THE IFA PRIDE FRANCHISE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL

By Paul Pickett, Wild Birds Unlimited, Inc.

June is Pride Month, a month-long celebration that highlights the call for increased unity, equality and visibility for the LGBTQ+ community.

Why is this an important month to all of us in the world of franchising? According to the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, LGBT-run businesses contribute more than $1.7 trillion to the US economy. We need the members of the LGBTQ+ community to know that our franchise community welcomes the LGBTQ+ community and that there is a place at the franchise table for everyone.

The mission of the Pride Franchise Leadership Council (PFLC) is to:

• Advance inclusion in franchising. Educate franchisors, franchisees, suppliers, employees and the franchise community to provide new perspectives and stimulate discussion of LGBTQ+ community in franchising.
• Foster awareness, understanding and access to franchise opportunities for LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs and employees.
• Create and maintain an organizational culture where inclusion and diversity are valued.

With Pride Month upon us, we are very excited to share the progress of the International Franchise Association Foundation’s Pride Franchise Leadership Council’s (PFLC) progress and future plans.

Over the past year, we have made some great strides and got much accomplished.

In case you missed it, with the support of Silvercrest Advertising, we produced a webinar that aired on May 3, 2023, on how franchise brands can best celebrate Pride Month, to integrate Pride initiatives and support the brand’s LGBTQ+ teams and clients without pink-washing. The webinar featured a number of brand ambassadors who shared their individual strategies and programs to help other brands navigate this celebration in way that is authentic, and yet sensitive to those who may not understand why inclusion of the LBGTQ+ community is so important.

Over the past year, we have made some great strides and got much accomplished.

From a logistic standpoint, we finalized our official logo, implemented our three membership sub-committees, launched our LinkedIn page, produced two well-attended webinars and were featured in multiple trade-associated articles and podcasts.

Last June, we produced our first “Preparing Your Brand to Celebrate Pride Month” webinar with a great panel of experts who shared their stories, strategies and successes on how they navigated Pride Month and shared their learnings with the audience. Members of the PFLC were also featured on a Pillars of Franchising podcast, focusing on the importance of our allies who support the LGBTQ+ community and how they can support inclusion of this and all other underserved communities in a way that elevates all.

In July, the inaugural season of the IFA’s sponsored podcast, “Franchise Voice,” featured an episode focused on the PFLC mission, goals and advice on how brands can be more inclusive of this community and why it is so important.

The Pride Franchise Leadership Council brings awareness to the fact that franchising welcomes the LGBTQ+ community and franchising can be an open and inclusive space.

 We also had the great privilege of interviewing Rob Smith, CEO/founder of The Phluid Project, GET Phluid & Phluid Phoundation, on both the social and business value of embracing gender fluidity and why companies, franchised or not, must tend to this issue in order to attract and retain employees, especially those members of the Gen-Z contingent. This IFA Foundation/ PFLC sponsored webinar gave great insight into why embracing gender fluidity in the workplace is going to be a requirement for businesses who want to grow and thrive. Rob’s insight and practical tips on how to make this happen were focused, entertaining and helpful.

At the 2023 IFA Annual Convention, we held a PFLC reception that was well attended by existing PFLC members and a number of other convention attendees who wanted to learn more about what our council was accomplishing and how they could help our mission. A highlight of the reception was a visit by Charlie Chase, the past IFA Chair, who took time out of his busy convention schedule to thank us, motivate us and share in the celebrations of our accomplishments.

These are just a few of the things that the PFLC accomplished in the last year, and we are very excited about some of our new upcoming initiatives, including working with the IFA team to update our website with information-rich content, success stories and updates on the work that we are doing.

We are in talks with the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce about future collaborations in order to promote the value of franchising to their membership and developing a long-term relationship with them to help promote our mission, collaborate on the value of entrepreneurship/ franchising within this community and find ways to share our aligned messaging within the LGBTQ+ community.

The Pride Franchise Leadership Council brings awareness to the fact that franchising welcomes the LGBTQ+ community and franchising can be an open and inclusive space. We are making a difference in sharing our stories, letting people know that there is room for all in franchising and making franchising a better, more inclusive and safe space. For more information, please reach out to David Smith at [email protected]. 

Paul Pickett is the chief development officer and EVP of franchising at Wild Birds Unlimited, Inc. For more information about IFA franchisor member Wild Birds Unlimited, Inc., please visit franchise.org/franchise-opportunities/wild-birdsunlimited-inc.