The Association of Collecting Clubs works with, and supports collecting groups of all types: collecting clubs, societies, associations, Internet clubs and discussion groups

General Information

Objectives

The Association of Collecting Clubs assists and supports collecting groups - their leadership and memberships - through a variety of programs and services.

Further, the ACC assists collectors wishing to establish new clubs in areas where none now exist, and helps all clubs desiring to form partnerships and networking for mutual goals and objectives. It is doubtful that any collecting club has a problem which is truly unique. Most clubs, regardless of the collecting area they support and serve, have some of the same problems and challenges, and some of the same opportunities, as other collecting groups. ACC will assist club leadership in addressing many of these areas together.

And, lastly, ACC offers a vehicle to the leadership of collecting clubs to join together to have a strong "voice" in the antiques, art and collectibles industry on issues of interest.

Background

When Collectors.Org was launched over a decade ago by Americana Resources, an antiques & collectibles business (amres.com) operated by Larry Krug & Rick Moses and headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, it's stated purpose was that: "this site is primarily targeted at collector organizations or clubs and their members, with a broader secondary audience being ALL collectors."

Collectors.Org soon became the designated website of the National Association of Collectors (NAC) which was founded in 1996 by Harry L. Rinker, president of Rinker Enterprises, Inc, Emmaus, Pennsylvania and Jim Tucker, founder & director of Antique & Collectible Associations, Davidson, North Carolina. The stated goal of NAC originally was to identify and address those needs and concerns that are common to all collectors. This remains the primary goal of the National Association of Collectors today. NAC was acquired by Americana Resources on January 1, 2002.

Soon after, in March of 2002, the Association of Collecting Clubs (ACC) was created as a parallel organization, with NAC directed at assisting individual collectors and ACC supporting and assisting the leadership of collecting clubs.

While Collectors.Org had provided the entree for working closely with collecting groups for several years, the establishment of the Association of Collecting Clubs provided the "umbrella" for actively supporting collecting groups with a variety of services and programs.

Over the past several years Collectors.Org has developed into a major FREE information website for collecting clubs - serving club leaders, their members and the entire antiques, art and collectibles industry. Both NAC and ACC use Collectors.Org as their combined official website. The website is continually changing, offering additional enhancements in support of it's objectives.

The Association of Collecting Clubs, National Association of Collectors and Collectors.Org are all owned by Americana Resources. For more information on Americana Resources. (collectors.org/General/About_US.asp)

Programs

Programs are major areas for ACC involvement. This is based primarily on the relationships between Collectors.Org and many collecting clubs over the years and observing the challenges and the opportunities that exist.

In addressing these issues, ACC uses the expertise in ACC member clubs and other consultants and advisors throughout the antiques and collectibles industry and from outside the industry.

Club Leadership Models

Regardless of how popular a collecting area may be, often the success (or lack thereof) of a collecting club serving that area is closely related to club leadership. Additionally, this may have absolutely nothing to do with the abilities of the people in leadership positions, but more to do with leadership models. Does your club change leadership every year? Are club Bylaws or the Charter or Constitution "correct" for the situation? Is your club a candidate for considering an executive director? What role does the Board play? ...executive committee? ...other committees? Do all club leadership positions have clearly defined position statements? Is the club leadership and the general membership "on the same page?" These are some of the areas in which ACC plans to help clubs identify their strengths and weaknesses and to correct areas needing help.

Club Promotion & Membership Recruitment

Perhaps there is no other area which lends itself to clubs helping other clubs, through mentoring programs and in other ways, than providing new ideas and suggestions on what works and what doesn't work relating to promotion and member recruitment. Closely tied to membership recruitment is membership retention - keeping your members and filling their needs.

Management & Finances for Clubs

One of the major needs of many collecting clubs is in the area of club management and finances. Granted, no two clubs are exactly the same. However, there are many components of club operations that are indeed the same. How to avoid mistakes. How to be more financially creative. Determining if your club membership dues is in sync with the member services you are providing. Having a plan of work tied to a budget. Year-end audits. These are only a few subjects in this area in which ACC can assist member clubs.

