For Immediate Release
FURNITURE BANK TO BENEFIT FROM LIFT PHILANTHROPY PARTNERS’ INVESTMENT
Venture Philanthropy approach will help grow social enterprise
Toronto, ON (May 12, 2015) –- Furniture Bank today announced that it has received an agreement for significant support from venture philanthropy organization LIFT Philanthropy Partners.
LIFT will focus on helping the charity increase revenue from its social enterprise and identifying other revenue opportunities. Over an 18-month period, LIFT will provide a combination of management support, business expertise from its extensive partner network and other resources to help build Furniture Bank’s capacity and scale its programs for greater impact.
Increasing revenue will enable Furniture Bank to expand its employment program, which provides work experience, life and skills training, and employment opportunities in the charity’s operations to youth, newcomers to Canada and other individuals facing barriers to employment. The creation of new job opportunities makes Furniture Bank a strategic fit for LIFT, whose portfolio is focused on social purpose organizations tackling skills development and employment for people facing barriers to employment, in addition to health and education issues.
– “Furniture Bank is doing transformative work with vulnerable populations in the Toronto area,” says Bruce Dewar, President and CEO of LIFT. “We believe we can help position them for even greater financial success and sustainability, so that they can increase their impact on both individual lives and the community as a whole.”
– “The time is right for all Canadians to realize they can play a role in helping to alleviate homelessness. It’s our goal that when people buy new furniture, they call us to remove the used furniture and distribute it to the tens of thousands who need it,” says Dan Kershaw, Furniture Bank Executive Director. “We think working with LIFT can be a game changer, helping us scale our social enterprise and charity across Canada and allowing us to achieve the full meaning of our mission of helping people permanently get off the floor.”
About Furniture Bank: Furniture Bank has been helping people in the Greater Toronto Area establish their homes since 1998 by enabling the transfer of gently used household furnishings from donors to families and individuals in need. The organization operates a large furniture removal service in the community year-round – picking up furniture from donors and delivering items to clients to establish their new homes. Visit furniturebank.org for more information.
About LIFT Philanthropy Partners: LIFT invests in not-for-profits, social enterprises and other organizations with proven results addressing health, skills development, education and employment in Canada. It provides hands-on management and pro bono contributions from its national network of business experts to help social purpose organizations to build capacity and scale their programs, so they can help more vulnerable and at-risk Canadians. Visit liftpartners.ca for more information.
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Media Contacts:
Lisa Dooling
Director, Communications
LIFT
778-327-5170 (office)
778-840-5170 (cell)
[email protected]
Dan Kershaw
Executive Director
Furniture Bank
416-934-1229 (ext. 720) (office)
905-806-8246 (cell)
[email protected]
