$75,000 grant to Furniture Bank will help launch new retail thrift store
COLUMBUS, OH (December 14, 2015)—The Columbus Foundation’s Governing Committee recently approved five grants totaling $365,000 from the Fund for Financial Innovation (FFI). FFI was established in 2010 to support nonprofit organizations and projects that promote social enterprise collaborations, affiliations, and mergers.
“There are many forward-thinking nonprofits in our community actively looking for ways to increase sustainability and grow their businesses through smart, strategic means,” said Douglas F. Kridler, president and CEO of The Columbus Foundation. “These grants, thanks to Columbus Foundation donors who provided unrestricted funds to address community needs, help make those ideas come to life.”
Furniture Bank of Central Ohio (FBCO) received a $75,000 grant to help the organization establish a social enterprise thrift store operation. FBCO provides free furniture to individuals and families in need due to poverty or other life challenges.
“To meet the ever growing demand for services, it is critical we diversify our funding
and find a new source of revenue that has the potential to grow.”
Steve Votaw, president of Furniture Bank of Central Ohio
In 2014, FBCO served more than 4,500 central Ohio families—87 percent of which earned less than $17,000 a year. The grant, thanks to the Mildred L. Bragg Fund, Newton A. and Eleanor Thompson Brokaw Unrestricted Fund, and Harriet D. Lattimer Fund, will help FBCO expand its opportunity for revenue to help meet the needs of the community.
“To move into the social enterprise arena, it is absolutely critical to have investment capital. The Columbus Foundation is a community incubator that gives nonprofits the opportunity to not just ‘think’ out of the box but to ‘act’ out of the box,” said Votaw. “The Foundation is a leader in nonprofit innovation and receiving this support gives us a new opportunity for a long-term investment in our mission.”
The retail thrift store, Furniture with a Heart, is scheduled to open in early spring 2016. The primary audiences will be families making between $30,000–$70,000 a year, parents of college students, and thrift store shoppers. Votaw said FBCO will use the net income from the store to fund its core services to families.
Additional FFI grants approved were:
Friends of the Conservatory—$60,000 to hire a sales and project manager, a seasonal horticulture technician, and to purchase equipment to grow the garden design and landscape social enterprise.
Goodwill Columbus—$90,000 to purchase automated controls to operate an existing parking garage for public use.
Lettuce Work Foundation, Inc.—$100,000 to expand the greenhouse operation, allowing more individuals with autism to be served through employment and job training skills.
Local Matters—$40,000 to support expanded capacity of Wellness Matters, a revenue-generating, workplace-based, healthy food education program.
About The Columbus Foundation
The Columbus Foundation is the trusted philanthropic advisor® to 2,400 individuals, families, and businesses who have created charitable funds and planned gifts to make a difference in the lives of others through the most effective philanthropy possible. Serving the region for more than 70 years, The Columbus Foundation is the seventh largest community foundation in the United States. The Foundation’s online marketplace, PowerPhilanthropy,® makes giving mobile, easy, and smart. For more information, visit columbusfoundation.org or call 614/251-4000.