the best example of this for the rest of our community, speak up when others need help, and amplify those voices who cannot be heard.

 
Diversity 
The GURLS program will be a proactively inclusive program. As we design our program curriculum, recruit program participants, and budget for our activities, we will mindfully and proactively: 

• Include as many girls from under-represented socioeconomic and racial backgrounds as possible 
• Recruit role models and mentors from diverse backgrounds who can connect meaningfully with girls from low-income and minority backgrounds 
• Enable girls from all backgrounds to move into leadership roles, both within this program and in other Bay Area Disc roles 

 
Budget
Bay Area Disc will cover all non-program operating costs (e.g. fundraising transaction fees administrative costs), so 100% of public donations will go directly to fund GURLS program costs. Below is a summary of the 2017-2018 GURLS budget. For more details, please refer to our GURLS Program Budget. 
2017 Total: $24,496 
2018 Total: $‎30,750 
2-year Program Total: $55,246 
Credits
Music: Summer by Moby courtesy of Mobygratis.com
Edited by Jesus Avila (www.youtube.com/jesusiavila)
Filmed by Jesus Avila, Bennet Ng (www.instagram.com/bennett.ng), and Rodney Chen (facebook.com/ultimatebyrodney)
GURLS logo art by Maria Fong
 
Thank you for your support! Please visit our GURLS Program Page for full program plans, financials, and goals.