The American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA) Furniture Foundation has awarded $67,000 in educational grants for 2025. The funds target continued support for programs that are successfully equipping students for careers in the home furnishings industry.
Three vibrant community college programs providing a pipeline of trained workers for North Carolina furniture factories were the largest grant recipients this year, receiving a combined $40,000 for student scholarships and equipment. This includes $15,000 for Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC) Furniture Academy in Hickory, $15,000 for the CVCC Furniture Academy in Alexander County, and $10,000 for the Furniture Technology Institute at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute in Hudson.
Grants for the Hickory and Alexander County furniture academies both fund full tuition scholarships for up to 60 students in each program. Both programs have a 100 percent placement rate for graduates.
The CCC&TI grant includes $3,000 for scholarships in its upholstery and industrial sewing programs, along with $2,000 for furniture lab equipment. In addition, the Institute received $5,000 for a new summer pre-apprenticeship program designed to introduce high school juniors, seniors and recent graduates to careers in the furniture industry.
The new “Build-Up” program introduces these students to sewing, upholstery, furniture design and construction, finishing and framing and inspection/quality control. It includes 96 hours of classroom instruction followed by 136 to 192 hours of paid work-based learning with local furniture manufacturers.
AHFA’s Furniture Foundation has supported a furniture design curriculum at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, for more than 20 years. This year the Foundation renewed a three-year, $12,000 per year commitment to the furniture design program, which offers a bachelor of science degree in industrial design focused on product development, environmental concerns and manufacturing requirements.
ASU’s furniture design students have received regular accolades from the International Society of Furniture Designers (ISFD). In 2024 the school had two finalists, one winner and a Best of
Show recognition in the ISFD Innovation + Design competition and three finalists in the Pinnacle Awards student category. In addition, the Verellen Furniture Scholarship presented at the Bienenstock Furniture Designer’s Summit went to ASU students in 2023 and 2024, and they also won three of six categories at the 2024 International Woodworking Fair Design Emphasis Competition, including Best of Show.
Finally, the Foundation provided $5,000 in support of WithIt’s annual Professional Leadership Conference, funding registration and travel expenses for five industry women who are entrepreneurs or independent contractors who would not otherwise be able to attend the event. An additional $10,000 was awarded to WithIt’s Scholarship Foundation, which funds direct tuition scholarships for students in majors that support the home furnishings industry, including interior design and architecture.
AHFA’s 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 $4.5 million in grants for projects that support its mission.
Information on applying for Furniture Foundation grants and details on donating to the Furniture Foundation are available HERE.