AHFA awards Furniture Foundation grants

The American Home Furnishings Alliance Furniture Foundation has awarded $61,000 in grants for 2023. The foundation was established in 1948 to fund research and educational initiatives to improve management, manufacturing, and marketing within the home furnishings industry. Since 1990, it has distributed more than $4 million in grants to support its mission.

The largest recipient was Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) in Hickory, N.C., which received $22,000 for scholarships to its two furniture academies.

“At the CVCC campus in Alexander County, $15,000 will provide furniture academy scholarships to prepare jobseekers for skilled positions at the area’s upholstery plants. The region currently reports a need for 3,000 skilled workers, an employment gap created by baby boomer retirements, production shifting from overseas and planned business expansions in the region,” says Patricia Bowling, AHFA vice president of communications.

“The remaining $7,000 will fund scholarships for the furniture academy at the Hickory campus, which has awarded certification to 330 students since it opened in 2014.”

The other 2023 foundation grants include:

$17,000 for equipment and program outreach for the Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute Furniture Technology Institute in Hudson, N.C. Caldwell trains workers for careers as industrial sewing machine operators and upholsterers.

$12,000 to Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., to continue funding four $3,000 scholarships for the furniture design program. This is the second year of a three-year commitment to support the program.

$5,000 to help fund the Innovation+Design student competition sponsored by the International Society of Furniture Designers. The competition supports and encourages the next generation of home furnishings designers by challenging them to design and build a piece of residential furniture, lighting, or wall art.

$5,000 to WithIt, the home furnishings industry’s leadership development network for women.

Based in High Point, N.C., the AHFA represents more than 200 furniture manufacturers and distributors, plus about 150 suppliers to the furniture industry worldwide. For more about the organization, visit ahfa.us.

This article was originally published in the August 2023 issue.