Can Card My Yard use the advertising fund to cover salaries and administrative costs?

According to Card My Yard's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the company has the authority to use the marketing fund to cover certain operational expenses. Specifically, Card My Yard can use the fund to pay for reasonable salaries, administrative costs, travel expenses, and overhead that they incur while administering the fund and its related programs. These programs include conducting market research, preparing advertising and marketing materials, and managing the collection and accounting of contributions to the fund.

This means that while the primary purpose of the marketing fund is to promote the Card My Yard brand, a portion of the funds can be allocated to cover the franchisor's costs associated with managing the fund itself. This is a fairly standard practice in franchising, as it allows the franchisor to offset some of the expenses related to marketing and advertising efforts. However, it's important to note that these expenses must be reasonable and directly related to the administration of the fund.

For a prospective Card My Yard franchisee, this information provides transparency into how the marketing fund is managed and how contributions are utilized. While franchisees contribute to the fund with the expectation that it will be used for advertising and marketing, they should also be aware that a portion of their contributions may be used to cover administrative costs. Franchisees may want to inquire about the typical percentage of the fund used for these purposes to better understand how their contributions are being allocated.