The Goddard School Receives TopScore FUND Award for Second Consecutive Year

Presented by FRANdata, honor recognizes commitment to supporting franchisees' access to financing.

The Goddard School^®, the nation’s leading premium early childhood education provider, was honored by FRANdata as a 2024 TopScore FUND Award winner at the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference in Las Vegas. The annual award, which The Goddard School also received in 2023, is presented to franchisors with the highest FUND scores, which indicates a strong commitment to supporting their franchisees' access to financing. 

The Goddard School earned an industry-leading FUND score of 930 in 2024. For franchise systems with high scores, lenders are inclined to offer better lending terms to franchisees. The TopScore FUND Award was created to highlight brands that have risen above their peers by simplifying the financing process while understanding and improving key performance metrics that lenders look for when lending.

“It is an honor for The Goddard School to receive the TopScore FUND Award for the second year in a row,” said Kevin Brickner, vice president of franchise sales, Goddard Systems, LLC, the manager of The Goddard School franchise system. “As a franchisor, we are steadfastly committed to setting our franchisees up for success. This recognition reflects both our world-class franchisee support and the continued strength of The Goddard School system.”

The FUND score is a franchise credit risk score which rates 12 categories such as franchise business success rates, unit profitability and franchisee support. The FUND scoring system is embraced by banks of all sizes that collectively represent over five trillion dollars in assets. Used in conjunction with an assessment of the franchisee borrower, lenders can determine the overall risk profile associated with a loan, set appropriate terms and establish appropriate loan capital reserves.

In addition to the TopScore FUND Award, recent accolades underscoring the strength of The Goddard School brand include ranking #70—the highest-ranking childcare provider—in the 2023 Franchise Times Top 400, ranking #68 in Entrepreneur’s 2024 Franchise 500 and corresponding induction into the outlet’s Hall of Fame, as well as inclusion in Franchise Business Review’s 2024 Top 200 Franchises and Top Franchises for Women. 

For more information about The Goddard School, please visit GoddardSchool.com, and to learn about franchise opportunities, go to GoddardSchoolFranchise.com.