Business & Professional Associations NAICS 813910, 813920

May 5, 2025 - Trump Administration Proposal Would Cut $163 Billion In Federal Funding

• President Trump unveiled a budget plan with $163 billion in spending cuts to non-military programs. Business and professional associations that apply for government grants to fund community outreach activities or educational programs may be negatively impacted if federal grant funding decreases. The agencies facing proposed reductions that would start on October 1 include the Environmental Protection Agency, the Energy Department, the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Health and Human Services, according to USA Today. The May 2 Trump administration proposal comes after courts have blocked many of those cuts, however.
• President Trump signed an executive order requiring all agencies to review grants and contracts for wasteful spending, fraud, and abuse. Business and professional associations that apply for government grants to fund community outreach activities or educational programs may be negatively impacted if federal grant funding decreases. The order also directed agency leaders to build a payment and contract recording system alongside employees of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Teams of DOGE personnel have been assigned to each agency to develop the system, which will be used to review and justify all expenditures made by employees.

• About 67% of associations are engaging their membership only to a moderate degree, according to a survey by association-services firm MCI of more than 12,700 members and customers from 51 associations around the world. Just 13% are engaging their membership strongly while 20% are engaging their membership in a “weak” fashion. The average engagement score between associations and the responding members and customers was 88 out of 150. A report based on the survey finds that subject-matter expertise and relevance of content are areas where associations are “excellent” in their performance, while fostering innovation, “representation of my company’s interests,” and providing value for money were areas where no more than 30% said their association was “excellent” in its performance.
• Business and professional association industry employment increased slightly while average wages for nonsupervisory employees decreased slightly during the first three months of 2025, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Business and professional association industry sales are forecast to grow at a 4.23% compounded annual rate from 2025 to 2029, comparable to the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. Business and professional associations generate revenue primarily through membership fees and dues.