by HIGH POINT – The American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA) Furniture Foundation seeks applications for its 2022 grant cycle. The application deadline is March 31.
Eligible applications should outline in detail the research or educational initiatives for which funding is sought. Those initiatives should aim to improve management, manufacturing or marketing within the home furnishings industry.
The Furniture Foundation was established in 1948, with initial funding earmarked to establish and then support the Furniture Manufacturing and Management curriculum at North Carolina State University. When that program was eliminated in 1991, the Foundation continued to support technical research at NC State that examined furniture industry forecasting, ergonomics,
robotics and more.
In 2002 the Foundation diversified its support and began backing additional educational and training programs emerging at other colleges and universities. Foundation grants helped launch the Institute for Furniture Manufacturing and Management at Mississippi State University and have supported furniture design students at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., for nearly 20 years.
In 2016 the Foundation awarded funds to Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, N.C. to help develop its Furniture Academy. The Hickory program and a second one in Alexander County provide industry-driven training designed to prepare students for industrial sewing and upholstery positions throughout the Catawba Valley region.
The Foundation also helps support a training program at nearby Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute in Hudson, N.C., where labs offer state-of-the-art training for automated cutting, sewing and upholstery. In all, more than $4.2 million has been awarded since 1990.
“Future foundation investments are limited only by the imagination of the institutions and individuals working to promote the growth of our industry,” states AHFA CEO Andy Counts.
Complete grant application instructions, as well as a form for making donations to the Foundation, can be found at: https://www.ahfa.us/what-we-do/furniture-foundation.
