2015 Awards Winners

Spirit of Franchising Award

Denny’s / Gold Winner

In 2014, nearly 1,400 Denny’s restaurants nationwide sold coupons in support of No Kid Hungry’s efforts to help more than 16 million American children who struggle with hunger. For a $3 donation, guests received $9 worth of coupons redeemable at participating Denny’s restaurants and every dollar donated helped feed a child up to 10 healthy meals. In 2014, Denny’s raised nearly $945,000 for No Kid Hungry and since 2011, the company has donated more than $2.3 million in total to the campaign. Visit site.

Massage Envy / Silver Winner

Massage Envy took home the Silver Spirit of Franchising Award in recognition for its highly impactful Healing Hands for Arthritis® (HHFA) program. With the joint purpose to help people feel their best by conquering every day battles, Massage Envy and the Arthritis Foundation leveraged their national partnership to host the fifth annual Healing Hands for Arthritis® this year. In the past four years the event has raised over $3 million for the Arthritis Foundation to fund the important scientific discoveries that create a path for new treatments and a cure. Visit site.

Sport Clips Haircuts / Silver Winner

Sport Clips Haircuts was also a Silver Winner of the Spirit of Franchising Award for its “Saving Lives Never Looked So Good!” campaign, a month-long partnership between the company and the American Red Cross Blood Services during which a free haircut coupon is provided to blood and platelet donors in exchange for their lifesaving gift. Following last year’s effort, the Red Cross had a net increase of 1.7 percent in donations over the previous year and collected enough units to potentially save 1.2 million lives. This year’s “Saving Lives” campaign is currently running and will go through September 30. Visit site.

Enduring Impact Award

Jersey Mike’s / Gold Winner

Since 2011, Jersey Mike’s restaurants across the country have championed a Month of Giving program in March where guests can make a donation to a charity partner chosen with care by the franchise owner.  The campaign culminates on Jersey Mike’s Day of Giving, a daylong, nationwide event where 100 percent of the proceeds of the day’s sales were donated to each local charity.  In five years, Jersey Mike’s raised more than $8.3 million. Visit site.

Marriott International / Silver Winner

Marriott International was recognized as a Silver Winner of the Enduring Impact Award in honor of its sponsorship of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. To benefit the organization, hotels throughout the country have hosted events including the Marriott Bear cause marketing campaign, golf tournaments, car washes, bake sales, Miracle Challenge, breakfast campaigns, Aquafina water campaign and more. Marriott was the organization’s first corporate sponsor in 1983, and since then has donated more than $100 million to the cause, with $4.2 million donated in 2014 alone. Visit site.

The Melting Pot / Silver Winner

In honor of its work benefiting the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®, The Melting Pot was named a Silver Winner of the Enduring Impact Award. Each year from October through December, guests have the opportunity to make a donation, receiving a Donate and Dine gift card for every $10 donated with one hundred percent of the proceeds donated directly to St. Jude, along with a portion of proceeds from signature chocolate fondue wafers. Since 2003, the company has raised more than $9 million for the organization, and raised nearly $100,000 in 2014 at its annual the Melting Pot Golf Classic. Additionally, each year the top fundraising team members are sent to Memphis to tour St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and host a special fondue party for parents and patients. Visit site.

Support Our Veterans Award

CertaPro Painters / Gold Winner

CertaPro Painters kicked off a campaign to support Homes for Our Troops (HFOT), a privately funded nonprofit organization building specially adapted, mortgage-free homes nationwide for the most severely injured veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. CertaPro became one of HFOT’s national sponsors, committing to raising $200,000 in funds and donations of its painting services by the end of 2014. CertaPro Painters exceeded its goal by raising $260,000 and an additional $160,000 through in-kind donations. Visit site.

CKE Restaurant Holdings / Silver Winner

In recognition for its annual Stars for Heroes fundraising campaign, CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc. received the Silver Support Our Veterans Award. As part of the initiative, participating Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurants nationwide raise money to benefit our nation’s active duty military, veterans and their families through designated national charity partners including Dream Foundation and USA Cares, as well as dozens of regional and local military-focused charities such as Stand Up and Play, a non-profit organization that helps individuals with impaired mobility to be able to stand up and participate in daily events with a paramobile unit. In 2014 alone, the program raised $1.1 million. Since its inception in 2011, the program has raised more than $3.5 million. Earlier this year, CKE partnered up with the Gary Sinise Foundation, which does incredible work serving men and women in uniform. Visit site.

