2023 AIA Trust Annual Report:

The AIA Trust is the premier risk management resource for AIA members, focusing on educating members about new and evolving practice risks, how to manage them effectively and practice successfully.

Following the development of a Strategic Plan in 2022 which focused on the future of the profession to meet AIA member needs in a changing world, the AIA Trust began implementing measures of this plan throughout 2023.  Four focus areas were to:

  • Expand promotion through increased strategic collaboration with AIA.
  • Study our market and work with plan providers to serve members better.
  • Create robust risk management tools and content for the profession.
  • Reinvigorate our committee structure

All the while, the AIA Trust continued to enhance its resources with new webinars, articles, and risk reports.

 

2023 Highlights:

Member Value

  • Continued our email campaign to share topics of relevance to specific AIA member groups.  These topics included highlights of our services such as LegaLine and curated information for Small Firms.  We covered different risk topics and used these as an opportunity to shine spotlight on our guides on starting a firm, running a firm, and transitioning your firm.
  • The AIA Trust together with the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) and the National Society for Professional Engineers (NSPE) work annually to conduct an insurance carrier review and interview of professional liability trends and risk management issues.  Top things the profession needs to be on the lookout for from the perspective of the largest A/E Professional Liability carriers in the business are here.
  • AIA Trust Week:   A new event for the AIA Trust, AIA Trust Week was held September 18-22, 2023.  A week of free daily lunchtime webinars for members and Components that reviewed all the benefits AIA Trust offers.  We were thrilled in our first year to have had nearly 1,500 participants and be able to provide continuing education credits for 4 of the 5 sessions.  This event was a huge success and allowed us to add to our growing resource library.
  • Understanding how we’re used:  We did a deep dive into our brand to explore how AIA members use us, why, and what obstacles are in our way to visibility.  This market research helped us focus on areas we can improve on when we share what it is that the AIA Trust does (because it is A LOT).  As a result, we determined that our tagline wasn’t serving our mission and explaining to members what we do.  Members can expect to see theaiatrust.com go through some major renovation in 2024 to help them reach information they are in search of, faster.
  • Connect with us:  The AIA Trust expanded its social media presence in 2023 with the addition of an Instagram page.  We know AIA members find their information in a variety of informational venues and we don’t want to miss an opportunity to widely share all the amazing information the AIA Trust has as a complimentary resource to our members.

AIA Trust + AIA

To familiarize AIA members and their components with the many AIA Trust practice benefits and resources available to them, the AIA Trust works in partnership with the AIA, sponsoring many programs and events and providing valuable resources. Collaborations in 2023 included:

  • The 25th year for the AIA Trust-Victor and CNA Component Grants program, awarding another $15,000 and bringing the total to more than $365,000 in total grant awards paid directly to AIA Components! It was exciting to be able to recognize our 2023 program grant winners: AIA Boston Society of Architects (BSA); AIA North Carolina; AIA New Orleans; AIA San Francisco; AIA Seattle.
  •  2023 AIA Leadership Summit (formerly Grassroots) sponsorship featuring the AIA Trust with AIA President-elect Kimberly Dowdell in conjunction with Victor/CNA.
  • The 2023 CACE Annual Meeting in Atlanta.  This sponsorship was hosted in Atlanta, with generous support with Victor/CNA.  An important opportunity that allowed our own CACE Executive Trustee time to share with peers the wealth of member benefits the AIA Trust offers members.
  • The Women’s Leadership Summit held in Boston in 2023.  AIA Trust and Victor/CNA were thrilled to sponsor this empowering event and be represented at the Executive Women’s Luncheon for the second year in a row.
  • For the first time, AIA Trust had the opportunity to sponsor Annual Justice Facilities Review Knowledge Community conference in Washington, DC.  AIA Trust with Victor/CNA were able to speak to members directly on stage during the sponsor’s lunch presentation.
  • In 2021 AIA Strategic Council ESG Committee approached the AIA Trust sharing the research it had thoughtfully conducted on consideration of ESG in the profession as well as for investments.  Knowing AIA had also taken a position on this, AIA Trust formed an ESG Policy Committee and in 2023 the Trustees officially transitioned to a commitment to ESG investing.
  • Continued our participation on the advisory group for the Center for Practice (CFP) with a former AIA Trust Chair sharing relevant ideas and content from the AIA Trust.
  • The AIA Trust provides timely insights on evolving risks and practice tips to AIA members through its quarterly electronic newsletter, Managing Your Risks. This year’s issues included articles about moonlighting, ESOPs, cyber liability, Artificial Intelligence, firm management strategies, and architecture firm retirement plans among others. Articles are available on the website for future reference and may be reprinted in AIA component publications with a link to the AIA Trust.
  • Serving as the Risk Management arm of AIA, the AIA Trust believes in the power of members to inform the direction of our resources.  In this spirit, we collaborated with AIA YAF mentor groups, AIA Small Firm Exchange, Center for Practice, Practice Management Knowledge Community, and many others.  We appreciated the opportunity to hear directly from members and be able to work with our network to deliver topics of interest.
  • The AIA Trust also worked with AIA as our shared office building began the transition towards its planned AIA Headquarters renewal.  AIA Trust worked diligently to digitize, organize, and archive all documents and say farewell to the office while it undergoes its transformation.  AIA Trust staff attend AIA staff meetings and work to keep our organizations aligned and leadership groups informed.

