An association management company (AMC) provides management and specialized administrative services to trade associations and professional societies using a for-profit approach that runs not-for-profit associations like businesses.

AMCs manage associations of varying sizes (from 10 members to 10,000 members) and annual budgets (from $50,000 to $16 million). The AMC model affords association clients the characteristics of economies of scale, experience in the association marketplace, flexibility and adaptability, buying power and centralized facilities.

AMCs typically provide strategic planning, financial management, executive management, membership development, marketing and public relations, educational and professional development, meeting and event planning, among other services.

An association management company (AMC) is a professional service company that specializes in providing management services for associations on a fee-for-service basis.  AMCs provide the professional staff, administrative support, office space, technology, and equipment an association needs to operate efficiently.  An association management company typically manages several associations from one company location, providing a wide range of benefits including shared technology systems, access to expert specialized staff, and shared purchasing power. 

The association management company industry is more than 110 years old.  Today, there are over 600 AMCs worldwide that collectively manage associations ranging in budget size from $50,000 to $16 million and representing more than 3 million members.  Regardless of the size, industry, and membership type of your association, there is likely an AMC that has experience with an organization like yours.

Traditionally, associations have hired their own executive directors and staff, secured their own facilities, and managed their own assets. The trend today, however, is for trade and professional associations to engage an association management company (AMC). This trend reflects the growing need to cut costs, promote efficiency, share resources, and access expertise. A 1995 study commissioned by the Association Management Company Education Foundation and the International Association of Association Management Companies took a close look at how elected leaders select and evaluate management. When researchers assessed AMCs versus other management forms, they found that AMCs, in most instances, provided the greatest value to their client associations. In fact, AMCs were rated as equal to or superior to other management forms on more than 89 percent of the survey criteria. (Surveys were sent to the elected leaders of 1,962 associations; 440 leaders completed and returned the surveys. The study, Re-Assessing Effective Association Management: 1995 Survey of Elected Leaders, was conducted by Sumaria I. Mohan-Neill, Ph.D., and Alan G. Krabbenhoft, Ph.D., both of the Walter E. Heller College of Business Administration, Roosevelt University, Chicago.)Although selecting a management company that is right for your association may seem overwhelming, it does not need to be an onerous task. This document was developed to assist you in that process, particularly in regard to soliciting potential AMCs, evaluating management proposals, conducting interviews with firms, selecting the firm that's best for your organization, developing the contractual arrangement, and transitioning the activities of your association to its new management. Read the Study Here.