DFA Membership Handbook

CONGRATULATIONS – As a DFA member, you support economic vitality downtown and access exclusive benefits!

While DFA membership is designed to create an ROI without any further effort on your part,

Enjoy the additional benefits below to maximize your investment!

DFA Membership Handbook

Connect through DFA's in-person and online community:

  1. Book a call or visit with DFA Director anytime HERE>
  2. Join the DFA FB Group for on-the-fly updates HERE>
  3. Member-wide meetings take place the 1st Thursday morning of each month, with an additional special event hosted on 3rd Thursdays (Masterminds, Masterclasses, and Mixers once/quarter). Learn more about events that apply to you:

PUBLIC CALENDARS 

  • City of Franklin – HERE 
  • Visit Franklin – HERE 
  • Downtown Franklin Association – HERE 
  • Heritage Foundation of Williamson County – HERE 

NOTABLE EVENTS 

  1. The Art Crawl/Scene (by the Williamson County Arts Council) – First Friday of each month from 6-9pm downtown. Free event with free trolley rides.  
  2. Main Street Festival (by the Heritage Foundation and DFA) – This year, to be held on April 26-27, 2025. Free street festival in Historic Downtown Franklin with music, arts & craft vendors, beer tent, food vendors, children’s activities, etc. Shuttle Service from off-site parking lots available.  
  3. Franklin Rodeo & Parade (by the Franklin Noon Rotary Club) – May 10, 2025, is this annual parade on Main Street. May 15-17, 2025, is the rodeo at Williamson County Ag Expo. 
  4. Franklin on the Fourth (by the Lions Club) – Patriotic festival on the 4th of July each year in Downtown Franklin, sponsored by the Franklin Lions Club, with arts, crafts, food, and entertainment. The event concludes with incredible fireworks display at the Park at Harlinsdale Farm. 
  5. Bluegrass Along the Harpeth – This year, to be held July 25-26, 2025, on the Public Square. Musical festival featuring Bluegrass music, fiddling, buck dancing, crafts, food and more. 
  6. Pilgrimage Music Festival – This year, to be held on September 27-28, 2025, at The Park at Harlinsdale Farm 
  7. PumpkinFest™ (by the Heritage Foundation and DFA) – This year, to be held on October 25, 2025. Free street festival in Historic Downtown Franklin with music, arts & craft vendors, food vendors, children’s activities, etc. Costume contest for humans and pets, beer tent, pumpkin carving demonstrations, and photo ops. Shuttle Service from offsite parking lots available.  
  8. Wine Down Main Street (by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee) – This year, to be held on November 1, 2025. Purchase tickets to enjoy tastings at sites throughout Historic Downtown Franklin. Benefitting the Boys & Girls Club of Middle Tennessee. 
  9. City Christmas Tree Lighting (by the City of Franklin) – This year, to be held on December 5, 2025. Typically, the first Friday of December. Free event with live entertainment, photos with Santa and more!  
  10. Small Business Saturday – hosted annually the Saturday after Thanksgiving in collaboration with American Express, encouraging everyone to Shop Local and Shop Small!
  11. Hop and Shop Trolley (by the Heritage Foundation and DFA) – Enjoy riding the trolley free on most Saturdays between Thanksgiving and Christmas transporting shoppers from The Factory to Historic Downtown Franklin and back.  
  12. Christmas Parade (by the Downtown Franklin Rotary) – This year, to be held on December 6, 2024. Typically, the first Saturday of December. 
  13. Dickens of a Christmas (by the Heritage Foundation and DFA) – This year, held on December 12-13, 2025. Free street festival in Historic Downtown Franklin with music, arts & craft vendors, food vendors, children’s activities, etc. Musicians, dancers and characters fill the streets! Victorian dress or holiday attire encouraged. Live artisan demonstrations, town sing of Christmas carols. Shuttle Service from off-site parking lots available. 

Build your brand and promote your sales, events, etc.

  1. Submit an upcoming event to the community calendar HERE>
  2. Spotlight your business at a DFA member meeting by sponsoring HERE>(business members only)
  3. Promote your content on our social media channels HERE> (As a member, you'll be included in our annual storytelling, and you'll be featured more frequently by sharing your content with us, too!)
  4. You'll be listed in the online directory HERE within a month of member enrollment (this directory is also advertised on the way finding signs on Main Street).
  5. You'll appear on the Downtown Franklin Awards ballot for public vote in January.
  6. Download and display your digital membership trust badge for your websites, emails, etc. HERE.
  7. If your business provides business services, you'll be listed on the Smart Start™ Guide HERE>
  8. Ask us about discounted promotional opps for DFA members with our media partners and discounted Ribbon Cuttings for DFA members with Williamson Inc.!
  9. Mark your calendars to book a festival booth for the on sale dates below (Business members only. Nonprofit members can apply for a free community partner booth with the Heritage Foundation). 

