Furniture Bank of Southeastern Michigan
Providing beds and furniture to children and families in need
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Due to conditions of poverty, too many families and children in SE MI sleep and eat on bare floors because they do not own furniture and lack resources to locate, buy, and transport basic household furniture. This is not a healthy or dignified way to live. The impact of not having furniture is significant. Without furniture, families tend toward homeless after “couch surfing” with friends and family members. Children do not develop properly when they sleep on bare floors and become at-risk for physical and psychological ailments. Within Pontiac, MI, 56% of the families that we served over 5 years reside/d in Pontiac (pop. 56,698 Pov Rate 34.4%). This translates to the Furniture Bank serving approximately 18% of Pontiac families. Detroit, by contrast, a population of 672,795 and a poverty rate of 35.7%. Assuming 18% of Detroit families living in poverty will have furniture needs over the next five years, this translates to 43,234 families needing our services.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Furniture for Families
In 2019, Our hallmark Furniture for Families program provided 1,409 families with 15,173 items valued at $699,801. This included 2,015 mattresses, 1,709 box springs, 1,201 dressers, 577 dining tables, 2,411 dining chairs, 1,026 sofas, 2,193 other pieces of living room furniture, and 4,041 household items.
Where we work
Awards
Best-Managed Non-Profit Finalist 2017
Crain's Detroit Business
External reviews
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of children (0-19) served, many of who are now sleeping in beds versus the floor due to the efforts of the Furniture Bank of SE MI
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Adults, Families, Economically disadvantaged people, Victims and oppressed people
Related Program
Furniture for Families
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Each year, the Furniture Bank strives to make sure that the needs of the low-income children and families we serve are met to ensure their health and safety.
Number of low-income metro Detroit families served by the Furniture Bank of SE MI through our "Furniture for Families" program and free Community Area?
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Children and youth, Families, Economically disadvantaged people, Victims and oppressed people
Related Program
Furniture for Families
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Our mission is to help children and families living in poverty and exiting crisis situation with basic home furniture: beds/mattresses, dressers, sofas, dining tables and chairs.
Number of active referral/organizational partners to the Furniture Bank of SE MI?
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people, Victims and oppressed people, Adults, Children and youth, Families
Related Program
Furniture for Families
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The FBSEM partners with several local organizations who help to determine a person's need before they are referred to the Furniture Bank for their beds and furniture.
Percentage of low-income people served by the Furniture Bank of SE MI who are employed and continuing to live in poverty?
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people, Victims and oppressed people, Adults, Children and youth, Families
Related Program
Furniture for Families
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The percentage of employed people continues to increase each year. This shows that more people are employed, but the need is still great and continues to be present in the community we serve.
Number of individual furniture donation pickups completed by the Furniture Bank of SE MI?
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Children and youth, Families, Economically disadvantaged people, Victims and oppressed people
Related Program
Furniture for Families
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Our trucks are on the road in Metro Detroit 6 days a week picking up essential furniture from generous individual donors. This accounts for the # of pickups we made each year.
Number of furniture items distributed to low-income families served by the Furniture Bank of SE MI?
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Children and youth, Families, Economically disadvantaged people, Victims and oppressed people
Related Program
Furniture for Families
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The number of furniture items distributed to low-income families in-need within Southeastern Michigan.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The Furniture Bank of Southeastern Michigan’s mission is to “to provide beds and home furnishings to children and families in need.” The mission is pursued by furnishing the empty houses of low-income families by collecting and distributing gently-used beds, dressers, tables, chairs, sofas, and lamps donated by local residents.
The families served by the Furniture Bank are being actively case-managed by social service agencies that deal with persons coming out of crisis situations, such as poverty, homelessness, child protection, domestic issues, and other social problems. Our role is to assist in the process of stabilizing the lives of vulnerable families so they can escape the clutches of poverty in the tri-county southeastern Michigan area.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
With the COVID pandemic continuing to affect the community, some of our strategies from the past few years have been placed on a hiatus, due to the shift in the number of families needing assistance.
Six strategic goals for2022: 1) Helping as many families as we can who have been impacted by COVID and who are in need of assistance - which grew tremendously during the pandemic; 2) Continuing our Detroit/Wayne County expansion by furnishing the empty houses of at least 300 Wayne County families by year end; 3.) Increasing awareness and visibility of our organization via social media, e.g., Facebook and advertising to the community about our accomplishments and services for clients and donors; 4.) Increasing revenue by diversifying funding from donor services and referral fees to continue to stay in business to help the greater community in need; 5.) Modifying and improving our trucking services; 6) Continuing discussion of opening a thrift store to help greater community in need.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Since 1968, the Furniture Bank of Southeastern Michigan has been southeastern Michigan’s only furniture bank. Originally founded as the Furniture Resource Center to furnish empty houses of low-income families in Oakland County, the service area was expanded to include Macomb County in 2007 and Wayne County/Detroit in 2015.
Each year, the number of households furnished by the Furniture Bank increases. In 2021, 1,915 low-income families received 16,484 gently-used furniture items.
The Furniture Bank has the infrastructure required to pursue this unique mission, including a warehouse/office complex in Pontiac, MI; three box trucks to pick up donations of gently-used furniture from local residents and for furniture deliveries; and staff to handle client scheduling, furniture storage, and operations.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Since 1968, the Furniture Bank has served more than 75,000 Metro Detroiters, so that children are sleeping in warm beds and cribs, families are sharing meals around a table, and those who are in poverty can live a healthier, more stable and dignified lives.
In 2021, the Furniture Bank furnished the houses of 1,915 families with 16,484 items conservatively valued at $747,364. In total, we collected and distributed 245,000 cubic feet, or 450 tons, of furniture, which is roughly enough furniture to fill up the entirety of Downtown Detroit's 47-story Penobscot Building. Each year, around half of the beneficiaries we serve are children under the age of 19. Of the 3,444 children served in 2021, the Furniture Bank provided 694 of these children with a warm bed and new linens to get a comfortable, healthy night's sleep.
In 2015, the Furniture Bank began furnishing homes in Wayne County/Detroit. The number of families served in this area is second only to the number of families being served in the Oakland County/Pontiac area where the Furniture Bank’s warehouse/office has been located since 1968.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Furniture Bank of Southeastern Michigan
Board of directorsas of 01/25/2022
Mr. Bruce Gleba
Community Volunteer
Term: 2020 - 2022
Jill Gleba
Gleba & Associates, Inc.
Jason Miller
Grand Sakwa
Dr. Anita Hicks
Oakland University
Kevin Centala
Beanstalk Real Estate Solutions
Kirsten Elliott
Community Housing Network
Pamela Branchick
Meadowbrook Insurance Group (Retired)
Victor Arbulu
Community Volunteer
Jeanette S. Schneider
RE/MAX of Southeastern Michigan
Bruce Gleba
Community Volunteer
Wanda Van Haitsma
Main Street Bank (Retired)
David Zick
Entrepreneur & Philanthropist
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data