2024 IFA Diversity Institute Impact Report by International Franchise Association

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Letter from IFA President & CEO, Matt Haller

Greetings!

It is with great pleasure that I present the 2024 IFA Diversity Institute Impact Report. As a key component of the IFA Foundation, the Diversity Institute plays an integral role in carrying out IFA’s mission to protect, enhance, and promote franchising.

In this report, you’ll find details on the IFA Foundation’s newly launched franchise accelerator program, the IFA Franchise Ascension Initiative. This six-month program is aimed at preparing individuals from underrepresented groups and economically disadvantaged communities with the education, mentorship, resources, and support needed to launch a career in franchise ownership. The Initiative has come to life in 2024 through the generous support of our donors and our mentors and through the incredible talent of our first cohort, which is moving through the rigorous training courses designed by the IFA’s education team through the remainder of 2024. In addition to preparing 17 qualified individuals for a future in franchise ownership, the Franchise Ascension Initiative has boosted franchise awareness in diverse communities while also supporting IFA’s many franchise brands in finding new, diverse franchise candidates. It is a true win-win-win, and you will learn more about this amazing initiative and its impact in the following pages.

Throughout this report, you’ll also find the results of the ongoing work of the Diversity Institute across the nation and with our partner organizations, such as the US Black Chambers, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), Prosper Forum, and the Savoy Leadership Forum. Working with this diverse collection of organizations further advances the IFA mission and carries the great news about franchising into new echo chambers around the country. We are thankful for a great group of partners, and looking forward to another year of work together.

We appreciate your support of the IFA, the IFA Foundation, and this incredible business model. Please feel encouraged to share this report with anyone interested in our IFA Diversity Institute, and reach out to David Smith dsmith@franchise.org on our team if you have any questions or would like to get more involved.

Matt Haller President & CEO International Franchise Association

Diversity Institute Mission

The IFA Diversity Institute provides outreach and education that fosters diversity and inclusion within franchising and serves as a catalyst for communities to recognize the life-changing opportunities provided by the franchise business model.

Diversity Institute Committee Members

Carolyn Thurston Wisdom Senior Care

Pamela Gore Dine Brands

Cassandra Hill Choice Hotels Owners Council

Earsa Jackson Clark Hill

Aslam Khan Falcon Holdings

Paul Pickett Wild Birds Unlimited

LaTonia Pouncey The Pouncey Group IFA Foundation

Javier Solis Toro Taxes

Richard Snow Bremer Bank Committee Chair

Stan Friedman FRM Solutions

Doug Flaig Stratus Building Solutions

Abhishek Dube Baker & McKenzie, LLP

Joelle Delva Dream Vacations

Emily Allen Home Instead, an Honor Company

John Lancaster Choice Hotels

Alesia Visconti FranServe, Inc.

IFA Affinity Group Councils

The IFA Diversity Institute is home to three (3) Affinity Group Councils, which are established to foster awareness, advance inclusion, and promote diversity within the franchising community. Each Affinity Group Council is led by a chairperson and executive committee. Participation in any of the Councils is open to all interested IFA members.

BLACK FRANCHISE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL (BFLC)

The BFLC will continue to bring awareness of the franchise model opportunity for generational wealth creation. We will continue to eliminate the barriers of education and capital by supporting, participating and producing programs around these areas for Black entrepreneurs. We will increase the amount of BFLC participation in government relations. We will be present and willing to participate at IFA’s signature events as well as partner with local chambers of commerce and business centers to level the playing field for Black entrepreneurs.

Chair: Carolyn Thurston, President, Wisdom Senior Care

HISPANIC LATINO FRANCHISE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL (HLFLC)

When I initially contacted the IFA to create the Hispanic/Latino Leadership Council, I never thought I would get so much support from the IFA’s President, Matt Haller. My commitment and passion for the Latino community have always been unwavering. Now, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to bring the insights of a franchise system to over 5 million Latino entrepreneurs who are eager to scale their businesses to a franchise level. As the Co-Founder and Chair of the HLFLC, I am responsible for working with the IFA to ensure that the franchise industry’s benefits are disseminated accordingly and that the $3.4 trillion buying power the Latino community has is invested in our entrepreneurs.

