ELFA

What ELFA does

ELFA (Equipment Leasing and Finance Association) is a U.S. non-profit trade association founded in 1961 (some internal records cite 1981 as the ELFA legal entity formation) and headquartered at 1625 Eye St. NW, Suite 850, Washington, D.C. The organization represents over 600 member companies operating across the $1.3 trillion U.S. equipment finance industry, including banks, captive finance arms of equipment manufacturers, independent lessors, regional community banks, investment banks, and institutional investors (BDCs, family offices, hedge funds, insurance companies, pension funds, private credit and private equity firms, and sovereign wealth funds). Four membership tiers (Regular, Associate, International Associate, Transitional) form the customer base, with dues and event/education revenue as the primary income streams under a subscription/recurring revenue model.

ELFA's product portfolio spans four functional pillars: advocacy (federal lobbying through LeasePAC and Capitol Connections, state-level representation, and legal updates); research (the CapEx Finance Index, Investment Momentum Monitor, Monthly Confidence Index, Survey of Equipment Finance Activity, and economic outlook publications); education (online learning, Principles of Leasing & Finance workshops, and the Certified Lease & Finance Professional credential administered with the CLFP Foundation); and community/events (the Annual Convention, Power of People Summit, People Power ecosystem, ELFA Connect discussion groups, EL&F Magazine, and the Equipment Finance Matters podcast). The association distributes content primarily through its elfaonline.org member portal, built on Sitefinity CMS with Nimble AMS membership management and Google Analytics instrumentation, supported by conventional ColdFusion backend infrastructure. There is no proprietary technology product; the portal functions as a member services and research delivery platform rather than a commercial software offering.

ELFA's go-to-market is membership-led, with recruitment supported by direct outreach, industry events, advocacy engagement, and the FundingSource Database that connects members with capital providers. The organization maintains 11-50 employees at its single Washington, D.C. headquarters, with no subsidiaries, parent company, or external investors. Governance rests with a board of directors composed of industry leaders from member companies (most recently chaired by James Cress of Flex Financial/Stryker for 2024-2025). The association is privately held in the sense of being a nonprofit membership organization with no publicly traded equity, and its revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Name

ELFA

Legal name

Equipment Leasing and Finance Association

Website

https://elfaonline.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional Intergovernmental Organizations (BPADAAAB)

Keywords

• Equipment leasing association
• Equipment finance advocacy
• Trade association services
• Industry research publications
• Professional certification programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: ELFA generates primary revenue through membership fees from Regular, Associate, International Associate, and Transitional members across the $1.3 trillion U.S. equipment finance industry. Member benefits include advocacy, research, education, events, and networking.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ELFA is a non-profit trade association serving as the unified voice of the U.S. equipment leasing and finance industry, providing federal and state advocacy, industry research publications (CapEx Finance Index, Investment Momentum Monitor, Monthly Confidence Index), professional education and certification (CLFP designation), and networking through events and the People Power community ecosystem for over 600 member organizations.

Product overview

ELFA (Equipment Leasing and Finance Association) is a professional association serving the $1.3 trillion U.S. equipment finance industry with over 600 member organizations. Rather than a single product company, ELFA offers a portfolio of member services including advocacy (federal and state), research products (CapEx Finance Index, Investment Momentum Monitor, Monthly Confidence Index, Survey of Equipment Finance Activity), a FundingSource Database platform, education programs (workshops, CLFP certification, online learning), events (annual convention, Capitol Connections, Power of People Summit), People Power community platform, EL&F Magazine publication, and the Equipment Finance Matters podcast. The organization operates on a membership model with four membership types: Regular, Associate, International Associate, and Transitional.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LeasePAC: ELFA's political action committee for federal advocacy
• People Power
• Innovation Experience
• Equipment Finance Matters Podcast
• EL&F Magazine
• CLFP Foundation Affiliation
• CapEx Finance Index
• Monthly Confidence Index
• Investment Momentum Monitor
• ELFA Engage

