Bob Dziuban, executive director of a Fairfax-based trade group for manufacturers of prescription eyeglasses, has been working overtime the past few months. His organization's annual trade show is coming up, and he's been trying harder than ever to give potential attendees a way to justify the expense of a trip to the Washington area.

Basically, that amounts to lobbying for better deals with hotels and pinching pennies. "The challenges have been greater this year than at any time in the past, there's no question about it," Dziuban said.

Times are tough for trade associations, just as they are for the industries they represent. Two-thirds of trade groups anticipate a decline in revenue in 2010, according to a survey conducted by the American Society of...