Affinity Strategies

What Affinity Strategies does

Affinity Strategies is a privately held, Illinois-based professional services firm specializing in association management for healthcare and medical subspecialty associations. Founded by Elizabeth Schumacher, a four-time kidney transplant recipient and former board member of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and the National Kidney Foundation, the firm operates as an "Association Accelerator" providing executive leadership, strategic planning, corporate governance, financial management, educational programming, community engagement, industry relations, meetings and events, and strategic marketing services to client associations.

The firm's service delivery is built around its proprietary Accelerator Model methodology and a full bench of specialized VPs covering client services, meeting strategies, strategic partnerships, and marketing, supported by a core partnership with Bellenfant, PLLC for nonprofit accounting and tax services. Named clients span otolaryngology (SENTAC, SOHN, COSM, ABEA), dermatology (SDNP, ISSVD), radiology, dysphagia research (DRS), and women's health (HERmedicine). The firm does not develop proprietary software and relies on industry-standard association management practices rather than technology platforms.

Affinity generates revenue through professional services engagements structured as retainers or contracts with nonprofit healthcare associations, sold via a consultative, direct sales motion. Its geographic footprint is concentrated in Illinois with no disclosed expansion beyond a domestic, single-country market, and the firm maintains a content-driven marketing approach anchored by its Health Policy Snapshots blog and LinkedIn presence.

Name

Affinity Strategies

Legal name

Affinity Strategies

Website

https://affinity-strategies.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Affinity Strategies is a Warrenville, Illinois-based association management firm that provides executive leadership, strategic planning, governance, financial management, and event services to U.S. healthcare and medical subspecialty associations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Association Management Services: Affinity Strategies provides comprehensive association management services including executive leadership, strategic planning, governance support, financial management, educational programming, community engagement, industry relations, meetings and events, and strategic marketing. Revenue is generated through professional service engagements with healthcare associations, likely structured as retainer or contract arrangements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Affinity Strategies provides outsourced association management services for healthcare and medical subspecialty associations, delivering executive leadership, strategic planning, corporate governance, financial management, educational programming, community engagement, industry relations, meetings and events, and strategic marketing. Services are delivered through the firm's proprietary Accelerator Model, which pairs strategic planning with hands-on operational execution to help medical associations achieve sustainable growth, revenue diversification, and improved member engagement.

Product overview

Affinity Strategies offers a unified suite of association management services for healthcare and medical sub-specialty associations. The core offering includes Executive Leadership, Strategic Planning, Corporate Governance, Financial Management, Educational Programming, Community Engagement, Industry Relations, Meetings and Events, and Strategic Marketing services—all delivered through their Accelerator Model methodology. Rather than a software platform, they provide hands-on professional expertise and strategic guidance to help associations build sustainable communities and advance their missions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Executive Leadership Services Operationalizes the strategic plan through executive directors who steward associations toward their strategic plan while keeping vision and mission in focus, serving as outsourced executive leadership for healthcare associations.
• Strategic Planning Services Rigorous, action-oriented strategic planning process that is accountable to metrics, designed to accelerate healthcare association communities toward their long-term goals.
• Corporate Governance Services Establishes board operations and policies, bylaws and procedures, plus legal compliance, including succession planning to ensure a healthy future for healthcare associations.
• Financial Management Services Provides strategic insights on long-range financial plans beyond diligent budget management, creating a sustainable growth engine for healthcare associations (delivered with partner Bellenfant, PLLC).
• Educational Programming Services Shares wisdom and best practices through white papers, webinars, and consensus documents offering subject matter expertise and fresh innovations to improve patient outcomes for healthcare association members.
• Community Engagement Services Acquires, retains, and develops members, mentors, and masters through student and resident recruitment, membership segmentation, leadership development, and DEI amplification for healthcare associations.
• Industry Relations Services Builds deep, strategic partnerships with top pharma and medical device companies, enabling sponsorships, grant management, new program development, and research funding for healthcare associations.
• Meetings and Events Services Specializes in conferences, annual meetings, digital education, virtual roundtables, and whitepapers designed to educate and share expertise for healthcare association members.
• Strategic Marketing Services Develops brand presence, acquires new members, and engages communities through web and social activities to support key initiatives for healthcare associations.
• Accelerator Model Association accelerator methodology framework focusing on strategy, innovation, stewardship, and engagement to help medical subspecialty associations achieve their mission and vision sooner.

Quantifiable outcome

• Sponsorship revenues doubled within first year for SENTAC
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Bellenfant, PLLCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBellenfant, PLLC is a CPA firm located in Nashville, Tennessee, specializing in nonprofit industry accounting and tax services. John Bellenfant serves as Managing Partner and is responsible for providing professional accounting and tax services to all clients of Affinity Strategies. John has background at EY and Crowe accounting firms and currently sits on the Federal Taxation Committee of the Tennessee Society of CPAs.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• SmithBucklin: Headquartered in Chicago, SmithBucklin is the largest association management company in the US, providing full-service management across dozens of associations. It is comparable to Affinity Strategies on the healthcare association management dimension, but operates at substantially greater scale and across all industries.

Direct peers

• Kellen Company: Kellen Company is a full-service association management firm headquartered in Atlanta serving associations across multiple industries. It competes directly with Affinity Strategies for healthcare and other association management engagements with a similar full-service, retainer-based model.
• Association Headquarters, Inc. AHI is a mid-sized association management company serving specialty societies and trade associations across health, science, and engineering. Its service mix, association management contracts, and target client profile closely overlap with Affinity Strategies' healthcare association model.
• Virtual, Inc. Virtual, Inc. is a professional management firm that provides full-service association management primarily to standards, technology, and healthcare/medical organizations. Its retainer-based full-service AMC model is directly comparable to Affinity Strategies' healthcare subspecialty positioning.
• McKinley Advisors: Chicago-based McKinley Advisors provides association management, consulting, and executive search to member-driven organizations. It is comparable to Affinity Strategies on geography, mid-size scale, and association-centric professional services delivery.
• Management Solutions Plus: Management Solutions Plus is an association management and consulting firm serving medical and other specialty associations. Its business model, focus on mid-size associations, and offerings align closely with Affinity Strategies' healthcare subspecialty engagements.

Others

• American Society of Association Executives (ASAE): ASAE is the industry body and credentialing organization for association management professionals. It is not a direct competitor but defines the standards (including the CAE credential held by Affinity's VP), networking, and best practices against which Affinity Strategies' services are evaluated.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/affinity-strategies
• Xx.com/affinitystrate1

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Affinity Strategies