The Power of Home
2025-2027 Strategic Plan
WebelieveinthePowerofHome
Dear Friends,
At The Green Chair Project, we’ve witnessed firsthand how a furnished home can transform lives — from a child’s first night in a warm bed to a family’s renewed sense of stability and hope. As we celebrate fifteen years of service in Wake County, we’re proud of the 32,000 individuals whose stories remind us why our work matters. Today, I’m excited to introduce our 2025–2027 Strategic Plan — a roadmap that honors our roots, embraces the lessons we’ve learned, and sets our sights on even greater impact.
Building on Our Foundation
Over the past decade and a half, your generosity and partnership have enabled us to become Wake County’s only furniture bank and the sole provider of new beds and cribs. Along the way, we refined our mission — to provide furniture and essential household items that make a meaningful difference in the lives of individuals and families overcoming hardship — and affirmed our vision that everyone has a place to call home that builds stability and inspires hope. We also sharpened our core values to reflect what truly sets us apart and guides every decision we make: Dignity, Belonging, Choice, Green, Collaboration, Stewardship
A Bold, Focused Path Forward
Rooted in insights from those we serve, informed by data from our community partners, and guided by the experience of our dedicated team, our new strategic framework is organized around four interconnected goals. By leading with purpose, creating lasting impact, furnishing hope-filled homes, and transforming lives toward stability and self-sufficiency, we embody the power of home.
Lead Change: We will amplify our voice as a thought leader in the furniture banking industry, deepening community understanding through compelling storytelling, strategic partnerships, and civic leadership.
Impact Community: We will invest in data-driven operations, professional development, and infrastructure upgrades that ensure excellence, efficiency, and seamless service delivery.
Furnish Homes: We will strengthen and scale our cornerstone programs—Essentials for Home, Sweeter Dreams, and Shop for Good—so that every family enjoys a “shopping” experience with dignity and choice, and every child has a safe, new bed of their own.
Transform Lives: We will diversify revenue streams, expand geographically, and cultivate new donor relationships to secure long-term sustainability and deepen our reach.
To measure our progress, we have set ambitious targets over the next three years: increase beds provided by 45% (to nearly 17,000), increase households served by 35% (to nearly 15,000), and raise the funds necessary to expand our impact beyond Wake County. Achieving these goals will require innovation, collaboration, and the continued generosity of supporters like you.
Your Role in This Next Chapter
In 2024 alone, we delivered 1,734 beds and furnished 1,144 homes—tangible milestones that represent real families gaining stability and comfort. Yet the need continues to grow: more than one in thirty Wake County children still lack a bed of their own, and nearly 100,000 residents live below the poverty line. That’s why, in this next chapter, we’re asking you to stand with us once again—to share our story, rally new partners, and invest in solutions that turn empty rooms into welcoming homes.
Thank You
As we embark on this three year journey, I am humbled by the spirit, creativity, and compassion of our volunteers, donors, and agency partners. Together, we will lead with purpose, educate and engage our community, and deliver sustainable change—one home at a time
Thank you for your unwavering support. With your partnership, w nue to furnish homes and change lives across Wake County and beyond.
In gratitude,
Rae Marie Czuhai CEO, The Green Chair Project
We know lives can be changed when We know lives can be when families and individuals are nurtured and are sustained in well-equipped homes. sustained in well-equipped homes.
Our Mission Our Mission
We provide furniture and essential household items that make a meaningful difference in the lives of individuals and families overcoming hardship.
Our Vision Our Vision
Everyone has a place to call home that builds stability and inspires hope.
Our Values Our Values
DIGNITY: We believe every person deserves a furnished, comfortable, and dignified living space.
BELONGING: We create spaces of belonging where everyone feels valued, included and respected.
CHOICE: We believe every home should reflect the people who live in it — by choice, not chance.
GREEN: We give essential furniture and household items a second life while reducing waste in our landfills.
COLLABORATION: We are one team — united by shared purpose and strong relationships with our community partners, supporters, and each other.
STEWARDSHIP: We are thoughtful, intentional, and trustworthy with the resources we are given.
“Itisnotaboutwhatwesay,it’saboutwhatwedo.“
The Green Chair Project Philosophy The Green Chair Project Philosophy
Our Families: The families we serve are at the heart of our mission. They arrive as referrals from our partners, becoming our valued clients as we serve them with respect and dignity. Their future success and wellbeing inspires our donors to provide ongoing financial and in-kind support.
Our Impact: The more families we serve, the greater sustained impact we have on their lives, and our entire community. Delivering essentials at scale ensures we maximize reach and prioritize broader impact over incremental comfort upgrades that benefit fewer individuals.
Our Operations: We will continue to evaluate and enhance our programs, development strategies, and logistics, to ensure excellence and efficiency in serving our clients.
A foundation for health, academic success, A foundation for health, academic success, and long-term housing stability and long-term housing stability
WakeCounty’s rapid population growth masks a stark reality: more than97,000 neighbors still live below the poverty line, and 1 in every30 students goes to sleep at night without a bed of their own. For individuals and families overcoming hardship, furnishing a home can consume up to one third of their annual income — forcing impossible choices between buying a table and paying for food, bedding, or prescriptions.
A stable, furnished home is not a luxury. It is the foundation for health, academic success, and long term housing stability, yet the households referred to us often earn as little as30 percent of the Area Median Income. Without access to basic furniture and household essentials, many remain trapped in stress and instability even after securing housing.
The Green Chair Project is here to break that cycle. As WakeCounty’s only furniture bank — and exclusive provider of new beds and cribs — we transform donated items into beautiful, dignified, choice based home packages. Thanks to a remarkable network of partners, donors, and volunteers, we have helped more than32,000 individuals rebuild their lives, diverted tons of usable goods from landfills, and strengthened our community.
“I have stuff — I had no idea what it meant to have stuff. A small object on a coffee table, a lamp, a couch and chair — it all made my house feel like a home.”
— Elliot Palmer, Jr., TGCP Benefactor
What we hope to accomplish What we hope to accomplish is ambitious, because it has is ambitious, because it has to be... to be...
Increase beds provided by 45%
Increase households served by 35%
Expand our impact beyond Wake County
We LIFT individuals, families, and communities by leading with purpose, creating lasting impact, furnishing hopefilled homes, and transforming lives toward stability and self-sufficiency
OUR GOALS
OUR STRATEGIES
OUR OBJECTIVES
AWARENESS
Increase awareness of our brand, mission, and impact across Wake County and surrounding communities
Create consistent and complelling storytelling
Establish thought leadership in furniture banking and resue
ENGAGEMENT
Enhance advocacy by empowering community ambassadors to champion our cause through an Ambassador Program
Engage with more local businesses, civic and government groups, congregations, and future partner agencies on specific fundraising and volunteer initiatives
OPERATIONS
Enhance operational effectiveness and efficiency by evaluating internal practices and integrating proven strategies from peer organizations
Foster a workplace where team members feel valued and equipped to grow and drive meaningful change
EXPANSION
Provide program services to the Triangle
Expand Sweeter Dreams to include adult beds at no (or low) cost
Alleviate the cost barrier to the Essentials for Home program
SUSTAINABILITY
Increase our capacity by increasing revenue and strengthening our in-kind donation supply chain
Establish new in-kind long-term partnerships that reduce procurement costs, or enhance service delivery
Build a financial reserve sufficient to allow for planned expansion of programs or geography
How You Can Help How You Can Help
