There’s been a lot of shuffling lately among the various trade associations that represent the signage and graphics industries. All this jockeying for trade show market share fits perfectly within the milieu of the hard-core business world—but I’m having a little trouble squaring it with the idea of associations being “nonprofit.”

 

In March, FESPA announced a deal with Graphics of the Americas wherein the two organizations would co-host the first FESPA Americas show in Orlando next year. The move gives FESPA a toe-hold on the U.S. market and will give a badly needed boost to Graphics of the Americas. U.S. graphics association leadership cried foul, sending out letters complaining that there were “too many shows” in our industry.

 

In February, Atlanta-based ExpoNation, LLC—a for-profit business that produces the Digital Signage Expo (DSE)—announced that it was forming the Digital Signage Federation (DSF), an independent genuine 501(c) tax-exempt nonprofit association. 

 

This was a blow to the two-year-old Digital Signage Association which, up until that moment, was the only association serving the high-growth digital signage market, and benefited from the DSE show. In April, the association announced a merger with the Self-Service & Kioski Association to form a new nonprofit organization called the Digital Screenmedia Association (DSA). This consolidation is a good business move, especially considering the group’s loss of the DSE trade show. 

 

Healthy competition is the American way. But why are so-called nonprofit organizations so concerned about getting a piece of the $100 billion trade show market? Well, “nonprofit” is something of a misnomer. The federal government’s Office of Management and Budget, in its Circular No. A-122, says a “nonprofit organization means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization that is operated primarily for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purposes in the public interest; is not organized primarily for profit; and uses its net proceeds to maintain, improve, and/or expand its operations.”

 

That’s not to say that such a group can’t make money—only that the money they make must be used to help persue its goals for the public interest—and, of course, to “expand its operations.” A large association may have 20-30 paid employees on staff and salary requirements of $2 million or more a year. 

 

I’m not saying that any of this is bad, or that trade associations are not useful. But large associations—despite their nonprofit and tax exempt status—have a lot more to do with business than with altruism. I recently attended a local meeting in Colorado where the Rocky Mountain Sign Association is reorganizing itself as the Colorado Sign Association. 

 

Local organizations such as this are crucial to the industry. The existence of a well-organized, well-funded Colorado Sign Association, for example, would help in confronting potentially damaging regional government actions with a strong, unified voice. Such a voice was needed at a meeting of the Denver City Council in March where a bill banning LED electronic messaging centers on billboards was introduced. This situation will be a top priority of the Colorado Sign Association. 

 

Associations are also a huge help when it comes to creating engineering standards for signage that meets regional codes. The national associations also do important work, lobbying Washington, protecting industry concerns and more. But let’s be clear—these are businesses. 

 

Okay, back to work.