Comparison · 17 material differences
Family Firm Institute (FFI) vs ICSC
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
Professional association
Verified September 2026 Family Firm Institute (FFI)
Advisers, consultants, educators and researchers who serve family enterprises, plus family enterprise members themselves, who join at the same individual rate
Professional association
ICSC
Owners, developers, managers, investors, brokers and marketers of shopping centres and other retail and mixed-use property, plus retailers, public officials and academics
What the records say
- Maximum age at joining: Family Firm Institute (FFI): No published maximum age at joining; ICSC: Next Generation membership: industry professionals under 40.
- Accredited-investor status: Family Firm Institute (FFI): Not required for membership; FFI's Global Education Network certificates in Family Business Advising and Family Wealth Advising are optional and priced separately; ICSC: No published accredited-investor status.
- Industry restriction: Family Firm Institute (FFI): No published industry restriction; ICSC: Standard membership: companies and individuals who own, develop, manage or support marketplaces and spaces (excludes retailers and tenants).
- Annual dues: Family Firm Institute (FFI): $975 a year; ICSC: $300 a year.
Side by side
| Family Firm Institute (FFI) | ICSC | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Professional association | Professional association |
| Founded | 1986 (FFI's history page states the organisation was incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1986 with 22 founding members. It is now headquartered in Boston.) | 1957 (ICSC's own account: "With a $500 payment and a handshake, seven enterprising professionals established ICSC in a downtown Chicago hotel in 1957.") |
| Headquarters | Boston, United States | New York, United States |
| Geographic footprint | Global membership; the annual Global Conference moves between cities and the 2026 edition is scheduled for New York | Global; ICSC runs regional divisions and works with national and regional shopping centre councils worldwide, and holds a Washington DC office alongside its New York headquarters |
| Members | Could not be independently verified: secondary sources describe "nearly 2,000 individuals and organizations from more than 80 countries", but FFI's own about, membership and contact pages do not publish a member or country count. | 70,000as of May 2026 |
| Chapters | FFI has no chapters. It organises members through virtual study groups, the Global Education Network and the annual conference. | Not publicly disclosed as a single figure. ICSC organises by region and division rather than by named chapters, and Wikipedia reports relationships with more than 25 national and regional shopping centre councils. |
| Primary audience | Advisers, consultants, educators and researchers who serve family enterprises, plus family enterprise members themselves, who join at the same individual rate | Owners, developers, managers, investors, brokers and marketers of shopping centres and other retail and mixed-use property, plus retailers, public officials and academics |
| Typical member | The core membership is professional: lawyers, accountants, wealth managers, family business consultants, psychologists and academics working with family firms and family wealth. FFI also admits family enterprise members, educators and researchers, and students, and sells organisational memberships to advisory firms, universities and associations priced by headcount. | Membership spans the retail property chain: shopping centre owners, developers, managers, marketing specialists, investors, retailers and brokers, together with academics and public officials. ICSC's own pricing distinguishes companies and individuals who own, develop, manage or support marketplaces from retailers and tenants, who pay a lower rate. |
| Qualification | ||
| Maximum age at joining | No published maximum age at joining | Next Generation membership: industry professionals under 40A discounted category, not a barrier to joining.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Accredited-investor status | Not required for membership; FFI's Global Education Network certificates in Family Business Advising and Family Wealth Advising are optional and priced separatelyverified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published accredited-investor status |
| Industry restriction | No published industry restriction | Standard membership: companies and individuals who own, develop, manage or support marketplaces and spaces (excludes retailers and tenants)Retailers and tenants have their own lower-priced category.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | No | No |
| Application process | Applicants select a membership category on FFI's membership page and pay the published rate. There is no published sponsorship, interview or committee stage. Organisational memberships are bought by the firm, institution or association and cover a stated number of named people. | Applicants join online through the ICSC membership pages, choosing a member type. Categories with reduced rates require documentary proof: government letterhead for public sector applicants, a university ID for academics, and a transcript, course list or registrar's letter for students. There is no sponsor, interview or committee stage in the published process. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed: FFI describes membership categories and prices but no screening or acceptance process. | Not publicly disclosed; the published route is open enrolment with eligibility set by the type of business the applicant is in. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | $975 a yearIndividual membership: Professional and Family Enterprise members each pay this rate.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | $300 a yearStandard membershipverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Dues are fully published by category. Organisational members receive 15% off Global Conference registration; conference fees themselves are separate from dues. | Not publicly disclosed; no joining fee is listed alongside the published dues.verified September 2026 |
| Programme fee | Not publicly disclosed: the FFI Global Education Network certificate fees are not published on the membership page.verified September 2026 | ICSC publishes a simple flat rate card with no corporate tier: companies and individuals pay the same $300 standard rate. |
| Event costs | Dues are fully published by category. Organisational members receive 15% off Global Conference registration; conference fees themselves are separate from dues. | Not recorded here. ICSC's conferences are separately ticketed and are the main cost of participation, but rates vary by event and were not read for this record.verified September 2026 |
| Membership term | Annual | Annual |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Annual Global Conference plus virtual study groups and learning sessions through the year | A year-round conference programme including ICSC Las Vegas and ICSC New York, plus regional and state conferences |
| Peer forums | Virtual study groups organised by topic; no confidential peer-forum structure | No confidential peer forum structure is published; participation is through events, divisions and committees |
| Confidentiality | Not publicly disclosed | Not publicly disclosed |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Event-focused, Virtual, Cohort-based | Event-focused, Chapter-based |
| Confidential peer forums | Partial | No |
| Local chapters | No | Partial |
| Virtual membership | Yes | Partial |
| Online community | Yes | Partial |
| Member directory | Yes | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | Partial |
| Retreats | No | No |
| Travel | No | No |
| Family programming | Partial | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | No | Not documented |
| Next-generation programming | Not documented | Yes |
| Investment discussions | Partial | Yes |
| Investment opportunities | No | Partial |
| Philanthropic component | No | No |
| Networking emphasis | Medium | High |
| Social emphasis | Low | Medium |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Family Firm Institute (FFI) · ICSC