Supporting Our Veterans: Ways That Franchises Say "Thank You For Your Service"

By Amanda Palm, Communications Manager, Sport Clips

Supporting a veteran-focused philanthropy can be a win-win for a franchise. It's estimated that more than 200,000 military members return home each year. When the leadership and support team commit to creating initiatives that honor veterans, it gives franchisees, team members and clients the confidence to get on board in saying "thank you" to those who served.

The franchise community is known for its generosity, and there are many examples of it through the International Franchise Associations' Franchising Gives Back Awards. Sport Clips Haircuts has been honored as a recipient for our Haircuts with Heart programs, which is a testament to the hard work and commitment of our team members, clients and partners.

The VFW Sport Clips Haircuts Help A Hero Scholarship campaign demonstrates buy-in and engagement at all levels of the organization to honor active duty service members and veterans. We began the outreach in 2007 with the goal to raise $30,000 for deployed and hospitalized service members to call home through the Veterans of Foreign Wars' "Operation Uplink." As technology made communicating with family and friends easier, Sport Clips worked with the VFW to transition Help A Hero into a scholarship program. Our annual campaign kicks off in mid-October and runs through Veterans Day, with many locations offering free haircuts to veterans and Sport Clips donating a dollar for every haircare service on November 11, Veterans Day. Through the work of Sport Clips stylists, franchisees, area developers, product partners, Support Center staff and the VFW, more than $6M has been raised and 1,450 veterans have used these funds to ease the burden of additional education needed to establish civilian careers.

Making a meaningful difference for veterans through philanthropy takes time, and it’s taken about a decade to grow Help A Hero to its current level. Three things have made this program a success:

1) Brand alignment — As a male-focused haircare provider with locations in all 50 states, aligning with military causes makes sense for Sport Clips. Our Founder and CEO Gordon Logan is a veteran, and military-focused programs have backing from the top of our organization. Supporting veterans is a significant part of our culture. We are the VFW's official haircutter, offer franchise investment discounts through VetFran and support additional military philanthropies.

2) Team member support — Veterans Day outreach aligns with our brand and top-down buy-in gets team members excited about the program. Providing fundraising information and tools equips them for success. Sport Clips distributes a point-of-purchase kit and provides a kiosk donation option to make giving easier for clients.

3) Partnering — Choosing a veteran-focused philanthropic partner with a strong support structure provides an additional avenue for success. Developing and maintaining a philanthropy for an organization takes mindful oversight, which is what VFW brings to the partnership. We also have generous vendor partners that support the campaign through service hours, and product and monetary donations.

There's good reason to initiate veteran-focused charitable partnerships through your franchise. Saying "thank you for your service" on Veterans Day and beyond is a win-win for team members and leadership of your franchise, clients, and, most importantly, the veterans and their families who've served and sacrificed.

To find out more about Sport Clips, click here.