2025 EARLY BIRD ON SALES (reserved for ground level storefront DFA businesses within the festival footprint):

  1. Main Street Festival – January 13, 11am
  2. PumpkinFest – June 2, 11am
  3. Dickens – August 5, 11am

2025 FULL PRICE ON SALES (reserved for any remaining DFA businesses that would like a booth):

  1. Main Street Festival – February 3, 11am
  2. PumpkinFest – July 7, 11am
  3. Dickens – September 1, 11am

Access downtown news, info, and tools:

  1. Click HERE to access DFA's resource library.
  2. Watch DFA's monthly newsletter for funding resources.
  3. View the Smart Start™ guide for downtown business HERE>

Small Business Support:

The Heritage Foundation of Williamson County/DFA has partnered with Retail Strategies to provide virtual, on-demand Small Business Support training for locally owned businesses in our community.

The Small Business Support program features training videos, downloadable resources, and a chat forum focused on five (5) learning paths that will assist your business in modernizing and improving. The learning paths include:

  • Business Modernization
  • Omni-channel Retail Strategies
  • Restaurant Resilience
  • Property Owner Training
  • Holiday Trends & Outlook

Learners can earn customized certificates for completing each learning path, and badges and other incentives can be earned for daily log-in, downloading resources, and completing individual courses.

All courses and materials will be delivered on-demand through this self-led learning management system. The Heritage Foundation of Williamson County has invested in this program on your behalf, so there is no fee for your business to participate in these training courses. Your business will have access to these courses and resources for 12 months from the date of enrollment.

To enroll, please click the following link, enter your email address and create your own unique password to access the resources in this platform:

https://tnecd.learnupon.com/users/sign_up

If you receive an error message that your email is already in use, then your account was created during our initial batch upload process. Please use the following link and information to access your account and then you will be prompted to create a unique password:

https://tnecd.learnupon.com/users/sign_in

  • Username: your email
  • Password: smallbusiness1

After you create your password, you will be prompted to answer a few short questions about your business (such as business name, sector, and community name,) which will promptly enroll you in our customized learning platform.

Once enrolled, you can access the platform via desktop, tablet or mobile. We encourage you to bookmark the platform URL on your desktop for easy access. Additionally, if desired, you may download an app to give you quick access to your unique account on the learning platform from a mobile device. App information is provided below.

Be sure to check-out the Forum in the platform, which is an internal message board where you can communicate with instructors and other learners to share questions, wins, challenges, or how you plan to use the training information in your own business. The Retail Strategies team monitors the platform daily to connect you to the proper instructor if you have questions about the content. There is also a library of resources for easy downloading found at the Resources tab.

Finally, the Retail Strategies team acts as the Customer Support team, so if you have a question about your account, need to reset your password, or need assistance with navigating the platform, you can reach out to them directly. Their contact information is provided below.

If you have additional questions or wish to opt-out of this program and subsequent emails, please contact me directly or the Retail Strategies team.

We are excited to bring you this opportunity!

Link to Enroll in Small Business Support (no cost)

https://tnecd.learnupon.com/users/sign_up

Portal Information

  • Your portal name: TNECD
  • When you login on desktop or app you may be asked for you URL/Portal name, it is best to save the website or your login information to prevent doing this each time.

App Login Instructions

  • Go to iOS App Store or Google Play to download the LearnUpon mobile app
  • Open the app and enter the URL for the portal you would like to access:
    • TNECD.learnupon.com
  • Enter your Email ID and Password (must be enrolled in platform to log-in on the app)
  • Once you have entered the portal, you will be able to access your Dashboard and learning paths that you have been enrolled in.

 

Customer Support

Taylor Turner, Client Services Manager
Retail Strategies
tturner@retailstrategies.com

Exclusive offers and savings with the Heritage Foundation:

Influence downtown culture, development, festivals, and advocacy:

  • Inform our advocacy work regarding zoning, codes, safety, parking, taxes, etc., HERE>
  • Shape the future of downtown – participate in meetings, masterminds, exclusive surveys, etc.
  • Learn about DFA committee projects to see where you can get involved. (hhood@williamsonheritage.org)

Annual Bonus: