International Mentoring Association

What International Mentoring Association does

The International Mentoring Association (IMA) is a 501c3 non-profit professional association founded in 1987 (originally as the National Mentoring Association) and renamed in 2011 to reflect its global scope. Headquartered in Gainesville, Florida under a consociation with the University of Florida Clinical and Translational Science Institute, IMA operates as a membership-based association serving mentoring professionals, program administrators, educators, researchers, and organizations worldwide.

IMA generates revenue through a diversified mix: annual membership dues across four tiers ($75 student, $150 individual, $250 non-profit, $625 university/corporate/government), biennial conference registration, Gold ($5,500 for organizations; $4,000 for non-profits) and Silver program accreditation fees, two-year consultant ($600) and speaker ($400) endorsements, and publication sales including the Mentor Connect Magazine. Its go-to-market is community-led, anchored by the biennial conference, monthly MELD Learning Forums (in partnership with UNM Mentoring Institute and CIMER), informal Coffee Chats, peer-reviewed publications, and a 2023 Memorandum of Understanding with EMCC Global.

Technology-wise, IMA does not develop proprietary products; its digital infrastructure consists of the IMA website (mentoringassociation.org), MemberClicks for membership management, Zoom for virtual events, and standard event registration tools. The association operates with only three core paid staff members (as of late 2025), supported by an elected board of academics and a volunteer leadership structure. Its competitive differentiation derives from category-defining content assets — the IMA Program Standards, annotated Mentoring Body of Knowledge, Global Code of Ethics, and accreditation framework — rather than technology.

Name

International Mentoring Association

Legal name

International Mentoring Association

Website

https://mentoringassociation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The International Mentoring Association is a 501c3 global professional association (founded 1987) offering membership, program accreditation, publications, and events to mentoring professionals, educators, and organizations worldwide, operated by a three-person core staff from Gainesville, Florida.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Gainesville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: IMA generates primary revenue through annual membership dues across four tiers: Individual ($150/year), Non-Profit ($250/year), University/Corporate/Government ($625/year), and Student ($75/year). Multi-year discounts are available (3-year and 5-year plans for individual members).
2. Conference and Events: Revenue from the IMA Biennial Conference (May 12-14, 2026 in St. Petersburg, FL) including registration fees. Additional revenue from MELD Learning Forums and Coffee Chats.
3. Program Accreditation: IMA charges fees for the accreditation of mentoring programs. Gold accreditation totals $5,500 for organizations ($4,000 for non-profits); Silver accreditation is a lower-tier option with a minimum score of 85 points required. Initial application fee is $2,000.
4. Consultant and Speaker Endorsements: IMA endorses consultants ($600/two-year endorsement) and speakers ($400/two-year endorsement) in professional directories, generating endorsement fees and expanding the association's revenue base.
5. Publications: Revenue from IMA publications including conference proceedings, research syntheses, white papers, and Mentor Connect Magazine. Members receive a 30% discount on the Perspectives on Mentoring Series and 75% discounted subscriptions to the Tutor and Mentoring Journal.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The International Mentoring Association (IMA) is a global professional association that delivers mentoring program accreditation (Gold and Silver tiers), tiered membership subscriptions for individuals and organizations, the biennial IMA Conference, MELD Learning Forums, Coffee Chats, peer-reviewed publications (Mentor Connect Magazine, IMA Newsletter), and endorsed consultant/speaker directories. The organization's core purpose is to advance mentoring excellence through research-based standards, a global Code of Ethics, and a worldwide community of mentoring practitioners.

Product overview

The International Mentoring Association operates as a membership-based professional association offering a portfolio of accreditation, publications, professional development, and networking services for the global mentoring community. The core offering consists of program accreditation at Gold and Silver levels, with membership tiers (Individual, Non-Profit, University/Corporate/Government, and Student) providing access to publications including Mentor Connect Magazine and the IMA Newsletter, directories of endorsed consultants and speakers, and event programming including the biennial conference, MELD Learning Forums, and Coffee Chats. The 2025 MELD strategic partnership with UNM Mentoring Institute and CIMER unifies three institutions in advancing research-informed mentoring practices. Members gain access to over 100 pages of best practice guidelines, the annotated Mentoring Body of Knowledge database, discounted event registration, and professional certification opportunities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MELD (Mentoring Ecosystems for Learning and Development): A strategic partnership formed by IMA, the University of New Mexico Mentoring Institute, and CIMER to advance high-quality, research-informed mentoring.

