The
National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is a lobbying organization with offices in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
USA, and in all 50
stateA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
capitals. NFIB claims a membership base of about 350,000, down from an excess of more than 600,000 members. NFIB's lobbying efforts are focused on the impact of current and proposed legislation on small and independent businesses, and professional practices at all levels of government, but primarily at the federal and state levels.
NFIB was founded by C.
The
National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is a lobbying organization with offices in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
USA, and in all 50
stateA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
capitals. NFIB claims a membership base of about 350,000, down from an excess of more than 600,000 members. NFIB's lobbying efforts are focused on the impact of current and proposed legislation on small and independent businesses, and professional practices at all levels of government, but primarily at the federal and state levels.
History
NFIB was founded by C. Wilson Harder in 1943 and maintained its headquarters in
San Mateo, CaliforniaSan Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, and Belmont to the south...
until 1992 when it was re-located to
Nashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state...
.
Beginning in its earliest history, NFIB's positions were determined by a polling of its membership. Periodic ballots (referred to as Mandates) were mailed to its members who then had an opportunity to vote their opinions on the questions presented. Once the votes were tallied, the majority position became NFIB's position.
In recent years NFIB has supported such items as
tort reformTort reform refers to proposed changes in the civil justice system that would reduce tort litigation or damages. Tort is a system for compensating wrongs and harm done by one party to another's person, property or other protected interests . Tort reform advocates focus on personal injury in...
, repeal of the estate tax, reduction of governmental paperwork, and creation of affordable health insurance plans – by allowing small business to pool resources.
NFIB has grown from an
entrepreneurAn entrepreneur is a person who has possession of an enterprise, or venture, and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome. It is an ambitious leader who combines land, labor, and capital to often create and market new goods or services. ... The term is a loanword...
ial vision in 1943 to a national organization.
FortuneFortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc.'s Fortune|Money Group. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner...
Magazine ranks NFIB as the number one business lobby (third overall) of all advocacy groups. In May 1943, Wilson Harder left his job at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to found NFIB in
Burlingame, CaliforniaBurlingame is a city in San Mateo County, California. It is located on the San Francisco Peninsula and has a significant shoreline on San Francisco Bay. The city is named after diplomat Anson Burlingame. It is renowned for many surviving examples of Victorian architecture and its high residential...
, (and later moved to
San MateoSan Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is one of the larger suburbs on the San Francisco Peninsula, located between Burlingame to the north, Foster City to the east, and Belmont to the south...
), because he believed no organization was truly representing the interests of small business. Harder created the Mandate Ballot, sent to members on a regular basis, to get their views on issues affecting their businesses. He then communicated the positions of the members to Congress (and later state legislators). Harder’s NFIB began as a for-profit organization and later became the non-profit it is today.
Harder was succeeded in 1969 by his son John, whom the board replaced six months later with Wilson S. Johnson, who rose through the ranks of the field sales organization. Under Johnson, the NFIB began to gain greater recognition in Washington and by the 1970s, in some state capitals. In the early ’80s, Johnson established the NFIB Foundation. To encourage member involvement, he created Actions Councils, which in 1987 evolved into Guardian Advisory Councils, and are now known as Leadership Councils.
Johnson was succeeded as
presidentPresident is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, trade unions, universities, and countries. Etymologically, a "president" is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
(he remained
boardA board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. The body sometimes has a different name, such as board of trustees, board of governors, board of managers, or executive board...
chairman) by John Sloan in 1983 – the first chief executive to be brought in from outside the organization. Sloan installed a business structure with a sales manager, finance and administration directed by the CFO (both in San Mateo), and a public policy operation directed by a general manager in Washington. The San Mateo office eventually moved to
Nashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is the second most populous city in the state after Memphis. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state...
in 1992.
Sloan believed that to help the field sales force gain entrée to prospects and increase sales it was necessary to put a greater emphasis on media and increase public awareness of the organization. Sloan also increased member contributions to the foundation and the
Political Action CommitteeIn the United States , a Political Action Committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a matter of state and federal law...
.
In 1983, the Federation established the NFIB Member Services Corporation with an initial investment of $10,000 in capital stock. The Corporation is wholly owned by NFIB. Its purpose was (and is) to provide commercial programs to assist member businesses reduce operating costs. Programs included worker’s compensation insurance, health and life insurance, and merchant card processing services.
In 1992, following the death of John Sloan, Jack Faris assumed the role of president and began the shift from a sales driven organization to a member/market driven one. The purpose of NFIB was clearly identified as affecting public policy at the state and federal levels through
politicalPolitics is a process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic and religious institutions...
and
grassrootsA grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it is natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
activismActivism, in a general sense, can be described as intentional action to bring about social change, political change, economic justice, or environmental wellbeing...
and lobbying in an integrated and coordinated manner.
During the Faris years, more emphasis was placed on giving personal attention to the member. In the past few years, NFIB has accelerated efforts to encourage activist involvement. A new management structure of five regions was created. Additional staff was added to raise the level of awareness of NFIB at the state level and encourage member activism, including direct political activism through an enhanced political department. Marketing, media and grassroots/political support are now managed within the regions – with the result being a higher level of member involvement, considerably more earned media attention and a higher political profile.
NFIB established region headquarters in
DallasDallas , with a population of 1,279,910, is the third-largest city in Texas and the 8th-largest in the United States. The city is the main economic center of the 12-county Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area that according to the March 2009 U.S. Census Bureau release, had a population of...
,
ColumbusColumbus is the capital and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is the county seat of Franklin County, although parts of the city also extend into Delaware and Fairfield counties...
,
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, Nashville, Tennessee and Silver Spring, Maryland. Each region is operated as a business unit and has the ultimate responsibility for member growth and retention in the region.
Jack Faris announced his retirement in early 2005. The board formed a search committee and selected Todd A. Stottlemyer as the 5th President of NFIB. Mr. Stottlemyer took over the reins of NFIB on February 15, 2006 with a goal of improving NFIB's non-partisan reach and technology infrastructure. The regional offices set up under the Faris administration were disbanded by Stottlemyer.
See also
- Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe
BUSINESSEUROPE - the Confederation of European Business - formerly the Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe , is a Brussels-based European association of industries and employers. It was founded in 1958 to drive the creation of the European Union as a free trade zone...
(UNICE, now BusinessEurope)
- European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
The European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises or UEAPME is an umbrella group for unions of SMEs.It represents the interests of European crafts, trades and SMEs at EU level. UEAPME is a recognised European Social Partner...