Golden Corral Buffet / Silver Winner

Golden Corral was also a Silver Support Our Veterans Award honoree in recognition of the Camp Corral Foundation, a free, one-of-a-kind summer camp for children of wounded, disabled or fallen military service members. Started in 2011 with a pilot program in one location for 310 children, the program has continually grown to provide more and more children with this one-of-a-kind experience, and in 2015 the company hosted 23 one-week camps in 19 states providing services for more than 3,200 military kids ages 8 to 15. Visit site.

The Newcomer Award

Church’s Chicken / Gold Winner

In 2014, Church’s Partners Foundation, the charitable arm of Church’s Chicken, launched the Church’s Scholars Program to provide $1,000 scholarships for students to use toward college tuition at an accredited two-year or four-year college, university or vocational/trade school. In 2014, Church’s Partners Foundation awarded $50,000 in scholarships to students in Texas, and in 2015, $175,000 in scholarships was awarded to students in 18 states. Funds for the scholarships are raised in part by contributions from franchisees and company-owned restaurants, including profits generated from coupon books that are sold through Church’s restaurants. Visit site.

Moe’s Southwest Grill / Silver Winner

Moe’s Southwest Grill has been named a Silver Winner of the Newcomer Award in honor of its fundraising efforts benefiting the Taylor County Sheriff’s Department. The company raised more than $8,000 for the department, allowing the organization to acquire a new police dog, which was named “Moe” in honor of the restaurant’s contribution. Moe has since become a huge asset to the police department as a drug dog and for his search and rescue capabilities. Visit site.

SOLDIERFIT / Silver Winner

SOLDIERFIT is also a Silver Winner recipient of the Newcomer Award in honor of its work benefit 22 Needs A Face, a non-profit organization committed to working against the number of service member suicides. SOLDIERFIT launched a three-pronged attack to combat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and suicide among veterans. Through events that cater to the veteran community, SOLDIERFIT seeks to restore the camaraderie in hopes that the increased interaction with individuals who can relate to their experiences, veterans will find an outlet where they have an opportunity to open up. As part of the initiative, the company partnered with the “Beer, Bacon, and Music” event in Frederick, Maryland and raised a total of $6,000, half of which was donated to the Mental Health Association of Frederick’s Crisis Call Center. The donation was triple the amount of yearly funding the organization typically receives. To date, the company has donated $30,000, 760 volunteer hours and $3,000 in-kind services to the cause. Visit site.

Innovation and Impact Award

Figaro’s Italian Pizza, Inc. / Gold Winner

Each pizza box promotes the H.E.L.P. program where a portion of every dollar spent is contributed to a local school. Figaro’s matches every dollar donated by franchisees.  Figaro’s itself has contributed more than $92,000 to H.E.L.P., while suppliers and others, including Figaro’s staff, have contributed $45,000 as well.  Since launching the charity less than five years ago, H.E.L.P., has issued over 400 grant awards totaling more than $94,000 to help with musical instrument repair, music camp scholarships, summer reading programs, library books, shoes for needy students, sports equipment, school field trips, and CD players for school reading programs. Visit site.

Jibu / Silver Winner

Jibu, a network of water franchises, received the Silver Innovation and Impact Award in honor of its water program, which strives to address the drinking water crisis and unemployment in the underserved communities of East Africa. Jibu provides entrepreneurs a way to launch a storefront that can draw water from any source, filter it and seal it in re-usable bottles, all for less than what it costs to traditionally purchase charcoal required to boil water and at a fraction of the cost of the cheapest commercially bottled water. Since launching in January 2015, Jibu has opened nearly two franchises per month and created approximately 50 new jobs, providing 20,000 people with access to safe water and drastically reducing water-borne illness. Visit site.

Wingstop / Silver Winner

Wingstop is also a Silver honoree of the Innovation and Impact Award in recognition of its charitable project the Wingstop Flavor Tour. Wingstop toured the United States this summer with the #WingstopTour. Led by Wingstop on Wheels, the company’s new food truck, the mission of the tour was to serve flavor and bring goodwill to communities that have embraced the Wingstop brand. In ten cities across the country, Wingstop worked with local NBA teams and charities to give back through community renewal projects and charity events. In June, the tour kicked off in Brooklyn and traveled to Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles before ending in San Antonio. During the tour, Wingstop fed thousands of people in under-served neighborhoods, donated over $250,000 to local charities and partnered with organizations such as the Brooklyn Nets, the Dallas Mavs Foundation, the Golden State Warriors, the Lakers Youth Foundation, Hands on Atlanta, and several food banks as well as Boys & Girls Clubs to give back to local communities. Visit site.