Reproductions, Fakes and Fraud

Reproductions, fakes and fantasy items and fraud are serious problems in many collecting areas. Many clubs are already doing a good job of documenting reproductions and alerting their members and others to be on guard. Fakes and fantasy items - the production of items which never originally existed, is even more of a challenge. Fraud is an altogether different problem for collectors when buying or trading, particularly with the Internet. ACC works closely with clubs in these areas, as well as the Federal Trade Commission and other agencies. One of our ACC founders was in a leadership role in the creation of the Hobby Protection Act in the early 1970s and continues to advocate the need for a major expansion of the Act.

Club Conventions & Events

Annual club conventions are perhaps the single most important event of most collecting clubs. Conventions shore up membership and can be used to recruit new members. They provide an atmosphere of "fraternity" and fellowship, as well as an educational component. They often command a sizeable commitment of manpower and a large portion of the annual budget. Other events - particularly club-sponsored shows - are also important projects for collecting clubs. ACC maintains an ACC Club Conventions & Events Calendar on the website and promotes club events through the ACC News Service. We also work closely with several hundred Convention & Visitors Bureaus (CVB's) and event facility managers in being a conduit between clubs and those who can assist with location and facility selection for events. ACC also offers a liability insurance program for club events.

Appraisals & Appraising

ACC will continue to involve the appraisal associations in the antiques & collectibles industry to develop educational programs and packages tailored to the needs of collecting clubs and their members. This area will also address the ramification of clubs offering appraisals as one of their services.

Building Coalitions & Networking

Many of the programs of both ACC and NAC can best be addressed by building meaningful coalitions among collecting clubs with the same needs or interests as well as networking with other groups beyond collecting clubs.

Laws & Legal Ramifications for Clubs

Club leadership needs to continually be aware of the ever changing laws at every level which may directly affect their club operation and membership. This can mean everything from whether or not a 501(c)3 is currently a good or "not so good" idea for collecting clubs, to the whole Internet legal area. Copyright laws, dealing with suspension of members and club liabilities at conventions & shows are only a few of these areas. ACC will seek out legal advice to help clubs with addressing these issues.

Reaching Young Collectors

Realizing that some collecting areas may be of more interest to young people than are others, all clubs should find ways to make young collectors feel welcome. Help them to learn about the hobby so their collecting experience will be a pleasant one. There are many collecting clubs which are currently doing an outstanding job in this area. With their support, other clubs may find this a valid component to include in their future plans. Note: in referring to young collectors, ACC breaks this audience down into three segments - age 12 and under, teen collectors (13-19), and young adults (20-30).

Serving New Audiences

For a variety of reasons, there are currently more people interested in "collecting" as a pleasurable pastime than at any other time in history. Some of these people have never collected anything before. Some are intrigued by the idea of becoming a collector but haven't even chosen their collecting area yet. As clubs struggle with expanding their memberships -- or even holding on to their existing membership numbers -- serving new audiences needs to be given paramount consideration. ACC can help identify new audiences and ways to reach them.

Collecting Clubs--a Partnering Role in the Antiques, Art and Collectibles Industry

As stated earlier as our fourth objective, ACC can become a major partner in the antiques, art and collectibles industry. By joining together, creating a major "voice" for causes supportive of all collectors, we can make a difference, both in identifying problems and helping to solve them, and in identifying the potential for opportunities which exist and helping to capitalize on them.

Fund Raising

The general concept is that all collecting clubs are poor...that all collecting clubs operate on a "shoestring" budget...that they all could apply for - and quality for - a collecting clubs' welfare program, if such a thing existed. While the above statement may be partially true, that many collecting clubs do operate on a very limited budget, there are some which have a rather healthy budget. Many are finding multiple revenue sources, and not just relying on a dues structure to operate the club. It is interesting that fund raising is neither a large part of the budget, nor of the operating plan of most collecting clubs. Yet, if done correctly, we feel that most clubs can easily "build the case" for a potentially very successful fund raising program.

Celebrating Anniversaries

Major club anniversaries are a very special time in the history of a collecting club. No matter whether it is a fifth anniversary, a 25th anniversary or a 50th anniversary, it is not only a time to celebrate, but also provides an opportunity to highlight the accomplishments of the club and promote the club. Suggestions for clubs to consider in marking these anniversaries will be presented.

Club Advertising

This program area addresses club advertising from two different sides - clubs accepting advertising; and, advertising your club. If your club accepts advertising as one source of potential income, it must be a serious, well-orchestrated advertising program, preferably headed up by an advertising manager or director. On the flip side, if your club has made the decision that one of the best ways to promote the club and expand membership is to advertise the club, this, too, should be well planned out and the responsibility of a key person in the club.

