Sean Carlson Perry, founder of an eponymous Brooklyn, New York-based full-service design firm, has worked on high-end residential and commercial interiors, luxury retail projects, graphics, and furniture design. Perry, 31, is also the founder of Design Exchange, a new project to create comfortable living environments for those in need.

Working with two part-time interns and a handful of volunteers and subcontractors, Perry helps provide formerly homeless individuals and families, including those coming out of shelters, with the basics for their living space, including furniture, project materials, and free design services. For every project completed for one of Perry’s paying clients, 10 percent of the design fee is donated to Design Exchange. In order for the model to work, Perry has partnered with nonprofits such as The Ali Forney Center and Bottomless Closet NYC and launched a Design Exchange crowdfunding campaign to help cover start-up costs and to fund the first two projects.