MPACE

What MPACE does

MPACE (Mountain Pacific Association of Colleges and Employers) is a nonprofit professional membership association founded in 2005 through the merger of the Rocky Mountain Association of Colleges & Employers (RMACE) and the Western Association of Colleges & Employers (WACE, est. 1926). It serves career services and employer relations professionals across 13 western U.S. states and Pacific territories, organized into five regional divisions (Mountain Central, Mountain East, Pacific Central, Pacific North, Pacific South). The association operates with a lean staff of 3-5 full-time employees under an elected Board of Directors drawn from member institutions and employer organizations.

The core platform is the YourMembership.com-powered association management system, which provides a membership database, event management, members-only career center/job board, webinar archives hosted on Vimeo, online community forums, and content management. Product offerings center on the annual December conference (2026 in San Francisco), five regional programming calendars (minimum 4 events per region per year), quarterly knowledge groups, webinar archives, the Employer Relations Academy (cohort training partnered with Career Vogue), and scholarship programs (MLI, Future Leaders, and expanded 2026 conference scholarships). The technical stack is lightweight and outsourced, with no proprietary AI/ML or data products.

The business model relies on five revenue streams: tiered annual membership dues (top institutional group tier at $1,800 for 21+ members; individual memberships $75-$250), annual conference registration and sponsorship packages (Diamond, Platinum, Gold tiers), exhibitor fees, professional development tuition (Employer Relations Academy with 15% member discount), and ancillary merchandise sales via the MPACE Store on SpreadShop. Key customers include four-year universities, community colleges, employer recruiting organizations, and affiliate service providers; headline sponsors include Enterprise Mobility, Handshake, and Indeed. The organization is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits for SHRM-CP holders, which serves as a credentialing anchor for the educational programming.

Name

MPACE

Legal name

Mountain Pacific Association of Colleges and Employers

Website

https://mpace.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

MPACE is a nonprofit professional membership association serving career services and employer relations professionals across 13 western U.S. states and Pacific territories, delivering an annual conference, regional programming, a members-only job board, and professional development academies through a five-region structure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Business Associations (81391), Professional Organizations (81392), Professional Organizations (813920)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Sponsorship, Exhibitor & Partnership Management Services (THAHACAK), Employee Training, L&D & Certification Events (THAHAIAD), Onsite Operations & Event Staffing Management (THAHACAL), Affinity, Membership & Association Referral Programs (FSAEAMAL)

Keywords

• Professional association services
• Career services membership
• Employer relations programs
• Annual conference events
• Professional development programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Sacramento

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees from colleges/universities, community colleges, employers, and affiliate organizations with tiered pricing based on organization size and type. Individual memberships for students, new professionals, and retirees at reduced rates.
2. Annual Conference Revenue: Registration fees for the annual conference (December) plus exhibitor fees and sponsorship packages. Conference themes include professional development sessions, networking events, and awards ceremonies.
3. Sponsorship Revenue: Diamond, Platinum, and Gold sponsorship packages for the annual conference and ongoing organizational sponsorship opportunities throughout the membership year.
4. Exhibitor Fees: Revenue from organizations exhibiting at the annual conference to showcase products and services to career services and employer relations professionals.
5. Professional Development Programs: Tuition from Employer Relations Academy partnered with Career Vogue, offering cohort-based training with MPACE members receiving 15% discount.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

MPACE is a nonprofit professional membership association that sells annual memberships and event registrations to colleges, universities, community colleges, employers, and affiliates across 13 western U.S. states. Its core offerings include the annual MPACE Conference held in December, five regional divisions hosting local programming, a members-only Career Center job board, the Employer Relations Academy training program, webinar archives, quarterly knowledge group sessions, and SHRM-recognized professional development credits. Membership tiers are priced annually based on organization size, with separate individual categories for students, new professionals, and retirees.