Chair: Javier Solis, Co-Founder, Toro Taxes

PRIDE FRANCHISE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL (PFLC)

The PFLC continues to focus on promoting our mission of educating and promoting franchisors, franchisees, suppliers, employees and the franchise community to provide new perspectives and stimulate discussion of LGBTQ+ community in franchising. In 2024, our main focus was to engage with and celebrate the huge number of allies of our community, knowing that fostering allyship begets understanding and inclusivity. Our goals for 2025 include prioritizing content creation and delivery to help others understand how to be more welcoming and engaged with the LGBTQ+ community and why it is so important from a social and fiscal perspective.

Chair:

Paul Pickett, CDO/EVP of Franchising, Wild Birds Unlimited, Inc.

HISPANIC LATINO FRANCHISE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL

New in 2024! IFA Franchise Ascension Initiative

What is it?

The Franchise Ascension Initiative (FAI) is a 6-month accelerator program aimed at preparing qualified individuals from underrepresented groups and economically disadvantaged communities with the education, mentorship, resources, and support to successfully launch a career in franchise ownership.

Vision & Opportunity

The goal of the initiative is to narrow the wealth gap by catalyzing diversity in ownership in franchising.

Franchising is a viable path towards wealth creation for all. Franchise businesses create jobs at a rate of 2.3x as high as non-franchise businesses. Franchising is a successful wealth-generation strategy for historically disadvantaged communities, with Black-owned franchise firms earning 2.2x as much in sales compared to Black-owned independent businesses, on average.

Beyond the meaningful impact the initiative can make on narrowing the wealth gap, the program will increase the diverse franchisee talent pipeline and catalyze scores of qualified, talented entrepreneurs to establish and grow franchise businesses. The program will also expose scores of individuals to the possibilities of franchise ownership and careers in franchising through outreach to underrepresented groups and economically disadvantaged communities during the applicant recruitment process.

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ANNOUNCEMENT AT 2024 CONVENTION

The program was publicly announced during the 2024 IFA Annual Convention to an extremely enthusiastic audience. The application period subsequently opened in the Spring with the goal of finding some new talented candidates.

FOUNDING SPONSOR $250,000+

Raynya & Omar Simmons

FOUNDING PARTNER - $100,000 - $250,000

FOUNDING SUPPORTER - $50,000 - $100,000

David Barr

Grandpre Family

Lafond Family

Brian Schnell

Ivelisse Simon

Mary and Will Thompson

FOUNDING CONTRIBUTER - <$50,000

FAI Learnings & Participation at IFA Signature Events

The FAI inaugural class curriculum includes weekly individual online courses, teambuilding activities, experiential learnings and direct connections to IFA member brands.

Additionally, FAI class members are matched with a mentor, a franchising industry professional, who provides 1-on-1 support to the mentee throughout the program.

Key Topics Covered Include:

• Foundations of Franchising

• Selecting the Right Brand

• Franchise Financing

• Franchise Law

• Marketing

• Leadership Culture & HR

And much more!

David Humphrey

Michael & Jenann Isakson

Paul Pickett & William Powell

FAI class members participate in the IFA Advocacy Summit in September, Emerging Franchisor Conference in November and the IFA Convention in February. This exposure provides unmatched access to the franchise community!

Ready to Apply?

Look out for opportunities to apply to the 2025 cohort here!

2024 Programs

The Diversity Institute programming occurs throughout the year and helps expand IFA’s network by building relationships with successful franchisees, entrepreneurs, community leaders and diverse business associations. Through a combination of virtual and in-person programming, the Diversity Institute reached new audiences, strengthened relationships and expanded pipelines for recruiting more diverse talent into franchising. Programming by

the Numbers

1,016

4,342

3,877

27,155

2024 IFA Annual Convention

This year’s IFA Annual Convention convened a record number of 4,200 attendees! The Diversity Institute was represented throughout the Convention curriculum in a variety of areas. Firstly, the Diversity Institute coordinated a panel session titled, “Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DEI): A step-by-step guide for making it work for you and your company,” where panelists shared insights into how their companies have considered implanting DEI programs in a sustainable fashion. Additionally, the Diversity Institute supported a panel session titled, “How Giving Back is Critical to Franchise Success in Your Community,” where members of VetFran and the Diversity Institute shared their expertise on successful community service initiatives.

