International Franchise Association’s Franchising Pride Council Co-founders Paul Pickett and Mark Jameson formed the council with an idea in mind: taking action to accomplish equity and inclusivity goals.
It’s about “making sure that everyone is welcome, everyone feels welcome and supported and is treated equitably,” Pickett said. Pickett is the chief development officer of Wild Birds Unlimited.
The Pride Council formed in 2019, and there was a lot of interest, Pickett said, but when the pandemic hit, they had to put the group on the backburner.
Paul Pickett is chief development officer of Wild Birds Unlimited.
Now, there are about 25 members and Pickett said there are more people who’ve expressed interest in joining. They’re working on creating subcommittees related to marketing, outreach, education and more.
His goal is to educate franchisors and franchisees on how to “welcome and engage and embrace and celebrate the LBGTQ+ community within your individual franchises to” make “all of our brands richer by having more diversity within.”
“There’s also good financial reasons for the business community and franchising in general to be inclusive,” Pickett said. “We need to share that information and help other franchisors truly mean this, but also put in place what is necessary to show” that different genders and sexualities are welcome.
The Pride Council has hosted webinars on topics such as gender identity and gender fluidity with groups like the Phluid Project.
Dogdrop Co-founders Greer Wilk, left, and Shaina Denny raised $2.9 million in Series A funding last year.
Dogdrop Co-founder and CEO Shaina Denny recently joined the council and is looking forward to contributing more to its efforts. Franchisors often provide resources or special offers to groups like veterans or women business owners.
“I think, as for us, taking it to the next step as well, full inclusivity, we haven’t really seen someone do that in this space. So, we’re really excited,” Denny said.
Dogdrop, a doggie daycare franchise founded in 2019, strives to be a diverse and welcoming franchisor.
“I think it comes from showing that rather than just saying it,” Denny said. “We really want to say, Hey, this is a place where we’re not just adding people to check a box. But this is, from the leadership all the way down, all the way through, this is part of our core DNA.”
The brand went through a round of Series A funding last year, which led to $2.9 million in investments from Mars PetCare, Fuel Capital and more.
Oakscale Franchise Development CEO Joshua Kovacs joined the Pride Council because he wanted to do more for the LGBTQ+ community in the franchising space.
Oakscale Franchise Development CEO Joshua Kovacs joined the Pride Council because he wanted to do more for the LGBTQ+ community in the franchising space. “It’s a great network,” he said. “It’s still very early on, and it’s been great just connecting with others in the space that care.”