As this edition rolls off the press, I am somewhere between Paihia and Invercargill in a classic mini in the Pork Pie Charity Run. This biennial event raises funds for charity and the 2023 event will again be supporting the wonderful and incredibly important work of KidsCan New Zealand.
Before we rolled out of Paihia, we had raised over $30,000 for Kids Can. A significant proportion of these generous donations have been from franchise systems, franchisees and businesses associated with the franchise sector. We cannot thank them enough!
In 2019 I wrote Use the force for good – https://bopbusinessnews.co.nz/franchising/use-the-force-for-good/ addressing the misconception that franchises are purely big business, highlighting franchising as a significant force of social good. The collective power of mostly small-to-medium businesses provides social support ranging from creating employment through to direct donations and support of a huge variety of social causes.
The Franchising New Zealand 2021 survey provides an excellent insight into the size of the sector’s social contributions. An estimated 590 franchise brands operating in New Zealand operate an estimated 32,357 business units. In addition to employing over 156,000 people and generating revenues of an estimated $58 billion, community support is significant.
The survey data identified the median value contributed by franchise brands to community support and sponsorships was $30 000 per year.
This figure was up by 46% from the 2017 survey, “highlighting higher levels of community support among franchises. 90% of franchise brands return profits back to the community. While franchise brands contribute a median of $30 000 a year to the community, 62% of the franchise brands contribute more than $20 000 per year.”
That adds up to approximately $18 million in contributions to the community.
Closer to home in the Bay of Plenty
Auckland is home to the majority of franchise support offices, but Tauranga is a growing regional hotspot with at least nine franchise brands based here.
One of those brands is Exceed Franchising. They have a fantastic record of supporting local causes including being behind the efforts to have defibrillators placed on Mauao.
For our Pork Pie Charity Run campaign Exceed were behind the challenge to get other franchises to support KidsCan as well as donations from both the corporate office and franchisees.
Others such as The Coffee Club and BurgerFuel have a long history of supporting KidsCan and VIP Home Services and Streetwise Coffee have supported the Pork Pie Charity Run many times.
Most of the brands that have supported our campaign and made donations have franchisees operating in the Bay of Plenty. So, please join us in thanking them for their on-going social contributions and support them when you can.
