AHFA Awards $54,000 in Education Grants for 2024

July 9, 2024  by HFBusiness Staff in Business Strategy, Industry   

The Furniture Foundation was established in 1948 to fund initiatives to improve management, manufacturing and marketing within the home furnishings industry. Since 1990, it has distributed more than $4 million in grants for projects that support its mission.

The largest recipient this year once again was Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) in Hickory, North Carolina. The college received $22,000 for its two furniture academies, including $7,000 for scholarships to support up to 28 students enrolling at its main Hickory campus and $15,000 for scholarships providing tuition for up to 60 students at its Alexander Furniture Academy in Taylorsville.

Other 2024 foundation grants include:

• $12,000 to Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, to continue funding four $3,000 scholarships for the furniture design program. This is the third year of a three-year commitment to support the program. It offers a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial design focused on product development, environmental concerns and manufacturing requirements. 
• $10,000 to the Home Furnishings Hall of Fame to develop a curriculum for an educational program targeting middle and high school students about opportunities for fulfilling careers in the home furnishings industry.
• $5,000 to WithIt, the home furnishings industry’s leadership development network for women, to fund professional conference registration for women entrepreneurs, independent contractors and job-seekers who do not have support from a company to fund their participation in the organization’s annual professional leadership conference.
• $5,000 to Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute for scholarships for students in the upholstery and sewing programs and for replacing outdated staple guns in the upholstery lab.

Information on applying for Furniture Foundation grants and details on donating to the Furniture Foundation are available at https://www.ahfa.us/what-we-do/furniture-foundation.