Comparison · 11 material differences
Detroit Economic Club 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
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
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
- Geographic restriction — Detroit Economic Club: Non-Resident membership: individuals who live and work more than 50 miles from downtown Detroit; ICSC: No published geographic restriction.
- Industry restriction — Detroit Economic Club: 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 — Detroit Economic Club: $150 a year; ICSC: $300 a year.
Side by side
| Detroit Economic Club | ICSC | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Networking organization | Professional association |
| Founded | 1934 (Founded in 1934; Wikipedia names Allen Crow as founder.) | 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 | Detroit, United States | New York, 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 | 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 | 3,500as of September 2026 | 70,000as of May 2026 |
| Chapters | A single-city club with no chapters. | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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. | 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 | Young Leader membership requires the member to be under 40Includes all regular member benefits plus professional development programming.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Next Generation membership: industry professionals under 40A discounted category, not a barrier to joining.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 |
| 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 | 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. | 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; the published route is open paid enrolment. | Not publicly disclosed; the published route is open enrolment with eligibility set by the type of business the applicant is in. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | $150 a yearRegular membershipverified September 2026 · source ↗ | $300 a yearStandard membershipverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosed; no joining fee appears alongside the published dues.verified September 2026 | Not publicly disclosed; no joining fee is listed alongside the published dues.verified September 2026 |
| Event costs | Not publicly disclosed on the membership page. Meeting attendance charges, if any, are handled at the event level.verified September 2026 | 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 | About 35 meetings a season, typically breakfast or lunch events with a 20 to 30 minute speaker address followed by questions and networking | A year-round conference programme including ICSC Las Vegas and ICSC New York, plus regional and state conferences |
| Peer forums | Speaker meetings and the Young Leader Program; no confidential facilitated peer forum is published | No confidential peer forum structure is published; participation is through events, divisions and committees |
| 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 documented |
| Organized as | Event-focused | Event-focused, Chapter-based |
| Confidential peer forums | No | No |
| Local chapters | No | Partial |
| Virtual membership | Not documented | Partial |
| Online community | Not documented | Partial |
| Member directory | Not documented | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Partial | Yes |
| Leadership development | Partial | Partial |
| Retreats | No | No |
| Travel | No | No |
| Family programming | No | No |
| Spouse and partner programming | Not documented | Not documented |
| Next-generation programming | Yes | Yes |
| Investment discussions | No | Yes |
| Investment opportunities | No | Partial |
| Philanthropic component | No | No |
| 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 · ICSC