FURNITURE BANK

Furniture Bank is a registered charity and social enterprise founded in 1998 by Sister Anne Schenck to help individuals and families in the Greater Toronto Area establish furnished homes. Its mission is to end furniture poverty by providing gently used donated furniture at no cost to economically vulnerable people such as those transitioning out of homelessness, women and children fleeing abuse, refugees, and newcomers to Canada. Furniture Bank runs four main programs:

1. Homing Program: Furniture collection and delivery. Furniture Bank picks up gently used furniture donations from individuals and companies, then delivers items to families in need referred by over 90 community agency partners. In 2022, the Homing program served 13,210 individuals.
2. Leg Up Program: A social employment program providing work experience, skills training, and employment to those facing barriers. It has employed over 250 people since 2013.
3. Workshop Program: Refurbishes and repairs donated furniture items before delivery.
4. Support Services: Providing social enterprise and furniture banking program platforms to aid other reuse charities.

In the process of redistributing used furniture, Furniture Bank states that it diverts over 1500 metric tons per year from landfills. The organization is supported through earned revenue from its furniture pickup service, government and foundation grants, corporate sponsors, and individual donors. Furniture Bank has over $1.6 million in reserve funds, equal to 45% of its 2022 program expenses. Key metrics tracked by Furniture Bank include the number of individuals/families served, furniture items delivered, furniture donors engaged, and tons of furniture diverted from landfills. In 2022, the organization served 13,210 people with over 300,000 furniture items donated by over 5,000 individuals and companies.