Comparison · 18 material differences
Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center vs Women Presidents Organization
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
Family-business organization
Verified September 2026 Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center
Middle-market, multigenerational family businesses and the whole family around them, including family members who do not work in the business, in-laws, and non-family executives
Peer advisory
Women Presidents Organization
Women who own and run privately held companies above WPO's revenue thresholds.
What the records say
- Minimum age: Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center: The Next Generation Leadership Institute is designed for 25 to 50 year-olds set to assume leadership positions in their family business; Women Presidents Organization: No published minimum age.
- Role or title: Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center: No published role or title; Women Presidents Organization: Must lead the company and hold primary decision-making authority for day-to-day operations.
- Minimum company revenue: Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center: No published minimum company revenue; Women Presidents Organization: US$2,000,000 in gross annual sales for a product-based business.
- Minimum ownership stake: Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center: No published minimum ownership stake; Women Presidents Organization: Must hold an ownership interest in the business at some level, and the company must be privately held.
- Annual dues: Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center: $7,500 a year; Women Presidents Organization: $2,000 a year.
Side by side
| Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center | Women Presidents Organization | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Family-business organization | Peer advisory |
| Founded | 1990 (Loyola's own news release announcing the current director states the Center was "Founded in 1990". The Center's Our Story page describes it as one of the first US communities formed to research and support family business, started by Loyola faculty and staff from the schools of business, social work and law.) | 1997 (Founded by Marsha Firestone; the first chapter was started in New York City.) |
| Headquarters | Chicago, United States | New York, United States |
| Geographic footprint | Chicago and the surrounding Midwest; programmes run at Loyola's Water Tower Campus at 820 N. Michigan Avenue | Chapters across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Peru, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, South Africa and Australia |
| Members | Not publicly disclosed | Not currently disclosed. WPO does not publish a member total on its site; a 2022 account records 2,000 members across 137 chapters, which is now out of date. |
| Chapters | A single university-based centre with no chapters. | 145 |
| Primary audience | Middle-market, multigenerational family businesses and the whole family around them, including family members who do not work in the business, in-laws, and non-family executives | Women who own and run privately held companies above WPO's revenue thresholds. |
| Typical member | The Center describes working with middle-market, multigenerational family businesses and serving "the whole family, both inside and outside the business". Membership is bought by the family business and extends to family members regardless of whether they hold a role in the company; peer groups separately admit non-family CEOs, CHROs, CFOs and female board directors. | Members are women who lead their own privately held companies, hold day-to-day decision-making authority and have an ownership interest. The entry threshold is US$2 million in gross annual sales for product-based businesses and US$1 million for service-based businesses, with higher tiers at US$10 million (Platinum) and US$50 million (Zenith). |
| Qualification | ||
| Minimum age | The Next Generation Leadership Institute is designed for 25 to 50 year-olds set to assume leadership positions in their family businessApplies to that programme, not to membership. Enrolment is open to members and non-members.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published minimum age |
| Role or title | No published role or title | Must lead the company and hold primary decision-making authority for day-to-day operationsverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum company revenue | No published minimum company revenue | US$2,000,000 in gross annual sales for a product-based businessBase (Chapter Member and Member-at-Large) threshold.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum ownership stake | No published minimum ownership stake | Must hold an ownership interest in the business at some level, and the company must be privately heldverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Gender | No published gender | Women business ownersverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Geographic restriction | Programmes are delivered in person at Loyola's Water Tower Campus in Chicago, which effectively limits membership to the Chicago regionThe Family Office peer group is mostly virtual; the Stewardship Institute is fully in person.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published geographic restriction |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | No | Not documented |
| Application process | Family businesses apply for membership through the Center's membership pages and pay the annual fee, after which members take part in an annual goal-setting meeting with Center staff. Peer group placement is arranged separately by the Center, which matches participants by role and life stage and keeps relatives from the same business apart. The two institutes enrol by cohort and are open to non-members as well; the Next Generation Leadership Institute takes a $1,000 non-refundable deposit to hold a place and runs information sessions before each intake. | Candidates apply and, if they meet the ownership, authority and revenue tests, are placed in a chapter in their geographic area. Women who meet the criteria but cannot access a chapter for geographic or other reasons can join as a Member-at-Large. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed: no acceptance rate or screening criteria are published, though peer group placement is curated by staff. | Not publicly disclosed |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | $7,500 a yearAnnual membership is $7,500 per family business and covers the whole family. Includes a 15% discount on Loyola's Executive and Professional Education open-enrolment courses.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | $2,000 a yearStated by Women Presidents' Organization (2021-12-09): WPO Chapter Member (global, USD; $1M+ service / $2M+ product revenue). “CHAPTER ANNUAL FEE: $2,000”verified October 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | No initiation fee is published.verified September 2026 | Not publicly disclosed |
| Programme fee | $3,500–5,000 a yearPeer groups: $3,500 a year for Center members, $5,000 for non-members. The Family Office group is free to members and $1,500 for non-members; CFO Roundtables are free.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Not publicly disclosed |
| Membership term | Annual | Not documented |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Peer groups meet bimonthly for half-day sessions (the Family Office group quarterly); institute cohorts meet monthly or six times over 18 months; conferences, webinars and social events run through the year | Monthly chapter meetings for Chapter Members; Platinum and Zenith groups meet three times a year |
| Peer forums | Eight peer groups of roughly five to twelve participants, segmented by role and stage: NowGen (family C-suite), NextGen (family members outside the C-suite), Legacy (owners retiring within five years), Family Council (family members not in daily operations), Family and Shareholder Relations / Family Office, Non-Family CEOs, Chief Human Resource Officers and Female Board Directors, plus sponsored CFO Roundtables. Most groups include two one-on-one coaching sessions a year. | Chapters draw members from diverse non-competing industries and are facilitated by a professionally trained Chapter Chair. Chapter size is reported at a maximum of 20 members, a figure WPO does not confirm on its own pages. |
| Confidentiality | The Center names confidentiality and non-solicitation among its founding values, states that all groups maintain strict confidentiality, and never places family members from the same business in the same group. | Chapter meetings are confidential; members share business expertise in confidence. |
| Time commitment | Peer groups: a half-day every two months. Next Generation Leadership Institute: 18 months, a two-day opening retreat plus 17 day-long cohort meetings and 15 coaching sessions. Stewardship Institute: 18 months, six meetings of a day and a half. | Not documented |
| Organized as | Forum-based, Cohort-based, Event-focused | Chapter-based, Forum-based, Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | Yes | Yes |
| Local chapters | No | Yes |
| Virtual membership | Partial | Partial |
| Online community | Partial | Partial |
| Member directory | Not documented | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | Yes |
| Retreats | Yes | Partial |
| Travel | No | Partial |
| Family programming | Yes | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | Yes | No |
| Next-generation programming | Yes | No |
| Investment discussions | Partial | Partial |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | No | Not documented |
| Networking emphasis | Medium | High |
| Social emphasis | Medium | Medium |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center · Women Presidents Organization