NFIB history

1949 NFSB becomes the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).

1958 The first Mandates are printed on one side of single sheet of paper.

1959 An early employee publication highlights “Sixteen Years of Growth and Progress.”

He was succeeded in 1969 by his son, John Harder, and later that year by Wilson S. Johnson, who formed the member Leadership Councils, which still exist today and are a great way for members to get engaged with advocacy.

1977 Auto dealer Charles Raffone becomes the 500,000 th small business owner to join NFIB.

1986 President Reagan addresses NFIB members.

In 1992, Jack Faris became President following Sloan’s death and clearly defined NFIB’s role in affecting public policy at the state and federal levels through political and grassroots activism, and lobbying lawmakers in an integrated manner.

In 1993, he leads NFIB in the fight of its life: defeating the Clinton health-care employer mandate.

1997 NFIB unveils the Campaign to Abolish the IRS Code in Independence, Missouri.

In 2000, the organization established the NFIB Legal Foundation, which advocates for small business in the courts and strives to educate its members on legal issues.

2001 NFIB and its members help defeat Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s ergonomics regulations that would have cost small-business owners more than $40 billion.

2002 NFIB stages its third Congressional Small Business Summit in Washington, D.C. where Barbara Bush, Dick Cheney, Elaine Chao and other members of President Bush’s staff address NFIB members and staffers.

Issues concerning NFIB in 2003 included tax relief, including permanent repeal of the inheritance tax, affordable health care, medical malpractice law reform, caps on civil suit damages, and affordable high-speed access to the internet.

2004 Hundreds of the nation’s politically active small-business owners converged on Washington, D.C. for the NFIB National Small Business Summit.

2006 Todd A. Stottlemyer becomes the 5 th President of NFIB.

2008 @NFIB launches with currently over 5,000 followers.

2011 The NFIB.com studio launches with breaking interviews covering issues and raising awareness for small businesses.

In 2012 the NFIB was involved in the landmark National Federation of Independent Business et al. v.

In 2013 the NFIB had a membership of about 350,000 independent and small business owners.

Juanita Duggan was named NFIB President and CEO following Danner’s retirement in February 2016.

Close had been serving as Acting President since December 2019 and has been with NFIB for more than 18 years, serving as NFIB’s Senior Vice President for Public Policy prior to becoming the organization’s 8th President and CEO.

Brad Close was named President and CEO of NFIB in February 2020.