COBA

What COBA does

COBA (Central Oregon Builders Association) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit trade association founded in 1970 and headquartered at 1051 NE 4th Street, Bend, Oregon. It serves approximately 680 members across the regional building industry — including builders, subcontractors, suppliers, designers, and allied trade professionals — through a combination of membership services, advocacy, training resources, and event production. The organization operates four primary revenue lines: recurring membership dues; a Print & Plan Center offering plan reproduction and contractor-licensing study materials (e.g., $159 CCB study book); consumer-facing events including the Tour of Homes, Spring Home Show, Oregon Golf Show, and Excellence Awards; and ticketing/sponsorship revenue tied to those events. COBA also runs a public project listings portal and maintains an active government-affairs function, including advocacy before the City of Bend on zoning reform. The association employs 52 staff and is governed by a board chaired by Gary North (VP, R&H Construction), with day-to-day leadership under Executive Director Galen Blyth, EVP Tim Knopp, and SVP Operations & Sales Manager Mandy Weidman.

Name

COBA

Legal name

Central Oregon Builders Association

Website

https://coba.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

COBA is a 501(c)(6) trade association in Bend, Oregon serving 680 members in the regional building industry through membership services, advocacy, contractor-licensing materials, a Print & Plan Center, and annual home and golf shows.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bend

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues from builders, subcontractors, suppliers, designers, and other construction industry professionals. Dues support advocacy efforts, educational events, community initiatives, and association operations.
2. Print and Plan Center Services: Full-service print and plan center offering wide-format color printing, customization, and local delivery to contractors, subcontractors, homeowners, and non-members.
3. Event Tickets and Sponsorships: Revenue from events including Tour of Homes, Spring Home Show, Oregon Golf Show, Excellence Awards Night, Golf Tournament, and various networking events.
4. Training Materials: Sale of CCB (Construction Contractors Board) study materials for contractors seeking licensing. Study book priced at $159.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

COBA is a nonprofit trade association that serves approximately 680 builders, contractors, suppliers, and designers in Central Oregon through annual membership, government advocacy, professional development events, contractor licensing exam preparation resources, a retail Print & Plan Center, and workforce development programs. Revenue is generated from membership dues, event ticket sales, sponsorships, and printing/blueprinting services.

Product overview

COBA (Central Oregon Builders Association) is a nonprofit trade association representing the building industry in Central Oregon. The organization offers a portfolio of member services including a Print & Plan Center for large-format printing and blueprints, and manages signature events such as the Tour of Homes, Spring Home Show, Oregon Golf Show, and Excellence Awards. Membership provides access to networking, advocacy, training, and discounted services. The association also maintains a public project listings portal and provides contractor licensing resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• COBA Membership Program

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• COCC (Central Oregon Community College)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 January 2023COBA partnered with COCC's Skilled Trades Pre-Apprenticeship program, donating $108,000 to support workforce development in Central Oregon. The donation will expand education and training in rural areas to address the region's construction worker shortage. COBA members Kirby Nagelhout and Sunwest Builders previously partnered with COCC to create a construction training class.
• NeighborImpactcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNeighborImpact is a community partner for COBA's public project listings related to weatherization and home rehabilitation programs across Central Oregon. Projects target low-income weatherization and home rehab services.
• City of BendcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCOBA advocates for the building industry before government and has worked with the City of Bend to allow duplexes and triplexes in residential standard zones to support workforce housing affordability. COBA also posts public project listings from the City of Bend.
• Oregon Construction Contractors Board (CCB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCOBA provides training materials and resources for contractor licensing in partnership with the Oregon CCB. COBA sells CCB study books and provides information on licensing requirements, continuing education, and consumer protection resources.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Association of Home Builders (NAHB): National U.S. trade association representing residential builders, remodelers, and suppliers. Directly analogous in mission (advocacy, networking, member services) but operates federally and at vastly greater scale than COBA's regional Central Oregon scope.
• American Institute of Architects (AIA): National professional association for licensed architects and building design professionals, serving an adjacent segment of COBA's ecosystem (designers and architects) with parallel advocacy, awards, and continuing education structures.
• Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC): National trade association representing commercial contractors and merit-shop construction firms, providing comparable advocacy, training, and event-based member engagement to COBA's commercial builder members.
• Associated General Contractors of America (AGC): National construction trade association serving general and specialty contractors. Operates similar advocacy, networking, and workforce development programs serving overlapping member profiles with COBA.

Direct peers

• Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW): State-level Pacific Northwest builders association offering parallel advocacy, member benefits, and event programming for builders and trade contractors in Washington, structurally similar to COBA's regional role in Oregon.
• Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties: Pacific Northwest regional builders association running member events, advocacy, and workforce programs analogous to COBA, but at significantly larger scale in the Seattle metro. Comparable structure and service mix.
• National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI): National trade association for remodelers and residential renovation contractors. Comparable membership model, awards programs, and advocacy focus, overlapping with COBA's remodeler-side membership.
• Oregon Home Builders Association (OHBA): State-level builders association in Oregon with overlapping advocacy and member-service mandates to COBA, including licensing resource partnerships with the Oregon Construction Contractors Board and similar government affairs work.
• Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland: Regional Oregon-based builders association with the same membership-driven, advocacy-focused model as COBA but serving the Portland metro market. Closest geographic and functional peer in the state.

Others

• Bend Chamber of Commerce: Regional business membership organization in the same Central Oregon geography as COBA, offering overlapping networking and advocacy functions for non-construction businesses, providing context for COBA's narrow construction-vertical positioning.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CentralOregonBuilders
• Instagraminstagram.com/centraloregonbuilders
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coba_2

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 COBA