AMA Richmond

What AMA Richmond does

AMA Richmond is the Richmond, Virginia chapter of the American Marketing Association, operating as a private nonprofit professional association under the AMA National umbrella. Founded circa 1962-1970 (sources conflict on the exact date) and headquartered at a PO Box in Henrico, the chapter is governed and operated entirely by a volunteer Board of Directors with no paid staff. It serves a community of 300+ active marketing professionals, educators, students, and organizations across the Greater Richmond region through annual memberships (Professional at $199/year, Group at $169/member/year for teams of 3+, Undergrad Collegiate at $0), a paid mentorship program ($125 members / $225 non-members), a career center, scholarship programs funded by the Robert R. Barber Endowment (over $100,000), and recurring event programming including the Signature Speaker Series, coffee chats, workshops, and Special Interest Groups in social media, B2B, content marketing, strategy, and nonprofit.

The chapter operates on a community-led, event-driven go-to-market motion. Its technology stack is conventional association-management infrastructure: Wild Apricot as the integrated membership and events platform (handling registration, payments, and email communications), MailChimp for newsletter distribution, Google Analytics GA4, WordPress CMS, and QuickBooks for accounting. A member-only Slack workspace supplements in-person and event-based engagement. Distribution channels include the AMA National website (primary acquisition channel), the Wild Apricot events portal, university partnerships with VCU, Virginia State University, and University of Richmond, and a recently established partnership with ChamberRVA for broader regional reach.

Revenue is generated through annual membership dues (collected via AMA National, with a portion retained locally), mentorship program fees, event pricing differentials between members and non-members, and corporate sponsorship underwriting from regional marketing and creative firms. The organization has been recognized by AMA National with Programming, Communications, Finance, and Membership Excellence Awards between 2014 and 2018. Leadership rotates annually among volunteer board members, with Caitlin McNichol serving as 2025-2026 President succeeding Amy Baril (2023-2024 President). The chapter does not have external investors, paid staff, or disclosed financial statements.

Name

AMA Richmond

Legal name

Richmond Chapter of the American Marketing Association

Website

https://amarichmond.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AMA Richmond is a 100% volunteer-run nonprofit chapter of the American Marketing Association serving 300+ marketing professionals, students, and organizations in the Greater Richmond region through annual memberships, mentorship, events, and scholarship programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Marketing Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (81392), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies) (THAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Alumni, Peer & Community Networking Programs (EDAMAKAM), Alumni Career Networking & Mentorship Programs (EDALAOAL), Training, Enablement & Talent Development Summits (THAHAMAH)

Keywords

• Professional marketing association
• Marketing professional development
• Business networking events
• Marketing mentorship program
• Marketing career services

Headquarters

HQ city

Richmond

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees collected through AMA National. Professional memberships are $199/year, with group discounts at $169/member/year for groups of 3 or more. Collegiate memberships are free for full-time undergraduate students. Revenue supports local chapter programming, events, and the Robert R. Barber Endowment Fund for scholarships.
2. Mentorship Program Fees: The mentorship program charges fees to mentees: $125 for AMA Richmond members and $225 for non-members. This covers program participation costs including the kickoff event, educational workshop, and graduation ceremony. Two need-based scholarships are available annually for member mentees.
3. Event Fees and Program Discounts: Events typically offer member-only pricing or discounted rates. While some events are free for members, special events and Signature Speaker Series programs have reduced member pricing compared to non-member rates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

AMA Richmond is the Richmond, Virginia chapter of the American Marketing Association, providing annual professional memberships ($199/year for professionals, free for full-time undergraduate students, $169/member for groups of 3+) that unlock local programming including the Signature Speaker Series, mentorship cohort, special interest groups, coffee chats, and educational workshops. The chapter also operates a Career Center for marketing job postings and resume review, administers the Robert R. Barber Scholarship funded by an endowment exceeding $100,000, and connects its 300+ active members to the 30,000+ member national AMA network.

