During which fiscal year does Marble Slab Creamery plan to use all contributions to and earnings of the Fund?
Marble_Slab_Creamery Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
We plan to use all contributions to and earnings of the Fund on advertising/promotion during the same fiscal year that we receive the contributions and earnings. If excess amounts are in the Fund at the end of a fiscal year, we will spend the remaining funds in the following fiscal year(s), first out of accumulated earnings from previous years, next out of earnings in the current year, and then from contributions. We may spend in any year an amount greater than the aggregate contributions to the Fund, and may cause the Fund to borrow funds to cover deficits. If we or an affiliate advances money to the Fund, it will be entitled to be reimbursed for its advances plus interest.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND TRAINING (FDD pages 53–62)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Marble Slab Creamery's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the company plans to use all contributions to and earnings of the advertising fund during the same fiscal year in which they are received. This means that the money franchisees contribute, along with any earnings the fund generates, will be used for advertising and promotion within that same year.
However, Marble Slab Creamery states that if there are excess amounts in the fund at the end of the fiscal year, these remaining funds will be spent in the following fiscal year(s). The funds will be spent first out of accumulated earnings from previous years, then out of earnings in the current year, and finally from contributions.
Marble Slab Creamery also retains the right to spend more than the aggregate contributions to the fund in any given year and may even borrow funds to cover deficits. This provides Marble Slab Creamery with flexibility in managing advertising expenditures, but it also means that the amount spent on advertising in a particular year may not directly correlate with the contributions made by franchisees during that year.