Comparison · 16 material differences
Family Business Alliance vs Tugboat Institute
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 Family Business Alliance
Family-owned businesses in West Michigan — owners and family leaders running the business, next-generation family members preparing to lead, and the non-family executives who work…
Peer advisory
Tugboat Institute
Chief executives, presidents and executive chairs with significant ownership of private companies that have deliberately rejected the venture-backed or IPO path, with at least…
What the records say
- Role or title — Family Business Alliance: No published role or title; Tugboat Institute: Must be the CEO, President or Executive Chairperson of the company.
- Minimum company revenue — Family Business Alliance: No published minimum company revenue; Tugboat Institute: At least US$10M in annual revenue.
- Minimum ownership stake — Family Business Alliance: No published minimum ownership stake; Tugboat Institute: Must hold a significant ownership stake; the business must be closely held with value-aligned owners who have no legal right to compel a sale or IPO.
- Geographic restriction — Family Business Alliance: West Michigan, centred on Grand Rapids; Tugboat Institute: No published geographic restriction.
- Annual dues — Family Business Alliance: $625 a year; Tugboat Institute: Not publicly disclosed. No membership fee appears anywhere on the public site; prospective members are routed to a pre-application and a follow-up conversation..
Side by side
| Family Business Alliance | Tugboat Institute | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Family-business organization | Peer advisory |
| Founded | 2006 (The Alliance's about page states it was "Founded in 2006 by family business leaders who saw the need to establish a supportive community for family business professionals" and marks 2026 as its 20th year. Secondary sources describe the launch as being spearheaded by the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce and the Family Owned Business Institute at Grand Valley State University's Seidman College of Business.) | 2013 (The About Us page dates the founding to 2013, when Dave Whorton - previously a founder of four Silicon Valley companies and an investor at two venture and private equity firms - coined the term "Evergreen" and, with the help of Chris Alden, created Tugboat Institute following a small gathering of leaders in Sun Valley, Idaho in October of that year.) |
| Headquarters | Grand Rapids, United States | Sun Valley, United States |
| Geographic footprint | West Michigan, based in Grand Rapids | United States focused, with local in-person forums grouped by member geography and virtual "elastic" forums; the pre-application form accepts company addresses in any country. |
| Members | 200as of September 2026 | Not publicly disclosed. The organization refers to drawing on "hundreds of Evergreen companies" for its content platform but publishes no membership total. |
| Chapters | A single-market organisation with no chapters. | The organization runs local in-person forums based on member geography plus virtual forums, but does not publish a count or a list of locations. |
| Primary audience | Family-owned businesses in West Michigan — owners and family leaders running the business, next-generation family members preparing to lead, and the non-family executives who work alongside them | Chief executives, presidents and executive chairs with significant ownership of private companies that have deliberately rejected the venture-backed or IPO path, with at least US$10 million in annual revenue. |
| Typical member | Members are family-owned companies in the Grand Rapids region across a wide size range. The dues scale runs from a Small Business tier restricted to firms under $3 million in annual revenue up to a $10,000 Community tier, so both very small family firms and substantial regional employers sit in the same organisation. Peer groups also admit non-family key executives. | Members must lead a closely held private company whose owners have no legal right to compel a sale or flotation, must hold a significant ownership stake themselves, and must have five years as chief executive or president of the current company or prior experience in that role. The company must have at least US$10 million in annual revenue, be cash-flow positive for two years and show consistent growth. |
| Qualification | ||
| Role or title | No published role or title | Must be the CEO, President or Executive Chairperson of the company"Prospective members must be the CEO, President, or Executive Chairperson of an Evergreen company with a significant ownership stake."verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum company revenue | No published minimum company revenue | At least US$10M in annual revenueAccompanied by two further financial tests: cash-flow positive for two years, and consistent growth.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum ownership stake | No published minimum ownership stake | Must hold a significant ownership stake; the business must be closely held with value-aligned owners who have no legal right to compel a sale or IPONo percentage is specified. The ownership test effectively excludes companies with investors who can force an exit.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Geographic restriction | West Michigan, centred on Grand Rapidsverified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published geographic restriction |