Named customers3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• MELD (Mentoring Ecosystems for Learning and Development)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025MELD is a strategic partnership formed in 2025 by IMA, the University of New Mexico Mentoring Institute, and the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER). Co-founded by Nora Dominguez (UNM), Lisa Fain (IMA President 2024-2026), Dr. Melissa McDaniels (CIMER), and Dr. Christine Pfund (CIMER). MELD integrates IMA's global leadership in mentoring best practices and community-building, CIMER's evidence-based mentor and mentee training, and UNM's work in building mentoring cultures across higher education and communities. In 2026, MELD launched a three-phase series of Learning Forums covering Skill Development, Organizational Policies, and Practical Applications.
• European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 June 2023IMA and EMCC Global signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in June 2023 to collaborate on global advocacy for the strategic importance of mentoring, co-creation of research and best practices, professional designations frameworks, conference participation, inclusion and diversity initiatives, and continuous professional development. The MoU also aims to broaden the geographical relevance of the Global Code of Ethics and includes cross-marketing and promotion to respective memberships. EMCC exists to develop, promote, and set expectations for best practice in mentoring, coaching, and supervision globally.
• University of New Mexico Mentoring InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founder of the MELD partnership. Led by Nora Dominguez (Director), who co-founded MELD with IMA and CIMER. The institute's work in building mentoring cultures across higher education and communities is a key pillar of the MELD ecosystem.
• Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founder of the MELD partnership. Led by Dr. Melissa McDaniels (Associate Director) and Dr. Christine Pfund (Director), who co-founded MELD with IMA and UNM. CIMER provides evidence-based mentor and mentee training grounded in rigorous research, which is a key pillar of the MELD ecosystem.
• University of Florida Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerUF CTSI serves as the academic home of IMA through a consociation arrangement. UF CTSI is a Platinum-level sponsor of IMA, demonstrating a significant institutional commitment to the organization. The partnership provides IMA with an academic institutional base following its move to Florida in 2018.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• MENTOR (The National Mentoring Partnership): MENTOR is the leading US-focused nonprofit dedicated to mentoring, advocating for quality youth mentoring standards and supporting a national network of Mentoring Partnerships. It overlaps with IMA on mentoring excellence advocacy and program-quality frameworks, though its primary lens is youth mentoring versus IMA's broader professional/career mentoring scope.
• Art of Mentoring: Art of Mentoring is a mentoring-focused training and event provider founded by Alex Richardson, who sits on the IMA Board. The two share a target audience of mentoring professionals and program leaders and compete in the conference/training segment.
• European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC): EMCC is the most directly comparable peer: a global membership-based organization setting standards for mentoring, coaching, and supervision, with formal accreditation (EQA) and a Global Code of Ethics. IMA and EMCC signed a 2023 MoU for joint advocacy, research, and cross-promotion, indicating near-identical scope and a strategic rather than purely competitive relationship.
• Center for Mentoring Excellence: Founded and led by Lisa Fain (IMA President 2024-2026 and MELD co-founder), the Center for Mentoring Excellence is an active partner and adjacent provider of mentoring consulting, training, and developmental networks. The two organizations co-create MELD content and share leadership, making them partially co-dependent peers in the mentoring ecosystem.

Emerging players

• Chronus: Chronus is a mentoring software platform serving enterprises, higher education, and nonprofits with mentor matching, program management, and analytics. It competes with IMA indirectly by offering data-driven alternatives to association-led accreditation and could erode IMA's standards-authority position with technology-embedded quality signals.
• Mentorloop: Mentorloop is a mentoring software platform serving organizations globally with matching, analytics, and reporting. It represents the technology-enabled, ROI-focused alternative to traditional association-based mentoring programs, putting pressure on IMA's relevance as enterprises consolidate on integrated software vendors.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: Big Brothers Big Sisters is one of the largest US youth-mentoring program operators with affiliate networks and quality standards for volunteer mentoring. It overlaps with IMA's accreditation and program-standards domain in the youth mentoring segment, though it is a direct service provider rather than a membership association.

Broad incumbents

• Center for Creative Leadership (CCL): CCL is a long-established global nonprofit providing leadership development, executive education, and mentoring program research. It overlaps with IMA on mentoring research and program standards for leadership contexts, but operates with much larger scale and a research-foundation identity.
• Association for Talent Development (ATD): ATD is a large, established US-based professional association for talent development, covering training, coaching, mentoring, and organizational learning. It overlaps with IMA in mentoring content and certifications but operates as a broad incumbent with much larger scale, a broader audience, and a paid membership model that competes for the same organizational training budgets.
• International Coaching Federation (ICF): ICF is the largest global credentialing body for professional coaches, with accreditation, certifications, and a membership community serving a closely adjacent market. While ICF focuses on coaching rather than mentoring, the two disciplines overlap significantly in practice and ICF's scale and global infrastructure set a competitive ceiling on IMA's independent authority.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xmobile.twitter.com/IMA_Members
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@internationalmentoringasso1417
• Facebookfacebook.com/intl.mentoring.association
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-mentoring-association
• Instagraminstagram.com/intl.mentoring.association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about International Mentoring Association