Product overview

AMA Richmond operates as a professional marketing association chapter offering a unified membership service rather than a traditional SaaS product. The core offering is annual membership ($199 for professional, $0 for students, $169 per member for groups of 3+) providing access to Signature Speaker Series events, mentorship programs, career resources through the AMA Career Center, and scholarship opportunities. Member-only benefits include program discounts, special interest groups, social events, and volunteering opportunities. The chapter utilizes Wild Apricot as its membership and events management platform for registrations and payments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AMA Richmond Membership Annual professional membership providing access to local chapter events, networking, mentorship programs, Special Interest Groups, and member-only programming including the Signature Speaker Series. Includes national AMA network access for 30,000+ members, 100+ webcasts/podcasts, and discounts on AMA conferences and the Professional Certified Marketer designation.
• Mentorship Program One-on-one mentoring program pairing established marketing experts with future marketing leaders, featuring professional development tools, group networking, and cohort-wide events including kickoff, educational workshop, and graduation. Two need-based scholarships are available annually for member mentees.
• Career Center

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 50 years of continuous operation as AMA's oldest and most successful chapters
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ChamberRVAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2024Partnership established with ChamberRVA to collectively add value to the marketing and business community in the Richmond region. The partnership involves exploring collaborative opportunities to serve the local business community.
• Parkwood CreativeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCreative agency partnership for video production and brand content. Parkwood Creative helped capture behind-the-scenes content and produced a glimpse into the AMA experience.
• Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partnership supporting the VCU Collegiate Chapter. AMA Richmond has renewed engagement with VCU and supports student mentorship, programming, and the next generation of marketers.
• Virginia State University (VSU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partnership supporting the VSU AMA Collegiate Chapter, which launched in its first year with AMA Richmond's support. The chapter received donated funds to send a team to the National AMA Collegiate Conference, and board members served as mock judges for pitch competition preparation.
• University of RichmondminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partnership for bridging education and industry, mentoring students, sharing expertise, and creating opportunities for the next generation of marketers.
• ColabcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with Colab for website upgrades and improvements. Colab serves as the web development partner, helping enhance the backend of the amarichmond.org website for better navigation, functionality, and multimedia content.
• Wild ApricotcoreTechnology or IntegrationWild Apricot is the membership and events platform for AMA Richmond, providing membership management, event registration, online payments, and email communications in a single integrated system.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• AdWeek: Major media brand serving the broader marketing industry with events, content, awards, and communities. Competes for marketers' attention and membership dollars at a national scale.
• American Marketing Association (National): National parent organization of which AMA Richmond is a chapter. Provides the membership platform, pricing structure, awards program, and 30,000+ member network that AMA Richmond's local offering rides on.

Regional players

• PRSA Richmond: Local chapter of PRSA serving Richmond public relations professionals with events, networking, and professional development. Closely comparable volunteer-led chapter model targeting an adjacent marketing-adjacent profession in the same region.
• AIGA Richmond: Local chapter of AIGA serving Richmond-area design professionals with events, programming, and networking — same regional peer community model as AMA Richmond but for designers rather than marketers.

Direct peers

• AMA Chicago: One of the largest AMA chapters with a similar signature events, professional development, and mentorship offering. Operates at much greater scale but uses the same chapter playbook AMA Richmond follows.
• AMA Washington DC: Direct peer AMA chapter serving the DC metro with the same volunteer-led, event-driven membership model. Closely comparable geographic and demographic profile given proximity to Richmond.
• AMA New York: Another large, long-running local chapter of the American Marketing Association offering the same membership, events, mentorship, and Signature Speaker Series model. Direct comparable in structure, pricing, and GTM motion to AMA Richmond.
• AMA Atlanta: Southeast regional AMA chapter with comparable programming — events, networking, professional development — for marketers in the metro area. Same national parent, similar member demographics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/amarichmond
• Facebookfacebook.com/AMARichmond
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/amarichmond
• Instagraminstagram.com/ama_richmond

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles24 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 AMA Richmond