Is the Bigfoot Forestry Brand Fund considered a trust?
Bigfoot_Forestry Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
The Brand Fund is not a trust. We have no fiduciary obligations or liability to you with respect to our administration of the Brand Fund. Once established, we may discontinue the Brand Fund on 30 days' notice.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND TRAINING (FDD pages 22–29)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Bigfoot Forestry FDD, the Brand Fund is not a trust. The document explicitly states that Bigfoot Forestry has no fiduciary obligations or liability to franchisees regarding the administration of the Brand Fund. This means that Bigfoot Forestry has considerable discretion in how the fund is managed and spent.
Bigfoot Forestry retains the right to discontinue the Brand Fund with only 30 days' notice. This is a significant consideration for prospective franchisees, as it means the marketing support provided by the fund could be altered or eliminated.
Franchisees should be aware that while an unaudited financial accounting of Brand Fund contributions and expenditures will be prepared annually and made available upon request, the Brand Fund is not managed as a trust. This arrangement gives Bigfoot Forestry greater flexibility but less accountability compared to a formal trust structure, which typically has stricter legal requirements for fund management and franchisee representation.