Comparison · 16 material differences
Detroit Economic Club 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 Detroit Economic Club
Business, government, academic and civic figures in the Detroit region who want access to the club's speaker programme, plus a large cohort of under-40 professionals
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
- Maximum age at joining — Detroit Economic Club: Young Leader membership requires the member to be under 40; Small Giants Community: No published maximum age at joining.
- Role or title — Detroit Economic Club: 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.
- Geographic restriction — Detroit Economic Club: Non-Resident membership: individuals who live and work more than 50 miles from downtown Detroit; Small Giants Community: No published geographic restriction.
- Annual dues — Detroit Economic Club: $150 a year; Small Giants Community: $0 a year.
Side by side
| Detroit Economic Club | Small Giants Community | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Networking organization | Networking organization |
| Founded | 1934 (Founded in 1934; Wikipedia names Allen Crow as founder.) | 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 | Detroit, United States | United States |
| Geographic footprint | Detroit and south-east Michigan, with a discounted non-resident category for people living and working more than 50 miles from downtown Detroit | 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 | 3,500as 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 | A single-city club with no chapters. | No chapters. The community operates online with a single annual summit and cohort programmes. |
| Primary audience | Business, government, academic and civic figures in the Detroit region who want access to the club's speaker programme, plus a large cohort of under-40 professionals | 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 | Membership spans corporate executives and professionals in the Detroit region, with dedicated discounted categories for clergy, full-time faculty at accredited institutions, government officials, non-profit employees, retirees over 60, and people based more than 50 miles away. Over a third of the membership is reported to be in the under-40 Young Leader Program. | 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 | ||
| Maximum age at joining | Young Leader membership requires the member to be under 40Includes all regular member benefits plus professional development programming.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published maximum age at joining |
| 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 ↗ |
| Geographic restriction | Non-Resident membership: individuals who live and work more than 50 miles from downtown Detroitverified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published geographic restriction |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | No | No |
| Application process | Membership is bought online through the club's membership pages by selecting a category. No sponsorship, interview or committee review is described in the published process. | 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 publicly disclosed; the published route is open paid enrolment. | 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 | $150 a yearRegular membershipverified 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 | Not publicly disclosed | $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 | Not publicly disclosed on the membership page. Meeting attendance charges, if any, are handled at the event level.verified September 2026 | $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 | Annual, billed annually, cancellable at any time; the free tier has no term |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | About 35 meetings a season, typically breakfast or lunch events with a 20 to 30 minute speaker address followed by questions and networking | 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 | Speaker meetings and the Young Leader Program; no confidential facilitated peer forum is published | 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 | Not publicly disclosed; meetings are on-the-record events, many of which are covered by press | 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 | Virtual, Event-focused, Cohort-based |
| Confidential peer forums | No | Partial |
| Local chapters | No | No |
| Virtual membership | Not documented | Yes |
| Online community | Not documented | Yes |
| Member directory | Not documented | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Partial | Yes |
| Leadership development | Partial | Yes |
| Retreats | No | Partial |
| Travel | No | No |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | Not documented | No |
| Next-generation programming | Yes | Yes |
| Investment discussions | No | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | No | Partial |
| Networking emphasis | High | 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: Detroit Economic Club · Small Giants Community