Product overview

MPACE (Mountain Pacific Association of Colleges and Employers) is a professional association serving career services and employer relations professionals across 13 western U.S. states. The organization's offerings center on a membership-based platform (powered by YourMembership software) that provides a career center/job board, professional development programming, annual and regional conferences, webinar archives, and networking resources. The core product is the annual MPACE Conference combined with a members-only career center for job postings, supplemented by regional events, quarterly knowledge group sessions, the Employer Relations Academy (partnered with Career Vogue), and scholarship programs including MLI and Future Leaders scholarships. Additional services include a membership directory, career fair listings, and an online merchandise store. The organization offers SHRM professional development credits for its educational programming.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MPACE Annual Conference MPACE's flagship annual event bringing together career services and employer relations professionals for networking, professional development, and educational sessions. The 2026 conference will be held December 9-11 in San Francisco with the theme 'Building Bridges, Building Possibilities.'
• MPACE Career Center / Job Board Members-only job board enabling employers to post open positions to a network of qualified candidates from MPACE member institutions across 13 western states.
• Regional Events Program Five regional programming committees (Pacific North, Pacific South, Pacific Central, Mountain East, Mountain Central) coordinating workshops, seminars, and networking events throughout the year within respective regions spanning 13 states.
• Webinar Recording Archive On-demand access to recorded webinar sessions via Vimeo platform, allowing members to view professional development content asynchronously.
• Knowledge Groups Quarterly peer-led discussion sessions where members share challenges, strategies, and best practices with others in similar roles.
• Employer Relations Academy Premier interactive training experience for career services employer relations professionals, offered through partnership with Career Vogue. Uses a cohort model with online challenges, real research, and peer collaboration. Topics include job development, employer engagement, AI applications, and Monroe's Motivated Sequence Model.
• MLI (Management Leadership Institute) Scholarship Annual scholarship for college/university members to attend the NACE Management Leadership Institute, covering registration, housing, meals, and travel up to $600.
• Future Leaders Scholarship (FLS) Annual scholarship awarded to one emerging professional in career services or university relations with two years or less experience, providing conference registration, travel reimbursement up to $600, and two-night accommodation at Fairmont San Francisco.
• Conference Scholarships Seven full conference scholarships including registration and up to $500 travel reimbursement for the 2026 Annual Conference.
• Membership Directory Online searchable database of MPACE members allowing search by keywords, organization, region, membership tier, and other criteria.
• MPACE Store Online store for MPACE-branded merchandise including apparel, tumblers, mugs, and accessories, powered by the SpreadShop platform.
• Career Fair Listings Calendar Shared calendar for career fairs, allowing MPACE members to post and promote career fair events to a broader audience, with events featured in newsletters.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 600 professionals have participated in NACE Management Leadership Institute (MLI)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Career VoguecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 June 2026Partnership for Employer Relations Academy virtual training program. MPACE members receive 15% discount on tuition. Curriculum covers employer engagement fundamentals, job development, and relationship management.
• Enterprise MobilityflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerDiamond-level sponsor of the MPACE Annual Conference. Enterprise Mobility is a major employer member actively recruiting college graduates and supports MPACE programming through sponsorship and board participation.
• HandshakeflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerDiamond sponsor providing career services platform technology. Handshake presents data at employer summits and supports member institutions with recruiting technology. Featured at regional events for data sharing and discussion.
• IndeedcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGold-level sponsor of MPACE Annual Conference. Indeed provides job search platform access and visibility to MPACE members through conference sponsorship.
• Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSHRM recognition enables MPACE to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP holders attending MPACE events. This credentialing partnership enhances professional development value for HR-focused members.
• YourMembership.comcoreTechnology or IntegrationAssociation management software provider powering MPACE's website with membership database, event management, career center, online community, and content management capabilities. Provider since 1998 with global customer base.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Indeed: Indeed is a global job search platform and MPACE Gold sponsor with deep presence in entry-level and college recruiting. It sits in MPACE's ecosystem as a sponsor and potential competitor in the early-career talent marketplace.
• Handshake: Handshake is a career services platform and MPACE Diamond sponsor that integrates directly with member institutions' recruiting workflows. While not an association, it is a key technology partner and ecosystem participant in the same campus recruiting domain.

Broad incumbents

• SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management): SHRM is the dominant national HR professional association that recognizes MPACE as a SHRM-CP PDC provider. It serves an overlapping talent acquisition audience at much greater scale and provides benchmarking for MPACE's professional development and credentialing partnerships.
• NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education): NASPA is a national association for higher education student affairs professionals whose career services function overlaps with MPACE's core audience. It shares the association membership, conference, and professional development business model at significantly larger scale.
• NAFSA (Association of International Educators): NAFSA is a large nonprofit professional association serving international educators and advisors in higher education—an adjacent professional association model with similar dues, conference, and regional structure serving higher ed professionals.

Direct peers

• CUPA-HR (College and University Professional Association for Human Resources): CUPA-HR is a higher-education HR professional association that overlaps significantly with MPACE's employer relations audience, particularly HR leaders at member institutions. It shares the association dues, conference, and professional development model.
• EACE (Eastern Association of Colleges and Employers): EACE serves the same career services and employer relations professionals that MPACE serves, but on the U.S. East Coast. It mirrors MPACE's regional association structure, annual conference, and membership model, making it a near-identical direct peer operating in a complementary geography.
• NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers): NACE is the national umbrella professional association for the college recruiting and career services field—the same target audience MPACE serves at the regional level. It runs an analogous annual conference, knowledge base, and member dues structure, making it the most directly comparable peer.
• SoACE (Southern Association of Colleges and Employers): SoACE is the southern regional counterpart to MPACE for career services and employer relations professionals. It operates the same annual conference, regional events, and membership model, providing direct structural and operational comparability.

Emerging players

• Career Directors International (CDI): CDI is a smaller specialty association for career practitioners and coaches that overlaps with MPACE's career services audience on training and certification. It represents an adjacent professional development association with comparable scale and structure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mpacenews
• YouTubevimeo.com/showcase/9933339
• Facebookfacebook.com/mpacenews

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 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 MPACE