ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Domino's Pizza (NYSE: DPZ) knows that there would not be pizza if we didn't have farmers. Now the recognized world leader in pizza delivery is supporting students interested in a future in agriculture by making a commitment to donate $1 million over five years to the National FFA Organization.
FFA is an intra-curricular student organization for youth interested in agriculture, whose mission is to promote premier leadership, personal growth and career success, while growing leaders, building communities and strengthening agriculture.
"There is no Domino's without the dairy, tomato, wheat and other farmers across the United States working hard every day to produce the food we serve. We want to do something other than say we support the farming community, we want to make a commitment to an organization that is making a difference," said Tim McIntyre, Domino's executive vice president of communication and investor relations. "A commitment to FFA is a commitment to supporting the future of agriculture."
The five-year commitment will begin in 2017. Each year, the gift will help fund collegiate scholarships to students aspiring to further their education after high school, as well as grants for supervised agriculture experiences. Supervised agriculture experiences are for students in grades 7-11, who demonstrate financial need, and are planning activities outside of class to gain hands-on experience and develop skills in agriculturally-related areas. The gift will also assist agriculture literacy and advocacy programs, and FFA's Living to Serve platform that supports hunger and environmental initiatives in local communities and states.
"Building a relationship with Domino's is very important to FFA, and we sincerely appreciate their generous financial support," said Mark Poeschl, CEO of the National FFA Organization and Foundation. "When such a prominent and widely recognized national consumer brand recognizes the producers and suppliers of their food ingredients, agricultural educators and FFA members are inspired to initiate a dialogue with consumers about where their food is produced. In that way, Domino's contributions help FFA achieve our vision of growing leaders, building communities and strengthening agriculture."
About Domino's Pizza®
Founded in 1960, Domino's Pizza is the recognized world leader in pizza delivery, with a significant business in carryout pizza. It ranks among the world's top public restaurant brands with a global enterprise of more than 12,900 stores in over 80 markets. Domino's had global retail sales of over $9.9 billion in 2015, with more than $4.8 billion in the U.S. and nearly $5.1 billion internationally. In the second quarter of 2016, Domino's had global retail sales of over $2.4 billion, with nearly $1.2 billion in the U.S. and over $1.2 billion internationally. Its system is comprised of independent franchise owners who accounted for over 97% of Domino's stores as of the second quarter of 2016. Emphasis on technology innovation helped Domino's generate over 50% of U.S. sales from digital channels at the end of 2015, and an estimated $4.7 billion annually in global digital sales. Domino's features an ordering app lineup that covers nearly 95% of the U.S. smartphone market and recently introduced several innovative ordering platforms, including Zero-click Ordering, Samsung Smart TV®, Apple Watch and Amazon Echo, as well as Twitter and text message using a pizza emoji. In late 2015, Domino's announced the design and launch of the DXP®, a purpose-built pizza delivery vehicle, as well as its first digital customer loyalty program.
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About National FFA Organization
The National FFA Organization is a national youth organization of 649,355 student members as part of 7,859 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The FFA mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. The National FFA Organization operates under a federal charter granted by the 81st United States Congress and it is an integral part of public instruction in agriculture. The U.S. Department of Education provides leadership and helps set direction for FFA as a service to state and local agricultural education programs. For more, visit the National FFA Organization online at FFA.org and on Facebook, Twitter and the official National FFA Organization blog.
About National FFA Foundation
The National FFA Foundation builds partnerships with industry, education, government, other foundations and individuals to secure financial resources that recognize FFA member achievements, develop student leaders and support the future of agricultural education. Governed by a 19-member board of trustees comprised of educators, business leaders, individual donors and FFA Alumni, the foundation is a separately registered nonprofit organization. About 82 percent of every dollar received by the foundation supports FFA members and agricultural education opportunities. For more, visit FFA.org/Give.
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SOURCE Domino's Pizza
Jenny Fouracre, Domino's, 734-930-3620, jenny.fouracre@dominos.com
