The Franchise Center has been the recipient of the following grants and awards:

·         The 1995 National Finalist for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Entrepreneur of the Year Institute, and Center for the Entrepreneurial Leadership Incorporated.

·         The 1995 Coleman Foundation Grant; and the 1996 National Recipient of the Outstanding Innovation of the Year Award for the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE).

·         The Franchise Center is the recipient of the 1998 Leavey Award of The Freedoms Foundation. With this recent award, The Franchise Center is recognized as one of the outstanding entrepreneurial programs in the nation.

·         The Executive Director of The Franchise Center was awarded the Coleman Foundation Scholarships as an entrepreneurship educator for the USASBE Conference in Clearwater Beach, Florida, January 15-18, 1998 the USASBE Conference in San Diego, California, January 14-18, 1999, and the USASBE Conference in San Antonio, Texas, January 16-19 2000.

·         Carolyn Gough accepted the Free Enterprise Award of the International Franchise Association on February 27, 2001. This award, established in 1982, honors individuals or organizations in business, government, the news media or academia who have strengthened and fostered the development of the free enterprise system worldwide.Recipients may or may not be involved in franchising, but it must be demonstrated that he or she, through commentary, public relations, or legislative activity, has championed the growth and development of franchising in the United States and around the world. Past recipients of the Free Enterprise Award include: Michael E. Gerber, Gerber Business Development Corp.; Andy Ireland, Former Member of Congress, House Committee on Small Business; McDonald's Corp.; Brian Mulroney, Prime Minister of Canada; Neil F. Hartigan, Attorney General of Illinois; Maurice H. Stans, Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce; and James J. Blanchard, Governor of Michigan.