Club Chapters

Chapters offer a whole new dimension to larger collecting groups. Normally there are two distinct types of chapters - geographic chapters and specialty (or sometimes called thematic or topical) chapters. Regardless of the type of chapter, the decision for a club to offer these sub-groups is no small matter. It requires rules and regulations, monitoring, and a complete understanding between the leadership of the club and those who are responsible for the individual chapters.

Creative Awards

Awards can be an interesting aspect of a collecting club's operations. What constitutes a meaningful award? What is the best type of selection process? Developing a Club Awards Program. We've often heard it said that the giving of awards can sometimes cause as much bas as good, depending on the reason the award was given, and to whom it was given. Yes, the issuing of awards can be very competitive, but it can also be fair. This program area will hopefully provide some pointers and options which will allow your club leadership to have appropriate discussions on developing a creative awards program for your collecting group.

Global Marketing

Thanks to the Internet our world has grown much larger from a communications standpoint. We can now take note of dedicated collectors in other countries - collecting the same things we are collecting. We can communicate with them and buy, sell and trade around the world. Many collecting clubs are realizing the potential for this expanded audience and have asked for assistance and guidance on how to build a global membership, marketing and management strategy for their collecting group.

Clubs and the Internet

The Internet provides new opportunities to clubs for doing many things differently. When used effectively, it can cut operating costs substantially. It provides the potential to promote and recruit to vastly larger audiences than ever before available to most clubs. It can provide the means for communicating to your membership and to the club leadership and committees instantaneously.

New Technologies

No other program area is potentially more important to collecting groups than this one. If the new technologies available to club leaders today - along with the continuous flow of new and better technology products coming on the market daily - were applied to club operations, changes would be significant. Reaching new audiences, advancing knowledge & communicating with your membership, club promotion & membership recruitment, research and documentation, club events - practically everything you do can be changed through uses of new technologies.

Clubs and Estate Services

With the "maturing" of membership in a lot of collecting clubs, the time for decision-making in regards to the disposition of collections becomes a growing issue. What role should clubs be playing in this area... if any role at all? What are the liabilities? Any club can offer "advise" in general terms, but should clubs actually get involved in the disposing of a member's collection, or in the planning for disposal of a collection?

Club Documents

If your club is organized with officers, a board, and membership dues, you probably have a need for certain established documents. The most common of these are the Bylaws, Procedures Manual or Operating Manual, and a Code of Ethics. Particularly if your club has a desire to be incorporated or register as a not-for-profit organization under the 501 (c) 3 category, it is important to have some of these club documents. Taking this a step further, clubs should consider maintaining some form of permanent club archives of their club history and business.

Services

What benefits can collecting clubs expect when they join the Association of Collecting Clubs?

ACC benefits are continually being expanded and upgraded, but here is a listing of some of the major benefits:

Collectors.Org - ACC Website

Collectors.Org is the place to get collecting information. As the official website of the Association of Collecting Clubs and the National Association of Collectors, the site's primary purpose is to provide information for collectors, collecting clubs and the entire antiques, art and collectibles industry.

Information features on Collectors.Org include a variety of scheduless and directories, news and current issues affecting collectors and the full line of services for ACC and NAC.

Some of the site features include a comprehensive Collectors Club Directory, Flea Market Directory, Auctioneers Directory, Club Conventions & Events Schedule, Directory of Collecting Web Rings, Directory of Collectibles Glossaries, Club Museums and Archives Directory, Collecting Publications Directory, Collectors News Service, Collectors Trade Show, Conservation & Restoration Directory and much more.

If your club has a website, consider Collectors.Org an extension of your own site. A direct link from your site to Collectors.Org brings all of the above features directly to your club membership and other site visitors.

ACC News Service

An electronic news service, the ACC News Service is the only news service with the primary function of serving the collecting clubs' community in distributing news about their groups - their conventions, shows, special projects and other activities. Hundreds of articles are added to the ACC News Service annually. And, all articles are archived, readily accessible by the service's search mechanism.

This is a major free service to the antiques, art and collectibles media... and beyond. All ACC-member clubs are urged to utilize this feature for greater visibility for your events and programs.

Join A Club

The "Join a Club" program is an ACC membership recruitment program for clubs desiring to participate, working primarily with antique malls, flea markets, auction houses, shows, museums and other partners an opportunity to reach their visitors and customers in behalf of collecting clubs.

Club Conventions & Events

The Collectors.Org website features a Club Convention Schedule which lists hundreds of upcoming club conventions, shows and other events. All events listed must be club-sponsored. Further, ACC has developed two printed manuals - "Working with Convention & Visitors Bureaus" and "Guidelines for Selecting Convention Facilities."

Membership Recruitment and Membership Retention

ACC already has several programs in place and is working on others relating to club promotion, reaching new audiences, the youth audience, member services, membership retention and more.

Articles on club promotion and membership recruitment are carried regularly in the ACC electronic newsletters. The ACC Club Directory is the largest club directory on the Internet, featuring more information on each entry than any other directory.

ACC/NAC Update Electronic Newsletter

ACC sends out an ACC/NAC Update electronic newsletter approximately twice a month to the leadership of all ACC member clubs bringing helpful information to our members. It also goes to the National Association of Collectors membership and to all ACC/NAC partners and affiliates, reaching well over 25,000 serious collectors and investors, and major players in the antiques, art and collectibles industry.

Global Marketing

As more clubs reach out to international members through the Internet, ACC has developed guidelines for assisting clubs with global marketing and management.

Collectors Trade Show

A virtual Collectors Trade Show on the Collectors.Org website offers hundreds of booths supporting both clubs and collectors. Our partners in the Trade Show offer products and services relating to club management, computer software program, logo merchandise, collector security systems and insurance programs, collector publications, shipping materials, displays, travel information, schools and courses, appraisals, auction houses, antique malls, collectible shows and much more. Dozens of these partners offer ACC members discounts.

Club Directory

The Club Directory on ACC's Collectors.Org website is the largest and best Club Directory on the Internet, featuring more information on each entry than any other directory. Over 5,000 clubs are listed in the directory, representing collecting groups on six continents. Clubs are shown in both alpha order and easily changed to topical order, and the directory is completely searchable. Through a branding program, the ACC club directory is also offered on some of the other major antiques, art and collectibles websites on the Internet.

Insurance Programs

Our collectors insurance program is a major benefit to your members, plus member clubs can offered the policy directly through your club to your members. ACC also supports a liability coverage policy tailored to your club's membership convention or other club-sponsored events.

New Club Models

ACC is working with a number of collecting groups which offer opportunities for collectors beyond the traditional club approach, or in combination with traditional clubs.

National Association of Collectors

The NAC is a "sister" organization of the ACC, and is targeted at supporting the needs of individual collectors. NAC identifies and addresses those needs and concerns that are common to all collectors - information on collection management, security and insurance, dispersal and estate planning, displaying collectibles, utilizing new technologies, and more. For all clubs that join ACC, your entire membership automatically become members of NAC, with all NAC membership privileges - a $5/person value! At NO ADDITIONAL COST! to your ACC membership. That means if your club has 100 members, that's a $500. gift!)

ACC Conferences & Workshops

Looking ahead, ACC would some day like to offer our ACC member clubs opportunities to attend special conferences and workshops, and partner with other groups in offering special conferences and workshops covering areas of interest relating to the operation of collecting groups.

ACC Store and Logo Store

All ACC members have access to the ACC Store and the ACC Logo Store.

Voice in the Antiques & Collectibles Industry

ACC continues to speak out representing collecting clubs and collectors on various issues within the antiques, art & collectibles industry and handles daily media queries relating to collecting and the collecting groups which support collectors.

By joining ACC, your club not only has the access to valuable services and programs offered, but your membership in ACC becomes a true extension to the membership services you offer your own members.

How to Join

ACC invites all organized collecting groups to become a member of the Association of Collecting Clubs. No matter whether you call yourself a club, society, association, circle, guild, forum or some other description, you are welcome. Whether a traditional collecting club, internet club, company-sponsored collecting club, internet discussion group, or just a group of collectors "getting started," you are welcome to participate. (We also welcome individual collectors as members of the ACC "sister" organization, the National Association of Collectors, which focuses on assisting individual collectors. See the NAC section on this website.)

We encourage you to review the Services segment in this section to become familiar with what ACC has to offer your collecting group.

To join ACC, please complete the ACC Membership form.

If you have any questions, please Contact ACC

One important membership note: Regular annual membership for ACC is a nominal $25.00 per club. However, larger clubs which have chapters (we call you "umbrella clubs") have an annual dues fee of $50.00 per club... but, all of your organized chapters under your umbrella can then be ACC members at no additional cost to their group. That is, they do not have to pay the $25 dues. This is important as over 75% of the collecting clubs with which ACC works qualify for this "free membership".

Expectations

ACC expects collecting clubs which become members of ACC to be pro-active partners. ACC has a wide range of programs and services for member clubs. Our philosophy is that any club which joins ACC has strengths which can be shared. The success of ACC is directly proportionate to how active our member clubs are in identifying program areas in which they can contribute or take a leadership role. Club expertise and leadership will be welcomed in addressing not only the ACC program areas but also the program areas addressed in NAC.

Every club which joins ACC will be asked to appoint a key member of their club to be the primary representative to ACC. This person will be our initial contact on issues relating to ACC club involvement. They will be the designated club contact in the ACC Club Directory.

ACC member clubs are also encouraged to help promote both ACC and NAC in your club publications, on your website and through other channels. The Logo Store provides tools for this purpose.

Our desire is to offer programs and services through ACC and NAC that will measurably broaden and strengthen your club's offerings to your membership; that ACC and NAC will become an integral part of your club.

We hope every collecting club, society and association will become an ACC member. We look forward to working with you in partnership.

Larry Krug & Rick Moses

ACC Members

An ACC membership logo appears on the club information in the ACC Club Directory for each club which is an ACC member club.

ACC Members http://collectingclubs.com

ACC Partners

If you are interested in becoming an ACC Partner, please contact ACC by... ACC
18222 Flower Hill Way #299
Gaithersburg, MD 20879 USA

Calling	301.926.8663
E-Mailing	Info@Collectors.Org
Snail-Mail to

Please visit the Advertising and Partnership section on the homepage of this website to read about the affiliates and partnership programs that are available.

We are proud to have several hundred partners and affiliates. The listing can be found in the Partners & Supporters area of the Advertising and Partnership Programs section on this website.

ACC News Service

The ACC News Service is the only News Service on the Internet specifically focusing on news and announcements from collecting groups. Hundreds of announcements, features and articles are posted annually on the News Service which is readily used by media reps both within and outside the antiques, art & collectibles industry. All articles are archived and fully searchable.

Insurance Programs

The Association of Collecting Clubs offers, through endorsement, the following insurance programs:

ACC Club Directory

Containing over 5,000 collecting clubs relating to antiques and collectibles, this directory is the largest and best on the Internet, offering a listing of clubs in both alphabetical and topical formats and including descriptions and contact information on the clubs.

Club Conventions & Events

Annual club conventions are perhaps the single most important event of the year for most collecting clubs. Conventions shore up membership and can be used to recruit new members. They provide an atmosphere of "fraternity" and fellowship, as well as an educational component. They often command a sizeable commitment of manpower and a large portion of the annual budget. The ACC Club Conventions & Events Calendar is the only calendar that lists annual conventions, shows and other events for all types of collecting areas. All entries must be club-sponsored.

Club Museums & Archives

Over the years as collecting clubs and associations have matured, one of the areas that many clubs have made a major commitment to is that of documentation and preservation - notably through museums and permanent archives. A Club Museums and Archives Directory on the Collectors.Org website highlights those archives and museums which are club-sponsored, or in which the club has contributed to... or owns a significant collection-oriented exhibit within the museum.

Collector Publications

The ACC Publications Directory is a listing of magazines and newspapers serving the antiques, art and collectibles industry. Although available to all visitors to the Collectors.org website, the major purpose of the directory is that of a tool for the publicity or public relations chairpersons of collecting clubs and groups.

Collectors Trade Show

This virtual trade show on ACC's Collectors.Org website features aisle after aisle of booths offering products and services of interest to collectors and to collecting clubs. Whether your interest is display products or computer software, appraisal services or shipping supplies, check out the 100's of vendors with booths. Members of ACC-member clubs are eligible for dozens of member specials being offered by dozens of the Trade Show booths.

ACC Media Press Kit

Here ACC member clubs and the media can find drop-in logos and ads promoting the Association of Collecting Clubs, National Association of Collectors, the Collectors Trade Show, ACC News Service and the Collectors.Org website

Contacting ACC

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Ownership

The Association of Collecting Clubs (ACC) and the National Association of Collectors (NAC) are owned and operated by Americana Resources, Inc, of Gaithersburg, Maryland.