Does Beverly Anns Cookie assume a fiduciary duty to franchisees regarding the Brand Fund?

We may reimburse ourselves, our authorized representatives, or our affiliate from the Brand Fund for administrative costs, independent audits, reasonable accounting, bookkeeping, reporting and legal expenses, taxes, and all other reasonable direct or indirect expenses that may be incurred by us or our authorized representatives and associated with the programs funded by the Brand Fund. We assume no fiduciary duty to you or other direct or indirect liability or obligation to collect amounts due to the Brand Fund or to maintain, direct, or administer the Brand Fund. Any unused funds in any calendar year will be applied to the following year's funds, and we reserve the right to contribute or loan additional funds to the Brand Fund on any terms we deem reasonable. Because we do not have this fund audited, audited financial statements are not available to Beverly Ann's franchisees. We will provide to you each year an annual accounting for the Brand Fund that shows how the Brand Fund proceeds have been spent for the previous year upon written request (Franchise Agreement – Section 11). We do not guarantee that advertising expenditures from the Brand Fund will benefit you or any other franchisee directly, on a pro rata basis, or at all.

We are not obligated to spend any amount on advertising in the geographical area where you are or will be located. We may use the Brand Fund for local, regional or national marketing, and any other purpose to promote the Beverly Ann's brand. We will not use the Brand Fund payments for advertising that is principally a solicitation for the sale of Franchises, but we reserve the right to include a notation in any advertisement indicating "Franchises Available" or similar phrasing. During our most recent fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, we did not collect and Brand Fund fees.

Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEM, AND TRAINING (FDD pages 37–43)