We also hosted the Diversity Institute Reception highlighted the work of all the IFA affinity group Councils.

Ronald E. Harrison Award

The Ronald E. Harrison Award recognizes an organization or individual with a demonstrated, tangible commitment to increasing diversity in franchising. The honoree advances active programs to educate, engage, or recruit members of traditionally underserved communities into the franchising community. Their work has served the betterment of the franchise business model and will continue to impact future generations.

This year’s award winner is Paul Pickett, Franchising, Wild Birds Unlimited. Paul is also the co-chair of the Pride Franchise Leadership Council (PFLC). Paul has been an exceptional leader over the years, championing diversity and franchising throughout his work. We recognize and celebrate Paul for this wonderful achievement! Congratulations, Paul!

2024 IFA Advocacy Summit

The Diversity Institute joined members of the Franchise Ascension Initiative for visits with policymakers on Capitol Hill.

Pathways to Franchising: MD

The Pathways to Franchising program is a series of one-day educational events consisting of several panel sessions and networking opportunities curated for franchise opportunity seekers from diverse communities in various cities throughout the year. The IFA Diversity Institute partners with local and regional business organizations in each target city to convene a diverse audience of aspiring entrepreneurs who are interested in learning more about opportunities in franchising.

“Franchising 101,” “Selecting the Right Franchise,” “How to Franchise Your Existing Business,” “Financing Your Franchise,” “Legal Tips for Franchising,” “Real Estate and more. Pathways to Franchising programming continued for the second consecutive year in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Stay tuned for more cities in 2025!

Franchise Expo South

The HLFLC hosted a session titled, “Mastering Success Through which featured Jhonny Mercado, Chairman of the JAI Restaurant Group. Jhonny shared fascinating stories about his franchising journey starting with his early life in Venezuela. Shortly after Jhonny’s entry into the restaurant business, he found himself scaling his franchise operation to over 200 restaurants throughout Central and North America. Following the session, attendees gathered for a reception where they could connect with HLFLC leadership and explore future business opportunities.

Savoy Leadership Forum

IFA moderated a panel at the Savoy Leadership Forum in New York City, NY titled, “Post C-Suite: Franchising As The Second Act of Your Career.” The Savoy network is a premier media company dedicated to ensuring Black Americans are at the forefront of career and board opportunities. Dennis Maple, Chief Executive Officer, The Goddard School and John Lancaster, Vice President, Franchise Development, Choice Hotels shared their experience and expertise on beginning a career in franchising.

Prosper Forum

The Prosper Forum is an intentional community of diverse foodservice and hospitality influencers meeting together to discover, share and extract value. Co-Founded by David Jobe and Luke Kircher, the Prosper Forum consists of four days of networking and education with a community fueling the future of foodservice and hospitality. IFA nominated Lisa Lombardo, President, ARK Holdings and David Smith, Director of Diversity Programs, IFA to join as program “Accelerators.” Forum attendees participated in a series of inspirational general sessions, roundtable discussions and networking events designed towards building the next generation of diverse leaders.

Pride Council Month Campaign

In celebration of Pride Month, throughout the month of June, the PFLC launched a campaign highlighting countless members of the franchising community sharing their personal thoughts on why they are allies to the Pride community. The PFLC collected dozens of videos from supporters and shared their stories on LinkedIn and social media. Take a look at this video to hear from our friends throughout franchising about why they support the PFLC.

Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference (CBCF ALC)

On Friday, September 13, the BFLC hosted the first-ever “Champions during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference (CBCF ALC). The reception was created to strengthen relationships with Members of Congress and promote the work of the Diversity Institute.

Derek J. Ford, President & CEO, Washington, DC Economic

Jarrod Loadholt, Partner, Ice Miller

Richard Snow, Chair, IFA Diversity Institute

Carolyn Thurston, Chair, Black Franchise Leadership Council

View the Recap Video Here

Community Webinars & Member Highlights

The affinity group councils host community webinars on various topics throughout the year. These webinars help spread awareness about franchising and strengthen relationships within the franchise community.