Aila Karpio
Association management companies have been around for a long time. However, they may not all be called AMCs, but for instance administrative support or service providers, or use a generic name like “associates” or “group.” Many meeting and conference management companies also offer association management services to their clients. And there are many freelance administrators who started by working part-time for one not-for-profit, gradually added more clients and grew to an association management company.
An association management company (AMC) is not a B2B firm but a professional service company that specializes in providing management services to associations and other not-for-profits on a fee-for-service basis. An AMC can be a full-service organization supporting a board of directors in running their not-for-profit and implementing their strategic plan. They can also be an organization that offers various support services in a customized program, depending on the society’s needs.
Why choose an association management company over an in-house administrator?
Both take care of the day-to-day activities of a not-for-profit organization while allowing the directors and committee members the ability to focus on strategic goals and core issues. Typically though, an AMC manages several associations from one company location, providing a wide range of benefits including shared technology systems and purchasing power. An in-house administrator is seldom so knowledgeable that he or she excels in member recruitment, event management, financial planning, marketing etc. An AMC, on the other hand, has staff and contractors with these specific skills. It is able to leverage its resources and its customers reap the benefits.
The goal of an association management company is to take the burden off the volunteer board and committee members and free more time for them to concentrate on the reasons why the society exists.
Aila Karpio, CMM
President
Spets Association Management Ltd.
www.spets.ca
