The Center for Association Growth

What The Center for Association Growth does

The Center for Association Growth (TCAG) is an association management and consulting firm headquartered at 1926 Waukegan Road, Suite 300 in Glenview, Illinois (Chicago metropolitan area). Founded by Carl A. Wangman approximately in the 1980s and currently led by his son Brett Wangman as President, TCAG has served trade associations, professional societies, and membership-based nonprofit organizations for over 25 years, with the broader principals' team carrying 40+ years of combined experience in the association sector. The firm operates with 11-50 employees and is privately held, founder-owned, with no external funding or parent company identified in source materials.

TCAG delivers services across three primary lines: Higher Logic consulting services (the core practice since 2009, covering implementation, training, content management, community management, data analysis, and strategic planning for the Higher Logic Thrive and Connected Community platforms); full-service association management (complete outsourcing of association operations including accreditation, member management, website operations, and strategic initiatives for clients such as CAAS and IARP); and selective strategic technology initiatives focused on platform selection, integration, and optimization. The firm's technology stack is built around deep expertise in Higher Logic's ecosystem (Thrive, Connected Community, CMS) integrated with complementary platforms including Avectra NetFORUM Pro (AMS), i4a, Plone, OPENAssociations, and Wufoo for forms/lead capture.

Revenue is generated through professional services fees (quote-based consulting engagements) and managed services (full-service management contracts). TCAG reaches customers via direct sales engagement with association leadership, inbound referrals from its Higher Logic partnership, content marketing (blog posts, case studies), and conference presence at the Higher Logic Super Forum. The firm has been a Higher Logic consulting partner since 2009 and a Contextual Corp partner since 2006, with more recent ecosystem collaboration with Themelogic (2025). Client base spans healthcare, education, libraries, museums, real estate, rehabilitation, and healthcare purchaser coalitions, with multiple clients retained for 10-15+ years.

Name

The Center for Association Growth

Legal name

The Center for Association Growth

Website

https://tcag.us

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Center for Association Growth (TCAG) is a Glenview, Illinois-based consulting firm that provides Higher Logic platform implementation, full-service association management, and strategic technology consulting to trade associations, professional societies, and nonprofit membership organizations across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Glenview

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, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Higher Logic Consulting Services: Professional consulting services for associations engaged with Higher Logic platforms, including implementation, training, content management, community management, and strategic planning
2. Full Service Management: Complete outsourcing of association management operations including accreditation, member management, website operation, and strategic initiatives

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Center for Association Growth (TCAG) provides consulting and management services for trade associations, professional societies, and nonprofit organizations. Its primary offering is Higher Logic consulting—covering platform implementation, training, content management, community management, analytics, and strategic planning for the Higher Logic Thrive and Connected Community platforms. TCAG also delivers full-service association management, taking over complete operational functions such as accreditation, membership management, and website operations, as well as selective strategic technology initiative consulting.

Product overview

The Center for Association Growth (TCAG) is a consulting and professional services company, not a software product vendor. TCAG offers a portfolio of consulting and management services focused on helping associations maximize their technology investments. The core offering is Higher Logic consulting services, which encompasses implementation, training, content management, community management, analytics, and strategy for the Higher Logic Thrive and Connected Community platforms. TCAG also provides full service association management for clients who want to outsource complete operations, and selective strategic technology initiative consulting for clients with specific projects. The company operates as a trusted partner and implementation specialist rather than offering standalone software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Higher Logic Consulting Services Comprehensive consulting services for associations using Higher Logic platforms (Thrive and Connected Community), covering implementation and training, content management, community management, data analysis and reporting, and strategic planning. Targeted at association executives and membership staff who need expert guidance to launch, optimize, or upgrade their Higher Logic investments.
• Full Service Association Management Complete outsourcing of association operations in which TCAG manages every aspect of the association, including accreditation processes, membership management, website operations, member engagement, brand development, and strategic initiatives. Designed for associations that want to outsource the full operational workload to a trusted partner.
• Strategic Technology Initiatives Selective consulting engagements where TCAG assists associations with specific strategic technology projects, particularly around technology platform selection, integration, and optimization. Targeted at associations needing focused expertise for individual technology initiatives rather than full outsourcing.

Quantifiable outcome

• 200+ tool downloads in less than 3 months through Visitor Center implementation for one association client
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 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

Integration8 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• ThemelogicminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2025Justin Prevatte from Themelogic co-presented with Brett Wangman at the 2025 Higher Logic Super Forum on widgets, CSS, and site design for Thrive community sites.
• Higher LogiccoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2009TCAG has been a trusted Higher Logic consulting partner since 2009, providing implementation, training, content management, community management, data analysis, and strategic planning services for associations using Higher Logic platforms including Thrive, Connected Community, and related CMS tools.
• Contextual CorpcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2006Partnership since 2006 for delivering content management solutions for non-profits and associations. Contextual and TCAG share similar 'lean and mean, value-oriented, professional and invested approach' in serving mutual clients.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Higher Logic: Higher Logic is the association engagement platform vendor for which TCAG is a core implementation partner. It is the ecosystem anchor that TCAG's consulting practice is built around, making it an enabling partner rather than a competitor.

Broad incumbents

• SmithBucklin: SmithBucklin is the largest association management company (AMC) in the U.S., providing full-service management and consulting to hundreds of trade associations and professional societies. It is comparable to TCAG as the dominant scaled player in the same niche, though considerably larger and broader in scope.
• Naylor Association Solutions: Naylor provides a broad suite of association services including publishing, member communications, event management, and association management software. Overlaps with TCAG's full-service association management from a broader, multi-product angle.

Direct peers

• Association Headquarters (AHI): AHI is an established association management company providing full-service AMC, event management, and consulting services to trade and professional associations. Directly comparable to TCAG's full-service association management offering.
• McKinley Advisors: McKinley Advisors is an association consulting firm specializing in strategy, research, and member engagement for associations and non-profits. Comparable to TCAG's strategic consulting arm, particularly around member engagement and strategy.
• Association Management Center (AMC): AMC is a Chicago-area association management company providing full-service AMC services to professional and trade associations. Directly comparable to TCAG in geography, scale, and service mix.
• Virtual, Inc. Virtual, Inc. is a technology-focused association management company serving standards, technology, and professional associations with full-service management and strategic consulting. Highly comparable to TCAG's combination of full-service management and technology implementation services.
• Matrix Group International: Matrix Group International provides digital, web, and member-engagement solutions specifically for associations and non-profits, including platform implementations and CMS/website services. Comparable to TCAG's association-focused technology consulting practice.
• Tecker International: Tecker International is an association consulting firm serving non-profits and associations with strategic planning and management advisory services. Comparable to TCAG's higher-end strategic consulting and association management work.

Emerging players

• Association Laboratory: Association Laboratory is a research- and benchmarking-driven consulting firm serving associations and non-profits. Comparable to TCAG's strategic consulting segment, though more research-oriented and smaller in scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/thecenterforassociationgrowth
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-center-for-association-growth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 The Center for Association Growth