Comparison · 16 material differences
Commonwealth Club World Affairs vs Small Giants Community
This comparison was generated on request from the records. It carries no editorial verdict and is not indexed. The published comparisons are listed on the compare page.
Read down each column for one organization, across a row for the difference. A bronze mark at the left of a cell means the organizations differ on that row. A dash or “not published” means the organization does not disclose the fact — it is not a zero.
Verified September 2026
Networking organization
Verified September 2026 Commonwealth Club World Affairs
The general public in the San Francisco Bay Area and, through broadcast and podcast distribution, a national audience; membership is open to anyone
Networking organization
Small Giants Community
Founders, chief executives and next-generation leaders of small and mid-sized privately held companies that deliberately prioritise culture, purpose and quality over growth - the…
What the records say
- Role or title — Commonwealth Club World Affairs: No published role or title; Small Giants Community: The community is designed for founders, chief executives and next-generation leaders of small and mid-sized businesses.
- Annual dues — Commonwealth Club World Affairs: $135 a year; Small Giants Community: $0 a year.
Side by side
| Commonwealth Club World Affairs | Small Giants Community | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Networking organization | Networking organization |
| Founded | 1903 (Founded on 3 February 1903 by San Francisco Chronicle agriculture editor Edward F. Adams, per the Club's own history.) | 2009 (The About page states that "The Small Giants Community is officially formed and founded by Bo Burlingham and Paul Spiegelman" in 2009, four years after Burlingham's 2005 book Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big.) |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, United States | United States |
| Geographic footprint | San Francisco Bay Area — headquarters at 110 The Embarcadero plus volunteer-run regional chapters in the East Bay, Marin County, Napa Valley and the Peninsula, and a Silicon Valley programme; national reach through radio, television and podcasts | Primarily United States. The member directory offers filters for more than 30 countries including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, Japan, Brazil and South Africa; the organization publishes no country breakdown. |
| Members | 20,000as of September 2026 | Not publicly disclosed. The organization publishes a searchable member directory but no total membership figure. The only published capacity number is the annual Summit, which is capped at 250 attendees. |
| Chapters | Not published as a number. The Club names volunteer-run regional chapters in the East Bay, Marin County, Napa Valley and the Peninsula alongside its San Francisco headquarters and Silicon Valley programming, but gives no total. | No chapters. The community operates online with a single annual summit and cohort programmes. |
| Primary audience | The general public in the San Francisco Bay Area and, through broadcast and podcast distribution, a national audience; membership is open to anyone | Founders, chief executives and next-generation leaders of small and mid-sized privately held companies that deliberately prioritise culture, purpose and quality over growth - the model described in Bo Burlingham's book. |
| Typical member | Members are the general public rather than a screened cohort. The published tiers accommodate individuals, two people at one address, small groups, students and educators, single-issue supporters through the Climate One programme, and companies buying access for employees. A Leadership Circle from $1,000 upwards functions as a donor programme with escalating access to speakers. | The organization describes members as ranging "from solo founders to growing companies to established purpose-driven organizations", covering founders, C-suite executives and rising leaders. Company memberships bring whole leadership teams into the community. Published member quotes come from operating executives at privately held United States firms. |
| Qualification | ||
| Role or title | No published role or title | The community is designed for founders, chief executives and next-generation leaders of small and mid-sized businessesStated as the intended audience rather than an enforced test.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | No | No |
| Application process | Membership is bought online by selecting a plan; auto-renewal on the annual renewal date is an option at signup. Student and educator applicants apply through a separate form. There is no sponsorship, interview or committee review. | Community membership requires no application: prospective members join the free tier online and upgrade to Individual or Company membership when they choose. The cohort programmes are screened. The Leadership Academy runs an application, a Zoom conversation covering cost and curriculum, a fit review and then acceptance and payment, with onboarding ahead of a January launch. Sounding Board uses an in-depth application and assessment followed by an interview. |
| Selectivity | Not selective. Membership is open to all and most events are also open to non-members who buy tickets. | Not applicable to general membership, which is open. For the Leadership Academy the organization says it will "review your application and ensure a good fit before accepting payment", but publishes no acceptance rate. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | $135 a yearIndividual membership, annual plan ($13 a month monthly, cancel anytime). Includes one 30 percent discounted ticket per event, excluding special events.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | $0 a yearFree tier: US$0. Includes the Small Giants Scorecard and report, a free book chapter, free virtual events and workshops, the resource library and the newsletter.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosed; no joining fee appears alongside the published dues.verified September 2026 | Paid memberships are billed annually and can be cancelled at any time. The cohort programmes and the Summit are priced separately from membership. |
| Programme fee | All membership levels are described by the Club as fully tax deductible. Annual plans carry a stated saving over the monthly equivalents, and monthly plans can be cancelled at any time. | $12,500 one-timeSmall Giants Leadership Academy: "an investment of $12,500 per participant", all inclusive of programme access, community access, lifetime resource access, a Summit ticket and meals, transport and activities for two in-person experiences; travel and accommodation are excluded. A 10 percent deposit is due on acceptance, with the balance paid up front or monthly.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Event costs | All membership levels are described by the Club as fully tax deductible. Annual plans carry a stated saving over the monthly equivalents, and monthly plans can be cancelled at any time. | $1,650–2,265 one-timeAnnual Summit tickets in three releases: US$1,650 for the first 40 registrants, US$1,960 for the next 60, and US$2,265 thereafter. Includes all sessions, a visit to a Small Giant company, meals and receptions and transport between events. Discounts are offered for groups of three or more and for Leadership Academy alumni.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Membership term | Annual or monthly; annual memberships can be set to auto-renew and monthly plans can be cancelled at any time | Annual, billed annually, cancellable at any time; the free tier has no term |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Hundreds of events a year, in person and online, at the San Francisco headquarters, the regional chapters and Silicon Valley | Ongoing online forums and virtual events and workshops; one annual Summit; Journey runs six two-day excursions a year; Sounding Board meets monthly for twelve months |
| Peer forums | Member-led forums organised by subject, plus volunteer-run regional chapters; no confidential facilitated peer forum | Online forums and chat open to paid members rather than assigned confidential groups; one-to-one mentorship pairs in Sounding Board; cohort groups in the Leadership Academy and Journey |
| Confidentiality | None; programmes are public and are broadcast on radio and television and distributed as podcasts | Not publicly disclosed |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not published for membership. Sounding Board is a twelve-month commitment with monthly one-to-one meetings; Journey involves six two-day excursions over a year. |
| Organized as | Event-focused, Chapter-based, Virtual | Virtual, Event-focused, Cohort-based |
| Confidential peer forums | No | Partial |
| Local chapters | Yes | No |
| Virtual membership | Yes | Yes |
| Online community | Partial | Yes |
| Member directory | No | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | No | Yes |
| Retreats | No | Partial |
| Travel | Yes | No |
| Family programming | Partial | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | Partial | No |
| Next-generation programming | Yes | Yes |
| Investment discussions | No | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | Yes | Partial |
| Networking emphasis | Low | High |
| Social emphasis | Medium | Medium |
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Last verified: not yet reviewed
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Commonwealth Club World Affairs · Small Giants Community