Window Fashion VISION
New Bern, N.C. — The Educational Foundation, the scholarship and funding arm of the International Furnishings and Design Association, announces $13,500 in new grants available this year to high-achieving industry professionals. Two decades after its founding in 1947, IFDA began setting aside funds to provide career boosts to seasoned design pros as well as students in interior design- and furnishings-related fields.
“Whether they’re looking to take a course or a trip to expand their knowledge or gain a fresh perspective on career and work, design pros should note that our available grants support multiple areas of professional development,” says Karen Dzendolet, the Educational Foundation’s director of scholarships and grants.
Almost from its inception, in 1947, IFDA has considered education central to career development and advancement in every furnishings and design profession. “Our foundation’s primary mission is to award grants as well as scholarships—and watch our recipients grow,” Chairman Caroline Baer Rogow affirms. “It’s now application time—be the winner you are!” Actual winners of each of the following grants will be announced in midsummer:
• Valerie Moran Memorial Grant (up to $3,000), supported by the New York Chapter, will reward an IFDA professional member who, with outstanding skills in either design or merchandising, seeks to expand her or his career horizons through travel, trade show attendance or professional-development studies.
• Claire Coleman Founders Grant (2 available, at $1,500 each), also supported by the New York Chapter, was established to help IFDA chapters fund a communications- or marketing-related event organized to attract and enlighten new as well as current IFDA members.
• Irma Dobkin Universal Design Grant ($2,000), supported by the Washington, D.C., Chapter, is open to individuals working independently who wish to develop a Universal Design project that meets the living needs of people of all ages and capabilities.
• Ina Mae Kaplan Historic Preservation Grant ($2,000), also supported by the Washington, D.C., Chapter, is available to furnishings or design professionals engaged in projects that embrace the historic restoration and/or preservation of a significant structure or public building.
• Tony Torrice Professional Development Grant ($1,500), supported by the Northern California Chapter, will be awarded to an interior design or furnishings professional who plans to expand her or his skills through academic or independent study.
• Elizabeth Brown Grant to Interior Design Programs ($1,000), established by the Texas Chapter, will award an accredited interior design program at a college, university, art school or technical institution, the funds to be used to acquire books, periodicals, audio-visual aids, computer software or other notably essential resources.
• New Chapter Development Grant ($1,000) was established to aid newly formed chapters fund key educational programs or events conceived to enhance IFDA visibility in local communities and also attract new IFDA members.
For answers to specific questions about any of these grants, feel free to contact Karen Dzendolet directly, at [email protected]. Note that funds from the Barbara Brock Memorial Grant and the Schoenthal IFDA Leadership Forum have been applied to support the Educational Foundation’s July 29th DesignEDGE event at the Las Vegas Summer Market.
OTHER QUESTIONS, CONTACT Mervyn Kaufman, FIFDA; EF Director of Publications; [email protected]; 212-724-2457
