IFA’s SmallBusinessLendingHub.com Garners Two Awards for Creativity in Design and Communications
For immediate release
Contact:
Alisa Harrison, 202-628-8000
Matthew Haller, 202-662-0770
aharrison@franchise.org
mhaller@franchise.org
twitter.com/franchising411
WASHINGTON, Jan. 13-The International Franchise Association today announced it has received two awards recognizing the Web site
SmallBusinessLendingHub.com
, a clearinghouse of information about franchising and small business lending, as part of the IFA’s Small Business Lending Campaign launched in 2011 to address a 20 percent lending shortfall facing franchise businesses.
The awards include a MarCom Award and a Silver Davey Award. The MarCom Award is a creative competition for any individual or company involved in the concept, writing and design of print, visual, audio and web materials and programs. The annual International Davey Awards, judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, honor the achievements of the “Creative Davids” who derive their strength from big ideas, rather than stratospheric budgets.
“We are truly honored to receive these awards to recognize the work IFA continues to do to with the lending community to boost credit access for franchise small businesses,” said IFA President & CEO Steve Caldeira. “Access to credit remains the number one challenge facing the franchise industry and connecting prospective franchise borrowers with lenders on the Internet is one way IFA is helping its members grow in a still challenging economic and public policy environment.”
In 2011, IFA launched a Small Business Lending Campaign in conjunction with the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA), CIT, National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders (NAGGL), and the National Restaurant Association (NRA) to address the projected decrease in lending to franchise businesses and identify solutions going forward. IFA will be holding a second Small Business Lending Summit in April of 2012.
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About the International Franchise Association
The International Franchise Association is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. Celebrating over 50 years of excellence, education and advocacy, IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising. Through its media awareness campaign highlighting the theme, Franchising: Building Local Businesses, One Opportunity at a Time, IFA promotes the economic impact of the more than 825,000 franchise establishments, which support nearly 18 million jobs and $2.1 trillion of economic output for the U.S. economy. IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees and companies that support the industry in marketing, law and business development.