Midwest ACE

What Midwest ACE does

Midwest ACE, formally the Midwest Association of Colleges and Employers, is a nonprofit professional membership association headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, founded (per firmographics) in 1949, with the Founders Distinguished Service Award archive referencing activity since 1976. It serves roughly 900 members and affiliates across 12 Midwestern states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin), bringing together two primary member segments: collegiate career services professionals and employer recruiters/staffing professionals engaged in campus recruiting.

The association's core products are a flagship Annual Conference, a webinar program, a Career Coaching Certificate Program, a member-only Knowledge Center and newsletter archive, a job board, the "Trends in Recruiting" research series, a multi-tier Awards and Honors program, and an annual Partnership Program. The Hire Big 10+ Consortium is a sub-brand affinity group that aggregates career services professionals from Big Ten institutions plus DePaul, University of Chicago, and University of Notre Dame. Underlying technology is a standard SaaS stack: the association runs on MemberClicks for membership management, event registration, member communications, and the job board, with no proprietary technology IP, no AI capabilities, and no mobile app.

Midwest ACE is monetized through a combination of recurring membership dues (individual $175/yr; groups $800–$2,000; student/transitional and startup employer $30), one-time conference registration ($260–$925 per attendee), conference sponsorships and exhibitor fees ($200–$8,000 for sponsors, $1,500–$2,250 for booths), and an annual Partnership Program ($1,000–$8,000). Distribution is direct, through the website, the Annual Conference, and the MemberClicks platform, with no resellers. The organization has 6 employees, is governed by an elected Executive Board, and is operationally supported by SHRM-recognized Professional Development Credits, partnerships with Indeed, Symplicity, and Handshake, and a long-running awards and scholarship portfolio.

Name

Midwest ACE

Legal name

Midwest Association of Colleges and Employers

Website

https://mwace.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Midwest ACE is a nonprofit professional association serving approximately 900 collegiate career services professionals and employer recruiters across 12 U.S. Midwest states, offering membership, an annual conference, webinars, a certificate program, and a job board.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAMAKAM

Alumni, Peer & Community Networking Programs

Education/Supplemental & Enrichment Programs (Arts, STEM, Language)/College & Career Enrichment (Mentorship, Internships, Portfolio)

SECONDARYTHAHAMAH

Training, Enablement & Talent Development Summits

Travel & Hospitality/MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions)/Corporate Meetings & Summits

SECONDARYEDALAOAG

Alumni Events, Reunions & Regional Chapters

Education/Student Services & Campus Operations/Alumni Relations, Development & Campus Community Engagement

Keywords

• Professional association services
• Career services networking
• College recruiting membership
• Professional development events
• Membership association management

Headquarters

HQ city

Indianapolis

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership dues provide the primary revenue stream. Individual memberships are $175 per year, while group memberships range from $800 for 5-9 members to $2,000 for 16+ members. Student/Transitional memberships are available for $30 annually. The membership year runs July 1 - June 30.
2. Conference Registration: Annual Conference generates revenue through registration fees. Member early-bird rate $550, regular $650, late $750. Non-member rates are higher at $725/$825/$925. Single-day and graduate student rates available. Additional fees apply for professional exchange site visits ($30 each).
3. Conference Sponsorships: Corporate sponsorships and exhibitor fees support the Annual Conference. Sponsorship opportunities range from $200 (Morning Wellness Activity) to $8,000 (Brunch Sponsor). Exhibitor booth rates range from $1,500 (Earlybird member) to $2,250 (Non-member late).
4. Partnership Program: Annual partnership program allows organizations to provide monetary gifts ranging from $1,000 to $8,000 per year in exchange for branding, visibility, and networking perks. Partnerships provide access to nearly 900 members and affiliates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Midwest ACE (Midwest Association of Colleges and Employers) is a regional professional membership association that advances the professional development of its members by connecting collegiate career services professionals with employer recruiters and staffing professionals across 12 Midwest states. It sells individual and group memberships, an annual conference, a career coaching certificate program, webinars, a member job board, and a Knowledge Center resource library. Membership year runs July 1 – June 30, with the Annual Conference serving as the flagship in-person gathering.