Products and services

• ELFA Membership Membership-based access to ELFA's advocacy, research, education, events, and networking resources for companies in the equipment leasing and finance industry. Available in Regular, Associate, International Associate, and Transitional tiers.
• Federal Advocacy Federal-level advocacy representation before Congress and federal agencies for equipment leasing and finance industry members.
• State Advocacy State-level advocacy efforts for equipment leasing and finance industry members, including state tax manual and state law compendium resources.
• CapEx Finance Index Monthly index tracking capital expenditure demand and investment momentum across the equipment finance sector.
• Investment Momentum Monitor Research tool monitoring equipment investment momentum across industry verticals.
• Monthly Confidence Index (MCI) Monthly survey-based index measuring industry confidence levels among equipment finance executives.
• Survey of Equipment Finance Activity Annual survey providing comprehensive data on equipment finance industry activity and trends.
• FundingSource Database Directory of funding sources enabling members to connect with lenders, investors, agents, packagers, and service providers across the equipment finance industry.
• People Power Community Community ecosystem for members to connect, grow, and lead in the equipment finance industry, built on Attract, Train, Retain model with volunteer-led working groups including Women4Inclusion, ELFA Equity, and Emerging Leaders.
• EL&F Magazine Bimonthly industry magazine covering equipment leasing and finance topics, trends, and best practices.
• Equipment Finance Matters Podcast Podcast featuring expert insights, industry trends, and strategies in equipment leasing and finance through in-depth interviews with researchers, economists, and industry leaders. Distributed via Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
• Principles of Leasing Finance Workshops In-person workshops providing foundational knowledge in equipment leasing and finance for industry professionals.
• Certified Lease & Finance Professional (CLFP) Certification Professional certification program for equipment finance professionals, offered in partnership with the CLFP Foundation to strengthen the talent pipeline.
• LeasePAC ELFA's political action committee for federal advocacy, enabling members to support candidates who advocate for the equipment finance industry.

Quantifiable outcome

• 600+ member organizations served
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SFNet (Secured Finance Network)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2026ELFA and SFNet (Secured Finance Network) issued a joint statement opposing the Basel III ERBA (expanded risk-based approach) regulatory capital rules, warning that Category I and II banks face a net +1.4% increase in capital requirements. The trade associations联手 represent the equipment leasing and secured finance industries in advocating against regulatory changes that could reduce lending capacity and slow capital expenditure deployment.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• American Bankers Association (ABA): ABA is the largest U.S. banking trade association and represents many of the same large banks that are ELFA members. While far broader in scope, ABA competes for advocacy relevance on bank capital rules, including Basel III ERBA, making it a structural counterpart for ELFA's federal advocacy work.
• American Financial Services Association (AFSA): AFSA is the national trade association for the consumer credit and financial services industry. ELFA's SVP of Policy came from AFSA, and AFSA represents an adjacent asset-finance constituency, making it a comparable member-funded advocacy organization with a broader consumer-finance scope.
• Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA): ICBA is the trade association for community banks and a significant ELFA counterpart in bank-focused federal advocacy. ELFA's SVP of Policy and Government Affairs joined from ICBA, indicating functional comparability in federal lobbying operations and member services for bank segments of ELFA's membership.

Emerging players

• American Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (AACFB): AACFB is a trade association for commercial finance brokers and intermediaries serving small-ticket and middle-market equipment and capital finance. It overlaps with ELFA on broker, packaging, and funding-source community needs, particularly via the FundingSource Database audience.
• National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers (NAELB): NAELB represents equipment leasing brokers and small-ticket originators. It overlaps with ELFA's broker and packaging constituencies and competes for member engagement on education, code of ethics, and networking, particularly among independent lessors.
• National Equipment Finance Association (NEFA): NEFA is a smaller, member-driven association serving independent equipment finance professionals. It competes with ELFA for independent lessors and brokers, particularly at the education, networking, and certification level, making it the closest direct competitor in ELFA's independent-finance niche.

Direct peers

• Secured Finance Network (SFNet): SFNet is the trade association for the secured finance and asset-based lending industry and is ELFA's most direct peer, jointly issuing the Basel III ERBA statement. Both associations serve overlapping lender constituencies and compete for member mindshare in commercial finance advocacy.

Regional players

• Equipment Leasing & Finance Association of UK (UK Finance Asset Finance): UK Finance's Asset Finance division is the closest international counterpart to ELFA, representing UK equipment and asset finance providers. ELFA's International Associate membership category explicitly references companies from geographies served by UK Finance, making it a direct cross-border functional peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/elfachannel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/equipment-leasing-finance-association
• Xx.com/ELFAOnline
• Facebookfacebook.com/ELFApage

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ELFA