Seven Decades of Defending Small Business

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By NFIB, Special for USDR.

On the occasion of the National Federation of Independent Business’ 70^th anniversary, NFIB President and CEO Dan Danner issued the following statement:

“Seventy years ago, the National Federation of Independent Business began its mission to protect the right to own, operate and grow a business. We were founded in 1943 San Mateo, Calif., by C. Wilson Harder, who recognized the need for an organization that would represent the little guy. Since then, NFIB has garnered more members — and earned more credibility — than any other small-business group in history.

“NFIB is a member-driven organization. Our positions are based on a consensus of our small-business members, who are among the most active and engaged members of society. When they visit Capitol Hill or a state Capitol, our elected officials know they aren’t there to represent a handful of board members or any single industry. They’re there on behalf of all independent businesses—the entrepreneurs and small, family-owned companies who drive this economy and have trusted us to represent them since the Roosevelt administration.

“As we celebrate this milestone, we’re also reminded that these challenging economic times raise many questions about the future of entrepreneurism in the United States: What jobs will be available to our children and grandchildren? Will they have an opportunity to be an entrepreneur, or is America set on a path that discourages the kind of risk taking that leads to innovation and economic growth and instead only encourages the growth of big government, big business and big labor? In spite of our nation’s present struggles, we at NFIB continue to work to make America’s entrepreneurs heard in Washington and across the country.

“As the engine of the U.S. economy, small-business owners epitomize the American Dream in every way. We are very fortunate to have such a robust membership that continues to inspire and influence the next generation of entrepreneurs.”

Facts about NFIB:

Founded in 1943, NFIB has been headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., since 1992.
NFIB has a team of lobbyists in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals fighting to give every type of small and independent business a voice in government policy-making.
NFIB is a nonpartisan, nonprofit association, with about 350,000 small and independent business members across the nation.
Public-policy positions are based on the results of our state and federal ballots; we don’t take a position unless there’s a clear consensus among our members.
88 percent of NFIB members have fewer than 20 employees.
The NFIB Small Business Legal Center is the voice of small business in the nation’s courtrooms; SCOTUSblog recently ranked NFIB as the nation’s ninth most-active legal champions in terms of filing briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court.
Since 2003, the NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation has awarded $2.5 million in scholarships to over 2,300 high school seniors who have started their own small businesses.
The NFIB Research Foundation produces the widely-watched Small Business Optimism Index, which has been informing economists and decision makers at the federal, state and local level for 40 years, ensuring that the voice of small business is heard at all levels of government.