Family Firm Shows How Charity Begins at Home

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - Bill Feinberg is on the phone, sitting in a trailer that serves as his temporary office, watching a giant yellow crane tear apart his former headquarters. When the old one is gone, a new, state-of-the-art showroom will take its place. The groundbreaking for the new one already has taken place, back in May.

He’s excited about the future of his business, Allied Kitchen and Bath, and especially excited about the new showroom, a 15,000-sq.-ft. facility that will cater to contractors and designers as well as homeowners. Being able to serve a larger clientele is just one way his long-term business dreams are coming together.

Yet Feinberg sees his business as far more than just a place to sell kitchens and baths. His firm has become a launching pad for charitable work, an accidental journey that began with the death of his father from leukemia.

A Father’s Inspiration

Four years ago, Feinberg’s father, Nathan, suddenly became ill. Nathan Feinberg, who had served in various capacities in the family business. passed away six weeks later, at 71, from an acute form of leukemia.

“It was a big loss for us,” Feinberg says of a man he idolized and learned business from.

Feinberg felt a need to do something about it. He contacted the Southern Florida chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, a national organization that seeks to fund research into the cures for the deadly disease. With the help of society members, Feinberg organized the first Decorate, Dine & Donate Auction at a local builder’s appliance showroom. Numerous local business owners, including some of Feinberg’s competitors, came out to support the cause.

Feinberg had hoped to raise $10,000. To his surprise, local businesses and the community rallied to raise 10 times that amount over the next three months. In the process, an annual charitable event was born. This past year’s event, set at the Marriott Harbor Beach in Fort Lauderdale, drew 500 people and raised about $250,000. A kitchen that had been donated by local showrooms was valued at $30,000.

After watching the success of his efforts, Feinberg, whose firm has also supported Habitat for Humanity for years, wanted to get involved in other charitable work. Indeed, this desire to give back has become a cornerstone of his business and an integral part of the firm’s identity. In fact, helping others has become an essential part of his work, a “paying it forward” philosophy that has transformed Feinberg’s world – as well as his business.

“I had never done anything like this,” says Feinberg of the charity auction he helped to create for the local Leukemia society.

“I was so close to my dad. He was my best friend, and it was only six weeks from the time he got sick to the time he died. It was so difficult to watch him suffer like that.

“I had to do something,” he adds. “[Now] people know that Allied is a giving company. What goes around comes around. I firmly believe that.”

Growth Opportunities

Indeed, making things happen is one of Feinberg’s specialties.

Feinberg moved to Fort Lauderdale from Philadelphia in 1984, buying two small duplexes that would serves as his office and showroom. His brother, Joe, joined him as partner, and they would buy a third duplex as the business grew. With it, the men were joined by their two other brothers, who moved south to join them in the venture.

Feinberg’s parents joined the firm as well. The business grew, with Allied doing $3 million in business in its first year.
Managing change became a hallmark of Allied. At first, Feinberg’s firm was doing a lot of home remodeling, mostly smaller jobs ranging from $5,000 to $15,000. But the company realized it needed a showroom if it was going to expand its market.

So, one of the duplexes was converted to a showroom in 1985.

There were down years in the late 1980s, but ever since Hurricane Andrew hit in 1992, the firm has seen steady growth, and it now has 38 employees.