FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Jenna Weisbord, 310-995-0839
jweisbord@franchise.org
@franchising411

[Washington, D.C.] (November 7, 2017) – The International Franchise Association’s (IFA) Franchise Education & Research Foundation has joined #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving by individuals, companies and organizations to philanthropy and to celebrate generosity worldwide. This year, the IFA Foundation is raising awareness and fundraising for the work that it does for veterans, millennials, and underserved communities in promoting franchising.

Occurring on November 28, #GivingTuesday is held annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (in the US) and the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday to kick off the holiday giving season and inspire people to collaborate in improving their local communities and to give back in impactful ways to the charities and causes they support.

“We are very excited to be participating in this global movement,” said IFA Foundation President, Mary Heitman. “This movement aligns with the Foundation’s Franchising Gives Back campaign, which highlights the amazing work that local franchisees do to give back to local communities.”

By participating in #GivingTuesday, the IFA Foundation seeks to raise funds to support its flagship initiatives. These funds will specifically go to the VetFran Program to connect veterans with careers in franchising, and educating companies on the imperative of hiring veterans. Funds will also go to Diversity Institute for education and outreach programs and scholarships. The campaign will additionally benefit the NextGen in Franchising program which provides scholarships, mentorship programs and creates a talent pipeline into the IFA for aspiring young entrepreneurs. Supporting IFA’s #GivingTuesday campaign supports the larger franchising industry.

Those who are interested in joining IFA’s #GivingTuesday initiative can visit www.franchisegiving.org. Donations in any amount are accepted through November 28, corporate sponsorships offering multi-platform visibility are available, and a toolkit for sharing our message can be found here.

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About the IFA Franchise Education & Research Foundation

Founded in 1983, the International Franchise Association (IFA) Franchise Education & Research Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt organization and supported through the generous contributions of IFA members and others. The Foundation's mission is to advance franchising and the free enterprise system by increasing the knowledge and professional standards of all members of the franchising community; educating the next generation of franchise practitioners; increasing recognition of franchising's key role in the free enterprise system; and providing comprehensive information and research about important developments and trends in franchising.

About the International Franchise Association

Celebrating 56 years of excellence, education and advocacy, the International Franchise Association is the world's oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising and the more than 733,000 franchise establishments that support nearly 7.6 million direct jobs, $674.3 billion of economic output for the U.S. economy and 2.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees and companies that support the industry in marketing, law, technology and business development.