Dave Scypinski
Has a veritable glut of
meetings industry foundations exhausted the generosity of
charitable donors such as American Airlines, GES Exposition
Services, Hilton and Hyatt? A “foundation funding task force”
assembled by Dave Scypinski, senior vice president for industry
relations with White Plains, N.Y.-based Starwood Hotels and Resorts
Worldwide, posed this question at a tense April 25 sit-down with
meetings industry leaders in Washington, D.C.
“The question is, how can we change the funding model to not go
into the same pockets, to broaden the fund-raising base and be more
efficient?” Scypinski told M&C. “The big frustration
is that typically there are 15 to 20 pockets that are always
tapped -- hotel companies, airlines and the large exhibition
companies -- but as you sit on multiple foundation boards, project
funding inside each organization looks similar, with a degree of
overlap and therefore a waste of money.”
The meeting included representatives from the American Society
of Association Executives, Destination Marketing Association
International, the International Association for Exhibition
Management, the National Business Travel Association and the
Professional Convention Management Association.
“The industry groups did not call this meeting, the hotel
community called it,” said John H. Graham IV, CAE, president and
CEO of ASAE. “But there has been interest for more collaboration
among foundations where there might be areas of overlap.” However,
Graham noted, “We at the Center for Association Leadership and ASAE
do think we’re very unique in the community. Different
organizations do represent different constituencies.”
Foundations such as the CAL, MPI Foundation and PCMA Education
Foundation conduct education programs and research to benefit their
members and promote the meetings industry. As one example, the PCMA
Education Foundation in 2005 supported scholarships; a textbook for
the Certified Meeting Professional certification; programs for
CEOs, senior planners and suppliers; and the Convention Industry
Council’s Accepted Practices Exchange. Such efforts were funded by
$797,162 in donations raised in the previous year at gala dinners
and golf outings.
What do the corporate donors, under pressure to show return on
investment, get for giving to foundations? “We’re in these programs
for two things,” says Scypinski. “To network -- to have our
salespeople meet customers -- and we’re there to book business if
it’s appropriate.”
Industry foundations assert that donations provide real
payback. “There hasn’t been sufficient consideration by donors
about what constitutes return on investment,” says Steven Hacker,
CAE, president of IAEM. “A foundation is a good place to build
awareness, burnish a brand image and sponsor research. But if your
objective is increased sales, maybe you should think about
advertising.”