How is an AMC different from hiring someone from our industry (a retired board member, for instance) to run our association?

    In addition to the potentially significant financial savings, an AMC usually has people who are experts in the areas of meeting planning, publishing, membership development, strategic planning, not-for-profit financial management, government relations, and more. Your retired Board member will almost certainly know your industry or group and its concerns better than AMC personnel, but he or she probably will not have the experience most associations need to conduct the major business of the association.
    To get the best of both worlds, many associations contract with an AMC for day-to-day management, but hire a knowledgeable industry person as a consultant.