BALTIMORE, July 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) announced
today its partnership with Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:
DNKN), the parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, to
create a Diversity Franchising Initiative to increase the number of
African-American owned franchise businesses in the United States. Through the partnership,
Dunkin' Brands and the NAACP will collaborate to offer people of
color in-depth franchising education and training as well as
assistance in overcoming the financial challenges related to
becoming a franchise owner. The partnership was announced at the
NAACP's 105th Annual Convention in Las Vegas.
"Franchising can be a powerful economic tool that further
enables the African-American community and others to realize the
American dream of business ownership," said Cornell William Brooks, President and CEO of the
NAACP. "We are excited to announce this unique partnership with
Dunkin' Brands and to improve opportunities for people of color in
the franchising sector because of the substantial impact these
agreements have on empowering and employing people of color."
"The Dunkin' Brands Diversity in Franchising Initiative will
provide education, networking opportunities and information on
critical topics including access to capital," said Dedrick Muhammad, senior director of the NAACP
Economic Department. "Ultimately, we hope this program helps
to increase the number of African-American franchise business
owners in the U.S in both the short and long term."
This initiative is a part of Dunkin' Brands' ongoing efforts to
provide resources to help qualified franchisee candidates overcome
barriers associated with financing, including providing guidance on
business plan development, facilitating access to capital, and
forging relationships with local community lenders.
"We are proud to launch this partnership with the NAACP. Working
together, our goal is to increase African American participation in
the franchise industry, not just with Dunkin' Donuts and
Baskin-Robbins, but across a wide spectrum of franchising concepts
available in the marketplace," said Grant
Benson, CFE, vice president of global franchising and
business development, Dunkin' Brands. "Additionally, we believe
this partnership will enable Dunkin' Brands to build a larger, more
diverse pool of franchise candidates, accelerate our expansion in
new and existing markets, and continue to build customer loyalty
for our two brands across the
country."
About the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People (NAACP) Economic Department
The NAACP Economic Department was relaunched in 2011 and
currently has four program areas: Fair Lending, Economic Education,
Opportunity and Diversity, and Community Economic
Development. The NAACP Economic Department is dedicated to
ensuring that "every person will have equal opportunity to achieve
economic success, sustainability, and financial security." Learn
more about the NAACP Economic work here.
About National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People (NAACP)
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's
oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its
members throughout the United
States and the world are the premier advocates for civil
rights in their communities. You can read more about the NAACP's
work and our five "Game Changer" issue areas here.
About Dunkin' Brands
With more than 18,000 points of
distribution in nearly 60 countries worldwide, Dunkin' Brands
Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: DNKN) is one of the world's leading
franchisors of quick service restaurants (QSR) serving hot and cold
coffee and baked goods, as well as hard-serve ice cream. At the end
of fiscal 2013, Dunkin' Brands' nearly 100 percent franchised
business model included nearly 11,000 Dunkin' Donuts restaurants
and 7,300 Baskin-Robbins restaurants. Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. is
headquartered in Canton, Mass.
Contact:
Rachel Tabacnic
Fish Consulting
rtabacnic@fish-consulting.com
954-893-9150
Nicole Kenney
NAACP
nkenney@naacpnet.org
410-336-4559
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SOURCE National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People (NAACP)