Amp ramps up approach

Amp, a St. Paul company that typically serves as the public face of the professional and trade associations it manages, needed to remake its own organizational identity.

When Amp Chief Executive PJ Voysey and his wife, Cathy, bought the company at the end of 2010, they liked its strong business model, growth potential and alignment with their personal values, which emphasize community service.

But the name, Nonprofit Solutions, under which it operated since its founding in 1996, caused confusion, suggesting to some people that the company was not for profit.

The newly christened Amp, for one thing, is very much a for-profit enterprise, CEO Voysey said.

It offers full-service administrative management and support services to nonprofit professional associations that otherwise are run largely by volunteers. With 23 employees who manage events, communications, membership and other services, the company had revenue of $1.5 million last year.

And contrary to what the old name suggested, the company doesn't offer business counseling or start-up help to philanthropic groups.

"I'd find I spent more time talking about what we don't do," said PJ Voysey, who earlier helped turn around technology services firm Techies and formerly owned Sub-Tronics, a custom transformer manufacturer. "The minute you say nonprofit, people think of it as Save the Whale or Feed the Children."

He spent 2011, his first full year as owner, getting to know the business. He held a companywide retreat in January and hired Twin Cities public relations consultant Rose McKinney and her reputation management agency, Pineapple RM, for strategic planning and help with the name change.

Most of his advisers said the company needed it, and the staff agreed.

The new name, unveiled last month, is designed "to move this company forward in a way that resonates with the employees, the owners, the clients and with an industry that is really growing and changing," McKinney said. Its tagline helps make the point: "Wired for Associations."

Voysey also hired veteran executive Mike Cibulka as president. Cibulka will concentrate on business development and sales while Voysey oversees daily operations. The goal, Voysey said, is to expand business with local and national companies that will use all of company's services, rather than just a few.

Eric Crockett, president of the Minnesota Medical Group Management Association, said the group chose Amp for management services in January, partly because of its experience organizing conferences.

An 11-year client, the Minnesota Association of Health Underwriters (MAHU), likes the company's new direction.

"We've seen a greater attention to detail, a more proactive approach," said MAHU President Cary Rothschild. "In my mind, we've seen a greater commitment to customer satisfaction."

The experts say: Jack Militello, management professor at the University of St. Thomas' Opus College of Business, said he likes Amp's business model and its new name, which "gives you a Web identity that nobody can take." He said its leadership is strong. "They're really well positioned with the talent they have," Militello said.

Ann Johnson, director of the Center for Nonprofit Management Center at St. Thomas, said pursuing more business with national clients makes sense as part of Amp's growth strategy.