Family Business Alliance · Requirements

Family Business Alliance membership requirements

Every criterion Family Business Alliance publishes, with its source, the date it was verified and how confident we are in it, plus superseded figures, so you can see how the tests have moved.

A heritage office with a long desk — Illustration

Read a requirement as the organization's published floor, not as a promise. A revenue test may have alternative versions for different business types, chapters can set stricter local tests, and invitation-only bodies publish criteria that describe members rather than admit them.

Current published criteria

4 rows

Criterion	Published requirement	Note	Provenance
Other criterion	Membership is reserved for family-owned businesses	No generation or ownership percentage test is published.	Verified September 2026High confidenceSource ↗
Maximum company revenue	The Small Business tier is limited to businesses earning less than $3 million annually	This is a ceiling for the cheapest tier, not a floor for membership; larger firms join at higher tiers.	Verified September 2026High confidenceSource ↗
Geographic restriction	West Michigan, centred on Grand Rapids		Verified September 2026High confidenceSource ↗
Other criterion	Peer group participants must be FBA members; NextGen groups require the applicant to work within the family business and be positioned for executive management	Groups are formed of eight to ten members at a similar career stage.	Verified September 2026High confidenceSource ↗

How admission works

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.

Invitation required

Sponsor required

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.

Membership term

Annual

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

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.

Do you appear to meet them?

The qualification tool reads these rows against a profile you give in ranges and explains which criteria appear met, unclear or unmet. Check your profile

If not: alternatives to Family Business Alliance (Loyola University Chicago Family Business Center, Family Enterprise Center at Kennesaw State University, Family Business Association, Family Business Network (FBN)).

Last verified: 6 September 2026 Report an error on this page

Sources

West MI Family Business Support — Family Business Alliance, Family Business Alliance. Accessed 6 September 2026.tier 1
About FBA — Family Business Alliance, Family Business Alliance. Accessed 6 September 2026.tier 1
One of a Kind Peer Network — Family Business Alliance, Family Business Alliance. Accessed 6 September 2026.tier 1
Family Business Membership Levels — Family Business Alliance, Family Business Alliance. Accessed 6 September 2026.tier 2
NextGen Peer Group — Family Business Alliance, Family Business Alliance. Accessed 6 September 2026.tier 2

Source tiers follow the published hierarchy: 1 official site · 2 official membership materials · 3 application documents · 4 annual reports · 5 government filings · 6 reliable business publications · 7 credible interviews · 8 other reputable secondary sources. Sources and data policy.