About AIA Trust

The AIA Trust began as an insurance provider for AIA members. Today we focus on creating member value by offering practice-related resources in addition to continuing our growing suite of benefit programs, retirement solutions, and legal tools available 24/7 in our online library.

As the risk management resource for AIA members, the AIA Trust is one of the largest enterprises allied with the American Institute of Architects and currently maintains approximately 10,000 policies and plans––many serving additional members within firms and member families, with a dollar volume of more than $100 million managed by AIA Trust providers. The AIA Trust operates on a break-even basis, using no AIA dues dollars and reimbursing the AIA for all overhead costs.

The net of operating expenses is frequently invested in AIA Member and Component activities and benefits, including the development of practice resources. AIA Trust resources are accessed tens of thousands of times annually to assist members in their practices.

Originally formed as a separate entity from the AIA due to IRS regulations governing ERISA trusts, the AIA Trust was established over 70 years ago to provide quality benefits to AIA Members as well as their firms, their components, and, where we can, their families.

 

Architects protecting Architects.

Trustees are comprised of six AIA members and one component executive, along with the executive director, who all work with independent consultants to evaluate new and ongoing programs ensuring only the best available plans are offered to members and components. The AIA Trust negotiates and monitors these agreements closely and serves as a member advocate. All programs are found on the AIA Trust website with links to enrollment details.

2023 Trustees:

Glenn Birx, FAIA, Chair

Jeff Yrazabal, AIA, Chair-elect

Juan R. Self, AIA, Secretary-Treasurer

Victor F. Body-Lawson, FAIA, Trustee

Theresa Ridley, AIA, Trustee

Kelly E. Ives, AIA, CAE, Trustee

Mary Katherine Lanzillotta, FAIA, Trustee

Elizabeth Wolverton, MPA Executive Director

 

Statement of Purpose

It shall be the purpose and the policy of the AIA Trust to develop and make available at the greatest possible value, insurance and benefit programs for members and components of the American Institute of Architects; and to serve as a risk management resource for the practice of Architecture in cooperation with the Institute.

Goals of the AIA Trust

  1. Evaluate current and future needs of AIA member & Components for benefit programs.
  2. Maintain our position as a valuable risk management resource, tools, and benefits provider to AIA and AIA members to enhance professional practice.
  3. Remain financially stable.

 

For 2024:

  1. Continue to carry out our Strategic Plan.
    At our November 2022 Trustee meeting an extra day was spent considering the visibility, market penetration, risk management resource development and committees of the AIA Trust.  With the help of our facilitator, we developed a plan to lead us into the future so that we may continue to serve as many AIA members and components as possible with all the services they have come to expect, and then some.
  2. Add value to AIA Membership by expanding its risk management resources for members.
    Working with AIA components, member knowledge communities, the AIA Risk Management Committee, the Center for Practice, the Practice Management Knowledge Community, the Small Firm Exchange, and other member groups, the AIA Trust will continue to identify ways to strategically meet members’ risk management needs, by developing and offering webinars, guides, articles, and other resources about emerging risks to better understand and manage them.
  3. Emphasize member value.
    Working with outside expert consultants, the AIA Trust continually evaluates marketplace opportunities and current program offerings to ensure the highest level of quality and responsiveness to members.
  4. Emphasize member service.
    Working with its program providers, the AIA Trust will identify program enhancements that can assist members in their practices by addressing member needs promptly and accurately.

The Trustees invite members to submit their ideas for future risk management resources to help them practice effectively.

 

The Trustees invite members to submit their ideas for future risk management resources to help them practice effectively.