Jonathan Jarvis Shares Exciting News About Our Flooring Franchise’s New Giveback Opportunity

Now, there is one more way that our executive team members and Franchise Owners can make a difference, both locally and around the world. We just launched the First Fruits Fund, a nonprofit arm of Footprints Floors created to help people in need. We sat down with our Director of Franchise Onboarding and Training, Jonathan Jarvis, to learn about the exciting details behind our new Giveback Opportunity to celebrate our home flooring franchise’s success by paying it forward. Here’s what he had to say:

Can you please give us a quick overview of the First Fruits Fund, how it works, and who it helps?

Of course! The First Fruits Fund exists to serve as the charitable wing of Footprints Floors Franchise, primarily at the corporate level. Bryan Park, the Founder and CEO of Footprints Floors, has long had a vision of giving back a percentage of his company’s profits to help and support nonprofit organizations that share our same values.

With the recent growth of Footprints Floors Franchise on a national level, that vision has finally taken shape. Bryan’s commitment has been to donate 25% of the company’s profits each year to a Donor Advised Fund that we have created through the NCF (National Christian Foundation).

Starting out slowly, our internal advisory group has initially selected three organizations that are working within the three target areas we value as a group. Those three target areas are Holistic Family Care, At-Risk Youth and Orphan Prevention. The nonprofit organizations we have chosen to partner with, both locally and globally, are Hope’s Promise, World Orphans, and Open Door Ministries.

Footprints Floors is uniquely positioned to help Franchise Owners build a successful business and achieve personal financial freedom, but more importantly it can serve as a vessel for Franchise Owners to make a real difference in their communities and beyond. How does First Fruits enhance your company values of faith, family and outstanding service

We do this by pursuing integrity, honesty, and transparency, while also treating each and every person we interact with with respect and dignity. We truly love our Franchise Owners, and invest in our relationships with them not just as people in a system, but as friends and family. So as an extension of that foundation, The Footprints First Fruits Fund is a natural expression of what we at a corporate level believe and hold dear to us. We believe that we have been blessed by God in order to be a blessing to others, and with so much hurt and brokenness in the world, the First Fruits Fund has an amazing opportunity to step into the needs we see by giving back, both financially, as well as with our time and talents when possible.

For Franchise Owners who want to give back to their communities and share the “fruits of their labor” with local nonprofit organizations, how does First Fruits help them accomplish this goal?

At the corporate level, we love and support our Franchise Owners giving back to organizations they are passionate about. We encourage generosity on all levels with regard to Franchise Owners sharing the fruits of their labor with nonprofit organizations in their community, and we do not actually stipulate that they be faith or Christian based. We do, however, ask that they not be organizations of a controversial nature, in which association with these organizations could be deemed detrimental to the Footprints Floors franchise brand as a whole.

As part of our Footprints First Fruits Fund, we will have a pool of money set aside for miscellaneous giving outside of our three partnering organizations, which could be used to give to special initiatives or opportunities Franchise Owners present — provided it fits within our values and target areas. But long-term partnerships will be initiated and maintained at the corporate level.

One really interesting aspect of First Fruits is that it can help give back to people in a Franchise Owner’s local community, but can also help people across the world. Can you talk about some of the ways this fund can reach people on an international level?

We recognize that many organizations are tackling important issues right here in the U.S., and that we can come alongside and support them. But we also want to be aware and attuned to the global interconnectedness of the world right now. This even plays into the flooring industry as a whole, in that a lot of products, research and development, and sundries are made outside of the U.S. on a global scale.

One of the goals when creating the fund was to find organizations that are locally based and serve the local community, while also having an international aspect to their organization. Two of the three organizations we partner with are based here in Colorado, but also have operations in at least four other countries each. For us, this is the best of both worlds. The organizations being based here means they are working and serving our local communities, while also giving the Footprints Floors corporate team opportunities to join in fundraisers, and volunteer at events, giving our employees opportunities to give back with their time and talents as well. I envision the possibility of trips being taken to other countries in the future to build schools, install floors in children’s homes or things like that. But that is still way off in the future for us.

How does an organization connect with First Fruits to receive funding? Do they need to be nominated by a Franchise Owner?

As of right now, we initiated the partnership with each organization we are working with, and we will most likely maintain it like that for the time being. I think we prefer to dive deep rather than be spread thin, meaning, initially as we start out at least, that we prefer to invest in a smaller number of organizations, and really get behind them and get our people to buy into what they are doing, versus just writing checks to dozens of organizations. So as of now, we will have our main three, with a special miscellaneous pool of funds that can be used for one-time initiatives or causes that might be brought to our attention by a Franchise Owner. But long-term partnerships with nonprofit organizations will be maintained and initiated at the corporate level of Footprints Floors Franchise. 

In addition to funding, can you please talk about some of the other acts of service Franchise Owners can participate in through the First Fruits program?

The organizations we have partnered with are Colorado-based, so unless a Franchise Owner lives here, or is visiting, it might be hard to volunteer at the local level. We at corporate have helped refinish and paint rooms in one of the homes that Open Door Ministries uses to house single moms entering into their transitional housing/residential program. 

We also helped organize some furniture donations and other needed items for women coming into the program with infants. We plan to meet more tangible needs as our relationship with them develops. 

We have also helped sponsor and volunteer at several fundraising events. A way that a Franchise Owner might be able to help or volunteer is if we initiate trips out of the country. That could be a very fun way to involve Franchise Owners across America. 

Finally, for those who are considering investing in a Footprints Floors franchise, how does your unique business model help Franchise Owners achieve a healthy balance between work, family, church, volunteering and any other important aspects of their lives?

We see so many men and women being awarded a franchise because they want more control of their lives, and they want to be more present with their families. This, along with financial independence, is probably the biggest driver of the majority of our Franchise Owners. 

Our business model is amazing because it can really be tailored to the goals of the individual running the business. It can be cranked up to 11, and you can work 50-60 hours a week and make a great income, or you can keep it at a more modest 40 hours a week and enjoy being home more, scheduling estimates around soccer games, vacations, recitals, etc. all while still making a nice income. 

Not to say there isn’t stress involved in owning a franchise, but the best part is that the business model is designed in a way that what you put into it is likely what you get out of it. Being your own boss is amazing because you have the ability to dictate the balance you want in life between business and family. Footprints Floors Franchise is a great option for anyone wanting to gain more control over their lives and are looking to reprioritize family and find joy in their work again. 

The First Fruits Fund is just one more way Jonathan Jarvis, Bryan Park and the rest of the corporate leadership team at Footprints Floors strive to make a difference in people’s lives. For Franchise Owners, the leadership team offers so much more than corporate support — the team has a vested interest in each Franchise Owner as an individual, and truly wants to help them succeed in any way they can.

If owning a business is something you’ve always dreamed of doing, but you also don’t want to go it alone, good news — you don’t have to! Footprints Floors is a national flooring franchise that offers world-class support and commitment to each and every Franchise Owner, while still allowing them to set their own schedules and make time for the priorities in life, like family and faith. We’re selling out fast in major U.S. markets but still have some franchises to award to like-minded investors. Take a tour of our flooring franchise website today to learn more about us and find out how you can get started with our Franchise Discovery Process.