International Franchise Association’s Social Sector Task Force Launches Mentorship Program for Environmental Enterprises

Top Professionals in the Franchising Community Donate Time to Help Entrepreneurs Grow Using Franchise Methods

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Ashley Davidson
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(WASHINGTON, D.C.) March 27, 2020 -- The International Franchise Association’s (IFA) Social Sector Task Force has launched a mentorship program to help entrepreneurs leading environmental enterprises grow their organizations leveraging methods used in the franchise business model.
 
The IFA Social Sector Task Force is seeking entrepreneurs with existing businesses focused on one or more of the following sectors to join its new mentoring program: solar power and electric grids, clean water, sanitation systems, food waste management, agriculture, transportation, and recycling.
 
“Social sector franchising creates opportunities for local entrepreneurs to deliver a variety of products and services to underserved communities worldwide, while creating much-needed jobs. The Task Force’s goal is to bring together leading franchisors, franchisees, and suppliers and leverage their expertise in commercial franchising to help social sector concepts grow more efficiently and sustainably,” said Marla Rosner, chair of the IFA Social Sector Task Force and Senior Learning and Development Consultant at MSA Worldwide.

Over the last 10 years, members of the IFA Social Sector Task Force have mentored a variety of social enterprises around the globe, sharing their knowledge of and expertise in everything from franchise system management and development, to consumer marketing, training, operations, business analytics, legal and financial services, pricing strategies, and more.  
 
In 2017, the co-founders of WSV — an organization that helps entrepreneurs establish pre-designed and highly impactful community run businesses — worked with the IFA Social Sector Task Force address their challenges, including shortening the lengthy timeline for launching new partnerships with NGOs.
 
“Since participating in the Task Force’s mentoring program, WSV has grown multiple social sector concepts to offer to NGOs to franchise in their communities,” said co-founder Adam Boxer. “We used the Task Force’s expertise in franchising to do a deep dive into all the different areas of our business — looking at franchising, law, funding, and documentation — to identify holes and areas we should be looking at that we haven’t thought of. As a result, we discovered loads of things to develop.”
 
Entrepreneurs interested in applying for the IFA Social Sector Task Force’s mentoring program can contact Lori Kiser at [email protected]. For more information on the Task Force or for IFA members interested in becoming a mentor, visit http://www.socialsectorfranchising.org.
 
About the IFA Social Sector Franchising Task Force
The Social Sector Franchising Task Force was established by the International Franchise Association (IFA) in 2009 as a platform to advance and leverage the use of commercial franchising methods and technology to serve the needs of the social franchising community. It was founded by Michael Seid, founder and managing director of MSA Worldwide and  former member of the IFA Board of Directors. The Task Force is composed of leading franchisors, franchisees, and professionals in commercial franchising whose goal is to help social sector franchisors and other NGOs become more effective and efficient in achieving their goals through the principles of franchising. For more information, visit http://www.socialsectorfranchising.org.
 
About the International Franchise Association
Celebrating 60 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. 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.
 
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