Product overview

Midwest ACE (Midwest Association of Colleges and Employers) is a professional association that connects collegiate career services and employer recruiters. The organization operates a platform of interconnected programs including an Annual Conference, Webinars, Career Coaching Certificate Program, Job Board, Knowledge Center, Awards Programs, and a Partnership Program. An affinity group called the Hire Big 10+ Consortium provides specialized networking for professionals from major Midwestern universities. The membership structure includes Individual Employer, Individual College, Group, Affiliate, and Student/Transitional membership categories. The organization hosts recurring events including career fairs across multiple institutions and publishes a newsletter.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hire Big 10+ Consortium: An affinity group within Midwest ACE providing a network of career services professionals from Big Ten Schools, DePaul University, University of Chicago, and University of Notre Dame.

Products and services

• Midwest ACE Membership

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 900 members and affiliates served through annual conferences, webinars, and professional development programs
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 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

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• IndeedminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFeatured as a partner/logo on the Midwest ACE website. Indeed provides job posting and recruitment advertising services complementary to the career services and recruiting community served by the association.
• Hire Big 10+ ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn affinity group within Midwest ACE providing a network of career services professionals from Big Ten Schools (including Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, etc.) plus DePaul University, University of Chicago, and University of Notre Dame. Creates exclusive employer-university connection opportunities.
• SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMidwest ACE is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP recertification activities at the Annual Conference. Validates professional development value for HR professionals.
• MemberClickscoreTechnology or IntegrationAssociation management software platform powering membership management, event registration, job board, and member communications for Midwest ACE.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Mountain Plains Association of Colleges and Employers (MPACE): MPACE is a smaller regional peer serving colleges and employers in the Mountain-Plains states, with overlapping membership types, conference formats, and award programs.
• Eastern Association of Colleges and Employers (EACE): EACE is another regional counterpart serving career-services and employer-recruiting professionals in the eastern U.S., offering a near-identical mix of membership tiers, conferences, and affinity programming.
• Southern Association of Colleges and Employers (SoACE): SoACE is one of the four U.S. regional college-and-employer associations that share Midwest ACE's structure, offering comparable membership, annual conference, and awards programs across the southern U.S.
• Western Association of Colleges and Employers (WACE): WACE is the western U.S. regional peer to Midwest ACE, with the same professional-association model connecting colleges and employer recruiters through conferences and membership benefits.

Emerging players

• Handshake: Handshake is a career-services platform used by universities and employers for job postings, fairs, and networking. It is both a Midwest ACE technology partner and a potential substitute for parts of the association's networking and job-board offering.

Direct peers

• National Career Development Association (NCDA): NCDA is a national professional association for career-development practitioners, overlapping significantly with Midwest ACE's career-services professional audience and offering similar conferences, credentials, and member resources.
• Higher Ed Recruitment Consortium (HERC): HERC is a consortium of higher-ed institutions focused on dual-career and diversity recruiting, serving an overlapping employer-recruiting audience and competing for similar institutional membership dollars.
• National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE): NACE is the national counterpart to Midwest ACE, connecting collegiate career services and employer recruiting professionals. It is the closest peer in mission, membership model, and conference programming, but operates nationally rather than regionally.

Others

• Symplicity: Symplicity provides career-services management software used by many Midwest ACE member institutions. It is a partner but also an enabling technology vendor whose platform partially overlaps with the association's job-board and member-resource functionality.

Broad incumbents

• Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM): SHRM is a much larger HR professional association that overlaps with the employer-recruiting side of Midwest ACE's audience. Midwest ACE already partners with SHRM to grant PDCs, indicating direct overlap in member needs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Midwest_ACE
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCTrAzi4DOcGwcPbucs6V5sw
• Facebookfacebook.com/MidwestACE
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/midwest-ace
• Instagraminstagram.com/mwaceorg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Midwest ACE