2018 Year in Review

What a year it's been! We’ve secured numerous business and legislative successes for franchising over the past 12 months. These 10 highlights represent just a glimpse of the achievements for 2018 – see more in our 2018 Year in Review Facebook album.

1. Taxes

Building on the momentum of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in late 2017, franchise businesses continued to invest in local economies, hire more workers and increase pay around the U.S. during 2018. The legislation resulted in saving $8 billion in federal taxes for franchise businesses. Learn more.

2. Events

2018 featured the highest number of attendees for all our events. The Franchise Action Network Annual Meeting drew more than 425 advocates to Capitol Hill. We launched a new Operations Seminar that sold out. The Franchise Marketing Innovation & Technology Conference (MITcon) debuted with new branding. Can you believe it’s almost time for the IFA 2019 Annual Convention?

3. Joint Employer

The National Labor Relations Board is considering joint employer rulemaking, a big win for franchising! IFA will continue to work with the NLRB in support of a clear, pro-business rule. Comments on joint employer are being accepted until Tuesday, Jan. 22. Send your comments with this easy-to-use form.

4. International Advancement

IFA continued to spread the reach of the franchise business model across the globe. Among the recent highlights include President and CEO Robert Cresanti, CFE, speaking at the Global Restaurant Leadership Conference in November, and Josh Merin, CFE, leading trade missions and appearing on Egyptian TV program, “This is the Capital.”

5. Quarterly Member Call

We want you to get the most out of your IFA membership, so we started a quarterly IFA Member Update Call to answer your questions in real time and give you access to all the benefits available through membership. Didn’t get a chance to hop on the call in October? Listen here.

6. Association Health Plans

Our leadership worked directly with the U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta and the Department of Labor to advance Association Health Plans, which allows smaller employers to band together to purchase the types of coverage only available to large companies. The bottom line: improved health coverage options for franchises. Read more.

7. Diversity Study

Franchising continues to be a hub for entry into business ownership among minority groups. Our Foundation’s Diversity Institute published a report, “Franchised Business Ownership by Minority and Gender Groups,” that shows higher rates of ownership among minorities than in non-franchise businesses. Learn more.

8. FASB

More than 80 IFA members sent a letter to Congress and an IFA task force asked the Financial Accounting Standards Board to fix an issue with revenue recognition for franchises. FASB issued educational guidance as a direct result. Without the guidance, FRANdata estimated that more than 104,000 franchises would go bankrupt or close within 3 years, and 1.1 million jobs would be lost. Learn more.

9. FranPAC

IFA’s political action committee raised more than $1.18 million through Nov. 6, an increase from 2017 of more than $220,000. FranPAC supported a total of 244 candidates, achieving a success rate of 82 percent.

10. You

Yes, you are IFA. Our members are the association. All these things are not possible without your help. We do all this because you are part of a franchise community that treats each other like family. Here’s to a highly successful and profitable 2019 for you and all our wonderful members!