| Invitation required | No | No |
| Sponsor required | No | Sometimes |
| Application process | Companies join by selecting one of the five published membership tiers. Peer group entry is separate: applicants complete an FBA Peer Group Application or contact the Director of Membership, who advises which of the three streams fits, and are then placed into a group of eight to ten peers at a comparable career stage. | Candidates who believe they meet the criteria complete a two-step pre-application covering personal details and company information: legal structure, year founded, annual revenue for the last fiscal year, employee count, number of years profitable, website and address. The organization says it reviews every pre-application in detail and that a member of the team then makes contact to discuss next steps. Staff biographies refer to a candidacy process and to working with member referrals. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed — membership appears open to family-owned businesses in West Michigan at the published rates. Peer group placement is curated by staff rather than open. | Not publicly disclosed. The criteria are published in full but no acceptance rate, application volume or waitlist information is given. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | $625 a yearSmall Business tier, for businesses earning less than $3 million annually: 2 signature event tickets, 1 peer group slot, leadership programme and partner workshop access.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Not publicly disclosed. No membership fee appears anywhere on the public site; prospective members are routed to a pre-application and a follow-up conversation.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | No membership initiation fee is published.verified September 2026 | Tugboat Institute publishes detailed eligibility criteria but no pricing of any kind. |
| Programme fee | $625 one-timeOne-time placement fee for the NextGen Peer Group. Placement fees for the NowGen and KeyGroup streams are not published.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Tugboat Institute publishes detailed eligibility criteria but no pricing of any kind. |
| Event costs | Five published annual tiers from $625 to $10,000, each carrying a defined allocation of event tickets, peer group slots and programme registrations. Peer group placement is charged separately. | Not publicly disclosed. The Summit, Exemplar Visit and Gathering of Teams are described as member experiences without published pricing.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Membership term | Annual | Not publicly disclosed |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Peer groups meet monthly for half-day sessions; the Alliance holds more than 16 events a year alongside its succession, leadership and governance programmes | Forum groups meet through the year, locally in person or virtually; three annual gatherings - the Summit each summer in Sun Valley, the Exemplar Visit at a member company each autumn, and the Gathering of Teams in February |
| Peer forums | Peer groups of eight to ten members with a seasoned outside professional as moderator, in three streams: NowGen (family members currently running the business), NextGen (younger family members not yet leading) and KeyGroup (non-family key executives) | Confidential forum groups described as a structured environment balancing personal growth and business insight; members join either a local in-person forum based on geography or an "elastic" forum that meets virtually through the year and in person at Tugboat events |
| Confidentiality | The Alliance describes its peer groups as confidential spaces built on a circle of trust, and states that networking primarily for lead generation is not a programme goal. No written confidentiality policy is published. | The organization describes its forums as "a safe space" and its community as defined by trust; it publishes no written confidentiality policy. |
| Time commitment | Peer group members commit to a monthly half-day meeting | Not documented |
| Organized as | Forum-based, Event-focused | Forum-based, Event-focused, Chapter-based, Virtual |
| Confidential peer forums | Yes | Yes |
| Local chapters | No | Yes |
| Virtual membership | No | Partial |
| Online community | Partial | Yes |
| Member directory | Partial | Not documented |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Yes | Yes |
| Leadership development | Yes | Yes |
| Retreats | Not documented | Yes |
| Travel | No | Partial |
| Family programming | Yes | Partial |
| Spouse and partner programming | Not documented | Not documented |
| Next-generation programming | Yes | Partial |
| Investment discussions | No | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | No | No |
| Networking emphasis | Medium | High |
| Social emphasis | Medium | Medium |
Next
Last verified: not yet reviewed
Report an error on this page
Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Family Business Alliance · Tugboat Institute