Will the Gravy Train Slow Down?

Industry associations might have gone to the same well once too often. Now, sponsors' growing dissatisfaction with being repeatedly asked to donate to a myriad of foundations and charitable efforts may be coming to a head.

David Scypinski, senior vice president of industry relations for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, has called an April 25 meeting that will be attended by other industry suppliers and groups like the Intl. Assn. for Exhibition Management, Professional Convention Management Assn., Meeting Professionals Intl. and American Society of Assn. Executives & the Center.

Scypinski, a former chairman of the MPI Foundation board, and others involved are being tightlipped, but some planning to attend said the associations could be asked to consolidate their individual 501(c)(3) foundations, to which industry suppliers frequently are asked to contribute thousands of dollars.

Although general service contractor Freeman plans to continue as an active financial donor to industry foundations, company President Joseph Popolo Jr. supports consolidating the foundations.

"It is clearly our preference to consolidate the industry foundations into a single foundation that would be about the education of the meetings business, providing consolidated industry research and providing one voice for furthering the issues that our industry may have that are both political and of a business nature," he said.

Freeman and GES Exposition Services said they would send representatives to the meeting. But Richard Green, Scypinski's counterpart at Marriott Intl., said he had not been invited.

IAEM President Steven Hacker said exchanging ideas sounded worthwhile. "From what I understand, it's an exploratory meeting to discuss issues. I'm going to hear ideas and presumably respond to ideas."

Hacker added, "I'm going in with a complete open mind to see what the nature of the discussion is."

PCMA President and CEO Deborah Sexton will attend the meeting, said group spokeswoman Sandy Eitel, who noted that Sexton believed the meeting was meant to be an informal discussion.

Representatives from ASAE & the Center will also attend, said spokesman Chris Vest. Although reports have suggested that the group is planning a $10 million fundraising effort, Vest said financial goals for the campaign have yet to be solidified. Last month, the Center's board voted to move forward with a capital campaign. The ASAE board will take up the issue March 22.

MPI will also be in attendance. Spokeswoman Kelly Schultz said the group supports "the idea of collaborating with our partners in the industry, especially when it comes to fundraising efforts." She also noted that the MPI and PCMA foundations have had conversations in the past about supporting each other.

The time is right to discuss these matters, Popolo said, because the primary burden of funding multiple industry foundations has fallen to a few companies.

"In spite of the best efforts to get other business segments to give, and even get association and corporate members to give, the major funds have come from just a few leading industry companies," Popolo said. "That burden has become too great, and the ROI is not there to continue this practice."

This is not the first time this issue has come up. Last spring, shortly after a proposed merger between IAEM and the Society of Independent Show Organizers fell through, Freeman and GES voiced to TSW their disappointment at the lost opportunity to consolidate funding of industry associations and their affiliated events and foundations.

At the time, Donald S. Freeman Jr., chairman and CEO of Freeman, said, "I was disappointed, because I think we missed some opportunities to consolidate some industry programs."